Prospects for restoring Labor’s commitment to Israel are good

From Isi Leibler,  September 8, 2013:

A Friendlier Australian Government

Australia’s election results are good news for the Israel-Australia relationship.
Labor party incumbent Kevin Rudd, who held office for less than three months following a coup against former PM Julia Gillard, lost in a landslide, bringing an end to six years of Labor Government. Rudd is a political chameleon who abandoned Australia’s long-standing pro-Israel position when he previously served as Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010.

The victorious Tony Abbott of the center-right Liberal party is an outspoken friend of the Jewish State. He has pledged to improve relations with Israel, toughen the government’s approach toward terrorist organizations and end financial support for organizations connected to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign against Israel.

These results therefore represent a sea change in Israel-Australia relations. Before assuming office in 2007, Prime Minister Rudd portrayed himself as a Christian Zionist. But in office, he launched a campaign to downgrade Australia’s relationship toward Israel. He reduced Australian support for Israel at the UN and adopted policies akin to those of hostile European countries.

Julia Gillard, who displaced him in 2010, made efforts to revive the friendly relations with Israel. But after Bob Carr was appointed as Foreign Minister in March 2012, the relationship again began to decline.

Carr, a former State Premier, was a founding member of the parliamentary Labor Friends of Israel and had previously been considered a friend of the Jewish community. However, in 2003, he awarded the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian propagandist Hannah Ashrawi, and since then has become increasingly critical, insisting that he understood better than Israelis what was in their best interest.

After visiting Israel in August 2012, Carr intensified the campaign to solicit support for Australia’s UN Security Council candidature by cozying up to Arab governments, even sending a delegation to Iran.

Distancing Australia was obviously crucial to win the Arab vote and he succeeded in compelling Prime Minister Gillard to reverse her decision to vote against accepting the Palestinian Authority as a member state at the UN General Assembly, stating: “I don’t apologize for the fact that Australia has interests in the Arab world. If we had voted no, that would have been a heavy blow to our interests in over 20 countries. The truth is they all see this as a bedrock issue.”

Foreign Minister Carr stunned the Australian Jewish community a few weeks ago when he told Moslems at a Sydney mosque, “I’ve been to Ramallah, I’ve spoken to the Palestinian leadership, and we support their aspirations to have a Palestinian state in the context of a Middle East peace…we say unequivocally, all settlements on Palestinian land are illegal under international law and should cease.”

Australia’s Jewish community leaders condemned the statement and the AIJAC, the Australian Jewish lobby equivalent of AIPAC, accused Carr of having “altered a long-standing bipartisan policy in Australia by repeatedly asserting a contentious and disputed legal claim…which…potentially undermines progress towards a negotiated two state resolution to the conflict.”

Australia’s long-standing friendship with Israel dates back to Australian troops serving in Palestine in both World Wars. From 1948 until recently, both the Labor and Liberal parties consistently allied themselves with the Jewish state (the only major aberration was Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s hostility during the Yom Kippur War).

Both parties also supported broader Jewish concerns. In 1962, Australia became the first country in the world to raise the issue of Soviet Jewry at the UN, condemning anti-Semitism and calling for the right of Jews to emigrate. Successive governments made major global contributions towards ameliorating the plight of Soviet Jews. Australia was directly involved in efforts to rescind the infamous 1975 UN resolution that equated Zionism with racism. It also served as an intermediary for Jewish leaders seeking to promote diplomatic relations between Israel and Asian countries.

Australian Jewry, which numbers approximately 120,000, includes the highest proportion of Holocaust survivors of any diaspora community and is one of the most Zionist Jewish communities in the world. 15,000 Australians – more than 10% of the entire community - have made aliya and strengthen the relationship.

The “Lucky Country” enabled hard working Jewish immigrants, many of whom were penniless Holocaust survivors, to prosper. Whilst a Jewish underclass exists, a number emerged to become the leading commercial and industrial giants in the nation, many of whom were appointed to prominent roles in public life including two Governor Generals. The immigrants created a thriving Jewish cultural and religious community establishing a broad range of Jewish day schools ranging from Chabad to Reform.

