Speech to the Annual General Meeting of the United Israel Appeal of New South Wales

Sydney, 30 November 2005

The Australia-Israel relationship over recent times: How it has evolved under the Howard Government

Introduction

Thank you to Chairman Penny Hurst and President Harold Finger for the opportunity today to address the United Israel Appeal of New South Wales.

I say to the Jewish people of New South Wales that you and your causes have true friends in the Australian Government.

The Jewish people have made a tremendous contribution to our nation…

… from those who first arrived on these shores on the 26 th of January 1788 as convicts transported with the first fleet…

… to those that fled Nazism in the 1930s and 1940s…

… and the East European survivors of the Holocaust…

… through to those arriving in the last decade from countries such as South Africa and the former Soviet Union.

Your contribution to the business, law, medicine and arts communities in Australia has been simply outstanding.

Around the globe, the Jewish people have brought wisdom, culture and learning quite disproportionate to a population making up only about one in 450 of the world's people.

The one hundred thousand Jews living in Australia make our Jewish community the tenth largest in the world.

Through your synagogues and your Jewish schools - which will never be on a 'hit-list' under this Government - you have maintained your distinctive culture, while becoming an integral and valued part of the broader Australian community.

One of the most important contributions that your community and organisations such as the United Israel Appeal make is to strengthen the Australia-Israel relationship and to bring clarity to the debates that surround Israel.

A relationship built on solid foundations

Australia is an unqualified supporter of Israel. We may be separated by many thousands of kilometres but we see the world through a similar lens and share many values and qualities.

We both share a clear preference for plain speaking and pragmatic action…

… as opposed to couching everything we do or say in diplomatic niceties and double-speak.

Too often Israel has been burned by what goes as 'diplomacy' in the international community today…

… just cast your mind back to 2001 and the World Conference Against Racism that sought to equate Zionism with racism.

We both share a strong belief in the inherent fairness of an egalitarian society, both having absorbed into our own communities, disparate peoples and cultures.

We both share an unfaltering commitment to the rule of law and democratic principles.

The Israeli and Australian Governments recognise that only by reflecting the fundamental views and beliefs of our citizens will our systems of government have solid foundations.

This does not, of course, mean that we should govern by means of referendum or popular opinion on every issue that comes along.

Leadership also is a necessary quality of any good government.

But a government that does not stay true to its people finds its rewards or just desserts at election time.

This is one of the true strengths of the Israeli and Australian nations.

Despite facing truly extraordinarily difficult challenges in its short existence - and holding within it a variety of often strongly opposing views - Israel has prospered through its close adherence to democratic principles.

It has demonstrated that democracy can thrive in the Middle East and that transitions of power can occur peacefully.

In looking at the history of Israeli politics, it is quite fascinating to see how fluid it can be.

Former Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir once joked that "in Israel, there are three million prime ministers".

The Israeli political process is characterised by its many parties representing particular interests or perspectives, the periodic emergence of new parties, and - because of its system of proportional representation - its typical need to resort to coalitions to form a government.

But despite its dynamic, changeable nature it works.

The recent decision of Ariel Sharon to leave Likud and form a new centrist party is simply another stage in the evolution of Israeli politics.

Australia too, with the world's sixth-oldest continuously operating democracy, has a proud liberal democratic tradition that provides for robust public debate and guarantees religious tolerance and freedom of association.

Contrast this with the lack of freedom and protection for citizens that we see elsewhere in the Middle East.

The Australian Government proudly supports the spread of democracy, including in the Middle East.

Not only will this bring greater freedom to the peoples of the Middle East, but it may also bring greater security to the Israeli people.

The sceptics that say democracy is a Western concept that will never take root in the Middle East or Islamic culture are wrong…

… just as those who said democracy would never take in Germany, in Japan, or in Eastern Europe were wrong...

… and just as those who said democracy was incompatible with Asian cultures were wrong.

Democracy is a humanising and liberating concept that has equal relevance and application to all the peoples of the world.

Not limited by geography, by culture nor by faith, the merits and appeal of democracy are truly universal.

You see this when you look at the Iraqi people and the way that after decades of living under a brutal regime they are eagerly embracing the opportunity to determine their own government and shape their own future.

You have seen it this year in Lebanon with their democratic elections free of Syrian interference, symbolising a new found freedom and national unity.

You see it when you look at India and the way its diverse population - including its more than 126 million Muslims - have provided the world with a robust example of democracy in action now for some fifty eight years.

And closer to home, you see it in the predominantly Muslim society of Malaysia and the world's largest Islamic nation, Indonesia, that has made enormous democratic strides in recent years.

The spread of democracy will not be easy but ever more we are seeing the seeds of liberation sown that will present brutal regimes and dictators with a stark choice: reform and support a transition to the democratic model or continue down a path to your ultimate ruin.

The Developing Relationship

To many nations, the issues surrounding the existence of the State of Israel are often seen to lie in a dense fog where the truth is hard to see.

To the Australian Government, the main issue is very clear.

And that is, that while the existence of State of Israel is officially supported by the vast majority of nations, Israel still has enemies that seek to destroy it.

One of its enemies seeks to literally 'wipe it off the map'.

Other enemies use terror in an effort to expel Jews from their land….frequently targeting children to maximise their impact.

In the face of these enemies, Israel must continually fight for its very existence. This is the truth.

The Australian Government understand this very clearly.

And we will continue to take policy positions on Israel which are informed by this understanding and which accord with what we believe in.

