The federal Opposition has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of destroying Australia’s relationship with Israel, as Jewish community leaders urge both governments to step back from a spiralling diplomatic war of words.
Liberal senator Michaelia Cash said Mr Albanese had caused a “foreign policy humiliation” following his government’s announcement that Australia would recognise Palestine next month.
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has destroyed Australia’s relationship with our long-standing close ally Israel,” Senator Cash said.
“This is a foreign policy humiliation and diplomatic crisis of Mr Albanese’s own making. Mr Albanese should act immediately to begin repairing this vital relationship.”
Her comments came after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Mr Albanese “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews” — a furious response to Mr Albanese accusing him of being “in denial” about the Gaza war.
The standoff drew an unusually blunt intervention from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), which wrote directly to both leaders condemning the “gratuitously insulting” and “provocative” remarks.
ECAJ president Daniel Aghion said it was unseemly for an Australian prime minister to depart from diplomatic norms, but also warned that Mr Netanyahu’s comments showed a “woeful lack of understanding of social and political conditions in Australia.”
“These comments have played straight into the hands of opponents of Israel and antisemites, to the detriment of the Australian Jewish community.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was also criticised after telling the ABC that “strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry.” The ECAJ said the remarks were irresponsible.
Liberal MP Tim Wilson sharpened the Opposition’s criticism, declaring: “Our Prime Minister is behaving like he’s leading a Student Representative Council, not the Commonwealth of Australia. Time to breathe, rethink and put the national interest first.”
The ECAJ has called on both governments to resolve differences through diplomacy rather than public posturing, warning the Jewish community should not be left to deal with the fallout of political point-scoring.
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