Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Mazal Tov, Michael! Aussie Parliamentarian Receives the Jerusalem Prize (videos)

Australian Jewish federal parliamentarian Michael Danby, chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade, has been a stalwart campaigner for Israel since his student days if not earlier. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 -  the first Jewish member for over a decade - he champions Israel vigorously.

For his staunch support of Israel,  he received, earlier this week, the Jerusalem Prize of the World Zionist Organization and the Zionist Federation.  This award, which he richly deserves,  is the highest accolade bestowed by the local Zionist movement.  Its previous recipients include former prime ministers Bob Hawke and John Howard, and former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

In the first of these fairly short videos, Yuval Rotem, Israel's Ambassador to Australia, is one of the speakers introducing Michael, and makes a short but enthusiastically received speech regarding the situation facing Israel.

In the second video Michael Danby talks passionately, and amusingly, about his support for Israel (and championship Max Brenner against the BDS mob).

He also confirms that BDS stalwart Senator Lee Rhiannon of New South Wales is of Jewish background; her mother, an unreconstructed Stalinist named Freda Brown (1919-2009), born Freda Yetta Lewis, visited Israel in the 1950s and 1960s, he says.  But Rhiannon herself is in the forefront of the campaign to impose a cultural boycott on the little Jewish State. Oy!


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