BDS motion fails at tense meeting
An anti-Israel motion at Cumberland City Council, framed as a “human rights” stance, was defeated.
It was a decision that went down to the wire, but an anti-Israel motion disguised as a “commitment to human rights” was ultimately rejected at a heated October 29 Cumberland City Council meeting, with eight councillors voting against it, and six for it.
The motion was penned by Independent Councillor Ahmed Ouf, who, according to a statement released by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) on the same day, was a participant in an official delegation from Australia to Gaza in 2012, during which he met with senior Hamas leaders, including Ismail Radwan.
The CAM statement also claimed that Ouf was photographed in that delegation paying respect to the commander of the Hamas military wing at that time, Ahmed Jabari.
CAM described Ouf’s motion presented to the council meeting as “deeply antisemitic, and promotes an extremist agenda that endangers the safety of Israelis and Jewish communities in Australia”.
The motion’s wording called for the council to affirm its commitment to human rights, international humanitarian law, and ethical governance in all its operations, procurement, investment and contracting, and then it called on the general manager to develop, and report back to council on, a Draft Ethical Procurement Policy, based on several dot points.
It was the last dot point which revealed the motion’s true colours – that “The BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) principles must be considered as a reference” in assessing ethical and human rights compliance for contracts, “acting as a framework to guide Council”.
Voting for the motion were mayor Ola Hamed, and councillors Ouf, Diane Colman, Glenn Elmore, Sujan Selventhiran and Enver Yasar.
Voting against were deputy mayor Nadima Kafrouni-Saba and councillors Steve Christou – a former mayor – Paul Gerrard, Helen Hughes, Joseph Rahme, Eddy Sarkis, Steve Yang and Michael Zaiter.
Cr Christou said in a statement following the meeting, “It was excruciatingly painful to sit through the vile and antisemitic rhetoric that was echoed by some of the speakers.
“Shamefully, Cr Ouf’s motion was supported by the mayor and her fellow Labor councillors, along with the Greens councillor,” he said.
“The councillors that opposed the motion were constantly interrupted and heckled … while the mayor did nothing to stop it.”
CAM concluded that Cr Ouf was “pushing a BDS motion”.