STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE AUSTRALIAN16 MARCH 2016 In a story published in The Australian today, John Lyons makes a tenuous suggestion that the Australia Israel Labor Dialogue is funded by Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit. The AILD is not now, or has ever sought to be funded by Elbit or any other defence company, whether…
Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie says the Labor Party risks becoming politically irrelevant over its “Stalinist” approach to Israel, which he argues has become an obsession. Mr Beattie described a proposed ban on politicians travelling to Israel on trips funded by Jewish organisations as an “extreme view” that would not help achieve a two-state solution,…
The UK Jewish Community has had an historically out-sized influence on many aspects of British life. Their influence has been felt in Philanthropy, Science, Medicine, the Arts, Economic life, Social Welfare and Politics. The experience of this community of around 260,000 people mirrors the experiences of many other Western Jewish communities, and nonetheless in voting…
On the 20th of April 2015, Secretary General MK Hilik Bar and Chairperson of Israel’s Labor Party MK Isaac Herzog sent the following letter the the members of the AILD delegation during the election. You can download and see the letter in full by clicking Thank You to Australian Delegation
It certainly surprised many in Israel and the global commentariat that current Israeli Prime Minister and leader of the right-wing Likud party, Bibi Netenyahu, won the recent Israeli Election, and with the 6-seat margin over the Labor-dominated Opposition Zionist Camp unity group. The significance of the win resonates strongly within a number of overlapping circles…
Peter Baldwin was the ALP member for the House of Representatives seat of Sydney between 1983 and 1998. Following a dinner hosted by the Blackheath Philosophy Forum on 26 July 2014, the chair Peter Baldwin and speaker Peter Slezak disagreed about the recent conflict between Hamas and Israel. Peter Baldwin’s take on it can be…
At the NSW Labor Conference I spoke in opposition to a motion moved by Bob Carr concerning the Israel-Palestinian Peace Process. The motion lacked balance, was loosely and inappropriately worded, and seemed to equate Israel with Hamas. In 1977 as a university student, under the tutelage of Bob Carr, I joined Labor Friends of Israel…
Michael Easson, Labor stalwart and former Secretary of Unions NSW argues why the ALP in NSW should not dump its traditional support for the only democracy in the Middle East. Read it here: Labor Must Not Turn Its Back on Israel
I have stood at the crest of Sderot, I have looked across the border – out to Beit Hanoun and the cities in Gaza beyond it – and I have witnessed failure. It’s sad. There are 1.8 million men, women and children in Gaza. They have a right to prosperity and peace. Their leaders, in…
Victorian Opposition Leader and Leader of the Victorian Labor Party, Daniel Andrews MLA, recently spoke to Adam Slonim and Ben Maxfield of AILD about his visit to Israel in December 2013. What was your motivation for visiting Israel? It is not enough to learn about Israel from a book. You have to go there. Until…