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Ali Kazak

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Ali Kazak (Arabic: علي القزق) was a senior Palestinian diplomat. He is now the Managing Director of Southern Link International a business and investment consultancy and public relations company. He is the founder of the Australia-Arab Affairs Council and Palestine Publications.[1] [2]

Ali Kazak
Ali Kazak addressing the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia 18.2.1987
Personal details
Born(1947-03-00)March 1947
Haifa, Palestine

Early Life

Kazak was born in Haifa, Palestine, in 1947. Palestine was under the British Mandate, and the Zionist underground terrorist organisations - the Haganah, Irgun and the Stern Gang, comprising European Jewish settlers - had already began their armed take-over of Palestine in order to establish a Jewish Zionist state.

Kazak and his mother were amongst the more than 900,000 Palestinians ethnically-cleansed from their properties and homeland by the Zionists in 1948. He was then about ten months old. They took refuge with relatives in Syria. His father survived the exodus of 1948 and was among the 30% of the Palestinians who managed to remain in their ancestral home. For the next four years his parents tried continuously to be reunited through the International Red Cross and other legal bodies, but to no avail.

Finally, at great risk Kazak’s mother crossed the border on foot at night together with a guide and other families similarly split, to rejoin her husband in Haifa, believing that once she was back in her own country she could not be legally deported and that the authorities would allow her son to rejoin his parents through the International Red Cross. However, following her arrival safely back home, the Israeli forces discovered the guide, who under torture, revealed the names and the whereabouts of the people he had brought back and Mrs Kazak was arrested in the early hours of the morning and detained her without charge or trial for 47 days in the Jaffa women’s jail, then they deported her to Lebanon. [3] [4]


Kazak grew up in Syria as a Palestinian refugee away from his country and father whom he did not see for 48 years.

He was nine years old when Israel, along with France and England attacked Egypt and occupied the Gaza Strip in 1956. At the age of twenty he witnessed another wave of Palestinian refugees, resulting from Israel's 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He received his tertiary education at the College of Commerce, Damascus University. In 1968, while at Damascus University, Kazak was invited to join the Palestine National Liberation Movement (Fateh) which was at the time underground and which is now the largest party within the PLO.

Kazak immigrated to Australia in 1970. He became active in defence of the Palestinian people’s human and national rights. [2]

Early History in Australia

Kazak was the founder, publisher and co-editor, with his close friends Frans Timmerman and David Spratt, of the well-known newspaper in Australia Free Palestine (1979-90).[5] [6] He was also the publisher and editor of Background Briefing (1987-93)[7], the book The Jerusalem Question (1997)[8], which was translated into Portuguese and reprinted in Brazil, as well as other booklets and publications on the Palestine question, and penned the Palestinian entry in the Encyclopedia of the Australian People put out by the Australian Government to commemorate Australia’s bicentennial in 1988[6]. He also organised a number of Palestinian political and cultural exhibitions throughout Australia.[9] [10] [11]

He was the founder and the driving force behind the establishment of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign on 30 May 1981 in a number of states in Australia (VIC, ACT, SA, WA and QLD) and in New Zealand's major cities, and other Palestinian community groups.

His activities in defending his people's rights were recognised in 1981 with his appointment by the PLO Executive Committee as the PLO's representative to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.

Diplomatic Mission

 
Received by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia H.E. Bill Hayden on 29.5.1990

In 1982 he established the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Australia under the name of the Palestine Information Office, which was recognised by the Australian government in 1989 as the office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, and then further recognised in 1994 as the General Palestinian Delegation.[12]

During a speaking tour of New Zealand in early 1982, Kazak met with the Foreign Minister Warren Cooper, which was the first official meeting with a PLO official by the NZ Government.[13] [14] [15] In 1982 Kazak led a delegation to the Middle East, comprising parliamentarians, clergy, academics and journalists from both Australia and New Zealand. It was the first-ever Arab-led delegation and was followed by other parliamentary delegations. [16]

