Victorian Premier announces major medical partnership with Israel

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has announced plans for a new long-term partnership between Victoria and Israel’s leading hospitals.

She described it as a way to strengthen medical research ties and reconnect Australians with Israel’s contributions to science and healthcare.

Speaking at Melbourne’s Yom Ha’atzmaut reception on Wednesday night, Allan said her government would pursue a formal collaboration focused on medical innovation, research and patient care.

The announcement marks one of the most significant new initiatives in Victoria-Israel relations in recent years and comes amid ongoing concerns about antisemitism and changing perceptions of Israel among younger Australians.

Allan told guests that governments needed to do more to highlight Israel’s achievements in medicine, technology and scientific research.

“The solution is to talk more about Israel, the way we used to talk about Israel,” she said, pointing to Israeli advances in medical technology, including capsule endoscopy cameras, exoskeletons for people with paralysis and AI-assisted cancer detection.

She said Victoria had much to learn from institutions including Hadassah Hospital, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Technion, while also offering expertise from Victoria’s own globally recognised medical research sector.

“That’s why I’m announcing that my government will pursue a new, formal, long-term partnership between Victoria and Israel’s leading hospitals,” Allan said.

The Premier noted that some Victorian institutions already maintain smaller-scale collaborations with Israeli counterparts, including a partnership with Sheba Medical Centre signed during a visit to Israel by the now deputy premier, Ben Carroll. She said the new initiative would seek to build “something bigger and more enduring”.

According to Allan, the proposed partnership would focus on combining Victoria’s medical research strengths with Israeli innovation, helping bring new treatments and technologies from laboratories to patients more quickly.

She said such collaborations could help Australians better understand Israel’s global impact. “I truly believe it is partnerships like this, partnerships of discovery and progress, that will help Australians reconnect with what Israel has given the world,” Allan said.

The announcement formed part of a broader address in which Allan warned against judging the people of Israel solely through the actions of its government, arguing that maintaining strong people-to-people connections was essential to preserving the long-standing relationship between Australia and Israel.

The proposed partnership will require discussions with the Commonwealth government, Israeli institutions and community stakeholders before details are finalised.