Jewish leaders warn against Labor-Greens deal in Tasmania

Australia’s peak Jewish representative body has urged Tasmanian Labor leader Dean Winter to reject any governing alliance with the Greens, following inflammatory remarks by state Greens leader Rosemary Woodruff accusing Israel of committing “genocide” and calling for “the return of Palestinian lands.”

Tasmania’s state election on 20 July 2024 delivered a hung parliament, with neither major party securing a majority in the 35-seat House of Assembly. The Liberal Party, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, won 15 seats, while Labor, under Dean Winter, secured 10 or 11. The Greens picked up 5 seats, leaving both major parties reliant on the crossbench to form government.

Dr Woodruff made the comments during her election night speech in Hobart, saying: “The Greens stand with the people of Palestine, for freedom, for peace and for the return of their lands. There is a genocide happening in Gaza, and we must not look away.”

Her remarks have drawn condemnation from Jewish leaders, who warn that such rhetoric fuels antisemitism and erases the context of the war, which began with the Hamas-led massacre of October 7 that killed over 1,200 Israelis and saw more than 250 hostages taken into Gaza.

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), said any deal that brought the Greens into government would reward a party that has repeatedly vilified Jewish Australians.

“The Greens should be preferenced last in every election, local, state and federal,” Ryvchin told The Australian. “This would only uplift and reward a party that, more than any other, has consistently vilified Jewish Australians, destabilised our society, and endangered the police and elected officials.”

Mr Winter, whose Labor Party appears set to win fewer than 12 seats in the 35-member lower house, reaffirmed his position on Sunday, stating: “I won’t be doing any deals with the Greens.” Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s Liberal Party is expected to win around 15 seats, leaving the balance of power with the crossbench.

The ECAJ and other Jewish communal organisations have long raised concerns about the Greens’ positions on Israel and their refusal to condemn Hamas. In the lead-up to last year’s federal election, the ECAJ and Zionist Federation of Australia issued a joint statement urging both major parties to publicly rule out any agreements with the Greens. Ryvchin at the time accused the Greens of “laundering for antisemites at home and murderous thugs abroad.”

Dr Woodruff’s remarks have caused distress within the Jewish community, already reeling from a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents since the October 7 attacks. In December, Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue was firebombed in what authorities described as a targeted act while East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation was also victim to another attempted arson attack. In response, Jewish leaders demanded stronger action and warned that inflammatory political language was emboldening extremists.

“It’s disgraceful that the Greens present themselves as defenders of human rights while ignoring the barbarity of Hamas and the suffering of Israeli civilians,” Ryvchin wrote recently. “Such statements are not only false, they’re dangerous.”

Despite the Greens’ calls for cooperation, Labor’s stance in Tasmania remains firm for now. But Jewish leaders say the broader concern is the growing normalisation of extreme anti-Israel positions in mainstream Australian politics.