Israel’s Foreign Minister praised Penny Wong for Australia’s Iran War stance, urged other states to pursue Queensland’s speech bans in Zionist leaders briefing. Stephanie Tran reports.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised Australia for expressing the “right positions” on the US-Israeli war with Iran in a conversation with Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong.
Sa’ar made the remarks during a Zoom briefing on Sunday evening hosted by Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, according to a transcript obtained by MWM.
The Israeli minister said he had spoken with Wong twice over the past week and, despite “deep disagreements with regard to the Palestinian issue”, praised Australia’s position on the conflict with Iran.
Sa’ar stated that Israel has faced mounting political pressure in western countries, claiming that in some states “Muslim communities became quite bigger and they have more political influence than they had in the past”.
“There is a huge difference whether we have a right-wing government or a left-wing government. It changes dramatically the level of support we are getting from these countries,” Sa’ar said.
“It’s tough in the political battle, it’s tough in the PR battle, even moral,” he said.
Sa’ar also criticised international efforts to revive a two-state solution, saying that “for Israeli people it is quite clear it is a problem not a solution to establish a Palestinian state here in the heart of the land of Israel two miles from the place I’m sitting right now”.
Australia’s support for the strikes
Australia was among the first countries to publicly endorse the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
In a joint statement issued hours after the attack on 28 February, Anthony Albanese, Wong and defence minister, Richard Marles, said Australia supported the strikes.
“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security,” the statement read.
One of the strikes killed more that 170 people at a girls’ school, most of them children.
The government has since expanded its involvement. On Tuesday Albanese announced that Australia would send a military aircraft and 85 Australian Defence Force personnel to the United Arab Emirates to assist in the defence of Gulf nations targeted by Iran.
Experts say the move effectively makes Australia a party to the conflict.
“Shift” in government stance
During the briefing, Jeremy Leibler said Australia had historically been among Israel’s strongest international supporters.
“In Australia we pride ourselves in the fact that we are the most Zionist community in the world,” he said.
“In this country, for decades we were incredibly proud of the fact that we had strong bipartisan support for Israel, regardless of who was in power, which side of politics.”
Leibler said he had been “deeply disappointed” with what he described as the government’s “policy shifts and decisions after the 7 October”, including the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
However, he suggested recent developments indicated a change in tone.
“The Australian government’s response now to Iran and also the decision to extend the invitation to President Herzog to visit on a state visit and very clearly the respect that was afforded to him … I think many feel there has been a shift,” he said.
Leibler recalled standing at Government House in Canberra with the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, and Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, during the visit.
“We heard Hatikvah played not once but twice with the full gun salute in Canberra with Israeli flags flying throughout the city,” he said, referring to Israel’s national anthem.
Praise for Queensland protest laws
Sa’ar also praised a recent change to protest laws in Queensland that allows criminal penalties for the use of certain slogans associated with pro-Palestinian activism.
Yesterday police in the state arrested two protesters, including an 18-year-old woman wearing a shirt bearing the words “From the river to the sea”, under new hate speech laws passed by the Queensland Parliament.
The laws, passed last week, prohibit the phrases “From the river to the sea” and “Globalise the intifada” when used in a way that could cause someone to feel “menaced, harassed or offended.” The restrictions apply to written or spoken forms, including chants and placards, and carry penalties of up to two years in prison.
“I want to praise the change in legislation in Queensland designating some anti-Israeli slogans as criminal,” Sa’ar said.
“I think it is crucially important and to the extent that you can influence other districts or states in Australia to do the same, that would be blessed.”
Sa’ar said Israel was also encouraging governments to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
“We are working with other states around the world to adopt the IHRA definition and take steps against antisemitism and we encourage the Australian government to do so,” he said.
At the conclusion of the briefing, Leibler told the Israeli minister: “Our thoughts and our love are with you, with the IDF and with all people of Israel.”
Stephanie is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.