Bob Carr trades credibility for conspiracy

Former Foreign Minister and NSW Premier Bob Carr has been accused of promoting dangerous antisemitic conspiracy theories.

In a recent interview, he alleged that Jewish Australians are manipulating democracy and distorting Australian foreign policy in favour of Israel.

In the interview, broadcast on YouTube by the fringe OnePath Network, Carr claimed that the “Israel Jewish lobby” is a “foreign influence operation” and suggested Jewish organisations exercise undue control over government decision-making through campaign donations and political pressure.

He also claims, “No one else has an operation as well funded. No other country has an operation with offices in every Australian capital city.”

The OnePath Network, which describes itself as an Islamic media platform, has a track record of publishing inflammatory and conspiratorial content, including claims that the Barbie film was part of a Zionist plot, that Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli intelligence agent and that antisemitic attacks in Australia were staged. Carr’s choice to appear on the channel has raised concerns among Jewish leaders and political observers.

Carr, who co-founded Labor Friends of Israel in the 1970s and was once considered a friend of the Jewish community, has become one of Australia’s most vocal critics of Israel in recent years. However, his latest comments have drawn widespread condemnation for targeting Jewish Australians as a group.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip said Carr had “completely crossed the line.”

“It is no secret that Bob Carr is fixated with Israel and has been consumed with vicious hostility towards it for many years. That’s his right and he’s entitled to his views and activism,” Ossip said.

“But Carr has completely crossed the line with his latest dark and dangerous rhetoric. In addition to questioning the humanity of Jewish Australians, he has insinuated that there is something malevolent or sinister about Jewish Australians exercising their basic democratic right to engage in the political process.”

Carr also alleged that no other country enjoys the same level of political access as Israel does through the Jewish community and accused Jewish leaders of “conflating their desires as a community with the foreign policy making for Australia.”

Ossip rejected the claim that Jewish Australians operate through “underhanded or shadowy methods,” calling it a revival of long-standing antisemitic tropes.

“This is despicable,” he said. “Jewish Australians are proud citizens of this country who have served, contributed and died for this country since 1788. We are as entitled to have input into policy making as any other group.”

Carr’s interview did not include any reference to the October 7 Hamas attacks or the ongoing hostage crisis. Instead, he accused Israel of genocide, called for sanctions, and questioned why Jewish Australians had not condemned Israel’s military actions in Gaza. At one point, he asked, “Where’s the humanity of people in the Jewish lobby in Australia?”

His comments come just weeks before the Labor Party is due to mark the 30th anniversary of his premiership at a commemorative dinner. The timing has led to calls for the party to distance itself from Carr’s remarks.

Carr served as NSW Premier from 1995 to 2005 and as Foreign Minister under Julia Gillard in 2012–13. While his past record included strong ties with Jewish and pro-Israel groups, his public commentary for more than a decade has focused heavily on Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel.

In 2014, following the release of his memoir Diary of a Foreign Minister, he alleged that Australia’s Middle East policy had been “subcontracted to party donors,” pointing to what he described as the “extraordinary influence” of the Melbourne-based pro-Israel lobby.

His remarks sparked widespread backlash from Jewish leaders, but Carr has continued to repeat the same themes for more than a decade, accusing Jewish Australians of distorting democracy and treating criticism of Israel as a form of resistance to a powerful domestic lobby.

Jewish community leaders have warned that Carr’s recent rhetoric risks fuelling social division at a time of heightened tension and rising antisemitism in Australia. The comments also follow repeated criticism by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Carr has discredited himself and given legitimacy to some very dark theories, which will sadly fuel hatred against the Jewish community,” Ossip said. “All decent people need to call out and condemn Carr’s offensive slurs.”

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, has delivered a scathing rebuke of former foreign minister Bob Carr over his recent comments about Israel and the Jewish community. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Ryvchin accused Carr of attempting to “provoke outrage from the Jewish community to propel him back to relevance” and added, “It is a shame he didn’t exhibit such vigour during his brief and forgettable tenure as foreign minister.

As former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten remarked in 2021, when asked to comment on Carr’s statements, “I had made it a practice not to comment about Carr’s comments, because you can be here all day.”