Israel stands up for its principles

The significance of Israel’s decision to close its embassy in Dublin “because Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with” the Jewish state should not be lost on the Albanese government. It may be that Australia’s abandonment of our longstanding close ties with Israel has not yet reached the level of what the latter’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, termed the “actions and anti-Semitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel” when he announced the abrupt closure of the embassy.

But the consistent tone and trajectory of the Albanese government’s recent criticism of Israel – especially the way it has voted at the UN and the position it has taken on the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant – is similar to that which has led to Israel’s decision to close its embassy in Ireland.

Instead of maintaining an embassy in a country with “extreme anti-Israel policies”, Mr Saar said, his country intended putting more energy into diplomatic ties with countries looking forward to improving their relationships with Israel. “The actions and anti-Semitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state, along with double standards,” Mr Saar said.

It is hard to imagine that as one of the first countries to recognise Israel and establish diplomatic relations with it after its foundation in 1948, Australia could be in line for the same action the Jewish state has taken over Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policies”. But Anthony Albanese and his Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, would be wise to be clear-eyed about the response to what has become Australia’s constant carping and hostility towards Israel against the backdrop of the alarming rise in anti-Semitism in our country and the threat it poses to our Jewish community.

The Irish government, of course, insists it has done nothing to deserve Israel’s ire, despite recent moves that have included recognising a (non-existent) Palestinian state and backing South Africa’s case at the ICJ alleging Israeli genocide in Gaza. Despite Australia’s recent votes at the UN that have included support for an “irreversible path” to Palestinian statehood and an end to Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and an immediate ceasefire, relations with the Jewish state have not yet reached the bedrock that has led to Israel closing its Irish embassy. But the trend in what was, for 75 years, an extremely close and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship is clear.