Labor Party’s federal electorate council for Wentworth calls for Israel to be suspended from United Nations

A grassroots Labor group, in a Sydney electorate with one of the nation’s largest Jewish communities, has called for Israel to be kicked out of the United Nations, in a move Jewish leaders have slammed as “disturbing”.

A grassroots Labor Party group, in a Sydney electorate with one of the largest Jewish communities in Australia, has called for Israel to be sanctioned by the federal government and suspended from the United Nations.

Members of Labor’s federal electorate council for the federal seat of Wentworth, in Sydney’s east, unanimously passed three motions a Jewish leader described as looking “more like they came from a jihadist terror organisation than from a mainstream Australian political party”.

The council, which is a grassroots arm of the federal Labor Party, with former Waverley mayor Paula Masselos as secretary, is responsible for organising election campaigns in Sydney’s east, along with selecting and supporting local candidates.

Meeting minutes, seen by this masthead, reveal that on November 6, the federal electorate council unanimously passed a motion calling for Israel to be suspended from the United Nations General Assembly.

The motion stated that “the Australian Government should support Israel’s suspension from the UN General Assembly if Israel fails to repeal its law banning UNRWA and continues to violate international law”.

Former Waverley mayor Paula Masselos is the Labor federal electorate council’s secretary.

The motion refers to a recent law passed by Israel’s parliament, banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees from delivering aid inside Israel and prevent it from communicating with Israeli authorities.

The United Nations itself has warned the move will have “devastating consequences” as it is the main agency delivering aid to war-torn Gaza.

In a second motion, the Labor council called on its own party’s federal government to “take concrete action to hold Israel accountable”, saying the country had “once again ignored the calls of the international community”.

“We urge the Government to review current diplomatic relations with Israel, implement targeted economic sanctions against Israeli government and (Israeli Defense Force) officials, ensure a complete embargo on two-way military trade and defence co-operation,” the motion said.

The motion also called to “increase diplomatic and material support for UNRWA” and “publicly and unequivocally defend the United Nations and all its agencies”.

In a third motion, the council stated the “Australian Government should condemn the Israeli Government for its open contravention of Security Council resolution 1882 (2009), the killing and maiming of children in contravention of international law”.

Australian Jewish Association president David Adler

The minutes resolved for the motions to be sent to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles.

Australian Jewish Association president David Adler described the motions as “ignorant, extremist” and “disturbing”.

“There is zero condemnation of Hamas terrorism and no call for release of the innocent hostages,” Dr Adler said.

“The motions from the Labor Wentworth FEC look more like they came from a jihadist terror organisation than from a mainstream Australian political party.”

Ms Masselos declined to comment on the resolutions, stating they were not hers.

However, she condemned the recent “abhorrent and unacceptable” anti-Semitism terrorising the eastern suburbs.

This masthead asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office whether he agreed with the motions and what he would say in response to the motions being passed by members of his party.

In response, a spokesman said: “The Australian Government’s position is clear and longstanding.”

Mr Albanese has been facing mounting criticism over his government’s delayed response to a spate of anti-Semitic violence in recent weeks.

He was heckled and urged to resign by angry members of Australia’s Jewish community when he visited Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, five days after it was firebombed in what authorities are now treating as a likely terrorist attack.

The Prime Minister also came under fire for being slow to label the incident a terror attack, and was photographed playing tennis in Perth a day after it happened.

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