The truth must be told, however bitter it is. This Yiddish saying, rooted in Jewish ethics, has guided me throughout this painful, polarising chapter in Middle Eastern history. It shapes my view now as momentum grows around the world – notably in France, Britain and within Australia – to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. Palestinian self-determination is not only legitimate – it’s a must.
Truth-telling, however bitter, and reality, means this: now is not the time to recognise a Palestinian state. It would be a political gesture, dangerous in consequence and hollow in effect, if not counter-productive. Calls to recognise a Palestinian state today, as war rages, while Hamas still controls Gaza and 21 hostages remain in captivity, are not only premature but risk rewarding terrorism and undermining the two-state solution they claim to advance.
We must start with moral clarity. On October 7, Hamas launched the worst mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust. It was not resistance. It was sadistic terrorism. The deliberate targeting of civilians was an expression of Hamas’s Islamofascist ideology, not a distortion of it. To reward Hamas – or any political structure under its sway – with statehood recognition abandons principle for posture. It legitimates genocidal fantasists that still seek the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.
And yet, that is not the whole truth. Because even as we rightly condemn Hamas, we must also have the moral courage to examine Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The scale of destruction in Gaza is catastrophic. Tens of thousands are dead. Civilians – not just combatants – have suffered immeasurably. The humanitarian crisis is real. The suffering is not a TikTok fabrication, despite fake New York Times photos. It is documented by credible Israeli, Palestinian and international sources, including the Israel Medical Association. This war began in Israeli self-defence – a just cause – but it now teeters on the edge of moral and strategic collapse.
That is not an anti-Semitic smear. It is my view. It is the view of many Israelis, including former military commanders, journalists, and grieving families. It is the view of many in the global Jewish diaspora whose love for Israel is deep, but not blind.
Israel must help fix the crisis in Gaza – not through symbolic air drops, but through logistical saturation. Oversupplying food and medicine is one way to neutralise Hamas’s chokehold on humanitarian aid and UN ineptness. It’s a strategic necessity as much as a moral one.
Starving Gaza does not defeat Hamas. It strengthens their fanaticism to fight on.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership is reckless and incompetent. He failed Israel on October 7. His refusal to articulate a post-war vision, to plan for “the day after” Hamas, speaks not to strategy but to political cowardice – a fear that his coalition, including far-right extremists, will collapse. His war cabinet has become a vehicle for his survival, not Israel’s.
Labor people, like me, understand that power must serve principle – not personal ambition. We also understand that security is not just about tanks and tunnels, but about legitimacy, justice, and moral purpose. That is why, at the upcoming Victorian state conference, I intend to move a motion supporting Anthony Albanese’s clear-eyed, balanced position: a call for massive humanitarian aid into Gaza; a reaffirmation that no two-state solution is possible with Hamas at the table; and an urgent demand for the release of all remaining hostages.
This is not some vague, centrist compromise. It is a moral and strategic necessity. It is a position grounded in Labor values – solidarity, humanity, internationalism – and in a sober understanding of the facts. It is a rejection of the false binary that often poisons this debate. One can oppose Hamas without endorsing everything the Israeli government does. One can call for a ceasefire and still recognise that Hamas has zero interest in peace and must go.
Indeed, one of the most troubling aspects of the current debate is making recognition a litmus test of moral virtue. But performative declarations do not create states, nor end wars.
We must also be honest about the symbolism of unilateral recognition. A declaration of statehood in the absence of direct negotiations, without clear borders, without unified Palestinian governance, and while a terror group holds sway, does nothing to advance peace. It may make certain people feel better. It may win applause in certain quarters. But it does not change facts on the ground. Facts, bitter as they are, matter.
The Palestinian Authority – corrupt, weakened, and discredited – offers little as an alternative. Hamas clings to power in Gaza. Iran lurks in the background. The UN is a toothless tiger. This is the context in which the ALP must now tread carefully.
What kind of state are we recognising? A Hamas-run theocracy? Australia should not join a chorus of symbolic recognitions that ignores statehood prerequisites: monopoly on the use of force, functioning democratic institutions, and a commitment to Israel’s permanency.
Labor has long supported a negotiated two-state solution – and it remains the only just and practical pathway forward. What we need now is not symbolic breakthroughs, but real ones – a ceasefire, a massive aid effort, regional co-operation, and the political isolation of Hamas; precisely what the Arab League has done in calling on Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza. If we want to be part of the solution, then we must do the hard thing: resist the easy applause, and instead commit to the slow, difficult work of diplomatic peace-building – rooted in justice, security, and mutual dignity. That is the Labor way. It means being a true friend of both beautiful peoples – Israeli and Palestinian – and to speak the truth, however bitter.
Nick Dyrenfurth is co-convenor of Labor Friends of Israel.
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