“The worst of Nazi antisemitic tropes against Jews from 1930’s Europe have bizarrely and disgustingly been mouthed by a former highflyer public servant John Menadue at the ANU on Sunday,” said Norman Miller, Co-founder of Indigenous Friends of Israel International.
“Menadue was secretary of the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet during the Fraser and Whitlam governments, so it is concerning that such a high-level public servant holds such views.
“He said, ‘In the name of balance, our media give credibility to this Israeli propaganda. It’s like reporting on a bubonic plague and giving equal treatment to the rats.’
“The event was organised by the Palestine Action Group Canberra. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has already taken two Sydney Muslim clerics to the Human Rights Commission for sermons describing Jews as ‘rats’, ‘monsters’ etc.
“It is shocking that such propaganda is purveyed at all in Australia but more so at a university. The ANU is one of four universities singled out by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency because of complaints re antisemitism.
“The ANU has since adopted, and now broken, the Universities Australia’s unilateral definition of antisemitism which states ‘criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions.’
“Menadue also shamefully compared the terrorist group Hamas to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, the famous anti-apartheid activist who became its first black Prime Minister, uniting the country.
“Menadue outrageously says that ‘Israel has no right of self-defence against resistance in lands that are illegally occupied.’ The Jewish people are Indigenous to Israel and have had to deal with Muslim and/or Arab conquerors occupying their land several times in their history. By reforming Israel in 1948, the Jewish people were decolonising their homeland.
“The Marxist view of Menadue is revealed by his statement that Australia is a settler-colonial state. Presumably he would like to see Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East and our ally, wiped off the map in a genocidal ‘from the river to the sea,’ and would like the same fate for Australia.
I support the 15-point plan that came out of the Antisemitism Summit in Sydney which I attended, and my organisation is working on an antisemitism in school education project.
I note that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton attended the Summit and has committed to all 15 points. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Greens Leader Adam Bandt did not attend, and the Prime Minister has not agreed to any of the 15 points.”