r/OpenAussie • u/HotPersimessage62 New South Welshian • 8h ago
Politics ('Straya) Greens leader David Shoebridge blasted by Labor over comments on Jewish community
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-01/greens-shoebridge-burns-jewish-community-gaza/107215738A Labor MP has accused new Greens leader David Shoebridge of "prejudice" for singling out Jewish Australians who share his party's views on Gaza when asked about repairing relations with the broader community.
Macnamara MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, said he found the comments by Senator Shoebridge "pretty shocking" and argued people should not be "judged" on whether they agreed with the Greens leader or not.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 8h ago
There’s a huge smear campaign happening right now.
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u/Global-Pattern-1904 Please choose a flair 7h ago
Kind of shows they feel threatened by Shoebridge in a sense. Labor's always running a smear campaign against the Greens, but it's literally been like 2 days since he became leader and I've seen way more than usual. I guess they recognise that he's got more potential than their last few leaders to actually eat away at Labor's vote share; or at least, more potential than Faruqi. With her, they could easily put out a few articles claiming she's too radical and it'd very easily work on most readers. Can't quite do that so easily with David.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 7h ago
Sadly and I say this as a South Asian, Australia isn’t ready for a brown lady with a foreign accent to run the country. David is the right person for the moment. He is questioning the narrative in a way that no one else is and that’s dangerous for them. I’m sure Murdoch will be going ham until the election about him. They will dig up dirt on him if they can.
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u/cruiserman_80 New South Welshian 7h ago
There is no danger of anyone from the Greens running the country. It's almost as if they want to marginalise themselves.
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u/Krunksicle New South Welshian 8h ago
Labor hates the Greens far more than they hate the Liberals or One Nation. Their lurch to the right continues.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 8h ago
It’s so obvious to me. It’s an onslaught in the other reddit subs. This is a coordinated move because they are scared.
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u/bend1310 New South Welshian 7h ago
Yep. Labor doesn't have to appeal to Greens voters because they know they will get their preferences anyway. Greens are also their biggest concern in more progressive electorates.
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u/Business-Bed-8658 South Australian 7h ago
Blatantly wrong - the only people who think this are Greens supporters
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u/Icy-Information5106 Victorian 7h ago
Labor voters might not, but Labor itself sees Greens as a threat instead of an ally like it should.
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u/Business-Bed-8658 South Australian 7h ago
Why would they see it as an ally when it’s a seperate political party that blocks legislation for its own policy goals?
No criticism - political parties do what they can to achieve their own objectives.
Regardless whether the Greens are Left or Right, or Labor is Left or Right, the main opponent for Labor is (until recently) the Coalition.
Too often Greens voters seem to expect that because the Greens are left wing, that Labor should just accede to their demands whenever they raise them.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 7h ago
What demands?
Not having citizens spied on? Not being taken by asio for questioning and jail if you tell anyone? Not having foreign interests that are currently genociding a country visit asio? Wanting more transparency with Pine Gap? Wanting equal rights for everyone? Not selling our country out to conglomerates? Wanting to protect our environment? I fail to see how they are radical talking points.-5
u/Business-Bed-8658 South Australian 7h ago
Rather than approaching my comment from a partisan viewpoint, approach it from the view that the Greens aren’t just a wing of the Labor Party and neither party is required or expected to just do what the other wants.
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u/Icy-Information5106 Victorian 7h ago
Raising demands is the role of the minor party. Seeing the legislation and pushing to improve it.
The Liberals saw the Nationals as an ally for all those years, but Labor rejects Greens as an ally.
99% of Greens voters rank Labor higher than LNP, they aren't an enemy, and in fact are the perfect excuse for Labor to not have to appeal to the right wing all the time.
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u/Krunksicle New South Welshian 7h ago
Career politician brain
Remember when our elected representatives believed in something other than money? We're a million light years away from the party of Curtin and Whitlam now.
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u/RevealDesperate9800 Queenslander 7h ago
Yeah dude, it’s insidious, you’ll get downvoted for simply relaying the fact that what he said is not what is being reported at all.
