Tony Abbott Image by getty images

A Jewish lawmaker was thrown out of Australia’s Parliament after protesting Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s description of the opposition leader as the “Dr. Goebbels of economic policy.” Joseph Goebbels was the propaganda minister for Nazi Germany.

Opposition Labor Party lawmaker Mark Dreyfus, one of three Jewish lawmakers in Parliament, jumped up to protest Abbott’s choice of comparisons, eventually being thrown out of the House of Representatives chamber. Jewish Labor lawmaker Michael Danby left with him in solidarity.

“There are no Nazis here and we shouldn’t be making comparisons with the paradigm of the ultimate evil in politics to heighten political differences,” Danby told The Associated Press. “It’s beneath him, and it goes to the question of his judgment. I think a lot of his backbench will be groaning and tearing their hair out.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Abbot withdrew the comment and apologized for making the comparison.

The comment comes more than a month after Abbott was forced to issue an apology for describing a cut in defense jobs as a “holocaust of jobs.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount