Jerusalem call is no way to treat a mate

THERE is perhaps no more quintessentially Australian term than ‘mate’, which implies a deep sense of friendship, based on loyalty, respect and honesty. However, the actions of the Australian government this week, with respect to the status of Jerusalem, betray that friendship and severely undermine the trust between the two countries and traditional allies.

In 2018, the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, announced its decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, noting the final status of Jerusalem would be a matter left for negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians.

Although an imperfect decision, given Israel’s consideration of Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital, it was, at the time, at least seen as a step by a friend in the right direction.

There were never any questions or doubts about Australia’s solidarity with Israel, under Prime Minister Morrison’s leadership.

The decision by the Labor government to reverse Prime Minister Morrison’s recognition of West Jerusalem is a shameful and cowardly decision which, perhaps most tellingly, has already been praised by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups as “a courageous step and a victory for the Palestinian cause and narrative”.

For the record, Canberra was only made the capital of Australia in 1913, when the city literally had to be built from scratch, whereas Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people, and only the Jewish people, for more than 3000 years, since the days of King David.

However, what is most troubling about this episode is that Foreign Minister Penny Wong denied there was any reversal of policy less than 24 hours prior and then chose to make the announcement on the sacred Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, when most Jews were offline and unable to respond.

This only serves to underscore the deceitful manner of her actions and the disdain to which this government acted toward Israel, whom it even kept in the dark about the pending change in policy. This is simply no way for ‘mates’ to act and if Australia wishes to play a constructive role as a friend of Israel and advocate a real and durable peace in the region, it will recognise the basic truth that Jerusalem was, is and shall always remain the undisputed and legal capital of the Jewish state.

Wong also declared: “Australia will always be a steadfast friend of Israel and not waver in its support for Israel and the Jewish community of Australia.”

However, actions do speak louder than words and, regrettably, the actions of this Labor government were not that of an ally and trusted partner.