The Liberal Party is correct in claiming Australia’s relations with Israel are at their lowest point ever. The real questions to be asked are: who is responsible, and how much does it matter?

Shortly after the Hamas attacks of October 2023, President Biden cautioned Israel against overreacting in their response. At that stage, few anticipated the scale of the Israeli carnage in Gaza or the extent to which this would galvanise global protests by millions of people who had never been involved in the issue. If Australian relations with Israel are declining, this is because the government has, slowly, and it seems reluctantly, followed public opinion. The long-term damage to Israel’s reputation is enormous and clearly ignored by the Netanyahu Government, whose language becomes increasingly strident as support for them declines both at home and abroad.

The images of mass devastation in Gaza and increasing settler violence on the West Bank mock Israel’s claim of being a fellow democratic society. Yes, within the borders of Israel, there is a functioning (if imperfect), democratic system – even The Economist Democracy Index rates Israel as a “flawed democracy”. But Israel effectively controls the lives of seven million Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza who lack the rights of Israeli citizens. Whether we term this apartheid or not, it undermines any claim that Israel is a genuine democracy. Meanwhile, within Israel itself, there is mounting pressure to reduce the rights of non-Jewish citizens, despite Arab Palestinians........

© Pearls and Irritations