Pro-Israel Christian Zionists welcome Australia’s support for Israel and recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel – but also express some concerns
On Saturday 15th December Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison announced the Australian government's new foreign policy on various Middle East issues, including the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Following an extensive review process since the Prime Minister’s announcement in October that he intended to review Australia’s policies on certain issues, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Australia’s unwavering support for the right of the State of Israel “to exist within secure and internationally recognised borders”. He went on to state that “Australia’s national interests are well served by our productive and increasingly diverse relationship with Israel. Australia has always been one of Israel’s greatest friends and I intend for that to remain the case. This is underpinned by our nation’s shared values, including our commitment to democracy and the rule of law.”
The Prime Minister condemned in the strongest possible terms “the biased and unfair targeting of Israel in the UN General Assembly”, which has become “the place where Israel is bullied and where anti-Semitism is cloaked in language about human rights. It is where Israel is regularly accused of what Rabbi Jonathan Sacks called the “five cardinal sins against human rights: racism, apartheid, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide.”
The government also restated its position that regards Hamas as “terrorists who use the Israel-Palestinian conflict as an excuse to inflict terror”, an “condemns Hamas’ activities in the strongest possible terms”.
Regarding the Israel-Palestine dispute, the Prime Minister emphasized that Australia’s policy is guided by two principles: its “commitment to a two-state solution” (“a secure Israel and future Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally recognised borders”), which it regards as “the only viable way to resolve the Israel-Palestine dispute”, and Australia’s “longstanding respect for relevant UN Security Council resolutions”.
Accordingly, the government has decided that “Australia now recognises West Jerusalem, being the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel”.
The Prime Minister stated that "furthermore, recognising our commitment to a two-state solution, the government is also “resolved to acknowledge the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a future state with its capital in East Jerusalem”,
As a result, Australia will establish a defence and trade office in Jerusalem, and only move the embassy in support of and after final status determination".
The new policy was immediately condemned by the opposition and by many in the Islamic world, and rejected by the PLO. Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat even called on Arab and Muslim countries to sever all diplomatic ties with Australia because of the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Representing a broad collective of pro-Israel Christian Zionists, Christians for Israel and Bridges for Peace welcome the announcement. The government should be commended for boldly reasserting Australia’s deeply-rooted support for the State of Israel. Recognising West Jerusalem as Israel's capital is seen to be a step in the right direction, and will hopefully lead to the moving of the Australian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in due course. This recognition is an appropriate acknowledgement of Israel's sovereign right to determine its own capital city, and simply reflects the reality on the ground that all institutions of government are located in Jerusalem.
However many of this collective voice representing Christians who stand for Israel have some concerns about the government’s distinction between "East" and "West" Jerusalem. The Australian Government's "acknowledgement of Palestinian aspirations for Statehood with East Jerusalem as capital", and the statement that the moving of the embassy will only occur as and when a State of Palestine has been established pursuant to negotiations will not assist the negotiations or make a Palestinian state more likely, because they do not address the main causes of the problem: the structural promotion of terror by the Palestinian Authority, the continued refusal of the PLO to recognize Israel as a Jewish State, the ambitions of most Palestinian groups to destroy the Jewish State and replace it with an Islamic State, and the failure of the Palestinians – notwithstanding billions of dollars of foreign aid - to create the conditions necessary for statehood.
It is a great pity that the government has recommitted itself to the “Two State Solution” as the “only viable way to solve the dispute”. The reality is that the Palestinian claims are irreconcilable with the legitimate rights of the State of Israel. Negotiation about Palestinian statehood is a dead-end street. The Oslo agreements do not require the creation of a Palestinian state, but leave open the question whether Palestinian self-determination can be satisfied by alternative means. This would have been an ideal opportunity for the Australian government to have played a leading role in helping the parties to explore alternative solutions that will guarantee both Israel’s security and the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for autonomy.
Further, the “acknowledgement” of Palestinian claims to “East Jerusalem” also prejudices Israel's position in its negotiations concerning the territorial status of Jerusalem, which is a final status issue under the Oslo agreements. Israel's position is that the whole of the city of Jerusalem belongs to the sovereign territory of the State of Israel on its establishment in May 1948. It is only because of Arab aggression that the city was divided between 1949 and 1967. The UN Security Council demanded in 1980 (UNSC Resolution 476) that foreign embassies in Israel be moved from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, following Israel's reunification of the city after the 1967 Six Day War. In Israel's view, UN Security Council Resolution 476 is based on an erroneous belief that "West" Jerusalem does not belong to the State of Israel.
Israel’s claim to sovereignty over the unified city of Jerusalem is based on the San Remo resolution (1920) and the Mandate for Palestine (1922), pursuant to which the whole city of Jerusalem became part of the State of Israel on its establishment in 1948. Further, it is important to emphasise that UN Security Council resolutions on this issue are not binding. It is also significant that Resolution 476 conflicts with the earlier Security Council Resolution 242 (November 1967), which (amongst other things) implicitly acknowledged that Israel has legitimate territorial claims to at least part of the territories captured in 1967, and its right to secure borders. The PLO and Israel have agreed (in the Oslo Accords) that the principles laid down in Resolution 242 form the basis for their negotiations. It is entitled to assert its claims to territorial integrity in its negotiations with the PLO.
While we commend the government’s commitment to the international “rules-based order”, in our view it gives too much weight to Security Council resolutions. While Security Council resolutions are important and should be treated with respect, Security Council resolutions under Chapter VI of the UN Charter are not binding, and the Council has in any event no jurisdiction to limit or compromise the territorial integrity of individual states.
For several years, Christians for Israel and Bridges for Peace have been facilitating grass roots initiatives on behalf of a much wider collective voice of pro Israel Christian Zionists liaising with the Australian government and Members of Parliament in Canberra to encourage the Australian government to recognise the unified city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. In 2017, a petition with over 8000 signatures was delivered to the Australian Parliament requesting the Australian Parliament to take immediate action to move our embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the “eternal and indivisible capital of Israel”.The petition was endorsed by Senator James Paterson, who in his maiden speech in 2016 stated: “I do not believe that the international community can continue to refuse to recognise their capital city of choice and the clear reality on the ground. It would be a symbolic but important step for Australia to formally recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city and to move our embassy there.”
