Australia recognises Palestinian sovereignty at UN
'It will be noticed in Washington and certainly by Australians with a connection to the conflict'
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin has slammed the Albanese government for supporting a vote on Palestinian sovereignty in the disputed territories.
The Australian reported on Thursday afternoon that the government has changed Australia’s stance in the UN, voting to recognise the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians over territories over the green line and of Arabs over the Golan Heights.
Since 2011, Australia had abstained but has just cast a “Yes” vote in a UN committee ballot, which will move forward to the General Assembly for a final vote.
It follows the re-election last week of Donald Trump as United States President, who in his first term pursued a foreign policy that was highly supportive of Israel.
“It is disappointing that our government feels the way to end the war and the wider conflict is by pressuring an ally and a democracy that has achieved peace with every Arab party willing to accept it, while asking nothing of the side mired in dysfunction, terrorism and autocracy,” Ryvchin said on Thursday.
“This shift in voting won’t change much in Israel where the nation is concerned with Hamas and Hezbollah and hostages rather than the judgements passed by our government.
“But it will be noticed in Washington and certainly by Australians with a connection to the conflict, which may well be the point.”
Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) president Jeremy Leibler said the change in position signals a “troubling detachment from reality” and puts Australia “out of step” with key allies, including the United States and Canada.
“This is nothing less than an abandonment of Australia’s ally, the only democracy in the Middle East, at the very time it is fighting an existential, multi-front war against Iran and its proxies, which began with Hamas’ unprovoked and barbaric attack of October 7, 2023,” he said.
“It is unprincipled for the Albanese Government, at this time, to cast Australia’s support for Palestinian sovereignty, before the removal of Hamas and Hezbollah. This rewards terrorism and the enemies of peace.”
According to The Australian, Australia also changed its vote to “Yes” on a resolution blaming Israel for an oil slick that occurred during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
“The Albanese Government claims to base its foreign policy decisions on principle, not politics,” Leibler said.
“Yet it cannot justify the sudden and dramatic shift from Australia’s own longstanding position of nearly two decades.
“This raises critical questions: Was the Government wrong a year ago? Or has it abandoned principle now? Why has it reversed Australia’s consistent stance on an issue it has upheld for almost twenty years?”
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) executive director Colin Rubenstein said Australia’s vote on the two draft resolutions “makes no sense, either in terms of the objectives of the resolutions, or Australia’s historical voting record”.
“Guided by its majority of anti-democratic countries and aided by short-sighted foreign policies from too-many Western countries, the UN’s obsession with constant one-sided condemnations of Israel has been a major factor preventing permanent peace between Israel and its neighbours,” he said. “These draft resolutions are two clear examples, and it is simply bizarre that Australia would vote in favour of them.”
Voting Yes for the Palestinian sovereignty resolution, he said, “Puts Australia at odds with our own position on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which is absurd.”
Sunshine Coast MP Andrew Wallace, who is deputy chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee and chair of the Australian-Israel Allies Caucus, called the vote another misstep in the Federal Labor Government’s record on Israel and antisemitism.
“Anthony Albanese isn’t just gutless; he is endangering Australia’s closest global partners, putting at risk decades of international friendship and nearly $1.4 billion in two-way trade,” he said.
“This resolution seeks to legitimise sovereignty on a people who demand the sovereign territory of another nation – a nation which they have sought to annihilate for over three quarters of a century. The decision flies in the face of our shared history, our bipartisan position, and most important international alliances. It’s weak. It’s shameful. And it’s proof that Anthony Albanese is not fit to lead our country.
“At first, we thought it was incompetence. Then, we thought it was wilful blindness to meet some crass political end. What we see now is that Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong, and the Federal Labor Government are waging a systematic campaign against Israel and the Jewish people.”
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong told The AJN, “Australia voted in favour of this resolution alongside more than 155 members of the international community, including the UK, New Zealand, France, Germany and Japan.
“While Australia does not agree with everything in the resolution, this vote reflects international concern about Israeli actions that impede access to natural resources, and ongoing settlement activity, land dispossession, demolitions and settler violence against Palestinians.
“We have been clear that such acts undermine stability and prospects for a two-state solution.
“This resolution importantly recalls UN Security Council resolutions that reaffirm the importance of a two-state solution that has had bipartisan support.”
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