Community leaders are united and do not hesitate to confront their government when they consider it biased or guilty of applying a double standard against Israel. The community can take much of the credit for its country’s historic support for Israel.

Traditionally, most Jews tended to support Labor rather than the Liberal party which was originally perceived as being aloof towards Jews and even anti-Semitic. However this has changed in recent years and Jews are more inclined to direct their support according to individual economic and social predilections.

This week’s election is a case in point. Even though Israel was not a major electoral issue, it is believed that because of the government’s hostility toward Israel, Australian Jewish voters went even further than the general public in expressing a broad lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rudd and the Labor leadership.

The community came out strongly for the Liberal party and Tony Abbott, who has been Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives since 2009. Abbott has been a passionate friend of Israel since his first visit to the country as a young man and subsequently as an MP prior to being elected leader of the party. He is a protégé of former Prime Minister John Howard, recognized as having been one of Israel’s greatest champions amongst world statesmen. It is anticipated that the new government headed by Abbot will foster robust support for Israel on par with that of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

It is also ironical that, whereas the former Labor Government abandoned Israel in order to procure Arab support for its candidature to the UN Security Council, the Arabs will have effectively guaranteed the appointment of what will in all likelihood be the most pro-Israel government on the Council.

The Australian Jewish community leaders now face the challenge of restoring Australia’s bi-partisan policy towards Israel.

Jewish organizations, particularly AIJAC, must focus their efforts on restoring ties with Labor leaders. Despite the powerful influence of 500,000 Moslems in a number of key electorates, most Labor MPs retain positive attitudes the Jewish state and the prospects for restoring Labor’s commitment to Israel are good.

Bookings about to close for JBD/Honest Reporting Israel Mission 2013

 

After you watch these testimonials by 2012 participants, you won’t hesitate to book for this year’s Mission,

November 18-26 inclusive.

 

See this itinerary for an idea of what’s in store.

 

 Mission Cost is $3600

(excluding airfare  - we can recommend an agent)

 

Places are STRICTLY LIMITED.

Email benmenashe@nswjbd.com

Australian Greens Resolutions on Israel/Palestine

From Australian Greens Resolutions on Israel/Palestine [emphasis added]:

Principles
The Australian Greens... :

...1.3 recognise the ongoing injustice that has been done to the Palestinian people and aim to rectify that injustice ...

1.4 oppose Israel's ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories and the expropriation of Palestinian land and resources for its settlements

...1.7 reject violence and its promotion, particularly against civilians, whether perpetrated by a state, an organisation or individuals...

Goals
The Australian Greens will work for:

2.1 the removal of Israeli settlers and Israeli security and military forces from the Palestinian territories

2.2 the termination of the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the establishment of a secure and viable state of Palestine alongside Israel, based on 4 June 1967 boundaries with both states sharing Jerusalem as their capital

2.3 a just and practical negotiated settlement of the claims of the Palestinian refugees that provides compensation for those who are unable to return to their country of origin...


Short Term Targets
3.1 The Australian Greens call for:

● the establishment of an international commission under the auspices of the UN to effect a settlement of the conflict, in accordance with the above principles and goals...

3.2 As preliminary steps to the achievement of the goals, the Australian Greens call for:

● the immediate end to all acts of violence against civilian populations, including state targeted assassinations...

● the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Israeli military from all Palestinian cities, towns, refugee camps, surrounding areas and transport routes, allowing freedom of movement of Palestinians within the West Bank and Gaza

● the immediate freezing of all Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories (including natural growth) and the simultaneous commencement of the repatriation of the Israeli settlers from the Palestinian territories

● an associated withdrawal of Israeli security and military forces from the areas evacuated by the settlers

● the immediate dismantling of the separation wall

● the deployment of an international peace keeping force endorsed by the commission to: monitor the implementation of the above preliminaries by the parties ...

