City of Sydney councillors to vote on motion following calls for boycott

Clover Moore’s City of Sydney Council is set to act on a contentious push by the Greens for a boycott on companies linked with Israel despite being slammed by Jewish leaders as anti-Semitic and divisive.

Clover Moore’s City of Sydney Council is set to act on a contentious push by the Greens for a boycott on companies linked with Israel despite being slammed by Jewish leaders as anti-Semitic and divisive.

The move could see the council begin checking a United Nations database of companies involved in human rights violations before making investments or entering into any external contracts such as IT contracts or maintenance works.

The push for a boycott on companies linked with Israel has been spearheaded by Greens councillors who have pushed for the council to tear up any agreements with companies linked to the “illegal occupation of the settlements in Palestinian territories and the supply of weapons”.

But in the wake of a spate of shocking attacks on Sydney’s Jewish community, the proposal – which will be voted on at a council meeting on Monday – has been described as “needlessly divisive” and there are fears it could stoke further anti-Semitism at a time of heightened community tension.

The vote also comes days after Lord Mayor Clover Moore made headlines for her conspicuous absence at a forum of Sydney mayors who signed a joint statement against violence and anti-Semitism.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

Liberal councillor Lyndon Gannon said the boycott proposal “needlessly stokes division” and has called for the council to instead focus on its core responsibilities such as maintaining footpaths.

“We shouldn’t be debating the anguishing dilemmas of the world which we have no influence over – Hamas is not listening to us, Hezbollah is not listening to us,” he said.

“We’re a local government and we should be focusing our attention on servicing the people of Sydney.”

Sydney City Liberal councillor Lyndon Gannon has expressed his opposition to the motion.

Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory said the move could also isolate Jewish residents in the community.

“The proposers of this idea have an exaggerated sense of self-importance – perhaps they would be better suited to applying for a role with the United Nations rather than in a local council,” he said.

A council report stated its current policies prohibit investments in financial institutions involved in human rights violations which “may include the illegal occupation of the settlements in Palestinian territories and the supply of weapons”.

The motion would expand the protocol to monitor the United Nations register before making investments or signing contracts.

An initial review by council staff has found none of its current investments or contracts have been made with companies named on the United Nations register.

The motion will be voted on at a meeting at Sydney Town Hall on Monday.

Speaking at a public meeting this week, Ms Moore broadened the motion to condemn the alarming rise of anti-Semitic as well as anti-Islamophobic attacks in Sydney.

She said councillors had a “very challenging” decision to consider before voting on the proposal on Monday.

But days out from the vote, the motion has also already sparked divisions as Pro-Palestine and Jewish speakers clashed on the issue during a tense meeting convened by the council this week.

City of Sydney Greens Councillor Matthew Thompson has spoken in support of the motion.

Michelle Berkon called for the council to act on the motion, claiming Israel was a “colonial ethno-state” which has “no intention of abiding by international law”.

Sydney lawyer Mark Friedgut, a member of the Jewish community, condemned the proposal as “immoral” and an “anti-Semitic act” which singles out Israel.

“It constitutes a disgraceful attempt to throw fuel on the fire of the very dangerous anti-Semitism that is spreading like wildfire in Sydney at the moment with real life consequences,” he said.

Greens councillor Matthew Thompson said the council could become the first in Australia to act on the boycott movement which he claimed would be a move towards “peace and justice” in the Middle East.

The City of Sydney’s motion has been likened to a 2011 proposal by the former Marrickville council which considered a similar boycott and divestment strategy involving Israel in 2011.

However, the idea was ultimately abandoned after a council report showed the boycott would cost ratepayers at least $3.7m.