Jewish organisations react to growing rift between Australia and Israel

Australian Jewish organisations have expressed concern about the potential impact on relations with Israel following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement that Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.

The decision, followed by the refusal of a visa for Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman, has triggered Israel’s retaliation and fierce exchanges between leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Albanese of betrayal, while Israel cancelled visas for Australian diplomats dealing with the Palestinian Authority.

 

Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) president Jeremy Leibler said the visa denial was inconsistent and damaging. “Holding alternative views wasn’t an acceptable reason for a democracy like Australia to reject the entry of a democratically elected parliamentarian from another country,” he told The Jerusalem Post.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Leibler also stated that Netanyahu’s comments were “entirely unhelpful and unproductive” and that he praised Albanese for acting as a “statesman.” This highlights the ZFA’s nuanced position of supporting the Australia-Israel relationship while also criticising the actions of both governments.

The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) warned that relations are now “at an historic low.” Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the Executive Director Colin Rubenstein said the Government had been drifting away from Israel since taking office, citing changes to UN voting, the reversal of recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and now the recognition of Palestine.

“Unfortunately, our government has been walking away from a long-standing bipartisan consensus on our relationship with Jerusalem from almost the moment it was elected,” Rubenstein said. He urged both countries to restore a constructive relationship.

AIJAC public affairs director Jamie Hyams told ABC Radio that Netanyahu’s anger was understandable. “As a very patriotic Australian, and also as someone who loves Israel, it breaks my heart to see our two great countries that have had such a productive and friendly relationship for so many years come to this point,” he said. Regarding the visa denial, AIJAC issued a media release calling the decision “deeply troubling” and a “disturbing precedent.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) also expressed concern. In letters to both Netanyahu and Albanese, it called the Israeli leader’s description of Albanese as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews” inflammatory and provocative.

ECAJ president Daniel Aghion warned that such rhetoric “plays straight into the hands of opponents of Israel and antisemites, to the detriment of the Australian Jewish community.” The ECAJ urged both leaders to resolve differences “through diplomacy rather than public posturing” and called for “measured and seemly language befitting national leaders.”¹⁰

Amid the political storm, the Rabbinical Association of Australasia (RAA), representing Orthodox congregations across Australia and New Zealand, issued a separate statement of support for Israel. RAA president Rabbi Nochum Schapiro said the Rabbinate may at times take “a principled and independent view.”

The RAA declared “unwavering public support for the State of Israel and its Prime Minister.” It urged Jews to strengthen Torah study, prayer, and charity during the High Holy Days. “Over the next forty days, from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur, let us each commit to adding something meaningful, however small, in each of these three areas,” the statement said.

The Union of Progressive Judaism, an affiliate of the ECAJ, declined to comment to JWire.