Government ‘disconnected from reality’
Liberal Leader Peter Dutton said the government, in pursuing votes in inner city seats dominated by the Greens, has “abandoned Israel”.
Australian Jewish leaders have slammed today’s move by Australia to join 156 other countries passing a resolution calling for Palestinian statehood and for Israel’s to rapidly withdraw from the “Occupied Territories”.
Carried 157-8, the resolution described Israel as “the occupying power” and called for adherence to “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent state”.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “The government’s decision to once again distance itself from the US, our closest ally, as well as its own long-standing positions—shared by the Rudd and Gillard Governments—is deeply concerning.
“This shift reflects a foreign policy approach increasingly disconnected from both the reality on the ground and Australia’s broader national interests.
“The Biden Administration recently highlighted the UN’s ‘clear and persistent institutional bias’ against Israel, which undermines efforts to advance peace. It is perplexing and disappointing that our government refuses to acknowledge this undeniable reality.
“These resolutions do not make one single mention of the hostages; it is fundamentally contradictory to talk about peace without calling for the unconditional release of over 100 hostages who have been sitting in the dungeons of Gaza for more than 420 days. These resolutions won’t bring about peace, all they do is reward terrorism.”
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein stated, “This is a resolution that puts many obligations on Israel but asks nothing of the Palestinians. It is woefully one-sided – which is why, for more than 20 years, Australian governments of all stripes have always voted no, or abstained.
“And this year it was made even more radical, with new demands Israel must unilaterally withdraw from all disputed territory as soon as possible without any negotiations and pay compensation to the Palestinians. This makes the government’s decision even harder to comprehend.
“By promising the Palestinians everything they want without imposing any obligations on them whatsoever, this resolution is simply a recipe for further conflict, not peace. The only way to reach peace is through negotiation and compromise between the parties.
“This resolution does nothing to acknowledge that Israel needs a willing partner for peace, and nothing to require the Palestinian Authority be reformed or Hamas be marginalised, both of which Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong has said are essential. It is therefore clearly against the conditions Senator Wong has said are necessary for a two-state peace.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve come to expect half-hearted explanations by the Foreign Minister that she didn’t like some of the paragraphs in a resolution but voted for it anyway. These don’t make sense when the resolution is so directly at odds with what she has stated are the minimum requirements for peace. Further, it is odd that Australia’s ambassador to the UN said voting for this resolution doesn’t prejudge the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, when this resolution does exactly that. The government can’t have its cake and eat it too.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion KC said, “This is a shameless pursuit of a domestic political agenda that puts Labor’s aspirations in vulnerable seats ahead of historic and principled support for a democratic ally.
“It makes a mockery of Labor’s pledge to the ECAJ before the last federal election to ‘never play domestic politics with Australia’s foreign relations’. The ECAJ was also told that ‘Labor is a strong supporter of the State of Israel and that will never change’.
“Few people in the Jewish community or wider community would see Labor as having fulfilled that commitment. For some time now, this government has been chipping away at bipartisan support for Israel and a negotiated end to the conflict. After this latest significant shift, there is very little left.”
Liberal Leader Peter Dutton said the government, in pursuing votes in inner city seats dominated by the Greens, has “abandoned Israel”.
Noting Australia’s vote today places Canberra even further at odds from traditional ally the US, Liberal shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham said the Albanese government’s new position “will only please terrorists and autocratic states who initiated the barbaric attacks of 7 October 2023. They send completely the wrong signals.
“Despite promising before the last election that there was no difference between the major parties on issues related to Israel, the Albanese government keeps creating new points of difference. It’s simply broken promise after broken promise as the Albanese government has dropped or changed numerous Australian positions.”
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