Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly branded his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese a “weak politician who betrayed Israel” in an extraordinary diplomatic rebuke.
The comments, posted on social media on Tuesday, came in response to Albanese’s announcement that his government would formalise its recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Albanese brushed off the personal criticism on Wednesday, stating that he “treats leaders of other countries with respect.”
“I engage with them in a diplomatic way. I don’t take these things personally,” he added.
The Australian PM pointed to growing global concern, noting that “people want to see an end to the cycle of violence that we have seen for far too long. That is what Australians want to see as well.”
The war of words has been accompanied by a series of retaliatory actions on visas, further straining bilateral relations. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke inflamed tensions by cancelling the visa of Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman, a member of Netanyahu’s coalition who had scheduled an Australian speaking tour.
Rothman’s party, Religious Zionism, supports the continuation of the war in Gaza and the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians.
In retaliation, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar revoked visas for Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority and instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to “carefully examine” any future official visa applications from Australia.
Burke defended the Australian government’s position and rejected the accusation of weakness, suggesting Netanyahu was “lashing out” against Australia as he had done against other nations like the UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Norway and Spain over the same issue.
“Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The issue is highly sensitive in multicultural Australia, where there is widespread community concern over the Israel-Hamas war, evidenced by large pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The government has acknowledged rising antisemitism by appointing Sydney lawyer Jillian Segal as the nation’s first Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.
