Peace prize choice polarises again
THE Sydney Peace Prize has again been awarded to a controversial recipient, this time going to US academic and frequent Israel critic Noam Chomsky.
THE Sydney Peace Prize has again been awarded to a controversial recipient, this time going to US academic and frequent Israel critic Noam Chomsky.
Chomsky, who grew up in a Jewish home, is known for his radical politics. He has written at length about anarchy, called the US a “leading terrorist state” and labelled Zionists supporters of Israel’s “moral degeneration and probable ultimate destruction”.
The choice of Chomsky was announced by NSW Governor Marie Bashir last week. Sydney Peace Foundation director Professor Stuart Rees said Chomsky was “one of the West’s most influential intellectuals in the cause of peace, the most significant challenger of unjust power”.
“This inspiring choice comes at a time of violence and protest around the world,” he said.
“Across the Middle East brave people challenge authoritarian rule, yearn for freedom and for a state of their own. Yet, in Australia, leading politicians are still to find the courage to craft policies, such as those affecting refugees and asylum seekers, which reflect the hopes and standards set by Chomsky’s life and work.”
Previous recipients of the Prize include Palestinian activist Hanan Ashwari, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Australian journalist John Pilger, all harsh critics of Israel.
Monash University Associate Professor Philip Mendes said the award continued a pattern of selective recognition of advocacy for peace and human rights. “Chomsky, and Pilger before him, paint a binary view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on good and bad nations,” he said.
“These one-sided arguments ignore the fact that there are many diverse refugee groups in the Middle East, including the nearly one million Jews who were ethnically cleansed from the Arab countries in the decade following the 1948 war.”
A recent posting on the Sydney Peace Foundation’s blog, written in response to US President Barack Obama’s speech on Middle East policy, said “justice for the Palestinians means security for Israel”.
The AJN contacted community leaders for a response to Chomsky’s nomination, but they declined to comment.
GARETH NARUNSKY
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