Is Carr's Lakemba Mosque declaration policy on the run?

But the signatories went even further in making it very clear that Jews had the legal right to live in the West Bank:

The legality of Israel's presence in the area stems from the historic, indigenous and legal rights of the Jewish people to settle in the area, as granted in valid and binding international legal instruments recognized and accepted by the international community. These rights cannot be denied or placed in question. This includes the 1922 San Remo Declaration unanimously adopted by the League of Nations, affirming the establishment of a national home for the Jewish People in the historical area of the Land of Israel (including the areas of Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem) as well as close Jewish settlement throughout. This was subsequently affirmed internationally in the League of Nations Mandate Instrument, and accorded continued validity, up to the present day, by Article 80 of the UN Charter which reaffirmed the validity of the rights granted to all states or peoples, or already existing international instruments (including those adopted by the League of Nations).

Who in DFAT provided Senator Carr with legal advice that failed to even consider these highly relevant international legal instruments?

Both Senator Carr and Mr Rudd have so far failed to disclose when the Labor Party adopted this contentious and controversial policy before it was announced at the Lakemba mosque.

Whilst Senator Carr makes no apologies for this policy - the Labor Party has clearly not made its decision after carefully considering all the relevant international law dealing with the issue.

Repeating the mantra that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal in international law may bring the Labor Party crucial votes - especially in tightly held Labor marginal seats where large Moslem populations reside.

But this policy could also prove electorally damaging if it was made on the run without any detailed policy formulation to enable it to stand up to the intense scrutiny that every piece of policy announced by any party must inevitably be subjected to from the media, the voters and affected interest groups.

The Lakemba Mosque Declaration smacks of political opportunism thrust onto an unwitting and unprepared Labor Party on the steps of the mosque.

Senator Carr and Mr Rudd now need to answer four questions well before voting day:

1. On what date was the Lakemba Mosque Declaration adopted as Labor Party policy?
2. Who were the persons present when such policy was adopted?
3. What international law was relied on to enable the Labor Party to "say unequivocally" that Jews had no legal right to live in the West Bank?
4. Is the Labor Party prepared to review its policy in view of the flawed advice given to it by DFAT?

The ECAJ, ZFA, AIJAC, the Opposition and the media should all be demanding those answers.

Senator Carr's controversial Lakemba Mosque Declaration has clearly upset many voters - who find it abhorrent that the Labor Party should unapologetically espouse a policy that denies Jews have the legal right to live in their biblical, historic and legally sanctioned homeland.

Policy on the run is certainly a recipe for electoral disaster.