Angus Taylor elected Liberal leader
New Liberal leaders backed as longstanding supporters of Jewish community.
Newly minted Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume ‘have been long term supporters of the Jewish community and the state of Israel,” Member for Berowra Julian Leeser told The AJN this week.
Taylor was elected Liberal Party leader, with Senator Hume his deputy, after a 34-17 spill motion against predecessor Sussan Ley last Friday.
“I stand determined and ready to serve the Australian people, because Australia is worth fighting for,” Taylor, whose grandmother was Jewish, said.
Leeser said Taylor’s trip to Israel last year to participate in the Australia–Israel Strategic Dialogue “gave him a deep and contemporary understanding of the issues Israel faces,”
He also thanked Ley for her leadership, “particularly in the wake of Bondi” and for the friendship she has shown to the Jewish community.
“I will never forget the transformative trip Sussan and I took to Israel where we visited Sderot and Kibbutz Nahal Oz which were attacked on October 7,” Leeser said.
The Jewish MP has retained his shadow education portfolio and also taken on indigenous affairs under the new leadership team.
Congratulating Taylor and wishing him “every success”, Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Peter Wertheim said he is a “longstanding friend” of the community and Israel.
“We also thank outgoing leader Sussan Ley for her steadfast friendship and support of our community during a period of unprecedented challenges and tragedy,” he said.
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) also congratulated Taylor and Hume, while also thanking outgoing leader Ley “for her steadfast support and leadership”.
“Throughout these challenging times, Mr Taylor, Senator Hume and Ms Ley have shown consistent and principled solidarity with the Jewish community in the fight against antisemitism, especially after Bondi, and have been unwavering in seeking to preserve and strengthen the long-standing Australia-Israel alliance,” AIJAC said in a statement.
“We look forward to maintaining our engagement with all of them, as well as the Government, and continuing to strengthen our already strong cooperation in these important efforts.”
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said Taylor “has long been a true friend of the Australian Jewish community and a strong supporter of Israel and the enduring relationship between our two democracies”.
“We thank the Hon. Susan Ley MP for her longstanding friendship with the Australian Jewish community,” he continued.
“Susan has consistently shown genuine engagement and moral clarity, and stood with our community in the difficult days following the Bondi tragedy, offering compassion and solidarity when it mattered most.”