Wentworth by-election: move embassy? Sure, but it won’t sway votes, say Jewish electors

A survey of Jewish voters suggests the mooted Israel embassy move won’t get Libs more votes.

Anthony Salamon, left, with cafe owner Abe Kaufman. Picture: John Feder

If Scott Morrison’s floating of the idea of moving the Australian ­embassy in Israel to Jerusalem had a bit to do with winning votes in the Wentworth by-election, a survey of voters in the electorate suggests he might be disappointed.

It’s not that Jewish voters, who make up 13 per cent of those who will cast their ballots in the Sydney eastern suburbs seat on Saturday, don’t approve of the move and say it is an issue important to them.

But those The Australian interviewed yesterday said it would not be decisive in their vote.

Roland Bloch, 62, a property investor and member of a local synagogue, said the embassy’s location was important to him.

“It is Israel’s capital, it has ­always been Israel’s capital and every country has their right to call a city their capital, and the world should respect it,” Mr Bloch said.

But as he had coffee with a friend in a Rose Bay kosher bakery, Mr Bloch said: “Jerusalem has got nothing to do with Australia. I’d vote for a party who is best for Australia.”

Anthony Salamon, 37, a film and TV producer, said the Wentworth contest should not be about the location of the embassy.

“What I think about Wentworth is the same as I think about the rest of Australian politics and I think it’s fundamentally flawed,” he said. “I think there are bigger problems in the world (than the Australian embassy) and I’m Jewish and it really doesn’t bother me.”

Marilyn Koch, co-owner of a hair salon, Joh Bailey, in Double Bay, said the suggested embassy move was significant but would not sway her in the casting of her ballot.

Most voters The Australian spoke to were more worried about how the Liberal Party had behaved over the past few years, up to the ousting of their former member, Malcolm Turnbull, as PM.

At a Jewish community forum last night, Mr Sharma wished the audience “a good evening” in ­Hebrew. He drew strong applause when he said he would “always stand against” the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

Independent Kerryn Phelps — who told the crowd she was ­“Jewish by choice”, referring to her religious conversion — called the detention of asylum-seekers on Nauru “a blight on the Australian conscience”, drawing ­applause from the crowd. But when Dr Phelps said she was concerned by Mr Morrison’s announcement about possibly moving Australia’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, booing erupted.

When given the chance to continue, Dr Phelps appeared to ­express support for the idea of moving the embassy, saying that it “might be an eventuality”, but the government’s announcement was a politically motivated decision.

Mr Sharma said the announcement was just a “review” and a ­decision to move had not been made. He maintained yesterday that the Prime Minister’s mooting of the embassy move was not ­related to the by-election.