The Victorian ALP conference
The Victorian ALP Branch resolution over the weekend was all about politics, not principle…writes Peter Wertheim.
Peter Wertheim
The ALP Left had the numbers at Conference and most of them oppose the AUKUS alliance which was negotiated by the previous Morrison government. However, polls have consistently shown that the majority of Australians strongly support AUKUS, as does the current Federal ALP government. So the government is at odds with the majority of the ALP party membership on AUKUS, and did not want a politically damaging debate about AUKUS at the Victorian Branch conference. In order to buy the left’s silence on AUKUS, a deal was done to let them pass yet another resolution in support of Australia recognising a Palestinian State. The same thing is likely to be attempted at the ALP National Conference in August. It is political “horse-trading”, and has nothing to do with principles.
Supporters of the resolution have adopted an ostrich-like approach in ignoring successive failures of the Palestinian leadership. These leaders have missed opportunity after opportunity to achieve a negotiated peace and statehood with Israel, and have failed to establish an entity that comes close to satisfying the criteria for statehood. There is no organisation that is capable of asserting its authority over the Palestinian people and the territory they claim and forming a provisional government.
As for the 138 countries that recognise Palestine, 102 of them are dictatorships or semi-dictatorships, according to the respected NGO Freedom House. Among the world’s free and democratic countries, a clear majority (just under 60%) do not recognise a Palestinian State. None of Australia’s closest allies recognises a Palestinian State – not NZ, nor the UK, Canada or the US.
The Vatican’s recognition of a Palestinian State arises from a deep concern about the fate of vulnerable Christian communities throughout the Middle East. Christian numbers are rapidly diminishing in the region – except in Israel, the only country in the Middle East where the number of Christians is growing.
Peter Wertheim is the co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Exactly. And it matters not how many times we present the facts to those who don’t want to hear them, it makes not an iota of difference. They’ll stick to their guns (excuse the expression; it is, of course metaphorical) for recognition of a Palestinian State due to the delusional and ill-considered politics of their ideological stance. Never mind the huge problems that kind of reality would bring, not only to Israel but to the Middle East more generally.