Kazak was the first Arab official to visit the South Pacific countries in 1985.[17] [18] [19] He has been received by consecutive heads of governments, prime ministers and foreign ministers in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.[20] [21] [22]

His efforts were crucial in gaining recognition by the Republic of Vanuatu (1985), Papua New Guinea (1994) and East Timor (2004) of the State of Palestine and the establishment of full diplomatic relations with these countries. Kazak presented his credentials as the non-resident Ambassador of Palestine to the Republic of Vanuatu on 19 October 1989 [23] [24] and to the Democratic Republic of East Timor on 2 March 2004.[25] He was also Ambassador-designate to Papua New Guinea (1994-2006).[26] [27]

 
Receiving the 20th Anniversary of Independence Medal from the President of Vanuatu, Rev. John Bani, on 30.7. 2000

Kazak was awarded the 20th Anniversary of Independence Medal by the president of Vanuatu, Rev. John Bani, on 30 July 2000, becoming the first Middle East ambassador to receive such an award throughout the Pacific and Australasian regions.

In May 1986 Kazak became the first person to call for adjudication by the Australian Press Council of untrue and stereotyped reporting of Palestinians by an Australian media outlet. The case was upheld by the Press Council in its adjudication of 27 August 1986.[28] This was followed by other cases in which the Palestinian people were vilified by the media.[29]

 
Meeting with Mordechai Vanunu and Bishop Riah Abu Assal in Jerusalem 2005

Kazak has presented three comprehensive submissions to the first, second and third inquires of the Federal Parliament's Human Rights Sub-Committee in 1992/93, 1993/94 and 1998/99 respectively, as well as a further submission to the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee’s inquiry in 2000 on Australia’s relations with the Middle East. He has also been invited to appear at the committee's public hearings.[30] [31] [32] [33] [34]

He has addressed and represented Palestine at numerous national and international conferences and forums. He was also invited to speak at international forums such as the (United Arab) Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research’s symposium ‘Australia and the Arab World’ in 2009, and has written articles in the mainstream Australian and international media. Kazak has appeared on national and international television and radio programs.

Kazak played a major role in obtaining the release of NZ hostages captured by the Iraqi army in Kuwait in 1990 and taken to Baghdad.[35]

In the late 1990s Kazak initiated the establishment of the NSW State Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group (1998), the Australian Federal Parliamentary Friends of Palestine (1999), the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Palestine (2002) and the South Australia Parliamentary Friends of Palestine (2003) and the New Zealand Parliamentary Friends of Palestine (1999).

Following to the Declaration of Principles in 1993 Mr Kazak was able to re-enter his homeland in June 1995, where he was reunited with his father for the first time in 48 years in his birthplace, Haifa.

He is married with two daughters and two sons.

See Also

Papers of Ali Kazak, 1974-2008 [manuscript], National Library of Australia, http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2344151

