Smith’s Shalit statement slated

TENSIONS flared between the community and the Government this week over a statement released marking the fourth anniversary of the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit.

The clash came in the wake of comments by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, which the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) slated as “tepid” and “especially troubling”.

Friday’s statement from Smith noted that “Shalit was captured in a cross-border raid into Israel by the armed wing of Hamas and has been held in captivity in the Gaza strip by Hamas since that time.” It went on to say “Australia joins other members of the international community in calling for his immediate release.”

The statement then focused on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

While he thanked the minister for calling for Shalit’s release, in a letter sent to Smith on Monday, ECAJ president Robert Goot claimed: “The remainder of the announcement … was disconcertingly lacking in substance and tepid in its tone. To say, as you did, that Gilad Shalit ‘has been held in captivity in the Gaza strip by Hamas’ is to gloss over the most heinous aspect of his captivity — the fact that he has been held incommunicado for four long years.”

Goot went on to observe, “At the time of your statement … the Foreign Minister of Italy, is reported as stating ‘that the condition of Gilad’s captivity breached all international rules and showed the terrorist nature of Hamas’. Meanwhile, Rome’s City Council made Gilad Shalit an honorary citizen of the Eternal City.”

He also drew a comparison with a statement from Human Rights Watch, which claimed “Regardless of Hamas’ grievances against Israel, there are no grounds to cut Shalit off completely from his family”.

Describing Shalit’s captivity as “a burning humanitarian issue which must be considered in its own right and divorced from the issues in contention between Israel and Hamas”, Goot said. “It is regrettable that your announcement omitted to make this distinction. It is an omission that is especially troubling to Australian Jewry, in light of the general tenor and positive outcome of our recent discussions at the Lodge.”

He was referring to a meeting last month between then-prime minister Kevin Rudd and community leaders intended to heal any rift following the Government’s harsh line against Israel following the passport crisis and flotilla affair.

Goot concluded: “We cannot help feeling let down by the inexplicable failure of your announcement to make the clear statement of principle, and send the strong message of support which the occasion required.”

When asked about the ECAJ letter, a spokesperson for the Foreign Minister told The AJN, “Australia was one of only a handful of countries to make a formal statement urging Shalit’s release, reflecting the strength and sincerity of Australia’s views. Sadly, many others have remained silent in the face of his deplorable detention.”

ZEDDY LAWRENCE

PHOTO: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. Photo: AJN file