Despite what Christian Kerr wrote on June 5th, the Richard Di Natale’s position on the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is consistent with that held by the ALP and the Liberal Party, as well as with the range of like-minded political parties in Israel itself. Quite simply, Israel can be recognised as a state with a right to exist without specifying that it must be a Jewish state, and Di Natale’s approach does precisely this. For leaders such as Julie Bishop, Michael Danby, Peter Wertheim and Dvir Abramovich to suggest that Di Natale’s position is harmful to Israel, Israelis, and Jews is patently wrong and dishonest. There are many within the Australian Jewish community who support Di Natale’s position: it is a thoroughly moderate position which engages with the complexities of the situation in Israel/Palestine.
This joint letter from the AJDS was sent to the editor of The Australian June 5 2015, but was not published.
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Australian Jewish Democratic Society
A PROGRESSIVE VOICE AMONG JEWS, A JEWISH VOICE AMONG PROGRESSIVES