The Israeli foreign ministry’s reference to a “wretched decision” leaves no doubt about the harmful impact the Albanese government’s ill-considered retreat over Jerusalem has had on Australia’s relations with the West’s most crucial security ally in the Middle East. At any time, using such strong language in criticising a putatively friendly nation would be highly unusual. That it was uttered by one of Israel’s top diplomats, Aliza Bin-Noun, to Australian ambassador Paul Griffiths after he was summoned to meet her gives the admonition even greater significance.
Ms Bin-Noun is one of the foreign ministry’s most senior officials and her remarks were not off the cuff. Rather, as has been made clear, they were the carefully considered and articulated view of the Israeli government, and it would be hard to disagree with her warning about the grave implications of the Albanese government’s embarrassingly muddled decision to back out of the Morrison government’s resolve to relocate the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The “wretched decision”, Ms Bin-Noun said, “ignores the deep and eternal connection between Israel and its eternal capital, and that goes against the good relations between Israel and Australia”. It risked encouraging extremists to further agitate in the region, she said in issuing a powerful warning to Mr Griffiths about the consequences for Israel’s security as the West’s principal ally in the Middle East in the fight against Islamist terrorism. Even as Ms Bin-Noun reprimanded Mr Griffiths, her warning was shown to be well-founded when the murderous Iranian terrorist proxy in Lebanon did what it has never done previously and warmly welcomed the Albanese government’s abandonment of Australia’s commitment to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem.
Read the editorial in The Australian.