Boele’s call for sanctions on Israel slammed
New Bradfield MP, independent Teal Nicolette Boele, has controversially called for sanctions against Israel.
A controversial call for Australia to apply sanctions against Israel was made on August 11 by the new federal MP for Bradfield in Sydney’s north, Independent Teal Nicolette Boele, who was elected by a margin of just 26 votes on a recount conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission.
Boele’s press release was issued on the same day that Anthony Albanese announced that Australia will recognise Palestine as a state in September, and its content has already been sharply criticised by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) – who will meet Boele next week.
Boele’s press release described the Prime Minister’s decision to recognise Palestine as not going far enough to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, claiming “according to accounts on the ground, civilians are being deliberately starved to death or shot while trying to access aid”, and “there is still much more we [Australia] can do”.
Her statement called on the federal government to impose targeted sanctions on the Israeli government; cease any role it has in the supply chain for Israel’s arms; commit to recognise a Palestinian state, and take steps to seek to establish an Australian embassy within its borders.
Boele claimed she made that call after meeting local action groups, community leaders, humanitarian organisations and [after] listening to diverse voices calling for action, and also cited the so-called “March for Humanity” rally conducted by anti-Israel protesters on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
While her statement did call for the remaining hostages to be released, for unimpeded aid to flow, and described Hamas as a terrorist organisation that must have no role in governing a future Palestinian state, it did not specifically make those pre-conditions for a permanent ceasefire, nor for recognition of Palestine as a state.
Instead, Boele claimed that “Recognising Palestinian statehood [next month] may help break Hamas’ hold on Gaza by tackling the root grievances that sustain its power” and that “this would hasten the peace process and urgently deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid”.
That stance appears to be in direct contradiction to comments Boele made in a pre-election Bradfield candidates forum held at North Shore Synagogue on April 22, hosted by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD).
In that forum, Boele, and the Liberal candidate for Bradfield, Gisele Kapterian – who is now challenging the Bradfield election result in court – were both asked if they would support a Palestinian state, and if so, with what conditions.
Kapterian answered that a two-state solution is the way forward, and “the conditions of that though, are for Israel and the appropriate representatives of the Palestinian people to work that out themselves, and I think that is something that is a very delicate matter, and that I leave to those at the [negotiating] table to be able to sort through, but ideally we would love to see an outcome”.
Boele’s answer to that question at the forum was, “Ditto”.
“Yes, I completely concur with Gisele’s point that this answer happens through the two-state solution.”
Boele’s electorate includes the suburbs of St Ives and Lindfield, in which three synagogues are located, and one Jewish school.
In response to the claims made by Boele on August 11, JBD CEO Michele Goldman told The AJN on Friday, “We are deeply disappointed by this statement, which fails to recognise the deeply complex nature of this conflict, and the central role of Hamas in perpetuating it — holding and torturing hostages, and punishing its own people rather than laying down its arms”.
“This is not the kind of response we would expect from the member representing Sydney’s second-largest Jewish population.
“Along with local community members, Ms Boele has now agreed to meet with the community to hear our views.”
The Australian Jewish Association – in a comment posted on Boele’s Facebook page in response to her sharing her August 11 press release calling for sanctions on Israel, wrote “What a revolting statement . . . an ignorant rant that does nothing for the voters of Bradfield, who you supposedly represent”.
“[Do] you realise there are many Jewish people in your electorate who are appalled by your thoughtless and uninformed attack.”
Alon Beran commented on Boele’s Facebook post that “Peace will only come when Palestinian leadership renounces terror, recognises Israel’s legitimacy, and focuses on building a future, instead of destroying a neighbour”.
“Until then, Israel will protect its people – as any nation would – and you [Boele] can continue to virtue signal all you like.”
North Shore resident Jonathan Herrman told The AJN that at the Bradfield candidates forum at North Shore Synagogue, “Boele reflected how as a student leader, she had seen the distress of peers when Killara High School’s walls were daubed with swastikas”.
“By vilifying Israel [now], she is re-traumatising those same ‘friends’,” he said.
“She is a populist who does not work with both sides of politics, nor attempt to get balanced views from her constituents on both sides of an argument, as she claims.
“She has never been to Israel, yet from the safety of the north shore of Sydney, selects Israel – of all peoples of the world – to single out for admonishment.”
The AJN also requested comment from ECAJ and Kapterian.
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