Here is the text from the Australian Parliament resolution yesterday.
Mr RUDD (Griffith—Prime Minister) (11.58 am)—by leave—I move:
That the House:
(1) celebrate and commend the achievements of the State of Israel in
the 60 years since its inception;
(2) remember with pride and honour the important role which Australia
played in the establishment of the State of Israel as both a member
state of the United Nations and as an influential voice in the
introduction of Resolution 181 which facilitated Israel’s statehood,
and as the country which proudly became the first to cast a vote in
support of Israel’s creation;
(3) acknowledge the unique relationship which exists between
Australia and Israel; a bond highlighted by our commitment to the
rights and liberty of our citizens and encouragement of cultural
diversity;
(4) commend the State of Israel’s commitment to democracy, the Rule
of Law and pluralism;
(5) reiterate Australia’s commitment to Israel’s right to exist and
our ongoing support to the peaceful establishment of a two-state
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue;
(6) reiterate Australia’s commitment to the pursuit of peace and
stability throughout the Middle East;
(7) on this, the 60th Anniversary of Independence of the State of
Israel, pledge our friendship, commitment and enduring support to the
people of Israel as we celebrate this important occasion together.
Reading through this, it is even harder to understand why at least half a dozen of our elected Australian politicians, who have a responsibility to democratically represent the community, would criticise or deliberately absent themselves from Parliament for this motion. On SBS a number of politicians were interviewed that criticised Israel for Human Rights abuses. While Israeli hospitals nurture premature Palestinian babies and deliver medical and food supplies to a population that willingly supports the firing of missiles onto Israeli cities, Australian MP’s have the chutzpah to say this! Maybe they should go and knock on the doors of Jewish and Arab households in all parts of the country and see what things are really like before they continue to spray their ignorant comments in our media.