Sussan Ley wins Liberal leadership
Her support for Israel since becoming deputy Liberal leader in 2022, contrasts with her earlier criticism.
In Sussan Ley’s first public address as the federal Liberal party leader on Tuesday she affirmed her support for Israel and Jewish Australians, and criticised the government’s approach.
“One of the biggest threats to social cohesion in this country is the Prime Minister’s approach to Jewish Australians and everything that happens overseas,” Ley said.
“We have a Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, who has let down Australia in the UN and we have a Prime Minister who is intent, it seems, on letting down Jewish Australians on the streets of our cities.”
Ley promised to “hold Labor to account” on these issues. She also remarked that while she remains a “steadfast friend” of Palestinians, she criticised their leaders for “letting them down” and for not being “interested in peace with Israel”.
“It is not a party interested in a secure Israel behind secure borders, and it is not a party interested in a just and lasting peace,” Ley said.
Her outspoken support for Israel since becoming deputy Liberal leader in 2022, contrasts with her earlier criticism of Israel in parliamentary speeches and when she was co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine.
Ley said her perspective changed following a series of developments – her visit to Israel in 2022 with Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council’s (AIJAC) Rambam program, “the hideous events of October 7”, the listing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation and the Abraham Accords.
Her leadership has been welcomed by Australian Jewish leaders.
AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein stated, “In recent years, Sussan has become a staunch friend of the Jewish community.” Adding, she has been “principled and informed in speaking out in support of Israel, especially during the current war with Hamas”.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim praised Ley’s views on the conflict. “She is right when she says Israel currently has no partner for peace in Gaza,” he stated.
“In the face of these realities Sussan Ley has rejected the reflexively antagonistic attitudes of Israel’s perennial critics. For this she deserves our respect.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler congratulated Ley on her “historic appointment” and added, “We look forward to working closely with her and her team to advance the interests of the Australian Jewish community and work together to ensure the Australia-Israel connection remains strong.”
Ley won the liberal leadership on Tuesday defeating Angus Taylor with 29 votes to Taylor’s 25 votes. Her deputy will be Ted O’Brien, the former energy spokesperson.
The member for Farrer is Australia’s first female opposition leader and the most senior woman in Liberal party history. Ley is a former environment and health minister.
The 63-year-old is a trained pilot, mother of three and grandmother of six. She was born in Nigeria to British parents, grew up in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and moved to Australia when she was 13. Ley was elected to Parliament in 2001, and in 2011 travelled to the West Bank in a trip funded by the Palestinian Authority that was not declared.
When Ley become deputy leader of the Liberal party in 2022 she said she supported the Liberal Party’s position on Israel, “We support the two-state solution. We support Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace, and we do not support the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.”
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