According to PM Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong, “Australia is not a central player in the [Middle East] region,” but the ties between Israel and Australia are significant. Andra Jackson reports.
Australia is much more than a bit player in relations with Israel, as a closer examination of the extensive connections between the two countries illustrates. These links go under the radar of the general public most of the time.
In the aftermath of the brutal October 7 Hamas incursion into Israel, there were between 10,000 to 12,000 Australians in Israel at the time, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT). Some were holidaying; others were permanent residents.
Australians with dual citizenship have been able to relocate to Israel under legislation known as the Right of Return, passed in 1950 and under a 1952 Citizenship Law. It allows any person living in any country around the world to migrate to Israel as long as they have a Jewish parent or Jewish grandparent. From the age of 18, military service is mandatory for anyone living in Israel, with some exceptions.
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Australians in the Israel Defence Force
At any one time, there are around 100 Australians in the Israel Defense Force, according to DFAT, a number likely to be higher now. Some Jewish Australians have volunteered since October 7 to join the IDF under the Mahal program that recruits Jewish youths under 24 years from other countries to volunteer to join the IDF. They serve full-time in the military for eighteen months.
Other Jewish Australians who have answered a call-up appeal from Israel are reservists who have completed their time in the IDF and returned to Australia but remain on an emergency response list. Israel provided flights for some of the volunteers. A claim that there may be as many as 1,000 Australians in the IDF has not been confirmed by DFAT, with a spokesperson saying that the department “does not track the movement of Australians overseas”.
The Sar-El volunteer program is also actively recruiting from Australia’s Jewish population of 99,956 (last Census), the ninth-largest Jewish population in the world. Participants serve one to three weeks in the IDF in non-military roles with the option of serving longer. They provide support to the Israeli Defence Force such as packing medical supplies to free up soldiers to concentrate on military duties. An article in The Australian Jewish News last November said more Australians were needed to volunteer for Sar-El “to work in uniform on Israeli military bases’.”
Another program called Birthright Israel takes young Jewish Australians, aged variously from 16 to 26 or 16 to 32 on free 10-day trips to Israel billed as educational. One trip that had 160 participants was jointly funded by the Zionist Federation of Australia, and the Gandel Foundation, one of Australia’s largest independent family trusts that funds both Jewish and general causes.
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Support for the illegal settlements
Jewish Australians have also played an influential role in the expansion of Jewish Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank in defiance of numerous United Nations Assembly resolutions declaring the Settlements illegal under international law. The most prominent has been Tasmanian-based one-time mining promoter and Orthodox Rabbi Joseph Gutnick. He was widely reported to have donated millions of dollars to illegal settlements in the Palestinian town of Hebron in the West Bank.
Gutnick is also known to have donated to Netanyahu’s Likud party throughout the 1990s and bankrolled Netanyahu’s first campaign for the Prime Ministership.
Another influential Australian in the illegal Settler Movement is Michael Lourie, an Israeli real estate agent who describes himself as a “boy from Melbourne.’’ In 2001, he founded the Pnei Kedem Settlement, built next to the Palestinian city of Si’ir in the Occupied West Bank. The illegal outpost is 950 meters above sea level and overlooks the Dead Sea. Residents include Cabinet member Simcha Rotman, the far-right representative for the Religious Zionist Party who championed recent efforts to muzzle Israel’s judiciary.
Another key Jewish-Australian connection in Israeli politics is Melbourne-born Mark Regev, who is also a former Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He was a spokesperson for the Israeli Government during the early stages of Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza.
Fundraising
Numerous Jewish groups in Australia raise funds to send to Israel. The funds are described as for welfare purposes, but some are very likely directed to the Settler Movement. The Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission currently has 100 charities registered that operate in Israel.
The Jewish National Fund was established in 1901 to buy and develop Palestinian land then under Syrian rule. It is currently collecting money for objectives that include “replenishing of equipment for first responders and self-defence units.”
Federal Labor MP Julien Hill said earlier this year: “There are also concerning suggestions that tax-deductible vehicles may exist in Australia where people funnel money to support Settler activity in the West Bank. This needs investigating, and if proven, these funds must be shut down and their Deductible Gift Recipient status removed.” Hill has also suggested that
Australia should consider making it illegal to fund Settler activity.
Business and weapons industry ties
Other increasingly strong connections between Australia and Israel centre on business and trade. Around 1,000 companies in Australia are members of the Australian-Israel Chamber of Commerce. There are 18 Israeli companies listed on the ASX, according to the Sydney office of the Israel Trade and Economic Commission (November 2023).
In 2002, Australia signed a Memorandum Of Understanding as a level 3 international partner in the “systems development and demonstration phase’’ for the F-35 fighter jet program, built by Lockheed Martin in America. The most advanced fighter jet ever developed, it is in use by Israel in Gaza.
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Australian companies are providing a range of advanced manufacturing techniques to the supply of F-35 components. A Parliamentary report listed participating Australian companies in the development of the F-35 and flow-on work, including BAE Systems Australia, Heat Treatment Australia Pty. Ltd, Marand Precision Engineering Pty Ltd, Sutton Tools, Vipac Engineers and Axiom Diemold.
In 2017, the Turnbull Government signed a MOU on defence industry cooperation with Israel. Then Defence Minister Christopher Pyne signed a series of contracts worth around $89 million with Israeli arms manufacturing company Elbit Systems between August 2018 and May 2019. The same year, the Australian government appointed a resident Defence Attaché to its Embassy in Tel Aviv, underlining the importance of this trade to Australia.
The Australian Future Fund is a shareholder of Elbit Systems.
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Other Australian manufacturers exporting to Israel include New South Wales-based Bisalloy Steels. It signed a $900,000 contract six years ago to become part of the global supply chain of Israeli arms company Rafael Advance Defence Systems. Its’ quenched and tempered steel plates are added to armoured vehicles used by the IDF in its ground offensive on Gaza.
Bisalloy also provides steel for Plasan Reem, another Israeli company that manufactures armoured vehicles used in the West Bank by Israeli police. Bisalloy’s business development manager, Justin Suwart, said at the time: “Bisalloy’s good standing in Israel is reflective of an overall strong relationship between Australia and Israel at all levels of business, government and community.”
Government denials
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has insisted that Australia has not sent any arms or ammunition to Israel for the last five years. However, following demonstrations outside its Campbellfield plant last May, the CEO of HTA (Heat Treatment Australia) Group chief executive, Norm Tucker, told the ABC 774 presenter Raf Epstein: “They think we are doing military parts there, but that is incorrect; it is misinformed.
We are doing that out of our Brisbane plant of course but not here in Melbourne.
According to DFAT, since signing the MOU with Israel on defence manufacture in 2017, Australia has exported $16 million worth of military related equipment to Israel. Around $3.28 million of that has been on the Federal Labor Government’s watch since coming to power in May 2022, with another $1.57 million of military material exported to Israel in February this year.
If the Albanese Government is genuine in calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution, it needs to re-evaluate those connections between the two countries that may hinder these objectives and apply sanctions. These include halting the weapons trade, support for illegal settlements and reviewing dual citizenship for those serving in the IDF.
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This post was originally published on Michael West.