Labor candidate quits after claiming Israeli officials in Gaza made a pregnant Palestinian woman drink bleach – outraging the Jewish community
- Labor candidate Melissa Parke pulled out from the election race on Friday night
- She claimed Israeli guards in Gaza forced a pregnant Palestinian to drink bleach
- Her comments were called ‘conspiracy theories’ by Jewish community leaders
- Ms Parke said she was resigning as she did not want to distract from the election
Star Labor candidate for Curtin Melissa Parke has quit after a controversial speech which outraged the Jewish community.
Speaking to pro-Palestinian activists last month, Ms Parke described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as ‘worse than the South African system of apartheid’.
Ms Parke also claimed she ‘remembered vividly’ when ‘a pregnant refugee woman was ordered at a checkpoint in Gaza to drink a bottle of bleach’, The Herald Sun reported.
She made the comments at first-ever meeting of the Western Australian Labor for Palestine group in March and stepped down on Friday night.
Ex-Rudd government minister Melissa Parke pulled out from the Federal election race for Curtin after she made controversial comments about Israel
The bleach burned the woman’s throat and insides but her baby was saved, according to Ms Parke.
Ms Parke is a former lawyer for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and has worked in the Gaza Strip.
She said she did not want her views on the Middle East to distract from electing a Labor government.
Her speech was called ‘nothing more than a laundry list of slanders, including discredited conspiracy theories and downright falsification’ by Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein.
Ms Parke withdrew from the race for the Perth seat of Curtin, which was vacated by former foreign minister Julie Bishop.
It is considered a safe Liberal seat because it has been held by the party since 1998.
The former Fremantle MP resigned from her seat in 2016 after nine years to spend more time with family.
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein called her claims ‘conspiracy theories’