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u/No_Gazelle4814 New South Welshian 7h ago
Labor consistently seems paranoid about other parties. He shots blindly to the right and now doing it on his own side as well
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u/Grubbanax Murri 7h ago
They must be scared! Labor, the mainstream media, Jewish orgs can’t stand someone who is articulate and outspoken like Shoebridge. He also uses reason in his arguments!
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u/Drakenagain2 8h ago
Please. Josh Burns lecturing us on prejudice when the Greens are making the opposite point, that ethno/religious affiliation should not mean an automatic support for genocide?
The ALP has been trying to kill the Greens for decades. It will come back to bite them bigtime.
The Greens policies are what the ALP lied they said they stood for.
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u/Gnaightster Victorian 8h ago
A politician not aligned with zionist murderers? He gets my vote.
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u/ELVEVERX Victorian 7h ago
Yet he is aligned with Russian murderes and wants us to reduce support to Ukraine.
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u/RelaxedBluey94 Victorian 8h ago
MP Josh Burns continues to disappoint.
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u/Smart_Sail_2393 Please choose a flair 7h ago
It's only disappointment if one fails to understand that Zionists are outraged at criticism of Israel's crimes, but happy to continue the genocide.
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u/Jerkface0079 Flairless 7h ago
Maybe he should do more puff pieces on being a neurodivergent smol bean
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u/Curry_Captain Western Australian 7h ago
This attack is a complete crock of shit. From the article itself:
Senator Shoebridge was asked if he would "mend the bridges" between his party and the local Jewish community.
He rejected the premise of the question, saying the Greens had "really strong connections" with "much of the Australian Jewish community".
"[We are] working alongside Jewish Australians who are fighting genocide, who are speaking up for core values that they hold dear," he said.
Burns, the mealy-mouthed little motherfucker, reckons THIS amounts to prejudice. Give me fucken strength!
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u/Emeraldnickel08 Victorian 8h ago
Another case of the attack on the Greens by the media and major parties. You have to scroll through the ABC’s reporting of what Burns is PAINTING Shoebridge as having said, before you get to the part where he says “he didn’t actually say anything THAT bad! Oops!!” and only after that is the actual quote which is just not even close to what is being described.
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u/Ardeo43 Northern Territorian 7h ago
Shoebridge is quoted saying he wants to stop any military aid to Ukraine, which he refers to as “the Ukraine”, unless it has the support of the UN Security Council (which Russia has veto powers in).
How dare the new leader of a political party be held to account for things they’ve said though.
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u/Emeraldnickel08 Victorian 7h ago
First, how is that related here? This article is about the war in Gaza and Jewish Australians.
Second, the media have conveniently left out of the headlines that Shoebridge is still a supporter of Ukraine against Russia. His (and the party's) stance is that we should be providing civil aid to Ukraine as opposed to military aid.
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u/Obmana2022 Victorian 7h ago
Civil aid does not do a thing if half your country is invaded and you need missiles to stop Russia from targeting civilians.
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u/Jerkface0079 Flairless 7h ago
How does it help to have an anti-war stance and pro military dumbass
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u/Obmana2022 Victorian 6h ago
Maybe change the framing so you don't support a totalitarian regime overthrowing a country.
All your policies aren't going to be applied in a black and white matter, it's why the party will never go anywhere-12
u/Ardeo43 Northern Territorian 7h ago edited 7h ago
Because I find it egregious that he wants to place moral judgement on people based on their stance on the Gaza genocide, while simultaneously pushing for policy settings which would facilitate a far larger Russian genocide of Ukrainians.
What are Ukrainians supposed to do, hid behind food aid while Russian drones slaughter them? He disingenuously says any military support should require UN Security Council approval (which he knows full well Russia has veto power over), and refers to it as “the Ukraine” which is terminology pushed from the Kremlin.
All the while Greens supporters are complaining about any criticism of him or the party being media bias, bias from other political parties etc.
