No stopping shift from Israel

The motion passed this weekend goes further than ever before to bind Labor closer to Palestine. It is a significant defeat for Bill Shorten, his belligerent Victorian right faction and the aggressive Israel lobby, who applied immense pressure on Labor MPs and party officials in recent weeks.

There is no mention of a “two-state solution” as a precondition to supporting Palestinian statehood or any reference to “consulting” with “like-minded” nations before granting recognition — the current federal policy — which gives Labor wriggle room.

It is now clear that Labor’s next national conference, due next year, will support unconditional recognition of Palestinian statehood in defiance of the party leader.

On Saturday, the Queensland and ACT Labor conferences called for a future Labor government to “immediately recognise the state of Palestine”. South Australian and Tasmanian Labor have already adopted the policy of recognising Palestine without qualification.

Labor’s rank-and-file membership, state and federal MPs, and unions aligned with left and right factions, are now unequivocally pro-Palestine. However, the state Labor motions appropriately support the right of both Israel and Palestine “to exist within secure and recognised borders”.

Shorten’s pro-Israel Victorian right faction remains isolated within the party. The claims that pro-Palestine motions from branches could be torpedoed, or at least watered down, were nothing but bluster.

The conference buzzed with talk that the Israeli government, primarily through its embassy in Canberra, was frantically lobbying Labor figures not to move so dramatically against Israel. The Palestinians were also lobbying energetically, but are smarter about it.

The motion adopted by NSW Labor is significant because it is the largest branch of the party and the traditionally moderate and pragmatic right faction — which Shorten depends on for his leadership — controls it.

Labor has been moving inexorably in this direction for years. There are several factors: the changing ethnic demographics in Labor seats finds little support for Israel; the growing global backlash against Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; the stalled Middle East peace process; the stridently right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu; and some canny lobbying within Labor.

Bob Carr, who has become a target of the Israel lobby, has been instrumental in urging the quantum change within Labor. A few months ago, Bob Hawke said Australia should join the 130-plus other nations and grant diplomatic recognition to Palestine. So did Kevin Rudd and Gareth Evans.

Shorten is a shrewd political deal-maker and powerbroker. On Palestine, seeing the writing on the wall, he was clever enough not to intervene.