Australia’s ties with Israel are strained like never before but the nation’s global standing could be boosted after Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest lashing.
The Israeli prime minister labelled Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese a “weak politician” in a social media post and claimed he abandoned the nation’s Jewish community.
The Australian leader shrugged off the comments while his lieutenants fired back, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke declaring “strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry”.
The fracas followed the federal government denying a visa to a far-right Israeli politician set to undertake a speaking tour of Australia at the invitation of a fringe Jewish group.
Israel retaliated by cancelling the visas of three Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority and ordering embassy staff to apply extra scrutiny to Australian applications to enter Israel.
The tit-for-tat marked an all-time low in diplomatic relations but the impact remains to be seen, Australian National University politics and international relations senior lecturer Charles Miller said.
“Australia’s championing of the rules-based global order looks hypocritical … to the extent it is combined with close relations with Israel,” he told AAP.
“By distancing itself from Israel, Australia gains credibility in many parts of the world, especially the Islamic world.”
Israel has been accused of committing war crimes in its military action in Gaza, with the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu.
The warrant, which includes allegations of using starvation as a method of warfare and directing attacks against civilians, are not findings of guilt and Israel has denied the claims.
Australia could feel ramifications of the diplomatic low through a lack of intelligence communication with Israel, along with flow-on effects to its relationship with America, Dr Miller said.
But the latter factor should not be exaggerated because it ought not be assumed America “will always remain as pro-Israel” as it currently is.
“Even if it does, the US maintains a good relationship with Australia because it is in its own interests to do so,” Dr Miller said.
Mr Albanese continued to ramp up his rhetoric surrounding Israel’s Gaza offensive, stating “too many innocent lives have been lost” and insisting the international community agreed.
“(Australians) look at increased settler violence in the West Bank, they look at the decision Israel has made in March to restrict the access of aid, food and water people in Gaza needed, and they think that something needs to change,” he said.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion wrote to both leaders to warn the deterioration in diplomatic relations brought pain and anguish, suggesting both men should have opted for silence.
“The Australian Jewish community will not be left to deal with the fallout of a spat between two leaders who are playing to their respective domestic audiences,” he said.
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