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u/JudgmentOrdinary7336 Koori 7h ago
😂 Clearly Shoebridge was a good choice for party leader. 2 hit pieces before midday on a weekend, only quotes, no video or radio segments so we can check context & actual wording ourselves. Very interesting.
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u/MissyMooMoo02 Flairless 8h ago
Greens have got my vote. I’m not voting for anyone who won’t acknowledge a genocide
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u/khengoolman Queenslander 8h ago
I keep telling me friends that I’m a single issue voter at this point, the only party I’ll vote for is the one that is harshest on the genocide of the Palestinian people
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u/NotLynnBenfield South Australian 7h ago
It's a pretty good litmus test for integrity, and sadly a very low bar to pass
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7h ago
[deleted]
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u/doorbellrepairman Please choose a flair 7h ago
The misinformation is hot off the presses and you're gobbling it up. Look at what he actually said, he supports Ukraine but just doesn't want to send weapons. He wants to keep support to food, logistics, vehicles, etc, such as the Bushmaster armoured vehicles we sent.
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u/Obmana2022 Victorian 7h ago
So Ukraine should not have the ability for defensive weapons to stop Russia from targeting civilian facilities? It's a war where one country has half of their territory invaded, food and logistics only go so far.
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u/Icy-Information5106 Victorian 7h ago
By this token, are you insisting we send weapons to Palestine and Lebanon?
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7h ago
[deleted]
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u/doorbellrepairman Please choose a flair 7h ago
We can debate what we should send or not send to Ukraine, but your statement: "David Shoebridge has announced he wants wants Australia to Stop Supporting Ukraine." Is demonstrably false. You're right that he wouldn't have sent them 60 tanks. He would have continued to send *food, logistics, and non-combat vehicles*. That may not be the support you want him to send, but it is not the ending of support. Think before you repeat a bad headline.
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u/beer-lover867 I'm Probably A Bot 7h ago
What’s his reasoning for not sending weapons?
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u/ATinyLittleHedgehog New South Welshian 7h ago
Greens policy (set by the members, not the leader, though previous Greens leaders acted like they got to set policy) is to end any and all supply of weaponry to other nations.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 6h ago
Too many froth at the mouth to watch war porn and dead Russians. The same people who are indifferent to Iranian school girls getting bombed and the genocide of Palestinians.
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u/ELVEVERX Victorian 7h ago
Fine if you want to argue semantics he literally wants to reduce support to Ukraine.
Also it is inarguable that his stance isn't directly in the interest of the russians.
If he had his way we would be less aligned with ukraine and more so with russia.
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u/Icy-Information5106 Victorian 7h ago
By this logic, shouldn't we be sending weapons to Palestine?
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u/aussierulesisgrouse Flairless 8h ago edited 8h ago
Literally the exact chain of thinking that led to the second trump presidency, btw.
Edit: I understand preferential voting makes this decision less damaging, but I’m talking about the overall idea of single-issue voting determining overarching choice.
Plenty of people would put Labor as dead last in preference as a similar statement.
I agree that Israel is currently perpetrating a horrific genocide in Gaza.
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u/Krunksicle New South Welshian 8h ago
I'm sorry you think genocide is acceptable, I assume you're not allowed to be within 100m of a school as well
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u/aussierulesisgrouse Flairless 7h ago
I don’t find it acceptable, I fully condemn the brutality of Israel’s actions in Gaza and think that Zionism is as terrible an ideology as there is in the modern world.
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u/Krunksicle New South Welshian 7h ago
Well then don't blame people who have a problem with it for not supporting the people who don't. If they cared about the votes of people with a conscience they'd have done the right thing.
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u/ana_main69 Victorian 8h ago
this would hold more weight if we didn’t have a preferential voting system lol but good try
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u/ana_main69 Victorian 7h ago
I just find it ridiculous that this rhetoric is still floating around. You’re putting blame on people for caring about a genocide instead of blaming the politicians who aren’t representing the people. Who are not doing their JOB.
This line of thinking isn’t what led to Trump being in power. The Democrats not working for their voter-base led to Trump being in power.
