BDS motion fails at Caulfield ALP branch
A motion opposing the BDS campaign against Israel failed after a tied vote at the ALP’s Caulfield branch meeting.
A motion opposing the boycott, disinvestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel has failed at the Australian Labor Party’s Caulfield Branch.
The vote ended in a tie at the branch’s March meeting on Wednesday night.
The motion, sponsored by Michael Borowick and Max Gross, both Jewish members of the branch, was lost when the vote finished 21-all. Under ALP rules, a tied vote does not carry.
Borowick, who serves as Convenor of Jewish Labor, said he had expected the motion to pass.
“Given the nature of BDS, which he described as racist in nature and uniquely targeting Israel, with no equivalent campaign proposed against Russia over Ukraine or China over Tibet, he said.
“It’s just aimed fairly and squarely at the Jewish state.”
He said he had anticipated that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s long-standing opposition to BDS, on record since 2011, would carry weight with branch members.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t,” Borowick said.
The motion did not seek to outlaw BDS but instead proposed that organisations applying for Australian government funding, or superannuation funds, be required to disclose any involvement in BDS activity.
Borowick described the defeat as disappointing, saying that “adding a layer of transparency and accountability was a bridge too far for many branch members.”
He acknowledged the vote revealed a divide, with support for the motion coming entirely from the branch’s Jewish members.
Had the motion passed, it would have been forwarded to the National Platform Committee for possible inclusion in the ALP’s National Platform, ahead of the party’s National Conference scheduled for July.
Borowick said attention now turns to finding other mechanisms to bring an anti-BDS position before the National Conference.
“We’ll reflect on that and see what other mechanisms we might be able to trigger to get it before the National Conference, and for the national platform to have a clear statement in opposition to BDS,” he said.
He called on members of the Jewish community who support Labor to join the party and engage directly in the policy debate.
“It’s no use being an armchair warrior if we’re going to succeed in the long run. Jewish community members need to join in the fight and be a part of it. We won’t succeed otherwise,” Borowick said.
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