Australia takes steps to mend strained ties with Israel
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will soon travel to Israel to help mend the fractured relationship between the Albanese and Netanyahu governments.
Mark Dreyfus
Mr Dreyfus will take a week-long trip after a planned visit for the first anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack had to be cancelled when Iran launched missile strikes against Israel.
“We have people regularly visit our friends,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Tuesday.
Mr Dreyfus, who is Jewish and the descendant of Holocaust survivors, would be the first government minister to visit the nation since Foreign Minister Penny Wong went to the Middle East in January 2024.
The diplomatic relationship between the two nations has come under strain and tensions soared last December when the Israeli prime minister linked growing anti-Semitism in Australia to decisions made by the Albanese government relating to the conflict.
A spokesperson for Mr Dreyfus told J-Wire that further details will be released in due course when arrangements had been made
Asked why Mr Dreyfus was being sent, Mr Albanese said the attorney-general was an appropriate person to visit Israel and that the foreign minister had already gone.
Israel’s war in Gaza was launched after Hamas’ offensive in 2023, which killed 1200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken, according to Israeli authorities.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s retaliatory strikes according to the local health ministry, with many more missing or believed to be buried under rubble.
Independent Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps said linking rising anti-Semitism to Australia’s support for a two-state solution to the conflict was a “long bow to draw”.
She said sending the attorney-general to Israel was the right call.
“Great to see that the attorney-general’s going over there to show that we are supporting Israel and we do support a two-state solution,” Dr Scamps told Nine’s Today.
“But we do need to crack down hard on this anti- Semitism at the same time, it has no place in Australia.”
Responding to the decision made by Ice Hockey Australia to dump an international tournament over safety fears due to Israel’s participation, Mr Albanese said any form of racism should be opposed.
“We are a tolerant country that (has) got to have respect for every person, regardless of their faith, regardless of their ethnicity … and this is an unfortunate decision,” he told Nine’s Today.
Asked about anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted on a car in Sydney’s east, the prime minister said the government had taken a number of measures to crack down on the incidents.
“We’re addressing in every single way possible these issues, because we understand that it is very hurtful for the Jewish community,” he said.
Executive director of The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council Dr Colin Rubenstein, told J-Wire: “The Prime Minister’s announcement that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will soon visit Israel is very welcome, especially given that our government’s wrong -headed approach has left our ties with Israel in unprecedented disarray. We trust our highly respected Attorney-General will be given extensive briefings and first-hand evidence demonstrating that Israel is indeed fully complying with the laws of war in its battle with the savage terrorists of Hamas and the whole Iranian axis which backs them, despite the claims to the contrary. And any moves, such as this visit, which may help repair the frayed Israel-Australia relationship are to be commended.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said: “The Attorney-General should certainly visit Israel. Every senior member of our government should go there to tour the south, bear witness to the horrors of October 7, and meet with witnesses, survivors and soldiers in order to understand the evil that Israel is facing and why the defeat of Hamas and the rescue of the hostages is the moral cause of our times.
We hope that the Attorney-General returns to Australia with a newfound appreciation of why standing with Israel through this time of peril is not only the right thing to do, but in the national interest.
We expect the Attorney-General will receive some difficult questions both about Australia’s treatment of Israel through this war, and its failures in regards to domestic antisemitism. We hope that his visit marks a reset in Australia’s relations with Israel and restores what was once thought to be unshakable, bipartisan support for the Jewish State.”
Mark Dreyfus is a poor choice to send to Israel in order to patch up the alliance between the two countries due to his own adherence to Labor’s support for the Palestinians and shocking change in stance against Israel. His silence has been deafening. It’s too little too late from Albanese. In fact, it’s an embarrassment. It is to be hoped Dreyfus returns with a different attitude and is courageous enough to express it.
A just man and politician, quietly determined.