Wednesday 23 March 2016

Australian Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter Terrorism Michael Keenan and his unfortunate phrasing


This is the Minister for Justice, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter Terrorism and Liberal MP for Stirling, Michael Keenan,  during his address to the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combatting Anti-Semitism in Berlin on 15 March 2016:
Anti-Semitism is far from being a new concept. It has a long and particularly dark history. It is a worldview that should have died and been consigned to history long ago but its resilience should continue to trouble us all.
We should also be mindful that anti-Semitism evolves. In the west you may no longer find many who would assert that Jewish people are racially inferior, and mainstream society overwhelmingly rejects outlandish conspiracy theories – but newer and subtler forms of anti-Semitism can still be found.
The extravagant attention given to the alleged human rights abuses in Israel while similar atrocities in other countries remain unheard of should ring alarm bells.
All countries here today are working to tackle this important issue and Australia is no exception.
It would appear that the minister is of the opinion that alleged human rights abuses in Israel are indeed atrocities, but that mentioning them in the press is a closet form of anti-Semitism by mainstream media journalists and editors.
Or is he just the victim of his own clumsy phrasing?

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