Vic Labor calls to immediately recognise Palestine

The Victorian Labor party conference passed resolutions on Saturday calling for the federal government to “immediately” recognise Palestine, extend existing sanctions from two Israeli ministers to all members of the Israeli cabinet and end all direct and indirect military trade with Israel.

Nick Dyrenfurth, state conference delegate for Macnamara, Australian Workers Union delegation and co-convenor of Labor Friends of Israel, put forward an alternative motion supporting a two-state solution without Hamas and called for the release of the hostages and more aid, which was not supported.  Dyrenfurth also tried to pass an amendment to the resolution calling to exclude Hamas from a Palestinian state and for the release of hostages, but it was also not adopted.

Dyrenfurth told The AJN, “The so-called emergency motion moved by an extreme element of the left, which should have been a motion all delegates could support, represented a massive slap in the face to the Albanese federal government, the Allan state Labor government, and a slap in the face to the Victorian Jewish community.

“It made one single, desultory passing reference to antisemitism after a reference to ‘all forms of hatred’ and tacked onto that ‘Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism’.  Let me be clear: Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism are real and dangerous.  But here antisemitism was decontextualised and treated with contempt.”

He added, “No Jewish Laborite was consulted in the formation of this motion which directly involved us.”

Dyrenfurth viewed the motion as an attempt to “Corbynise” the party, and said at last year’s conference he was told “sit down Zionist” and called a “mutt”, and now younger Jewish Labor members are afraid to speak.

“The movers of this motion…  have made this conference an unsafe place for Jews, and now rejected our lived experience as well as taking a selective approach to antiracism and solidarity – despite all the evidence to the contrary.  They have brought great shame and dishonour on Victorian Labor,” Dyrenfurth stated.

Former Albanese adviser and consultant Dean Sherr spoke as a proxy delegate for Macnamara MP Josh Burns – moving an amendment which was not successful, and made the case for a two-state solution without Hamas.

The AJN understands federal Labor members were advised by the Australian Federal Police not to be present during the motion on Palestinian recognition, following disruptive protests at last year’s conference.

Sherr told the AJN, “While I’m disappointed our amendments didn’t pass, it was important for our Jewish Labor contingency to have a voice and to be heard, and I was proud to stand for our Jewish Labor values.”

Resolutions to increase aid to UNRWA by $10 million and to protect the right to protest were also supported. During Defence Minister Richard Marles’ speech, a group held up their phones to show Palestinian flags.

The motions, which are non-binding, were condemned by Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim who stated, “The Victorian branch of the ALP has now demonstrated its unfitness to make any pronouncements on the Israel-Palestinian conflict,” adding, “Arab nations recently passed a resolution demanding that Hamas release the hostages and disarm immediately, but the branch refused to do so.”

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “The Prime Minister and senior members of the federal Labor government, have consistently stated that recognition cannot occur until Hamas is removed from power, all hostages are returned, and the Palestinian Authority is reformed.

“We saw… Hamas proudly release sickening evidence of the torture and starvation they are subjecting Israeli hostages to; recognising Palestinian statehood now is nothing but a reward for Hamas in the wake of October 7.  Recognition now would also set up any future Palestinian state for failure when the necessary foundations for statehood do not currently exist.”

Liberal Caulfield MP David Southwick also criticised the motions, “This is Melbourne, not the Middle East and yet Victorian Labor’s motions read like a campaign against Israel, not a plan for peace.
“When Labor endorses anti-Israel activism, it fuels racism on our streets and hate against Victoria’s Jewish community. It speaks volumes that Labor can’t even recognise the hurt our Jewish community is experiencing in the face of unprecedented antisemitism.
“No wonder [Premier] Jacinta Allan has been so weak in calling it out when her Labor membership has such hateful views.”

Following the conference, the Victorian Premier said that foreign policy remains a federal matter and that the Government supports a two-state solution.