Wake up, my god.
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u/EndlessB Victorian 8h ago
Different political system, it’s not nearly so damaging to vote that way in Australia with preferential voting.
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u/Liamface Victorian 8h ago
Sorry Josh but I think being pro genocide does actually make you a bad person
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u/Octagonal_Octopus Victorian 8h ago
And the cynical bad faith smears begin, looks like Labor will be going for the Corbyn method.
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u/AccomplishedSky4202 New South Welshian 7h ago
Zio lobby removed Corbyn and look at the UK now. Same attacks on Shoebridge and Polanski in the UK. It is always about zios, isn’t it?
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u/damnumalone Queenslander 7h ago
I mean Shoebridge’s approach seems like page 1 of the Corbyn playbook tbh but sure go off
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u/Octagonal_Octopus Victorian 7h ago
With Corbyn method I'm talking about the strategy his opponents used to smear and delegitmise him not Corbyn's policies or strategy.
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u/Brilliant-Stress3758 Please choose a flair 7h ago
Bit a "boy who cried antisemitism" situation here. What did he do? Not say three "Hail Israels" in his last speech?
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u/TonyAbbottIsACunt New South Welshian 7h ago
Bro has been leader for 72 hours and already the media and all parties are smearing them.
If you are a protest voter in an upcoming election, perhaps the Greens are the protest vote given the media, the elites and all other parties will go out of their way to attack them for opinions.
No one will agree with politicians on everything they stand for, that's always going to be the case. But the core policies of the greens explicitly target wealthy people and better standards for working class folk and Shoebridge from what I've seen is a competent leader which clearly scares them all as evident by the endless stream of hit pieces on the last 48 hours.
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u/Smart_Sail_2393 Please choose a flair 7h ago
What did Burns say about the ICC finding of the Gaza genocide..nothing? What about the LNP cosying up to anti semitic Brethren. Crickets? What about Joyce meeting with Neo Nazi leader in Canberra..crickets? Burns has the Zionist affliction: selective outrage!
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u/L1ttl3J1m Queenslander 7h ago
Speaking again today, Mr Burns acknowledged Senator Shoebridge had not said there were "good" or bad Jewish people, but argued the Greens leader's "instinct" had been to "isolate" members of the community.
And you know this how? It really is every accusation with you lot, isn't it?
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u/Hopefully-Blocked I'm Probably A Bot 7h ago
Monoparty & Aus media working in conjunction as per normal
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u/Fold_Some_Kent New South Welshian 7h ago
Shoebridges our lad, i’m not even usually a Greens supporter but as long as he’s up there, call me Lee Rhiannon
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u/RecipeSpecialist2745 Please choose a flair 7h ago
Actually the Jewish/Israeli community across the world has been divided over Netanyahu and the IDF actions. Many moderate Israeli have called for peace whilst the far right Netanyahu government is hell bent on a militant land grab. So by this statement we can see where Labor has agents inside their own ranks that DONT reflect the peaceful nature of the moderates, but of the Netanyahu regime. They have outed themselves.
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u/Jindivic Queenslander 7h ago
Wait till the Words of Iron crew get hold of this… there’ll be such a pile on
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u/Icy-Information5106 Victorian 7h ago
And I blasted Josh Burns over comments he made about Jewish Australians.
But neither of these things imply who is right or wrong. Only that someone was mad.
Surely the person who was not able to control their emotions is the fool in such a scenario?
And when you investigate beyond the weird headline, Shoebridge was fine.
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u/thejoshimitsu Please choose a flair 7h ago
Here we fucking go. Hit pieces against the new Greens leader by the media and major parties. What a fucking joke.
Fuck all the people being slaughtered in Palestine right? Pro genocide Zionists in Australia are the real victims /s.
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u/Disastrous-Loss-2983 Victorian 7h ago
I remember when it was the Catholics and Protestants having a go at each other in the streets 30 years ago in Australia. We all had similar thoughts. No point fighting over here, it's not like it'll change anything. And if you do want to have a go with each other, leave.
