Jamal Rifi slams ‘bullying’ tactics ahead of ‘Friends of Burke’ political launch
Lebanese Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi says anti-ALP campaigners did not have a ‘monopoly’ on caring for Gazans, ahead of his ‘Friends of Burke’ launch.
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Lebanese Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi has slammed “bullying tactics” by activists ahead of his “Friends of Burke” launch, saying anti-ALP campaigners did not have a “monopoly” on caring for Palestine or Gazans.
It comes as tensions within the southwest Sydney Muslim community about federal Labor’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and Palestine manifested itself at last Saturday’s NSW local government elections and looked set to simmer until the next federal election.
Dr Rifi will launch his Friends of Burke political movement in southwest Sydney on Thursday night, which has pledged to help re-elect Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in Watson amid an anti-ALP onslaught.
The launch will be headlined by the group’s patron, former NSW premier and foreign minister Bob Carr, one of Labor’s strongest pro-Palestine voices.
Anti-Labor activists, supporters of The Muslim Vote campaign and independent Watson candidate Ziad Basyouny have claimed Dr Rifi’s group amounts to “treason”, promising to disrupt Thursday’s launch.
A message circulating among Muslim community WhatsApp groups on Wednesday titled “Treason in our community” urged supporters to spam the hosting venue’s social media pages to showcase “anger with its backstabbing” and call the owners directly to demand they cancel the “treasonous launch”.
There are also concerns about a protest presence on Thursday, with the local police area command already notified about the situation and that potentiality.
The owner of the restaurant, which The Australian has chosen not to name, has already fielded calls from activists, who were told the launch would not be cancelled.
Dr Rifi has pledged to mobilise hundreds of volunteers across an informal network to campaign and doorknock to re-elect Mr Burke and Jason Clare in neighbouring Blaxland, saying the pair had been longstanding advocates for the community, and Palestine, who would have more scope in government to push for change than an independent backbencher.
He said he was “disappointed but not surprised” with the latest antics.
“But they know that with me, and the people who support me, their tactics won’t work,” Dr Rifi said. “With them, it is their way or the highway. That’s very sad to me, as our community has always thrived on having different points of view within it.”
Dr Rifi has frequently criticised the “bullying tactics” from disparate groups looking to oust Labor, and Mr Burke in particular, criticising their harassment but adding they were wrong to believe he and others were “less pro-Palestine” than them.
“They claim that they are defending the interests of Palestine and Gazans specifically – they can’t have a monopoly on that,” Dr Rifi said.
“Those who are speaking and attending the launch are no less pro-Palestine than them.”
The activists alleged the “Cronies of Phony Tony Launch” was run by “gatekeepers” who were more interested in being close to power, something Dr Rifi called naive, saying his group were more focused on “getting results” rather than having a member sitting on the backbenches.
“Our school of thought is that it’s better to engage with government and not jettison our friends in the corridors of power,” he said.
Dr Rifi said his opponents were welcome to exercise their democratic rights, but criticised their attempts to silence others or harass a local business, urging people to be respectful.
“They’re living in an echo chamber … they’re politically naive, we’re focused on getting results,” he said, adding that his group was launched partly to allow Mr Burke to focus on his new portfolios.
The Australian does not suggest that the calls to disrupt the launch came from the leadership of either The Muslim Vote or Dr Basyouny’s independent campaign, just that their supporters had been promoting it.
Wesam Charkawi, the convener of The Muslim Vote, and Dr Basyouny were contacted asking if they would distance themselves from such tactics but The Australian did not receive a response before deadline.
It comes after an anti-Labor vote at the NSW local elections looked set to strip the party of its majority on Canterbury-Bankstown Council, whose incumbent ALP mayor was a strong pro-Palestine voice and which takes in parts of Blaxland and Watson.
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