● The Australian Greens ...specifically recognise those Israeli soldiers who have refused to serve in the occupied territories.

Israel/Palestine March 2010
Adopted by National Council, March, 2010

Given the continuing disregard by Israel of calls to halt settlement expansion in the occupied territories including East Jerusalem:

The Australian Greens:

1. Call upon the Australian government to halt military cooperation and military trade with Israel;

2. Reiterate our call for the immediate freezing of all Israeli settlement activity in the Palestinian Occupied Territories

3. Call for the removal of existing Israeli settlers and Israeli security and military forces from the Palestinian territories...

5. Reject violence and its promotion, particularly against civilians, whether perpetrated by a state, organisation or individuals...

Secular Party of Australia: Opinion on Middle East

From an opinion piece from President of the Secular Party of Australia, John Perkins:

...A Middle East solution

It is uncomfortable to refer to religions as delusions, but this is an uncomfortable reality. Beliefs persist in spite of contradiction with facts. Delusions can be harmful. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Middle East. Archaeological evidence shows that there was no Prophet Abraham and no Exodus. There is no Promised Land and there are no Chosen People.
It seems that in the Middle East, not only is the conflict founded in delusion, but that the solutions commonly proposed are also delusory. This applies  to the proposed two-state solution. The so-called road map to peace is in reality a road map to nowhere. This is not just because the conception of a Palestinian state that the current Israeli position would allow amounts to such a limited grant of sovereignty that no responsible Palestinian authority could be reasonably expected to accept. It is because even if a viable independent Palestinian state could have been established, which unfortunate Israeli “facts on the ground” have now prevented, there is simply no way that this would have permanently resolved the underlying grievances.
The Holocaust against Jews was the greatest crime against humanity ever committed in history. Resulting feelings of injustice and guilt led to the formation of the state of Israel. Prior impetus to realisation of the Zionist dream was given by the Balfour declaration and a similar U.S. Congressional resolution which stated in part “it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which should prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christians and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine”. This part of the bargain has never been honoured.
The concept of a nation that seeks to define itself in terms of its ethnic or religious identity, as Israel does, is an anachronism and is at variance with universal secular values.
The only possible long-term solution to the Middle East problem, consistent with principles of honesty, compassion, freedom and justice, is a unitary secular state in which all people have equal rights. This will perhaps require a degree of compromise that all sides will find painful to accept.
A Jewish homeland does not necessarily require a Jewish state, nor is a Jewish state the best long-term guarantee of Jewish security. In the proposed unitary secular state, no religion should be presumed of superior authenticity and no rights or privileges should be granted on the basis of claimed ethnicity or religious belief.
The primary obstacles in achieving this solution are firstly the Judaic beliefs that presume exclusive territorial entitlement, and secondly the irreconcilable Islamic beliefs that also necessitate superior claims to territory. The key to dissipating this irreconcilability is simply to put forward the proposition, which is impeccably based in reason, that some of the beliefs on which the conflict is based are false, unnecessary, undesirable, harmful, and based on little more than ancient mythology...

Only the wilfully blind could fail to implicate the divisive force of religion in most, if not all, of the violent enmities of the world today. Without a doubt it is the prime aggravator of the Middle East.
Those of us who for years have politely concealed our contempt for the dangerous collective delusion of religion need to stand up and speak out...

Policy Statement on Israel by the Rise Up Australia Party

Further to our recent posting of responses to ten policy questions - focusing on issues of special interest to the Australian Jewish Community and friends of Israel - from the Australian Labor party and the Liberal/National coalition, readers of this blog will be interested in the following excerpt from the Policy Statement on Israel by the Rise Up Australia Party:

HISTORY

Throughout its history Australia has had good international relations with Israel. Australian troops played a significant role as part of the British forces in the area in WW1, especially the Light Horse at the Battle of Beersheba.  The ANZACs also contributed greatly in WWII.  ...  However, there has been a trend in the 21^st century by many in Australian politics to reverse or weaken this long-standing relationship.

