by Isi Leibler
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In the diplomatic
debacle at the U.N. General Assembly last week, when the world's nations
voted in favor of recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a nonmember
observer state, two countries considered solid supporters of Israel
abandoned us at a crucial moment.
Israel was shocked when
Germany abstained, especially since Chancellor Angela Merkel had stated
earlier that Germany would vote against the Palestinian initiative. The
other unexpected defection was the last-minute abstention by Australian
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Labor government, considered a strong
supporter of Israel.
On a few recent
occasions, votes by Australia at the U.N. appeared to deviate from the
norm, but this was rationalized as temporary pandering to the Arabs to
solicit votes for elections to the Security Council.
The dramatic tilt
against Israel was spearheaded by Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who exerted
enormous pressure on the Labor caucus and compelled Gillard to
backtrack from her decision to oppose the Palestinian initiative. Had
she not complied, she would have been humiliatingly defeated and
possibly toppled as prime minister.
Carr was vigorously
supported by former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, at one time one of
Israel’s greatest supporters, notorious for having (while inebriated)
called on Israel to “nuke” the Palestinians if they failed to halt the
terror. Hawke was intimately connected to Israel’s Labor leaders, but
after Menachem Begin was elected prime minister in 1977, he changed his
views and today regards Israel as “intransigent." He was supported by
another veteran Labor politician, former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans,
who since retiring from government has been consistently canvassing the
Arab cause. Both fervently lobbied Labor ministers to repudiate
Gillard’s policy.
Carr was appointed to
his post only in March this year. Before that, he had served for 11
years as premier of Australia’s largest state, New South Wales.
Ironically, he was once
considered a close friend of the Jewish community. He is knowledgeable
about Jewish affairs and has a genuine and sensitive understanding of
the Holocaust. In 1977, he was a founding member of the Labor Friends of
Israel.
He subsequently became a
passionate admirer of Israeli author Amos Oz and appears to have
absorbed much of his far-Left outlook on Israeli affairs.
In 2003, as state
premier, he dismayed the Jewish community and friends of Israel by
presenting the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian political activist
Hanan Ashrawi, renowned for her rabid demonization of Israel.
Carr visited Israel in August this year, meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, including Ashrawi.
On his return to
Australia, he raised eyebrows when he dispatched a delegation to Iran to
solicit votes for Australia’s U.N. Security Council candidature. There
were also unconfirmed rumors circulating that undertakings were made to
the Arabs in return for their support.
His backing of Israel
during the Gaza campaign was lukewarm. In the Senate, he made the
astonishing statement: “Any response by Israel needs to be proportionate
and not lead to civilian casualties. We have on more than a dozen
occasions called on both sides to exercise restraint." Setting aside the
moral equivalence inherent in this remark, he was effectively demanding
that Israel — which more than any army in history goes out of its way
to minimize civilian casualties — take no action to defend its citizens
from missile attacks.
He was even more
forthcoming after the U.N. vote, when he proclaimed, “I don’t apologize
for the fact that Australia has interests in the Arab world. If we had
voted no, that would have been a body blow to our interests in over 20
countries. The truth is they all see this as a bedrock issue.”
He also dismissed
suggestions that the Palestinians intended to exploit their new observer
status to initiate charges of war crimes against Israel at the
International Criminal Court.
Carr’s change of policy
was confirmed when he joined the European bandwagon and hauled Israeli
Ambassador to Australia Yuval Rotem over the coals following Israel’s
decision to build homes in the Jerusalem suburbs and adjacent areas —
which the Bush administration had agreed should remain within Israel.
Australia has a long
history of friendship with Israel dating back to Australian troops who
served in Palestine during both world wars. Labor leader Dr. H. V. Evatt
was president of the U.N. General Assembly in 1948 when the Jewish
state was proclaimed ,and since then until today — with the exception of
Prime Minister Gough Whitlam from 1972-1975 — successive Australian
governments of all political persuasions have displayed strong
friendship towards Israel.
The Liberal
(conservative) government under Prime Minister John Howard, which
governed Australia for 11 years prior to Labor’s electoral victory in
2007, was especially supportive of Israel, and could be compared to the
Harper government in Canada today.
When Howard visited
Israel in 2000, I had already immigrated to Israel and reluctantly
accepted his invitation to accompany his delegation to meet with then
PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Afterwards, he solicited my opinion and I told
him that I regarded Arafat as a duplicitous terrorist and did not
believe he had any intention of seeking a peace settlement. I recall his
response: “Should Arafat ever renege on the commitments to peace which
he conveyed today, I give you a clear undertaking that as long as I am
prime minister, the Jewish community and the people of Israel will never
have reason to feel that I let them down.” Howard kept his word, and in
subsequent years emerged as Israel’s greatest champion amongst world
statesmen.
Labor, headed by Kevin
Rudd, gained office in 2007 and three years later was succeeded by Julia
Gillard. Under both prime ministers, but especially Gillard, Labor
maintained an evenhanded bipartisan approach towards Israel.
Much of this historical
bipartisanship can be attributed to a vigorous Jewish community,
renowned as being one of the most vibrant Zionist communities in the
Diaspora. Its leadership has never failed to speak up and take a
principled stand on behalf of Israel when appropriate.
With close to 500,000
Muslims now living in Australia, many concentrated in key Labor Party
electorates, their influence has impacted a number of Labor ministers.
Combined with the vehement anti-Israeli orientation of the far-Left
Labor factions, this enabled Carr to persuade the cabinet to tilt its
policy against Israel.
However, it is
premature to totally write off the Australian Labor Party. It has a long
tradition of friendship toward Israel and many of its leaders were
distressed by recent developments. Besides, although understandably
disheartened, Prime Minister Julia Gillard remains solidly pro-Israel,
reiterating her view that this abstention was a mistake and will only
serve to embolden Palestinian extremists.
The opposition Liberal
Party adamantly supports Israel. Former Prime Minister John Howard
described the government’s tilt as “pathetic” and an “embarrassment."
Elections are scheduled next year and recent polls indicate that the Liberals may win by a landslide.
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Isi Leibler
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3009
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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