How Israel is forging bonds across the Pacific

Sharren Haskell at a farm in PNG. Picture: X.

The next stages in Gaza are still unresolved. Among the key issues are who will participate in the international stabilisation force, how will the interim administration for the administration of the Gaza Strip be managed and who will disarm Hamas.

But as we wait to see how these questions are resolved, we forget that Israel also has interests in the broader Indo-Pacific. This week Israel’s deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who lived in Australia for six years working as a Bondi veterinary nurse, has been visiting PNG and Fiji to identify additional strategic interests.

The island states constitute an important source of support for Israel across various international issues and can be relied upon for UN lawfare engagement. The Pacific Islands have adopted what was previously the Australian position in regularly voting to support Israel in the UN on matters relating to Israel and Palestine.

Israel and Australia should co-operate in the Pacific. It’s a region rising in geopolitical importance, and where Israel has contributed capacity building and technology. The growth of evangelical churches in the Pacific encourages solidarity with Israel. Many Melanesians believe they are descended from the lost tribes of Israel. The official Jewish population in the Pacific is tiny. But the Israeli flag is a common sight across the region, even in some of the most isolated areas. It’s hung in many village churches during mass.

During my visit to Papua New Guinea, I arrived at a unique agricultural farm operated by the Israeli LR Group, managed by Ami Lustig and Roi Ben Yami.

The company is leading the country’s agricultural sector and implementing groundbreaking blue and white technologies.

Thanks to… pic.twitter.com/DRk1uqzf89

— Sharren Haskel השכל שרן (@SharrenHaskel) October 21, 2025

Nauru recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2019. PNG moved its embassy to Jerusalem in 2023. Fiji opened its embassy in Jerusalem last month. Fiji is looking for new development partners. It has a long tradition of sending peacekeepers across the Middle East.

Samoa’s new prime minister, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt, is a passionate supporter of Israel. When he was sworn into power last month he wore a Jewish prayer shawl. Melbourne Rabbi Daniel Rabin recently returned from a visit to PNG, noting that “in a world where criticism of Israel often dominates headlines, it was refreshing to stand in a place where support is loud, proud, and joyous”.

Mashav, Israel’s agency for development co-operation, has funded or partnered on agriculture projects, disaster preparedness and clean energy in the region. Israel has aided several Pacific countries after natural disasters, including sending teams to address the mental health needs of cyclone survivors.

There’s a host of opportunities in the Pacific for our two countries to focus on where Israel has expertise. The islands look to Israel to support their 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific continent. Israel has included ocean technology as a top national research priority. Israel can contribute to the Pacific Island states in areas such as health, cyber security, agriculture, water management, and medical research and development.

Finally, Australia should stop sniping from the cheap seats and support Israel by organising an Oceania contingent to deploy to Gaza as part of the International Stabilisation Force that is intended to take over security responsibility for the Gaza Strip. At this point we don’t know which Arab or European countries will send teams to the Force. Indonesia is expected to take part.

But an Oceania contingent, with military forces from Fiji, smaller contributions from PNG and Tonga and Australia providing combined force pre-deployment training, technical expertise and equipment could make a real contribution to the operation. The Oceania contingent could help sustain a large number of Indonesian ground forces: Indonesian President Prabowo has said that his country is ready to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to Gaza. We shouldn’t, however, limit our contribution to the force to six junior officers in a headquarters somewhere.

The Pacific Island states trust Israel. Israel has applied to be a Dialogue partner of the Pacific Islands Forum and has an ambassador to the Pacific Island states based in Jerusalem. Australia seeks a stable, secure and prosperous neighbourhood.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong should acknowledge both publicly and privately that Israel can be an asset in the Pacific to advance those goals. It’s a region where we need all the friends we can get.

Anthony Bergin is a senior fellow at Strategic Analysis Australia and an expert associate at the National Security College.