Incoming New South Wales (NSW) Senator Dave Sharma,who has previously served as Australia’s ambassador to Israel, believes the Greens Party has a blind spot for anti-Semitism.
On Nov. 26, he was preselected to the Senate at an internal NSW preselection, defeating former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance and past Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Senator Zed Seselja.
“Firstly, demonising the state of Israel, holding it to a different standard of account,” Mr. Sharma said.
“Secondly, often veering into calling for the abolition of the state of Israel, chanting things like ”from the river to the sea.”
Greens Deny Anti-Semitism Claims
However, Greens leader Adam Bandt denied the Greens have a blind spot on anti-Semitism during a later interview with ABC Radio National on Nov. 27.
“But we’ve taken a principled position to this invasion and we do not believe that the people of Gaza should be collectively punished and we are seeing a humanitarian catastrophe unfold in front of our eyes.
“And there has to be not only a temporary ceasefire, but it needs to become a permanent ceasefire and we have called for that from the beginning.”
Since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, more than 1,200 have been killed and 239 hostages have been held. In recent days, Hamas has freed some hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire deal. Since the start of the conflict, multiple protests have taken place in Australia.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has recently come under fire for a now-deleted social media post showing her standing by a student pro-Palestinian protestor showing a picture of a trash can and the words “keep the world clean.”
Mr. Bandt said the poster wasn’t held by the Senator, “it was being held by someone else, it was put up, and it was wrong, and it was apologised for, and it was taken down.
“We’ve been very clear from day one that we oppose anti-Semitism, we’ve been concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia for some time.”
However discussing this issue, Mr. Sharma said, “I’ve seen Greens at protests where these things are chanted. Mehreen Faruqi just last week was shown alongside the student protests—someone throwing a picture of the state of Israel being thrown into the garbage bin, I can only assume that’s calling for the abolition of the state of Israel.”
“I’m also distressed by the loss of civilian life on both sides of this conflict, but what I’ve always been seeking to do over these last several weeks since these terrorist attacks, is to stand up for important principles, not to pick sides but to stand up for principles, and one is that if a state comes under an attack from a terrorist group, it has a right to defend itself,” Mr. Sharma said.
“Another is that states that are doing so should adhere to the laws of armed conflict.
“And the third is we cannot allow conflicts overseas to be imported into Australia such that we allow groups of Australians to seek to demonise, or intimidate or vilify other groups of Australians.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton congratulated Mr. Sharma on his preselection in a media statement on Nov. 26. Mr. Dutton said his entry to the Senate comes at a crucial time given events abroad and at home.
“His diplomatic and foreign policy expertise and experience will lend considerable weight and wisdom to the public policy debate given the precarious circumstances in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific,” Mr. Dutton said.
“Dave will speak with moral courage and provide moral clarity as we grapple with unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism on our own shores following Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7.”
