‘No place for antisemitism’
'There is no place for antisemitism in NSW Labor and the party has taken swift action in dealing with this matter'
THE NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) has welcomed the expulsion of left-wing extremist Jay Tharappel (pictured) from the Labor Party.
The former Sydney University academic, who once wore a badge on his jacket declaring “Death to Israel” and “Curse on the Jews”, was granted party membership this year according to a report in The Australian. But after an urgent review, NSW Labor leader Chris Minns announced this week that Tharappel has been thrown out of the party.
“There is no place for antisemitism in NSW Labor and the party has taken swift action in dealing with this matter,” Minns said.
Tharappel has previously praised North Korea as “egalitarian”, is a supporter of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and has spread propaganda justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine on social media.
NSW JBD CEO Darren Bark said, “We welcome the strong and swift action taken by NSW Labor in expelling this individual. Mr Tharappel’s views are repugnant, divisive and have no place in our peaceful, multicultural society.
“He did not deserve membership of the NSW Labor Party and removing him was the right decision.”
Prior to Tharappel’s expulsion, Bark said, “We are extremely concerned by Mr Tharappel’s appalling record of support for the world’s most repressive regimes and recognised terrorist organisations, as well as his sympathy for invidious conspiracy theories.
“In recent years, Mr Tharappel attacked local Jewish communal organisations for their calls to proscribe the entirety of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation and alleged that Israel has ‘spent the last decade aiding al-Qaeda and Islamic State’.
“He has also used social media to post other material offensive to the NSW Jewish community, including questioning the number of victims of the Holocaust.”
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