While traditionally all Australian Governments - Labor and Coalition - have supported the existence of the state of Israel, I believe that the Howard Government has most concretely and clearly translated that support into action.

Let me give you a telling example.

Since my first days as Foreign Minister, I have been presented with UN resolution after resolution.

And I soon discovered that too many of these resolutions are aimed at condemning Israel.

You would think by looking at these resolutions that this small country - with a population roughly equivalent to that of New South Wales and a land mass one fortieth its size - is responsible for the worst human rights violations and much of the world's ills.

And this is in an era when many of the most egregious human rights violators are elevated to positions of responsibility in the UN.

A truly farcical situation!

And yet these UN General Assembly resolutions single Israel out for blame in the most inflammatory and biased of language.

Now the practice at the time when I first began as Foreign Minister was for the Australian Government to vote in "good company" - and by good company I use diplomatic speak for voting with people like the North Americans, the European Union and other developed countries.

But it soon dawned on me that Australia - an independent and morally upright nation - should not vote for things in the UN that we don't believe in, just because there is so-called good company.

So I set about changing our practice, and now where we see an unbalanced resolution condemning Israel, we vote against it - irrespective of who stands beside us.

And by doing so and through our active lobbying efforts, we hope to gradually make others stand up for what they believe in.

We still have a long way to go.

When Australia voted last year in support of Israel's right to defend itself, we were joined by only five other countries - out of a total UN membership of 191 countries.

We voted against the idea of the General Assembly seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel's security barrier because we thought it was neither appropriate nor helpful to the peace process.

The Australian Government was concerned that the use of the ICJ advisory opinion mechanism would distract Israel and Palestine from the urgent need to resume negotiations to achievable a viable and sustainable two-State solution.

In taking this stance, the Australian Government emphasised that it did not want to see the barrier become a de facto border, and urged the Israeli Government to consider moving the barrier closer to the 1967 line.

This stance reflects the Australian Government's strong belief that Israel, and all countries, have the right to defend themselves from terrorism.

How can anyone expect the Israeli people to stand by as they see their friends, their spouses, their children blown apart in cafes and on buses?

Middle East Peace Process

Ladies and gentlemen,

When I hear of the deaths of innocent Israelis at the hands of vile and morally corrupt terrorists, I do so with considerable sadness…

… not only for the tragic loss of life and misery it brings to those left behind…

… but also for what it may mean to the chances for delivering peace to the Middle East.

The terrorists cannot be allowed to achieve their objective and the Palestinian and Israeli people cannot afford to falter on the Roadmap to Peace.

I remain optimistic about the opportunities for a lasting peace in the Middle East but it will require courage to achieve it…

… the type of courage that Ariel Sharon showed in withdrawing Israeli settlers from Gaza, a terribly difficult decision.

Whoever wins the upcoming election will face an enormous challenge and, in meeting that challenge, will need to stay true to the people of Israel and the cause for peace.

And on the Palestinian side, it is vital that the Palestinian Authority continues to reject violence and controls terrorist activities.

No one should underestimate the challenges that remain for both sides but the dynamics are more promising than we have seen for some time.

We should not, however, forget that there are still countries that do not want a two-state solution to the conflict.

We were appalled by the recent truly disgraceful remarks by the Iranian President Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map".

His remarks clearly demonstrate that the Iranian regime and its warped ideology is not a benign force…

… and highlights the need for the international community to work together to ensure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapons capability.

Hamas, too, is trying to convince people that it has changed its spots.

We will see it take part in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections scheduled for January 2006.

But a Polly-Anna world should not forget that the core objective of Hamas is the overthrow of Israel.

So while we call on the Hamas leadership to renounce violence and embrace the democratic path, we and the Israeli people will wait to see what actions are taken.

More must also be done to ensure that hatred is not passed to the next Palestinian generation through further incitement to violence.

We still see glorification of suicide bombers in Palestinian schools and on Palestinian television.

Until more is seen from the Palestinian Authority to stop the spread of such hatred and violence, questions will be raised about the depth of its real commitment to peace.

For its part, Australia has been providing some practical support to the region.

We have helped promote regional stability including through the deployment of Australian Defence Force personnel to UN roles in Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Multi National Force and Observers in the Sinai.

And recently an Australian Defence Force officer was appointed to the international team working on Palestinian security sector reform.

Having an effective security force ready to take over from Israel has been critical to the success of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and the northern West Bank and an integral part of the peace process.

Conclusion

When I look at the Middle East and the international debate that surrounds it - and particularly what is conveyed in the international media - it sometimes seems like I am looking through the looking glass at a perverted 'Wonderland' reality where things are turned on their head.

In this world, you see leaders such as the Iranian President attempt to shift attention from their failings by making vile outbursts against Israel…

…you see regimes such as that of Mugabe supported by the so-called "international community", while Israel is blamed for every imaginable ill in the world today...

… where - after a terrorist attack - people run around asking, "What did we do wrong?"

We need greater moral clarity, as much in international affairs as in other areas of our lives.

There are no ifs, no buts, about terrorism.

And there are no ifs, no buts about our support for Israel and the great things it stands for.

The Australia Government is an unqualified supporter of Israel.

We will not be lulled into silence or convinced by others to take the easy stance.

We may never be particularly big players in Middle East affairs…

… although we have made valuable contributions in Iraq and elsewhere…

… but by standing for what is right, we may well help shift the opinions of others and bring moral clarity to the debate.

ENDS