Abbott attends London conference
Political leaders from Israel, Australia and the UK have met in London.
Albert Dadon. Ehud Olmert and Bernie Ripoll photo: Danielle Manson
Australian Opposition leader Tony Abbott, Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Minister for Homefront Security Avi Dichter and Sir Malcolm Rifkind were among the high-profile politicians and powerbrokers at a major conference of Australians, Israelis and British in England this week.
The Australia-Israel-UK Leadership Dialogue, founded and chaired by Melbourne-based businessman and philanthropist Albert Dadon, brought almost 50 leading opinion makers and shakers to London for a two-day off-the-record conference at the House of Commons.
Among the issues debated in the tri-lateral dialogue were Iran, the UN vote on Palestine, the Arab Spring and the BDS campaign.
Dadon said the idea for the conference was to discuss “issues of mutual strategic interest” and to help delegates understand the “difficulties facing our democracies”.
Dadon, a Melbourne business identity, founded the Leadership Dialogue in 2009 between Australia and Israel. In January, at the Leadership Dialogue in Jerusalem, he included British delegates for the first time.
Among the Australian delegates in London were Labor MPs Michael Danby, Mike Kelly and Bernie Ripoll and Liberals Kevin Andrews, Josh Frydenberg, George Brandis, Kelly O’Dwyer and Christopher Pyne.
Joining Olmert and Dichter among the Israelis were MKs Ronnie Bar-On, Nachman Shai and Ronit Tirosh. Silvan Shalom and Avi Dichter had to return to Israel early.
The UK delegation included John Spellar MP, James Arbuthnot MP and Stuart Pollak, the director of the Conservative Friends of Israel.
This is the sixth edition of the Leadership Dialogue, with previous sessions held in Australia and Israel. It is the first time it has been held in Britain.
Murray, Murray, Murray
Get you facts correct before posting comments, especially on here. Most of us know our ‘stuff’ unlike you and your mates over the AFP or one of those groups. Don’t believe the garbage they force feed you.
Let’s take it one by one.
“What democracy holds a nation under an illegal military occupation for 45 years?”
Let me have a guess at that one. Currently. North Korea? Pakistan?
If per chance you are referring to Israel you are wrong. There is no occupation in Gaza. Israel withdrew unilaterally in 2005. The Jewish population weren’t too happy about it and were pretty much forcibly removed. Until the trouble caused by Hamas, Jews and Arabs co-existed.
Gaza is completely ruled by Hamas who seized power in June 2007. Search ‘Battle of Gaza’ because I know you won’t believe what I say. That’s the norm. I’m used to it
By the way FYI ……………Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, terrorists have fired more than 8,000 rockets into Israel. Over one million Israelis are currently living under threat of rocket attacks.
Let’s put this into perspective. If NSW was firing on average 3 rockets daily into Victoria, what do you think Victoria would do about it?
I’m damned sure they wouldn’t just sit on their hands and let it happen for years on end as Israel does, before retaliating.
“The Gaza Strip is the most crowded area in the world today, with 1.5 million Palestinians,”
Again facts, facts get them right
Gaza is around number 50 in the world. Most likely closer to 55-60
It has a population of 1,657 @ 4,603 per sq. klm
Way out leading the pack is
Chennai pop. 4,681,087 @ 26,903 per sq. klm
Incidentally Tel Aviv has 7,524 per sq. klm and Jerusalem has 6,045 per sq. klm.
“most of whom are refugees banned from returning to their homes in Israel”
I doubt there are too many people alive now, who fled at the insistence of their own leaders, in 1948, with the promise they would return when the “Zionist entity” had been annihilated.
People not born in Israel are not Israeli. You have to be born in a country to claim citizenship of that country.
All well documented in the Arab press. Israel urged the Arabs not to leave. Again all well documented
One link for you, which is an independent one.
http://emperors-clothes.com/docs/haifa.htm
“ – eking out an existence in a walled-in holding pen on the edge of the Mediterranean making it the world’s largest open air prison with a total blockade controlled by Israel.”
Wow, since when do prisons have 5 star hotels, spas, beauty salons, night clubs, shopping malls and more, and until not long ago a water park which Hamas destroyed because they weren’t happy with men and women mixing in public.
Gaza has 9 Universities –PRISON?
They recently held a Technical Expo.
Again do a search for hotels in Gaza. They are truly spectacular and luxurious
Here is page after page of photos of your prison
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=583c59e4a1a7920f7a729fab61d83657&t=1145941&page=14
http://www.israelmuse.com/2010/11/pic-pictures-of-real-gaza-album-2.html
Roots Night Club http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_puiuvWHQ4&feature=player_embedded
“The West bank fares no better.”
Have you been there? If not, you aren’t in a position to make comment. I have.
Shechem the correct name of the city called Nablus, by the Arabs is a beautiful city much like Gaza.
Plenty of fine hotels and eating establishments.
The West Bank of Jordan has 13 Universities
“As for illegal settlements; The dominant view of the international community is that the existence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights is in violation of international law”.
Unfortunately there is so much misinformation out there, that the gullible swallow it.
Firstly the so-called settlements occupy around 2% of Judea and Samaria and in any future peace deals with the Arabs they will be compensated. Even the good old anti-Israel BBC agree with that on their information web site .
Don’t think the Arabs will ever make a peace deal because they won’t, their Charters call for the obliteration of Israel, as do the war cries of pro-Palestinian murder squads in this country. You know “From the river garbage” And not while Khaled Meshal vowed to use military force to build an Islamic Palestinian state on all the land of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
There is nothing illegal about housing being built on unowned land.
Six months prior to the Israeli government building anywhere, the intention to build is advertised, in order for anyone holding title deeds to any land to come forward. Any disputes go before the Court. Any building in the Golan Heights is entirely legal. It was taken in war and for security.
Coalition support for Israel is values-based as “the only mature pluralistic democracy in the Middle East” and therefore, enduring. says Tony Abbott. Mature democracy?? Nonsense!! What democracy holds a nation under an illegal military occupation for 45 years?
The Gaza Strip is the most crowded area in the world today, with 1.5 million Palestinians, most of whom are refugees banned from returning to their homes in Israel – eking out an existence in a walled-in holding pen on the edge of the Mediterranean making it the world’s largest open air prison with a total blockade controlled by Israel. The West bank fares no better.
As for illegal settlements; The dominant view of the international community is that the existence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights is in violation of international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention includes statements such as “the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.
The Palestinians are witnessing the cruel face of Zionism
Who invited a crook like Olmert who has been charged and convicted in Israel of fraud and still faces further charges. Have the organisers gone completly mad? I would not trust Olmert with a barge pole!
THese people should have met in Jerusalem Israel not in the anti semitic UK.
What good does this forum have when they are all unelected – its like the Geneva Peace initiative over again. If Dadon is so concerned let him go to live in Israel
It’s nice to see our next PM among our Israeli friends.