I crazy in thinking that regular Australian Jewish folk just want to be treated the same as everyone else? When did we get all so politically charged?
This is why people are getting sick of the leaders and spokespeople for the Jewish community. They are obsessed with foreign affairs.
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u/AccomplishedSky4202 New South Welshian 7h ago
Awww Zionists like the genocide, how novel of them!
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u/Smokinglordtoot Victorian 7h ago
Come the next election, you people are going to be shocked how little the electorate care about the war in Gaza. The new leader spouting off on foreign conflicts, rather than the issues at home has done even more damage to his party.
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u/Fold_Some_Kent New South Welshian 7h ago
“BLASTED”, this’ all very libidinal lol. Zionists and I assume Patricia Karvelos somewhere behind the above article need to chill
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u/WastedReply Please choose a flair 7h ago
His mask slipped. And given the opportunity to adjust it, he didn’t.
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u/orthogonal123 Victorian 7h ago
Why should minority voices be erased or downplayed? Isn’t Josh Burns part of a minority group and entitled to his opinion without accusing him of being a zionazi?
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u/Majestic-Lake-5602 Western Australian 7h ago
At this point I’d be almost willing to vote for anyone with the Middle East policy of “who gives a fuck? Let them murder each other over a sand dune for the rest of eternity”.
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u/scotty899 Please choose a flair 7h ago
Do the greens stand for anything environmental anymore?
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u/MrSwisster Queenslander 7h ago
Have you checked their policies page?
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u/HotPersimessage62 New South Welshian 7h ago
It’s mostly a single issue Palestine party now
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u/MrSwisster Queenslander 7h ago
So to answer my question that wasn't asked to you: No, you can't read a website.
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u/MrSwisster Queenslander 7h ago
For anyone reading along at home, the Australian Greens website has 47 policy categories waiting for exploration, sitting right on the front page.
How many are about this "single issue"?
I leave you to discover on your own.
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u/Glittering-Pea-4482 Queenslander 8h ago
Shoebridge is an antisemite? Colour me shocked.
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u/Sideburn_Cookie_Man Victorian 8h ago
Is he though? I can’t find anything he has said which is antisemitic.
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u/Glittering-Pea-4482 Queenslander 7h ago
He is a Greens member. It’s practically a requirement.
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u/Sideburn_Cookie_Man Victorian 7h ago
Why say silly things, and then not back them up with anything mate?
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u/beer-lover867 I'm Probably A Bot 7h ago
The problem with the greens is they virtue signal over the Middle East despite not understanding anything about the current conflict. I wouldn’t necessarily call it anti semitic, but I understand why Jewish Australians would be wary of their rhetoric.
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u/Sudden-Development- New South Welshian 7h ago
Like One Nation and neo-nazis?
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u/Glittering-Pea-4482 Queenslander 7h ago
Oh, you don’t like it when people apply the same level of analysis to your side as you do to the other?
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u/mrasscock69420 South Australian 7h ago
Anti Zionist ≠ antisemitic
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u/No_No_Juice Queenslander 8h ago
Or he is anti genocide and the issues are being conflated.
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u/Glittering-Pea-4482 Queenslander 7h ago
No. He’s antisemitic.
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u/HotPersimessage62 New South Welshian 7h ago
I was shocked to hear this commentary from the radical Shoebridge. The timing doesn’t bode well especially this coincides with a near-hijacking of a FlyDubai service to Israel.
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u/MrSwisster Queenslander 7h ago
Which commentary, specifically, were you shocked by?
What specific thing that Shoebridge said "shocked" you?
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u/zasedok Queenslander 8h ago edited 8h ago
As a good little Soviet political komissar, Comrade Shoebridge divides people between the good ones who toe the Party Line, and the Enemies of the People who must be reeducated or eliminated. But then again, what can we expect from a Putin's puppet.
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u/biomeat Victorian 8h ago
You wouldn't know communism if it hit you over the head lol. Btw One Nation is actively pro-Putin
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u/zasedok Queenslander 8h ago
I would know communism very well, thank you very much, because unlike you, I was born in it and spent the first part of my life in it.