 

POLICIES

1.         Democracy

Rise Up Australia Party (RUA Party) supports governments that rule by democracy and allow freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press over those that do not.  Israel is the sole functioning democracy in the Middle East and we applaud its decision to allow Arab citizens who had been in the land for as little as two years to become citizens when it first became a sovereign State in 1948 and that some of these citizens have served, or their descendants now serve, as members of the Israeli parliament...

 

2.         Israel and the United Nations

RUA Party would restore bipartisan support for Israel which was damaged when Australia abstained rather than voted against the recognition of a Palestinian State on November 29, 2012 at the United Nations General Assembly.

RUA Party deplores the bias of the United Nations which has passed over one hundred resolutions against Israel since 1948 whilst virtually ignoring Arab aggression and many world-wide human rights atrocities. Despite being the only functioning democracy in the Middle East, Israel routinely faces more criticism and condemnation at the United Nations than any other country.

 

3.         The Two-State Solution

RUA Party upholds that the two-state solution was already formulated last century when the Ottoman Turkish Empire was divided after WW1. ...the territory known as Palestine was divided between the residents (known as Palestinians) allowing for a future homeland for both Arab and Jewish citizens.  The area east of the Jordan River, comprising 77% of Palestine, where the residents were largely of Arab descent, was named Transjordan, and in 1946, this became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.   The area west of the Jordan River, comprising 23% of the territory of Palestine, where many Jews had returned and settled was allocated to the Jewish Palestinian population for their future homeland. In 1948 this became Israel.  We therefore believe that the Palestinian State already exists as the country of Jordan.  This is the two-state solution.

...RUA Party deplores the attitudes of Arab nations to use ‘refugees’ as political pawns.

 

4.         The Peace Process Failure

RUA Party believes that Israel should not further negotiate land-for-peace deals unless the Palestinian organisations and surrounding nations formally recognise Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation in their midst ratifying this legally and in a binding manner.

RUA Party will not support any country or people group engaging in ‘peace’ talks with Israel (in English) while its leaders call for Israel’s destruction, summon their people to war, and train their children in aggression against Israel (in Arabic).  RUA Party will call for transparent media reporting of the facts in these matters.[

 

5.         Israel has the right to defend itself and live within secure and defendable borders

RUA Party supports Israel’s right to defend herself against aggression, including reasonably foreseeable potential aggression, and to do whatever is necessary to keep its people safe from terrorist or military attacks. RUA Party questions the continual and aggressive use of the term “occupied territories” in reference to land that was taken in defensive military operations in retaliation for war being imposed on Israel, or ongoing attacks from its Arab neighbours.

 

6.         Trade relations

RUA Party would encourage and promote trade relations with Israel.  Australia has much to gain from Israeli inventions and ingenuity especially in the fields of medicine, physics, water management and hi-tech computer technology, and can also learn much about the absorption of people from many different ethnic backgrounds.

RUA Party opposes the anti-Semitic actions of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and its efforts to cripple the Israeli economy.

 

7.         Jerusalem as Israel’s Undivided Capital

RUA Party upholds Jerusalem’s right to be the undivided capital of the Jewish people.  It will call for Australia to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, move Australia’s embassy to Jerusalem and call other countries to do the same.  

...RUA Party considers that the current Muslim focus on Jerusalem is politically motivated rather than religious.  During the years of Muslim domination of Jerusalem from 637AD to 1917 by various Islamic groups (except for the Crusader period of 1099 to 1187), the city was never made a capital city and barely developed.  Jerusalem has only been considered a major Muslim pilgrimage centre since it was captured by Israel in 1967....

 

8.         Religious Freedom and Holy Sites

RUA Party recommends that Israel be given and retain governance over all holy sites within her borders.  When Israel has oversight, freedom of religion and access for international pilgrims has been assured for all religions.

RUA Party calls for the Jewish people to be allowed free and safe access to their holiest site, Temple Mount, and other Jewish holy sites in the land, and for unrestricted access for local and international pilgrims to Christian sites.

