Labor’s most senior Jewish MP is planning a trip to Israel amid severe friction between the Albanese and Netanyahu governments.
Relations between Canberra and its Middle East ally hit a new low at the end of 2024 after a spate of antisemitic incidents in Australia’s biggest cities.
The incidents came against a backdrop of repeated calls from the Albanese government for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel is waging a casualty-heavy war on Islamist militants.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, the son of a Holocaust survivor, has managed to avoid much of the ire and retained good standing within Australia’s Jewish community.
“The Attorney-General is seeking to reschedule his October 2024 visit to Israel which has to be cancelled,” a spokesperson for Mr Dreyfus said.
“Further details will be released in due course.”
Mr Dreyfus was due to visit Israel in October last year but cancelled after Iran launched a barrage of missiles.
As Attorney-General, he holds ministerial responsibility for Australia’s federal police and intelligence agencies, making him key to a recently announced multi-agency operation to crack down on antisemitism.
The operation was launched after the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apportioned part of the blame for the attack to the Albanese government.
He accused Labor of taking an “extreme anti-Israel position” which was “impossible to separate” from the firebombing incident.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has had a hard time managing the diplomatic fallout of Australia’s position on the war in Gaza.
It was laid bare by a “tense” phone call with her Israeli counterpart.