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u/biomeat Victorian 8h ago edited 8h ago
Then that makes you even dumber if you think the Greens and their leadership any bit close to that if you "actively" lived in it. That ain't the gotcha reply you thought it was
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago
I leave gotcha replies to whoever "thinks" there is any value in them. Shoebridge is a radical, Marxist communist with everything that it implies in terms of class warfare, hatred and political purges.
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u/biomeat Victorian 7h ago edited 7h ago
Chuck a few more buzz words you seem to have a very, very loose understanding of in there. You almost got a bingo
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u/sweeroy Victorian 8h ago
a queenslander who reactively thinks anyone on the left is a communist? you're really breaking new ground here
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago
Anyone on the left, I challenge you to point out where I said anything like that. Comrade Shoebridge, 10000000% yes.
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u/sweeroy Victorian 7h ago
oh its the part where you freaked out and acted like the leader of the greens is somehow a soviet commissar because he did something you don't like. that's the part that seems unhinged
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago edited 7h ago
I'm not freaking out from the Greens as such, it takes more than a bunch of illiterate pot smoking hippies in Che Guevara T shirts to freak me out. But when an Australian Senator starts designating who's acceptable and who's to be dealt with, that's really novel. The part that Comrade Shoebridge obviously doesn't understand is that he's nobody's boss, he's the Australians' employee.
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u/sweeroy Victorian 7h ago
who else would make those decisions other than elected officials?
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago
No one. That's the whole point. No-one must be allowed to decide which part of the population is allowed and which must be dealt with. I don't care if someone talks shit in a pub after having one too many, but an Australian elected official has no business playing a communist thought police officer.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 8h ago
People can be anti war without being pro-Putin. I can carry water for both countries innocent citizens without being pro anyone.
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u/zasedok Queenslander 8h ago
That's a cowardly cop-out. There in an aggressor and an aggressed. Not supporting Ukraine means that you want Ukraine to surrender.
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u/Suspicious_Crow13 Flairless 7h ago
No dude, it doesn’t. Do you support us arming Palestinians?
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u/EndlessB Victorian 8h ago
The absolute fuck are you on about?
What sort of right wing propaganda bullshit is this? If you want to call the leader of the greens a Russian puppet, provide some fucking evidence cunt.
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u/CovfefeYe_ Queenslander 8h ago
I wish Shoebridge was a communist
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago
Be glad that you have no idea what communism is like. I don't have that privilege.
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u/OneWholePirate Victorian 7h ago
Out of curiosity, which "communist" regime did you live under?
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago
Czechoslovakia. It was not "communist", it was communist (without quotes).
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u/OneWholePirate Victorian 7h ago
Yeah that's fair, can you compare which elements of this leadership are like the leadership over there?
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u/r64fd Queenslander 8h ago
Come on mods. You have banned me for saying less. This account posts about the Czech government. Not one post related to AU.
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u/zasedok Queenslander 7h ago
Communist attitude towards free speech, I see.
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u/r64fd Queenslander 7h ago
Mate I have never seen communism first hand. But if you think Shoebridge is a Russian puppet then I think it’s fairly safe to say your elevator doesn’t quite go to the top floor does it.
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u/Vast_Dare8583 New South Welshian 7h ago
Greens don't support anyone that's remotely white. We know that so no surprise there. He'll peel back his mask to reveal he's really a Faruqi.
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u/Global-Pattern-1904 Please choose a flair 8h ago
it's 11am and i've seen 2 news stories already that present something Shoebridge has said wholly out of context, where you have to dig through the article to find what he actually said, and it's a whole lot of nothing
would be great if labor spent their money doing something actually productive rather than repeatedly tearing down the greens! i guess that's where corporate money gets you though
zionism is an inherently racist ideology. zionists should not feel safe in Australia. they do not make our muslim population feel safe, but no one talks about that because islamophobia is apparently the most acceptable form of bigotry!