Israel Rambam Study visit returnees describe “electricity of the past”
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) recently heard from three recent returnees from two separate AIJAC Rambam study visits to Israel: Senator Andrew McLachlan, The Australian Opinion Editor Nicholas Jensen, and columnist and media strategist Gemma Tognini.
Gemma Tognini, Nicholas Jensen, Paul Rubenstein, Senator Andrew McLachlan
South Australian Liberal Senator McLachlan, a long-time supporter of Israel, described the overall impression of the issues involved in the conflict as “complex, longstanding and evolving”. He noted the power of archaeology in terms of proving thousands of years of Jewish connection to the land and reflected on the difference between the way the indigenous status of Jews is framed as opposed to how it’s treated in Australia and elsewhere.
The Senator also pointed out, based on what he learned on the trip, that the issue of incitement and hatred in Palestinian education remained “a major barrier on the road to peace”.
In terms of security, he stressed the importance of Israel’s air defence systems in thwarting asymmetric warfare .“If the Israeli government could not keep its people safe from rockets, there would be political pressure to take more aggressive action. If that counterbattery system [Iron Dome] was not in place, I think you would have a very different political dynamic within Israel.”
Furthermore, on the issue of security, he stated, “As an ex-Army officer, I took away learnings on the scale of the country. On reflection, I didn’t completely grasp how compact Israel is.” He also explained that Israel is extremely careful to limit civilian casualties and collateral damage.
McLachlan underlined the potential benefits of more youth exchange programs between Israel and Australia. “It will start to reshape the negative and unfair narrative against Israel which has been growing in Australia, particularly in universities.”
Nicholas Jensen described the Rambam study visit as presenting “a fair balance of perspectives from Israeli and Palestinian speakers and a broad synthesis of current affairs … between current affairs, politics, history, religion and theology.”
Jensen was particularly struck by his visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, Yad Vashem and Beersheva. “I think it’s impossible to be in these places and not feel the electricity of the past… almost coming up from the ground to meet you,” he said.
Some of the speakers on the trip discussed not only the regional threat of Iran and its proxies but the increasing involvement of China in the Middle East. “With China’s emergent role in that region,” Jensen said, “the importance of this situation shouldn’t be difficult, I think, for an Australian audience to grasp.”
Gemma Tognini described the Rambam program as “genuinely life-changing.” Tognini criticised the coverage of Israel in certain segments of the media. “The majority of the Australian media have this just insane sponsorship, I guess, of the Palestinian cause, without any seeming analytical or sober-minded analysis.” Emphasising the Palestinian “pay-for-slay” policy of rewarding terrorists and their families, Tognini criticised the ALP’s disregard of the issue; “How can you support a government or a regime that we would never support in this country, financially rewarding people for blowing up other people… it’s indefensible as far as I’m concerned.”
She also pointed out the absurdity of not recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, asking the audience to imagine a state refusing to recognise Canberra, and lamented the pervasive and incorrect perception that Israel is a particularly dangerous place to travel.
