There was a time when a diplomatic posting to Canberra was like being exiled to the back of beyond. Not without reason it was referred to by many diplomats as “the village”. However, no country decided to maintain an embassy in Sydney or Melbourne because Canberra was the capital and the centre of government.
So it is with Jerusalem which is the capital of Israel and should be the city in which embassies are located. It is not for Indonesia or any other country to tell us not to establish an embassy in Jerusalem — just as we do not have the right to tell them where they should locate their embassies or with whom they should maintain diplomatic relations. For Indonesia to issue threats to Australia about relocating our embassy in Israel is an attack on our independence.
Moving the Australian embassy to Jerusalem is a no-brainer because Jerusalem has always been the capital of Israel. For our government’s naysayers to be hesitant about an embassy in Jerusalem because of the possible backlash in Indonesia is a form of cowardice. Indonesia and Australia have too much to gain from mutual co-operation in trade and security to be intimidated by religious fanatics.
The explosion of religious fundamentalisms across the Middle East since the creation of Israel is a minefield in which Australia should carefully calibrate its strategic posture.
But it also appears that the fundamentalist form of Christianity known as Pentecostalism has blinded Prime Minister Scott Morrison to the inherent political dangers of moving Australia’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Believers in Pentecostalism, which has become a US political phenomenon, look to the modern Jewish state, with Jerusalem as its capital, as the necessary precondition for the prophetic return of Jesus Christ.
Thus moving our embassy to Jerusalem would be a win for Morrison, but a strategic disaster for bringing peace to the Middle East.
The Palestinian delegation to Australia has reacted predictably to Scott Morrison’s announcement he will consider acknowledging Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Israel should be treated like any other state in having the right to choose its own capital on land that is indisputably Israeli. It won’t stop the Palestinians having their own capital in the city’s east.
What the Palestinians are really objecting to is for Israel to be treated normally which, sadly, demonstrates they still don’t really accept its right to exist. And that is the real reason why there is no two-state peace.
The adverse reaction to the proposal to move the Australian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem has the whiff of anti-Semitism about it. Jerusalem has had historical importance to the Jewish people for about 3000 years. Islam has been around for a few hundred, and anyway Israel is not claiming all of Jerusalem, only part of it. So what are the objections based on?
Jerusalem is a holy city to all three of the great Abrahamic religions. Why can’t the Israelis recognise the sensitivities of the other two, particularly of the Muslims who have lived there for centuries, and conduct the administration of their nation somewhere else? And why does our PM want to express any opinion on the matter?
With a prime ministerial thought bubble regarding the transference of the Australian embassy to Jerusalem, is this just another act of subservience to US policy, or a desperate Wentworth by-election vote pleaser?
Critics of Scott Morrison say a move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would undermine prospects of a two-state solution. West Jerusalem is where Israel’s parliament and all its institutions are located.
Everyone who accepts Israel’s right to exist knows it will remain part of Israel in any two-state peace, and as Morrison said, acknowledging Israel’s capital in no way prevents a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem.
The reason there is still no two-state peace is that the Palestinian Authority failed to accept three generous offers of statehood, and is now refusing to negotiate at all.