Labor brings Israel-Palestine policy back to the middle: Will it matter?

Former Australian ambassador to Israel PETER RODGERS writes that the Government has taken Australia back to a saner position on Jerusalem. But if it’s really serious about two states, then we need some specific actions.

The announcement of the Albanese Government’s decision to reverse Australia’s recognition of “West” Jerusalem was sloppily handled. That was the only surprise in it.  

The move had been on the cards since December 2018 when the Morrison government abandoned decades of bipartisan policy on the vexed issue of Jerusalem and recognised “West” Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Penny Wong, as Shadow Foreign Minister, commented at the time that the status of Jerusalem could only be resolved “as part of any peace negotiations and a two-state solution”. Labor did “not support unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and in government would reverse this decision”.

The Albanese Government has returned Australian policy to a middle-ground position supported strongly around the globe. The Israeli government might be annoyed but it will hardly unfriend Australia. Any irritation in the bilateral relationship pales in comparison to the very real reputational, financial and possible national security costs involved in the Morrison government’s cancellation of the French submarine contract.

Critics of the shift on Jerusalem need to reflect on recent history. In October 2018, on the cusp of the by-election necessitated by Malcolm Turnbull’s departure from politics, Scott Morrison revealed he was “open-minded” about recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and moving Australia’s embassy there. That was a thought bubble fixated by the situation on the ground - but the territory was in the Wentworth electorate, not Israel or Palestine.