The most senior Jew in the Australian government, Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, must resign his commission. How in good conscience can he remain part of a government that does not believe in Israel’s right to defend itself against those who would wipe it from the map, ‘From the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.’ That is unacceptable for him and his constituents in his electorate of Isaacs in Melbourne.

As the very woke Mark Liebler recently wrote, ‘I never imagined an Australian government would shift the country’s foreign policy position in relation to Israel to the point where the overwhelming majority of Jewish Australians are questioning whether the bipartisan commitment, which has endured since before the State of Israel was created, will survive.’

Following the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered 1200 people and kidnapped 250 in southern Israel, Israelis demanded that Israel go after Hamas in the Gaza. I hope it is successful in destroying that evil organisation. Similarly, it is now going after Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and Israelis appear even more united in that action. I hope it is successful in destroying that evil organisation. And then comes Iran. Israel cannot destroy Iran, but it must destroy its ability to develop nuclear weapons and prevent it from further interfering in Israeli sovereignty.

Israel must secure its borders and Prime Minister Albanese’s constant refrain of ceasefire will not achieve that goal. Imagine China using Papua New Guinea or Timor-Leste as proxies to send rockets into northern parts of Australia making them uninhabitable. Would Australia not do everything in its powers to defeat the threat?

And what does the Albanese government do in the face of these multiple threats to the one democracy in the Middle East? They send Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong to the United Nations to make a speech on the recognition of a Palestinian state. Rewarding terrorism. As bad, earlier this year, the International Criminal Court prosecutor sought arrest warrants in ‘the situation in the State of Palestine’ (no such state exists) for Hamas and Israeli leaders. He accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of war crimes. The Albanese government and Dreyfus were comfortable with this sham legal process.

Australia also supported the action by South Africa before the International Court of Justice whose interim judgement was for Israel to cease its actions in the Gaza, precisely as Hamas would wish. The ICJ requested measures to prevent Israel’s alleged ‘continued violations of the genocide convention.’ No mention of returning hostages or of permanent disarmament. Then again who would take notice of such a bench, representing some of the most corrupt nations on earth.

More recently, Australia abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded Israel completely pull out of the West Bank and Gaza within one year. The Albanese government supported this action. Wong gave no hint as to to who, Hamas in Gaza or Fatah in the West Bank, would represent the new Palestine at the UN. Indeed, a civil war would ensue the moment a state was declared. The truth is that Palestinians cannot govern themselves in a way that any surrounding state would trust. Having been subjected to a welfare status courtesy of the UN (UNRWA) for generations and voting for corrupt leadership they are unlikely to ever run a competent state. And yet, the Australian government urges such insanity, placing Israel at risk.

Dreyfus should go to the backbench and argue for real change. For example, providing explicit military aid to Israel. He should support closing the Iranian embassy in Australia and expelling the ambassador who declared Iran’s goal of eradicating Israel ‘by no later than 2027’. He should call for the exclusion of any non-permanent resident who overtly displays support for Iran regime, or Hamas or Hezbollah.

As Daniel Pipes recalled Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin from 1977, ‘I don’t need Palestinian recognition for my right to exist.’ Pipes makes a telling point that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas engage in violence towards Israel even when they know they will lose militarily, because they know fighting enhances their status among their supporters in the West’s Left.

‘Palestinian attacks have the double benefit of killing Israelis and fuelling the Left’s anger.’ Dreyfus knows this truth and yet he hides behind his Labor ‘solidarity’ to the detriment of his people and an ally of Labor in the time that better people were leaders – Bob Hawke.

Gary Johns is chair of Close the Gap Research