Comments by the leader of the Federal National Party comparing the Nazi genocide of the Jews with Israeli actions in Lebanon have outraged Israeli and Jewish community spokesmen.
Party leader Tim Fischer, who is the candidate of the Liberal/National Party Coalition for deputy prime minister, said after the Academy Award honors for the Stephen Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” that he saw “bitter irony” in the awards for the film while “the Israeli army has killed and wounded schoolchildren in southern Lebanon.
Colin Rubenstein, editorial chairman of Australia/Israel Publications, called the comments “deeply offensive and outrageous.
“To seek to make political capital out of this great human tragedy, to further a narrow and dubious foreign policy agenda, belittles the post of national party leader,” he said. “These comments are unworthy of any Australian, let alone an individual occupying senior office.”
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