Australia’s left is back in power. Here’s what that means for Israel

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MELBOURNE – The election of a new left-wing government in Australia, after nine years of right-wing rule, has left many in the Jewish community wondering what impact it will have on the country’s support for Israel.

Outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, an evangelical Christian, was a staunch supporter of Israel. During his four years as premier, he introduced the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, spoke out against the recent Amnesty International report that accused Israel of being an apartheid state (Morrison told reporters in response that “no country is perfect”) and listed the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization.

“The Morrison government will be remembered by the Jewish community as a genuine friend of the Jewish community and the State of Israel,” said Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, adding that its “legacy will be long and enduring.”

While the count is still continuing, Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese will be the country’s 31st prime minister after his party won at least 72 out of 151 parliamentary seats. At this point, Albanese does not have enough seats to form a majority government and will need to form a governing coalition with independent lawmakers and smaller parties.

Albanese has previously vowed to maintain Australia’s support for Israel.

“No matter which party is in power here, Israel will have Australia’s friendship and support. As leader of the Australian Labor Party, I can tell you that you will always have ours,” Albanese told the Australian Jewish News earlier this month.

Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese signs a Labor Party poster in Sydney on Sunday. Dean Lewins/AP

As Labor now seeks to build a coalition, Leibler voiced optimism about the new ruling party. “Ultimately, the new government will be judged by its actions, but I do not believe that the views of extreme elements within the party that hold anti-Israel positions will be reflected in government policy.”

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Historically, both right-wing and left-wing Australian governments have been supportive of Israel. It established formal ties with Israel in 1949 and recognized West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2018. However, the right-wing government said it would not move the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv until a peace agreement is reached with the Palestinians – part of its ongoing commitment to a two-state solution. Australia also regularly vetoes anti-Israel resolutions in the United Nations.

However, instances of strong opposition to Israel have emerged from within the party in recent years. At Queensland’s Labor branch state conference last year, for instance, party members overwhelmingly voted for an anti-Israel resolution that accused Israel of ethnically cleansing Palestinians.

Senior Labor politician Penny Wong, tipped to be the next foreign minister, slammed the resolution, saying it “will not advance the cause of peace.”

Prior to Sunday’s federal election, members of the conservative Australian media charged that an Albanese government would spell bad news for Israeli-Australian relations.

Veteran journalist Sharri Markson claimed that Albanese has “two decades of anti-Israel rhetoric,” sometimes breaking from Australia’s bipartisan support for Israel. Josh Feldman, a contributor to the conservative daily The Australian, said a senior Labor source told him that an Albanese government “would be a disaster for Israel,” adding that the Palestinian issue will be of high importance to the new government.

Outoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison waving to supporters in Sydney on Sunday.LOREN ELLIOTT/REUTERS

Sunday’s election also saw a national swing in favor of the Greens, the left-wing party that ran on delivering climate action. The Greens held one seat in Australia’s previous parliament, but has already won three seats this time around.

The party has been embroiled in several antisemitism scandals, with many party members openly supporting the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.

Last November, the party decried Australia’s adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, stating that it equtates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Leibler charged that the Greens’ position on the IHRA ruling was like something you might expect from Britain’s Labour Party when it was led by Jeremy Corbyn between 2015 and 2020.

Last July, a former high-profile Greens parliamentary candidate, Julian Burnside, tweeted that Israel’s “treatment of the Palestinians looks horribly like the German treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.” After a public rebuke from the Jewish community, Greens leader Adam Bandt distanced the Greens from the comment, saying his party “abhors antisemitism in all its forms.”

Two months earlier, the Greens’ national conference voted to “halt military cooperation and military trade with Israel.”

Newly elected Greens lawmaker Max Chandler-Mather, meanwhile, has a “Free Palestine” frame on his personal Facebook profile picture.

Though it is not yet clear whether the Greens would enter a coalition with Labor, it is a disturbing prospect for the Jewish community, Leibler said. “We would be extremely concerned about any influence [the Greens] would seek to have in relation to the government foreign policy agenda,” he added.