References

  1. ^ “Managing Director – Profile”, Southern Link International, [[1]]
  2. ^ a b “Ali Kazak becomes JWM associate”, JWM, 10 Sept. 2006, [[2]]
  3. ^ “Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied”, Arab News, Riyadh – Saudi Arabia, 10 Dec. 2004, [[3]]
  4. ^ “Who Is Responsible-the Jews or the Zionists?”, Arab News, Riyadh – Saudi Arabia, 28 July 2004 [[4]]
  5. ^ Free Palestine, Published by A. Kazak, Melbourne, 1979 -1990, ISSN 0157 – 3845
  6. ^ a b The Australian People; An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins, General editor James Jupp, Angus and Robertson, Australia 1988, P730
  7. ^ Background Briefing, Published by A. Kazak, Canberra, 1987 – 1993, ISSN 1034 – 9189
  8. ^ The Jerusalem Question, Edited by Ali Kazak, Published by General Palestinian Delegation, Canberra, 1997, ISBN 0 646 28747 8
  9. ^ [[5]]
  10. ^ “Treasures of Palestine exhibition”, Power House Museum, 17 Oct. 2003 – 26 Jan. 2004, www.powerhousemuseum.com/previous/palestine.php - Cached
  11. ^ “Treasures of Palestine exhibition”, South Australia Museum, 3 Dec. 2004 – 30 Jan. 2005, [[6]] & [[7]]
  12. ^ “Questions without notice – Palestine Liberation Organisation”, Parliament House of Australia, Senate Hansard page 297, 2 March 1989, [[8]]
  13. ^ “PLO beckons MPs”, The Dominion, New Zealand, 4 May 1982, P2
  14. ^ “Palestinians’ image concerns visitor”, The Star, New Zealand, 28 April 1982. P3
  15. ^ “The Case for Palestine”, by Vernon Wright, NZ Listener, New Zealand, 15 May 1982, P 18-19
  16. ^ “Emit receives fact-finding mission”, Daily Gulf Times, UAE, 11 Oct. 1982, front page
  17. ^ “Pacific tour”, Free Palestine, Melbourne – Australia, May-June 1985, P9
  18. ^ Official communiqué of the Vanuatu Government, Port Vila – Vanuatu, 9 May 1985
  19. ^ “Envoy in Fiji to state the Palestinians’ case”, Fiji Times, Suva – Fiji, 14 Mau 198
  20. ^ “Questions without notice – Palestine Liberation Organisation”, Parliament House of Australia, Senate Hansard page 1433, 30 May 1990, [[9]]
  21. ^ ‘Recognition of States - non-recognition of "Palestine" - status of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Australia’, Australian Year Book of lnternational Law1990, P 236 - 237, [[10]]
  22. ^ “Howard meets Palestinian delegate”, ABC News, 11 Jul. 2003, [[11]]
  23. ^ Vanuatu recognised PLO”, Vanuatu Weekly, Port vila – Vanuatu, 20.10.1989
  24. ^ “Vanuatu and Palestine establish full diplomatic relations”, Vanguard, Melbourne - Australia, 8 Nov. 1989
  25. ^ “President Xanana Gusmao to receive new Palestinian Ambassador”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release, Dili - Timor-Leste, 1 March 2004, [[12]]
  26. ^ “PLO man in for talks”, Papua New Guinea Post-courier, Port Moresby- Papua New Guinea, 1 Nov. 1989
  27. ^ Papua New Guinea, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, press release No. 89, 31 Oct. 1989
  28. ^ “Man denied right of reply, says press council”, the Age, Melbourne – Australia, 3 Sept. 1986
  29. ^ Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales Proceedings concern a complaint of racial vilification made by Mr Ali Kazak against The Australian Financial Review, 27 March 2000 www.law.mq.edu.au/.../ADT NSW Kazac v Fairfax case 2000.htm - Cached
  30. ^ See reports on these subjects by the Joint Standing Committee on Human Rights and Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
  31. ^ “Conviction with Compassion: A Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief”, Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Presented to both Houses of Parliament on 27 November 2000. 18 Nov. 2002 [[13]]
  32. ^ Australia's efforts to promote and protect freedom of religion and belief : [Joint Committee Hansard], Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade : 24/09/99 : KAZAK , Mr Ali , Head, General Palestinian Delegation Collection: Committees - ID: committees/commjnt/j0000344.sgm/0007 - Source: Joint, [[14]]
  33. ^ Australia's relations with the Middle East, Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Subcommittee : 26/02/2001 :: Joint Committee Hansard Collection: Committees - ID: committees/commjnt/4487/0005 - Source: Joint, [[15]]
  34. ^ Full report for Australia's Relations with the Middle East record of adherence to prior agreements has been either grudging, incomplete, Date: 21/07/2010 - Collection: Committees - Sub Collection: HoR Committee Reports, ID: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/Mideast/MEreport.pdf - Size: 3.3 Mb[[16]]
  35. ^ “PM, PLO talks upset NZ Jewry”, by Cate Brett, Christchurch Star, Christchurch – New Zaeland, 3.10.1990, P3
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