A time for renewal, strength and resolve

At the United Nations on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong declared that Australia now officially recognises the state of Palestine.

This is in spite of all the evidence that doing so, rather than bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians, will drive its prospects further away. It is in spite of Hamas praising such an outcome as “the fruits of October 7”.

Last week, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-signed a plea with Jewish roof bodies in the United Kingdom and Canada, both also set to recognise Palestine, not to do so.

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, meanwhile, authored a comprehensive report, backed by polling, detailing why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s promises in return for statehood recognition are unlikely to be implemented.

The evidence is clear that Australia – and the other nations going down this road of folly – have made a poor decision. The decision will also have negative consequences here at home for the Jewish community, who are still waiting for any real action from the government on Antisemitism Special Envoy Jillian Segal’s report, released in July.