Proposals to beef up Australia-Israel ties
THE first outcomes of the newly formed Australia-Israel Leadership Forum were presented on Wednesday (March 17) in Canberra, with the Australian Government accepting a list of recommendations.
NAOMI LEVIN
THE first outcomes of the newly formed Australia-Israel Leadership Forum were presented on Wednesday in Canberra, with the Australian Government accepting a list of recommendations.
Handed over by Australia Israel Cultural Exchange chairman Albert Dadon, the recommendations cover defence, trade and health issues. They were accepted at Parliament House by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also wrote a letter saying he believed more cooperation between the countries was possible in the areas listed.
In terms of enforcing these recommendations, Dadon said it was up to future leadership forums to monitor their progress, but ultimately it relied on the governments.
“The onus is on both governments,” the founder and chairman said. “As there will be more editions of the forum, other issues will be addressed and the onus will fall wherever there is a need of rebalancing.”
He added the proposals represented “a wonderful opportunity for the Australian and Israeli governments to get the relationship back on track”.
Among the proposals nutted out by the leadership forum, which included the deputy prime ministers of both Australia and Israel — Julia Gillard and Silvan Shalom —was that the two countries work harder towards a free trade agreement (FTA).
It argued that the sticking point between the two countries, agriculture, should be overcome and a feasibility study commenced.
“This is myopic policy-making,” the statement said. “In Israel, agriculture represents a negligible amount of gross domestic product. If it was not included in an FTA, Australia would not suffer, and yet because of this stumbling block both countries are missing out on the multiple benefits of an FTA that are self-evident.”
On military matters, it recommended the Australian Defence College (ADC), should take one Israeli officer every year for training.
“We believe that the inclusion of Israeli officers in the ADC program would be of great benefit to both Australia and Israel. Two countries with such warm bilateral relations should also have reciprocal military success.”
However, there was no call for the Israeli Defence Forces to take Australian officers.
The statement also called for more collaborations in various areas, and recommended that an Israeli expert in Bedouin health, Professor Rivka Carmi, help Australia with indigenous health issues.
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