Penny Wong: decision not to visit the Oct 7 sites ” insulting and deeply concerning”

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Australia’s Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong is visiting Israel and will not be inspecting the kibbutzim, targets of the October 7 massacre.

Penny Wong Photo: X

Pressure is mounting on Penny Wong to visit the Israeli towns where Hamas attacks took place when she visits the Middle East in a bid to help put an end to the conflict in Gaza.

The foreign minister leaves today to travel to Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and the United Arab Emirates over the week and will meet with regional counterparts.

Senator Wong will meet with the Israeli families of hostages and survivors of the October 7 attacks, as well as Palestinians impacted by Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.

Meeting the families and survivors of the attack would be important, the foreign minister said ahead of her departure on Monday.

“Australia is not a central player in the Middle East, but we are a respected voice and I’ll be using our voice to advocate for a pathway out of this conflict,” she told reporters in Adelaide.

The program “appears half-hearted”, opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham.

“The failure to visit any of the sites of the October 7 Hamas attacks will disappoint many and deprive Senator Wong of a full appreciation of the atrocities committed,” he said.

Liberal Senator James Paterson said: “The Coalition welcomes Foreign Minister Penny Wong finally taking the time to visit Israel. But we note that it is three months later than it should have been and three months later than our allied partners have around the world. It was in the immediate aftermath of the 7th of October attacks that the British, the Americans, the French, the Germans, the European Union, the Canadians and many others sent either their prime minister, their president or their foreign minister as an expression of solidarity with the people of Israel and the Jewish communities in their country, after what was the worst loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust. So it’s good that the Foreign Minister is finally going.

But it is disappointing that on her trip to Israel, she hasn’t found the time and won’t find the time to get to southern Israel to visit those communities that were directly affected, to visit those kibbutz’s, those that were the target of Hamas’s attacks on the 7th of October as many other world leaders have done. Our Shadow Foreign Minister, Simon Birmingham, did so in December. The British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, did so within a week of being appointed to his position last year. So the fact that it’s taken the Foreign Minister so long to do so is deeply disappointing. When asked about this on television today, the Prime Minister didn’t seem to know anything about it. Well, it’s time for Mr. Albanese to take an interest in these matters and to direct his Foreign Minister to visit the affected sites so that they can develop an appreciation for just how significant these attacks have been on Israel and the Jewish community.

Also I note with disappointment that the Australian government still has not taken a position on South Africa’s misuse of the Genocide Convention, attacking Israel in the International Criminal Court of Justice. It’s very clear that Israel is fighting a defensive war against a terrorist organisation that sought to wipe Israel and the Jewish community off the map, and would do so again if it had the opportunity.”

Jewish groups in Australia have also expressed disappointment.

The co-CEOs of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim and Alex Ryvchin, have said: “The Foreign Minister’s decision to not travel to the scene of Hamas’s atrocities in southern Israel is insulting and deeply concerning.

This trip presents her with a golden opportunity to see first-hand the results of those atrocities, to hear not only from the families of the hostages but also from the other survivors and witnesses, and to understand why, for Israel, the war to defeat Hamas is a just and necessary war.

We frequently hear about the depth of the alliance between the two countries and the long history of solidarity between Australian Labor and the people of Israel. This is the time to show that these are more than mere words. .”

The Zionist Federation of Australia said the sites in southern Israel “are our Ground Zero. They hold a special meaning in the hearts of the people of Israel and Jewish people around the world”.

ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said, “A visit to Ground Zero of the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust would have been an important show of solidarity with Israel and Jewish Australians.

This decision comes at a time when Australia’s position must be strengthened. The UK, US, Canada and Germany have all backed Israel against the appalling and baseless genocide allegations, yet Australia has been silent. Israel is looking for support from other democracies that seek to uphold the international rules-based order, which the South African case is undermining. By remaining silent on the ICJ case, and now refusing to visit the sites of the Hamas massacre, Australia is sending the wrong message.”

ZFA CEO Alon Cassuto added, “The Foreign Minister’s stated aim for this visit, which the ZFA supports,is to advocate for a ‘pathway out of this conflict’. The fastest way to end all suffering, is to reiterate Australia’s official position that ‘Hamas must release all hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and lay down its arms.’ If this happens, this conflict could be over tomorrow.”

The foreign minister again called for Israel to respect international law and allow unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access so food, fuel and medicine could reach Gazans.

Australia wanted to see steps towards a sustainable ceasefire but it couldn’t be one-sided, Senator Wong said.

“Gaza must no longer be used as a platform for terrorism,” she said.

AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein said, “While we appreciate that Senator Wong is now visiting Israel, and will be speaking to October 7 victims, you need to see the sites of the October 7 pogrom to fully appreciate the appalling magnitude of these barbaric massacres. It would also be a powerful gesture, demonstrating Australian Government support and empathy for the victims, whereas not going there could be interpreted as sending a negative message. So we hope she will review her itinerary and add in a trip to these communities.

“Most other world leaders who have travelled to Israel have visited the communities for these reasons, including British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in November and Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham in December. These communities are barely an hour’s drive from where Senator Wong will be during her trip, so the claim that there is no time for such a visit seems questionable.

“Also most concerning is Australia’s failure so far to join many of our most important allies – including the US, UK, Canada and Germany – in publicly criticising South Africa’s nonsensical and cynical case in the International Court of Justice alleging Israel is committing genocide in its defensive war against the Hamas terrorists, despite copious evidence Israel is going to great lengths to minimise civilian casualties under very difficult circumstances,” Dr Rubenstein concluded.

Senator Wong’s visit to Israel will be the first by a foreign minister since 2016.

AJA President Dr David Adler said: “This is an insult to Israel, to the victims of the terrorism, including those still hostage and to the Australian Jewish community. It would have been preferable for FM Wong not to go than to behave like this.

The Hamas terror attack and the subsequent war have been the dominant international issue for the last three months. The refusal of our foreign minister to visit the place where it began and gain a better first-hand understanding is a clear dereliction of duty.”

It comes after Sunday marked 100 days since Hamas – designated a terrorist organisation by Australia – killed 1200 Israelis and took 240 hostage.

AAP/J-Wire