Israeli compassion amidst the atrocities

From Times of Israel, August 28, 2013, by Dave Sharma, Australian ambassador to Israel:

As the world’s capitals and leaders discuss how to respond to last week’s chemical weapons attack in Damascus – the most repugnant in a series of atrocities committed in the war that is raging in Syria – it can be easy to lose sight of the daily human toll this conflict is extracting. Though Damascus is only some two hundred kilometres from Jerusalem (or shorter than the distance between Canberra and Sydney, as I tell my Australian friends), the conflict in Syria can feel like a world away.

But in the town of Safed in the north of Israel, better known as one of Judaism’s Four Holy Cities, the front-line of the conflict in Syria feels very close. At Ziv Medical Centre, without fanfare or publicity, they are treating a steady and growing stream of wounded Syrians from the conflict. Some 72 Syrian patients have been admitted to Ziv Medical Centre since February.

Ambassador Sharma visiting Ziv Hospital in Safed, with his wife and baby

Tuesday, August 17, 2013

When I visited earlier this week, 15 hospital beds were being used to treat such victims, the youngest a girl of only eight. They have harrowing stories and horrific injuries. Suffering from shrapnel and bullet wounds, burns and crush injuries, they have somehow managed to limp to the border with Israel, from where they are then transferred to Ziv Medical Centre. On admission they are malnourished, fatigued and traumatised. Many have lost family members. But they are immensely relieved. If they had remained in Syria, the extent of their injuries means most would have died or been left permanently incapacitated.

At Ziv Hospital they get the best medical care on offer to any Israeli, from surgeons and physicians who are quite literally the best in their field, having authored textbooks on the treatment of injuries from armed conflict. On the day I visited I saw how doctors had managed to save the leg of an 8-year old girl from amputation by use of some of the most advanced surgical techniques and injury treatment protocols. A 15-year old girl whose leg was amputated in Syria had been fitted with a prosthetic limb. Against the odds, the doctors at Ziv had managed to save her other leg. This girl was now learning to walk again, taking her first steps.

Arabic-speaking doctors, nurses and social workers are all available to communicate with the Syrian patients and help ease their anxieties. They are provided time and space to recover and rehabilitate and supplied with basic provisions, including clothes and toiletries donated by generous residents from Safed. The multi-ethnic staff at Ziv Hospital – drawn from the Jewish, Arab and Druze communities – reflect the diversity of Israel. They are dedicated and compassionate professionals driven by a profound sense of humanitarianism. They do not stop to ask the patient’s nationality or religion as she is wheeled into the emergency theatre in a critical condition. They simply do their utmost to save life and treat injury.

Ziv Hospital is a profound example of humanity and decency at its most compelling. It is Israel at its very best, and a side of Israel that the world too rarely sees or acknowledges. With all the tales of human woe and misery that continue to emerge from Syria, such small stories of hope should be cherished.

Australia/Israel Review - September 2013 - Pre-election Edition

AIR's September edition focuses on the federal election campaign, and publishes responses to ten policy questions - focusing on issues of special interest to the Australian Jewish Community and friends of Israel - from the Australian Labor party and the Liberal/National coalition to provide a unique voter resource allowing direct comparison. The questions were on the following topics:
1. Australia's relationship with Israel
2. Australia's role in Israel's quest for peace with its neighbours; Voting on Israeli-Palestinian issues at the UN
3. Response to Iran's clandestine nuclear program; Future options
4. Counter-terrorism policy;  Security costs for the Jewish community
5. Legal status of Hezbollah in Australia
6. Education reforms and funding for independent Jewish schools
7. Response to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel
8. Laws against racial hatred; Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act
9. Preserving and enhancing Multiculturalism
10. Immigration and asylum seeker policy

(Click on the links above to read each question in full along with the answers from both the ALP and the Coalition. Or to read the whole feature from the beginning, click here.)

 

Also see AIR’s exclusive guide to some of the political fringe parties running in this election - noting the worrying views and policies that stand behind some of the more obscure acronyms voters will find on their ballots. View Article.