Mark Dreyfus called out over Labor’s ‘clearly ineffectual’ response to anti-Semitism

Despite the Attorney-General saying he’d been ‘warmly welcomed’ in his Israel meetings, a senior MP said she had expressed to him ‘disappointment with the shift in the Australian government’s attitude towards Israel’.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus with Israeli Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sharren Haskel. Picture: X

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister personally took Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to task over Labor’s “clearly ineffectual” handling of anti-Semitism and its turn against the Jewish homeland in the United Nations.

Despite Mr Dreyfus earlier saying he had been “warmly welcomed” in all his meetings in Israel, Sharren Haskel said she had expressed to him “disappointment with the shift in the Australian government’s attitude towards Israel”.

“I emphasised our deep concern regarding the shocking rise in anti-Semitism in Australia and the clearly ineffectual response from the Australian government and state governments,” she wrote in a post on X.

“There is no doubt this has been caused in part by the Australian government’s ongoing campaign against Israel.

“I expressed my expectation and hope that Australia’s policy towards Israel will return to reflecting our longstanding relations based on shared values and interests.”

Mr Dreyfus, the most senior Jewish cabinet minister, last week travelled to Israel as part of the Albanese government’s attempt to improve its fractured relationship with the Netanyahu government.

A few days into that trip, Mr Dreyfus told ABC radio he had been “warmly welcomed in all of the meetings that I’ve had”.

“There’s been a very strong friendship between our countries since Israel was founded by the United Nations,” he said.

“And what I’ve felt in all of the meetings is that we should be strengthening that already strong relationship between Australia and Israel. Israeli ministers have, of course, raised some issues, but in a very constructive way.”

When contacted for comment, a spokesman for Mr Dreyfus disputed Ms Haskel’s characterisation of the meeting.

“Australia’s friendship with Israel is strong and enduring,” the spokesman said.

“The Attorney-General does not agree with Ms Haskell’s sentiments, and they are not reflective of the remainder of his meetings in Israel with senior ministers including the President of Israel.”

Jewish Coalition MP Julian Leeser said the trip was a “farce” and that Ms Haskel “knows exactly what has been happening in Australia”.

Ms Haskel previously lived in Sydney for almost seven years.

“Mark Dreyfus can’t pretend to anyone about what’s been happening at home, and what Penny Wong has been doing at the UN,” Mr Leeser said.

“The Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel Sharren Haskel knows exactly what has been happening in Australia.

“She has had the courage to call out the failure of the Albanese government for abandoning the Australian Jewish community and the state of Israel in their time of need.

“Given he is not in charge of Australia’s foreign policy but is directly responsible for the Human Rights Commission, the federal police and the commonwealth criminal law, it’s time Mr Dreyfus came home to deal with the anti-Semitism which is now out of control but which he has been all too slow to act on for the last 15 months.”