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AIJAC
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===Politicians=== Former [[Premier of New South Wales]] and [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)|Australian Foreign Minister]] [[Bob Carr]] has criticised AIJAC and pro-Israel elements within the [[Gillard government]] for exerting an unhealthy influence on Australian foreign policy towards Israel and the Palestinian Territories in his 2014 memoir ''Diary of a Foreign Minister''; contending that it hurt Australia's relations with the Arab-Muslim world. Carr also clashed with Prime Minister [[Julia Gillard]] on Israel, at one point threatening to resign unless Gillard dropped Australia's opposition to Palestinian efforts to upgrade their [[United Nations]] membership to non-member observer status.{{sfn|Carr|2014|pp=186-187, 212-214, 230-240}}<ref name="ABC 10 Apr 2014">{{cite news |title=Former foreign minister Bob Carr says 'pro-Israel lobby' influenced government policy |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-09/bob-carr-lashes-out-at-melbourne-pro-israel-lobby/5379074|access-date=22 August 2019 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |date=10 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Swan |first1=Jonathan |title=Bob Carr's texts to Gillard reveal 'extraordinary' influence pro-Israel lobby had on former PM |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bob-carrs-texts-to-gillard-reveal--extraordinary-influence-proisrael-lobby-had-on-former-pm-20140410-36dys.html |access-date=22 August 2019 |newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=10 April 2014}}</ref> In response to Carr's criticisms, AIJAC National Chairman Mark Leibler defended the group's efforts to lobby Australian Prime Ministers and rejected Carr's claims of a powerful pro-Israel lobby as a "figment of his imagination".<ref name="ABC 10 Apr 2014" /> Leibler also rejected Carr's claims that AIJAC took an extreme right wing view of Israel and reiterated AIJAC's commitment to a [[two-state solution]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leibler |first1=Mark |title=Bob Carr's 'Israel lobby' claims inaccurate, bizarre |url=https://aijac.org.au/op-ed/bob-carr-s-israel-lobby-claims-inaccurate-bizarr/ |publisher=AIJAC |access-date=22 August 2019 |date=11 April 2014}}</ref> AIJAC policy analyst Ahron Shapiro also criticised Carr for attempting to downgrade Australia's relations with Israel.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shapiro |first1=Ahron |title=Bob Carr's "slick" manipulation of the facts |url=https://aijac.org.au/update/bob-carr-s-slick-manipulation-of-the-facts/ |publisher=AIJAC |access-date=22 August 2019 |date=11 April 2014}}</ref> By contrast, Loewenstein has praised Carr for challenging AIJAC, alleging that AIJAC's lobbying activities and Ramban trips promoted a negative view of Palestinians and isolated Australia in international community.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Loewenstein |first1=Antony |title=Bob Carr was right to start a debate on the influence of the Zionist lobby |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/15/bob-carr-was-right-to-start-a-debate-on-the-influence-of-the-zionist-lobby |access-date=22 August 2019 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=15 April 2014}}</ref>
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