Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move the motion circulated in my name in relation to Hamas attacks on Israel:

That the Senate—

(a) unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas, which are the heinous acts of terrorists, and have encompassed the targeting and murder of civilians, including women and children, the taking of hostages, and indiscriminate rocket fire;

(b) stands with Israel and recognises its inherent right to defend itself;

(c) condemns antisemitism and recognises that generations of Jewish people have been subjected to this hateful prejudice;

(d) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages;

(e) recognises that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, nor their legitimate needs and aspirations;

(f) acknowledges the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian life and that innocent civilians on all sides are suffering as a result of the attacks by Hamas and the subsequent conflict;

(g) supports justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike;

(h) supports international efforts to establish and maintain humanitarian access into Gaza, including safe passage for civilians;

(i) reiterates Australia's consistent position in all contexts is to call for the protection of civilian lives and the observance of international law;

(j) supports Australia's engagement with countries in the Middle East and beyond, at all levels, in support of the protection of civilians, and the containment of the conflict;

(k) supports the Government's ongoing efforts to provide consular assistance to affected Australians and to facilitate the departure of those who want to leave the region;

(l) acknowledges what has unfolded is deeply distressing for many in the Australian community, close to the heart of many, and it is important that we maintain respect for each other here at home as people express their views;

(m) condemns all forms of hate speech and violent extremist activity, including Antisemitism and Islamophobia;

(n) recognizes an attack on any religion is an attack on all religions and that we all share a responsibility to unite, condemn and defeat such an attack on our common values and way of life;

(o) notes that undermining social cohesion and unity by stoking fear and division risks Australia's domestic security; and

(p) affirms in the strongest possible terms that hateful prejudice has no place in Australia.

Unless senators wish me to, I don't propose to read out the motion. I acknowledge and thank Senator Birmingham and the opposition for their engagement on the content of this.

The Senate must condemn these acts of evil perpetrated by a hateful group bent on the destruction of the state of Israel and the eradication of Jews. This was an attack on Israel and on the Jewish people, but it is also an attack on our collective humanity. We unequivocally condemn these attacks. We call for the immediate release of hostages. Australia stands with Israel and always will, just as we always remember the thousands of years of persecution and atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people—six million European Jews killed in the Holocaust—that finally resolved the international community to establish the state of Israel. And, as more Jews were killed in this attack than on any single day since the Holocaust, we understand how this brings back that trauma.

The attack by Hamas was shocking in its brutality and its scale: 1,400 civilians murdered, 3½ thousand injured and as many as 150 taken from Israel and held hostage in Gaza; men, women and children, from babies to the infirm and elderly, Holocaust survivors; many killed in their homes, protecting their loved ones; hundreds gunned down at a music festival; citizens from more than 30 nations, an Australian grandmother, Galit Carbone, among their number. Place names that days ago were probably known only to a few are now seared in our memory: Kibbutz Be'eri, Kibbutz Kfar Aza—small, self-sustaining communities that have now experienced unimaginable horror. And I want to again express my deepest sympathies to those impacted by these heinous acts. We are shocked, we are horrified, we grieve with you and we affirm our solidarity with you.

We do need to be clear about what has taken place here. Hamas has carried out a terrorist attack against Israel and its people. There is no justification for this attack, and, in the face of this attack, as ever, Israel has a right to defend itself, to re-establish its security, to prevent such attacks from taking place again. We must also be clear: Hamas does not seek peace, nor does Hamas represent or speak for the Palestinian people and their legitimate needs and aspirations. We need to be clear in differentiating Hamas from the Palestinian people, just as we would distinguish between the Taliban and Afghans. Hamas is a terrorist group that rules Gaza with no regard for the safety and security of the Palestinian people who live there.

The Albanese government's guiding principle has always been the pursuit of progress towards a just and enduring two-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians can live within secure borders. One of the many tragic consequences of Hamas's abhorrent attack is that it has pushed that two-state solution further out of reach. This also makes this an unconscionable crime perpetrated by Hamas against the Palestinian people. Hamas's actions have precipitated a devastating situation in Israel and in Gaza, and civilians on all sides are suffering. Regardless of religion or ethnicity, we mourn each innocent life lost.

