Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Warns Albanese Against Visiting Israel

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull delivers his election address to the National Press Club on June 30, 2016 in Canberra, Australia. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese against making a solidarity visit to Israel despite a number of Western leaders doing so.

Mr. Turnbull has disagreed with former Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma’s urge for a prime ministerial visit, saying a sympathetic trip would be fruitless and that Mr. Albanese is better off focusing on domestic affairs.

“What’s Australia going to do, other than provide sympathy and solidarity? Albanese has got to keep his eye on the ball, which is being prime minister of Australia and advancing the interests of the Australian people,” Mr. Turnbull told ABC Radio.

Mr. Turnbull articulated his belief that such a visit is better suited to politicians out of office.

“Leave the showboating for ScoMo and Boris,” he said.

“You’ve got to remember that they’re both two guys that are out of office. They’ve got plenty of time on their hands. Albanese has got a full-time job, he’s Prime Minister of Australia.”

Former Liberal MP Dave Sharma, who has held Mr. Turnbull’s electorate of Wentworth, suggested that “Australia’s leadership” should be doing more to extend unity to an important friend and ally.

Both former Australian and British prime ministers Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson arrived in Tel Aviv on Nov. 5 as part of a comprehensive visit to Israeli troops and civilians to demonstrate Western concord with the Middle-Eastern state.

Mr. Morrison and Mr. Johnson were greeted and hosted by former Israeli representatives to the United Nations (UN) and current member of the Knesset, Danny Danon, upon their arrival at Ben Gurion airport.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the garden of 10 Downing Street, after agreeing the broad terms of a free trade deal between the UK and Australia, in London, England, on June 15, 2021. Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty Images

They proceeded to visit a number of war-torn sites within the region, met with Australian and British citizens currently serving in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), and conducted extensive discussions surrounding the current conflict.

Mr. Morrison has been a longtime supporter of Israel. In late 2018, he changed Australia’s stance to formally recognise West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, drawing significant controversy.

The Albanese government reversed the decision last year in its overarching attempt to sell Australia as a neutral power diplomatically.

Mr. Morrison has since suggested the government remain unified in its support for Israel, adamant that conflicting stances on the conflict by certain cabinet ministers have the potential to undermine international relations.

This was a subtle reference to comments made by Labor ministers Ed Husic, Tony Burke, and Penny Wong, who have expressed their support and sympathies for the people of Palestine.

Conflicting Stances

Mr. Husic, currently serving as Minister for Industry and Science, has voiced his view that Israel has failed to distinguish between the will of the Palestine people and Hamas.

“I feel very strongly that Palestinians are being collectively punished here for Hamas’ barbarism,” Mr. Husic told SBS.

“Three thousand Palestinian deaths approximately, 1,000 of which are children. You’ve got homes, schools, medical centres destroyed. That’s before we even contemplate how they get rebuilt. No fuel, food, medicines, water.”

He also said that governments have a responsibility to hold Israel to account for violations of international law.

“I really do feel that there is an obligation on governments, particularly the Israeli Government to follow the rules of international law.”

Hamas’s incursion on Israeli territory has spurred a war that is now culminating at new heights. Since breaking out on Oct. 7, the fighting has claimed over 1,400 Israeli and at least 10,305 Palestinian civilian lives, according to the Israeli and Gaza health ministries.

Children currently account for just under half of all casualties. Gaza has one of the youngest populations in the world with 47 percent of residents under 18 years old.

Its Health Ministry reported that as of Nov. 6, 4,104 children have been killed.

There have been some global calls for a ceasefire, including from the UN, however, fighting has continued.

According to the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Hamas’ overarching aim is the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel.

Israel authorities have stated that their objective is to obliterate Hamas as a military and political force.

“I want you to know there’s one thing that we won’t do, there won’t be a ceasefire without the return of our hostages, take it completely out of the lexicon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters.

“We say it to our enemies and to our friends, and we'll simply carry on until we win. We don’t have an alternative”

The Australian government has long held a close relationship with Israel both diplomatically and commercially. According to the latest federal figures, Australian investment in Israel totalled $1.6 billion (US$1.03 billion) in 2020.

In 2021, two-way goods and services trade accounted for approximately $1.34 billion, of which exports were worth $325 million and imports from Israel $1.02 billion.

The government has also provided humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza totalling $25 million. It doesn’t, however, formally recognise the state of Palestine but advocates for a widely supported two-state solution in which both sides can peacefully coexist as sovereign nations.