Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Hidmi originally sought to register the committee in the name Union of Agricultural Work Committees, but at the request of the Israeli authorities was asked to register it in the name the Committee of Agricultural Works. The question of translation is resolved by this. The translation we have used comes from a lawyer—a professional of 30 years, a pillar of the community and in his spare time a volunteer patrolman with the rank of master sergeant. The affidavit, made by the General Director of the UAWC, makes very clear why there was that discrepancy in names. It was at the request of the government of Israel, which has not declared this organisation a terrorist organisation, which allows it to register and operate under Israeli law. It is not proscribed by the government of Israel. That is your difficulty in this one. No matter how many postcards the boys send home to mum, that remains the fact. (Time expired)