Is Labor’s Israel trip a stunt, or will there be a change of heart?

Will Australia once again treat Israelis like democratic allies fighting the embodiment of evil rather than, at best, a nuisance and, at worst, an enemy?

The Attorney-General is embarking on a peacekeeping mission to Israel on behalf of the Australian government, though it is difficult to ascertain who he is aiming to pacify.

The Government’s response to the October 7 atrocities has included pushing for the creation of a Palestinian state, refusing to rule out arresting the Israeli Prime Minister at the behest of an international tribunal, and making it difficult for Israeli tourists to visit Australia by drowning their applications in processing delays and additional paperwork.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus may be off to Israel soon. Picture: Jason Edwards

At the very least, the visit will afford the Government an opportunity to atone for the hurt caused by the Foreign Minister’s refusal to visit the sites of the October 7 invasion and atrocities.

The Attorney-General will be moved by his visit. It is impossible to stand in places where families were tortured and burned alive and feel nothing.

Female Israeli army soldiers walk at a memorial for the victims killed at or kidnapped from the Supernova music festival during the October 7. Picture: Menahem Kahana / AFP

He will have the opportunity to see the beauty of the Nova Festival site and the idyllic agricultural villages forever defiled by rape, slaughter and innocents dragged off like medieval trophies of war.

He will grasp what Israel is fighting for and what it is fighting against.

In the south, he will meet genuine heroes who singlehandedly fought off the terrorists and saved countless lives doing so.

He should meet wounded soldiers, who are humble, steely, the salt of the earth.

All this will help him understand why the removal of Hamas, once and for all, and the liberation of the hostages it still holds, including babies and ailing seniors, is the moral imperative of our time.

A man passes by a wall graffiti calling for the return of hostages that were kidnaped during the Oct 7 Hamas. Picture: Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images

He will also field questions from incredulous Israelis along the lines of “what the hell is going on in Australia? They’re burning synagogues and cars there now?”

The question is whether any of this will lead to a policy reset and meaningful action.

Whether Australia will once again treat Israelis like democratic allies fighting the embodiment of evil rather than, at best, a nuisance and, at worst, an enemy. Whether it will compel the Government to abandon its confrontation with Israel at the United Nations and to say clearly and strongly, as it should have along: “Hamas must let the hostages go and lay down its arms and the war ends tomorrow.”

Or will they continue on their current path which will for the first time in Australian history force Jewish Australians to consider on election day, which party will do more to keep our families safe from violent Jew-hatred and which party will treat Israel like a pariah or like a friend?

Alex Ryvchin is the Co-Chief Executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry

Originally published as Is Labor’s Israel trip a stunt, or will there be a change of heart?