In the
diplomatic debacle at the United Nations General Assembly pertaining to the vote
of recognition to the Palestinian Authority, two countries considered solid
supporters of Israel, abandoned us at the crucial moment.
Israel was
shocked when Germany abstained, especially as Chancellor Angela Merkel had
stated earlier that Germany would vote against the Palestinian
initiative.
The other
unexpected defection was the last moment abstention of Australian Prime Minister
Julia Gillard’s Labor government, considered a strong supporter of
Israel.
On a few recent
occasions, votes by Australia at the UN appeared to deviate from the norm, but
this was rationalized as temporary pandering to the Arabs to solicit votes for
elections to the Security Council.
The dramatic
tilt against Israel was spearheaded by Foreign Minister Bob Carr who exerted
enormous pressure on the Labor caucus and compelled Prime Minister Gillard to
backtrack from her decision to oppose the Palestinian initiative. Had she not
complied, she would have been humiliatingly defeated and possibly toppled as
Prime Minister.
Carr was
vigorously supported by former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, at one time one
of Israel’s greatest supporters, notorious (whilst inebriated) for having called
on Israel to “nuke” the Palestinians if they failed to halt the terror. Hawke
was intimately connected to Israel’s Labor leaders but after Menahem Begin was
elected Prime Minister in 1977, he changed his views and today regards Israel as
“intransigent”. He was supported by another veteran Labor politician, former
Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, who since retiring from government has been
consistently canvassing the Arab cause. Both fervently lobbied Labor ministers
to repudiate Gillard’s policy.
Carr was only
appointed to his post in March this year. Prior to that he had served for 11
years as Premier of Australia’s largest state, New South Wales.
Ironically, he
was once considered a close friend of the Jewish community. He is knowledgeable
about Jewish affairs and has a genuine and sensitive understanding of the
Holocaust. In 1977, he was a founding member of the Labor Friends of
Israel.
He subsequently
became a passionate admirer of Amos Oz and appears to have absorbed much of his
far left outlook on Israeli affairs.
In 2003, as
State Premier, he dismayed the Jewish community and friends of Israel by
presenting the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian political activist, Hanan
Ashrawi, renowned for her rabid demonization of Israel.
Carr visited
Israel in August this year meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders including
Ashrawi.
On his return
to Australia, he raised eyebrows when he dispatched a delegation to Iran to
solicit votes for Australia’s UN Security Council candidature. There were also
unconfirmed rumors circulating that undertakings were made to the Arabs in
return for their support.
His backing of
Israel during the Gaza campaign was lukewarm. In the Senate, he made the
astonishing statement: “Any response by Israel needs to be proportionate and not
lead to civilian casualties. We have on more than a dozen occasions called on
both sides to exercise restraint”.
Setting aside
the moral equivalence inherent in this remark, he was effectively demanding that
Israel - which more than any army in history goes out of its way to minimize
civilian casualties - take no action to defend its citizens from missile
attacks.
He was even
more forthcoming after the UN vote when he proclaimed “I don’t apologize for the
fact that Australia has interests in the Arab world. If we had voted no, that
would have been a body blow to our interests in over 20 countries. The truth is
they all see this as a bedrock issue.” He also dismissed suggestions that the
Palestinians intended to exploit their new observer status to initiate charges
of war crimes against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
Carr’s change
of policy was confirmed when he joined the European bandwagon and hauled
Israel’s Ambassador to Australia, Yuval Rotem over the coals following Israel’s
decision to build homes in the Jerusalem suburbs and adjacent areas - which the
Bush Administration had agreed should remain within Israel.
Australia has a
long association of friendship with Israel dating back to Australian troops who
served in Palestine during both World Wars. Labor leader Dr. H.V. Evatt was UN
President in 1948 when the Jewish state was proclaimed and since then until
today - with the exception of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam from 1972-1975, -
successive Australian governments of all political persuasions, displayed strong
friendship towards Israel.
The Liberal
(conservative) government under Prime Minister John Howard, which governed
Australia for 11 years prior to Labor’s electoral victory in 2007, was
especially supportive of Israel and could be compared to the Harper Government
in Canada today.
When Howard
visited Israel in 2000, I had already made aliya and reluctantly accepted his
invitation to accompany his delegation to meet with Arafat. Afterwards he
solicited my opinion and I told him that I regarded Arafat as a duplicitous
terrorist and did not believe he had any intention of seeking a peace
settlement. I recall his response: “Should Arafat ever renege on the commitments
to peace which he conveyed today, I give you a clear undertaking that as long as
I am Prime Minister, the Jewish community and the people of Israel will never
have reason to feel that I let them down”. Howard kept his word and in
subsequent years emerged as Israel’s greatest champion amongst world
statesmen.
Labor, headed
by Kevin Rudd, gained office in 2007 and three years later was succeeded by
Julia Gillard. Under both Prime Ministers, but especially Gillard, Labor
maintained an evenhanded bipartisan approach towards Israel.
Much of this
historical bipartisanship can be attributed to a vigorous Jewish community,
renowned as being one of the most vibrant Zionist communities in the Diaspora.
Its leadership has never failed, to speak upand take a principled stand on
behalf of Israel when appropriate.
With close to
500,000 Moslems now living in Australia, many concentrated in key Labor Party
electorates, their influence has impacted on a number of Labor Ministers.
Combined with the vehement anti-Israeli orientation of the far left Labor
factions, this enabled Carr to persuade the Cabinet to tilt its policy against
Israel.
However it is
premature to totally write off the Australian Labor Party. It has a long
tradition of friendship towards Israel and many of its leaders were distressed
with recent developments. Besides, although understandably disheartened, Prime
Minister Julia Gillard remains solidly pro-Israel, reiterating her view that
this abstention was a mistake and will only serve to embolden Palestinian
extremists.
The opposition
Liberal Party adamantly supports Israel. Former Prime Minister John Howard
described the government’s tilt as “pathetic” and an “embarrassment”.
Elections are
scheduled next year and recent polls indicate that the Liberals may win by a
landslide.
But unless
Gillard succeeds in persuading the Labor Party caucus to change its approach, in
the short term Israel should not expect support from Australia under Foreign
Minister Carr. Like many of our European “friends”, Carr may continue insisting
that his motivations are based upon having the Jewish state’s security at heart
and trying to save Israel from itself. But when the chips are down, he will
abandon us as he did at the UN General Assembly
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