‘Counter-productive’ motion

A MOTION passed at Victorian Labor’s conference over the weekend calling for federal recognition of a Palestinian state during the current parliamentary term has been described as “counter-productive and frankly juvenile” and “based on ignorance”.

The AJN understands two Palestine motions were initially on the agenda before being pulled. One was subsequently put back as the last item of business and passed due to the left faction having the numbers.

It calls on the federal Albanese Labor government “to recognise the Palestinian State within the term of this Parliament, joining with 138 countries … which have already done so”.

The AJN also understands the Prime Minister’s office intervened in an attempt to preserve Labor’s current federal stance on the issue, however groups including the left-aligned unions pushed back on that effort.

Member for Macnamara Josh Burns spoke against the motion.

“I didn’t agree with the substance of the motion which is why I spoke up and voted against it,” he told The AJN.

“The motion is non-binding and has no impact on the ALP national conference platform that will be negotiated in August.”

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus noted that the last two ALP National Conferences before Labor was elected “accepted that this could only be a decision for government”.

“Peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved by looking at one issue in isolation and there can be no lasting solution that comes at the expense of either Palestinians or Israelis,” he said.

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong reiterated that the government “is committed to a negotiated two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders”.

“Viewing the conflict from just one perspective will not achieve peace,” the spokesperson said.

Independent Member for Wentworth Allegra Spender said she would speak to Senator Wong about the issue. “It’s disappointing to see the Victorian Labor Conference pass this motion but reassuring to know that this is an internal party resolution that’s not binding on the government,” Spender told The AJN.

“Now is not the time for Australia to change its position and recognise Palestine. Australia needs a steady policy. We should all work towards peace, and recognising Palestine would damage our relationship with Israel, an important ally, without moving us any closer to a peaceful resolution. I am taking my concerns to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.”

Asked about the motion at a Tuesday press conference, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said had he been there he wouldn’t have voted for it.

“My position on Israel has been very consistent and clear. It’s not always popular, but it’s my view and it won’t change … Israel has every right to be safe and secure in well-defined borders. And if you want peace, you need a partner for peace.

“Without a partner, then this is all just words. We all want something better for that region. Motions at state conference won’t get us there.”

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein called the “counter-productive and frankly juvenile motion” a setback to the peace process.

“The Palestinians have settled on a long-term strategy of subjecting Israel to continuous terrorism, while demonising it at all available international fora. They hope to ultimately replace Israel with a Palestinian state rather than have one live in peace alongside it,” he said.

“The motion states that 138 other countries have recognised Palestine, but omits the crucial fact that Sweden is the only Western democracy to have done so, while most of the others did so in the context of the Cold War, when they did not recognise Israel.”

The Australian Financial Review said on Sunday that according to its sources, the change on the Israeli-Palestinian issue could have been part of a deal for Victorian Labor’s left faction – which supports Palestinian recognition – to pull a motion criticising the AUKUS defence pact between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, which it opposes.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim said there is “more than a hint of suspicion” that the passing of the resolution was, “at least tacitly, the quid pro quo for deferring a damaging internal party debate about AUKUS”.

“We may never know for certain,” he said.

“What we do know is that many of the same elements inside the ALP who are pushing for unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state are also behind the moves within the party against AUKUS.”

He added, “The push from some quarters within the ALP to recognise a Palestinian state is based on ignorance and demagoguery.

“There is no organisation that is capable of asserting its authority over the Palestinian people, and the territory they claim, and forming a provisional government. For good reason, none of Australia’s closest allies recognises a Palestinian state – not New Zealand, nor the UK, Canada or the US.”

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “From its support for terrorism, its rejection of negotiations and its promotion of vicious antisemitism, the Palestinian leadership actively undermines peace.

“By calling on the federal government to reward this behaviour with diplomatic recognition, the Victorian Labor resolution implicitly celebrates this.”

Zionism Victoria president Yossi Goldfarb questioned who would be recognised if federal Labor heeded the call of its state branch – the “corruption-riddled regime” of Mahmoud Abbas or “the genocidal, terrorist organisation” Hamas.

“Pre-empting the outcome of negotiations will only embolden the corrosive forces that are hell-bent on destruction and violence while muffling the voices that call for peace,” he said.

The Zionist Council of NSW said rewarding Palestinian intransigence “perpetuates the cycle of conflict”.

Even the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre weighed in on the motion. “It is true that support for a two-state solution is waning but the main culprits are the leaders of the PA and terrorist movements including Hamas and Islamic Jihad who in word and deed target civilians for murder and mayhem and who are killing the hopes of peace one bullet at a time,” SWC associate dean and director of global social action agenda, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said. “If parties and democratic nations want to contribute peace, they should tackle terrorism first.”

A federal government source told The AJN there was no AUKUS link.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was also contacted for comment, but did not respond by press time.

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