ECAJ urges Albanese and Netanyahu to end war of words

Australia’s peak Jewish body has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resolve their policy differences through diplomacy, not public insults.

In an unprecedented step, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) has written simultaneously to both leaders after days of escalating exchanges between Canberra and Jerusalem.

ECAJ President Daniel Aghion KC said the community was “dismayed and concerned” at the deterioration in relations, warning it was placing Australian Jews at risk.

In his letter to Mr Albanese, Aghion said the Prime Minister’s remarks on July 30 accusing Mr Netanyahu of being “in denial” about the consequences of the Gaza war were “excessive and gratuitously insulting.”

He added that a statement from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke that “strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up, or how many children you can leave hungry” was “incendiary and irresponsible,” particularly coming from a senior minister whose responsibilities go directly to maintaining social cohesion.

In his letter to Mr Netanyahu, Aghion said the Israeli leader’s comments on August 19, describing Mr Albanese as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” were “inflammatory and provocative” and revealed “a woeful lack of understanding of social and political conditions in Australia.”

He reminded the Prime Minister that no Jewish community in the world has a stronger or prouder record of support for Israel than the Australian Jewish community, as Netanyahu himself witnessed during his 2017 visit.

The letter added that “the charge of antisemitism, whether made directly or indirectly, is a serious one and never to be made lightly,” warning that careless use of the accusation only invites scepticism and undermines efforts to combat antisemitism.

The ECAJ said both leaders were guilty of abandoning diplomatic norms. It stressed that “the sum total of human wisdom would not have been diminished in the slightest if both leaders had opted for silence.”

Aghion warned that the public exchanges had “played straight into the hands of opponents of Israel and antisemites, to the detriment of the Australian Jewish community.”

The organisation said the community would not be left to deal with the fallout of a spat between two leaders “playing to their respective domestic audiences,” declaring, “This deterioration in the diplomatic relations between two countries we love is causing us nothing but pain and anguish, and we will not suffer in silence.”

The current crisis was prompted by Mr Albanese’s announcement on August 11 that Australia would recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations. The move sparked sharp criticism in Israel and the US, as well as from many in Australia.

Earlier this week, Australia cancelled a visa for Israeli MP Simcha Rothman one day before he was due to arrive on a speaking tour, citing concerns about division and social cohesion. Jerusalem protested the decision, and Israel retaliated by revoking visas for Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

The row has reverberated through both countries. In Australia, Labor MP Ed Husic has urged stronger sanctions against Israel while Acting Foreign Minister Tim Ayres has called for restraint. The Opposition has indicated it would reverse the recognition of Palestine if elected in 2028.

In Israel, critics accused Mr Albanese of betraying a longstanding ally, while Australia’s Jewish leadership warned that the escalating rhetoric was feeding antisemitism.

The ECAJ urged both governments to resolve policy disagreements through normal diplomatic channels and to use language befitting national leaders if public comment was required.

Click here to read the full letters.