Australia's principle position, in all contexts, is to call for the protection of civilian lives and for the observance of international humanitarian law. These are principles we cherish. They protect us all, which is why we have seen widespread calls across the international community for the protection of civilians, and these are the principles I have consistently advocated in my discussions with regional and international partners, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the UAE, the Palestinian Authority and the United States.

We join with the calls of President Biden and other partners for Israel to operate by the rules of law. These calls are about protecting innocent life, but they are also about our shared interests. They are about containing this conflict, and containing this conflict matters. If conflict were to spill over across the region, risks to Israel's security would be compounded, as they would for Israeli and Palestinian civilians and civilian populations throughout the region. Averting regional escalation matters to Israel, it matters to the people of the region and it matters to the world.

This will be one of Israel's many considerations as it determines how it pursues its legitimate military objectives, and we recognise this will be challenging. Hamas has burrowed itself into Gaza's civilian population. It uses the Palestinian people and the hostages it has taken as human shields and seeks to prevent the departure of foreign nationals—inhumane tactics that clarify the true nature of the group, but, in turn, heighten the imperative for all possible measures to be taken to protect civilians in Gaza.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly. In response, Australia is providing an initial $10 million in humanitarian assistance through trusted partners for civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza. This includes $3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross to fund urgent needs, like restoring essential services and providing medical support to victims of the conflict, and $7 million through UNICEF and UNOPS to deliver critical support, including emergency water, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene services as well as child protection.

To ensure essential humanitarian relief can reach civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza, Australia calls for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and the rapid establishment of a humanitarian corridor. We support the work of the United States, Egypt and others towards this goal. We will continue to monitor and assess the humanitarian situation, and we stand ready to provide further support.

From the outset of this crisis, the Australian government has been supporting Australians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Last Monday I asked my Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to assess all options for Australians wanting to leave. We secured commercial options for assisted departures and readied the ADF to assist should commercial options no longer be viable.

The first of those flights, operated by Qantas, took 238 passengers from Tel Aviv to London free of charge. Overnight, we have provided a further three flights, two operated by the Australian Defence Force and one government charter. In many cases we have also been able to coordinate with countries who are facing similar circumstances. For example, Fiji, which happened to have a plane in Israel, provided 14 seats for Australians wanting to leave.

I want to thank the officers of my department, members of the Australian Defence Force and all government officials who helped in this effort, including those at overseas posts and the staff at Services Australia. I acknowledge the work of all departments and agencies through what has been a whole-of-government response.

I should note we have secured flights for onward travel to Australia from both London and Dubai, and information about those onward flights will be provided directly to passengers. Further details will be released soon.

Subject to factors, including the security environment, the Australian government is planning an additional charter flight to depart from Tel Aviv to Dubai today for Australians wanting to leave. Yesterday, we saw spare seats, despite them being fully allocated. We can't know how the security situation will unfold. I've been saying for several days people who wish to leave should take the first available option. People should consider that the flight I have referenced may be our last opportunity to conduct an assisted departure flight for the foreseeable future.

As of this morning, more than 1,200 Australians previously registered have left Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including more than 400 Australians and their families on four Australian government assisted departure flights. DFAT continues to assist more than a thousand registered Australians, including 39 consular cases. I do emphasise that not all of those registered wish to leave. In many cases, it is a matter of maintaining contact and the flow of information at what is obviously an anxious time. This situation is highly challenging and rapidly changing, and the government is considering whether further assisted departure flights are required. Australians in the affected areas who wish to leave and need assistance with departure should register via DFAT's crisis portal or by calling the 24-hour consular emergency centre on +61262613305 from overseas or 1300555135 from within Australia. We will continue to provide updates to registered Australians.

In closing, I want to reflect on the impact of this conflict here in Australia. Australians are rightly distressed by this situation, and that distress is felt most acutely in our Jewish and Palestinian communities. This is a long, complex and disputed history, deeply felt, closely to the heart of many. The lived experiences and understandings of our different Australian communities are distinct. When individuals engage in the sort of rhetoric that we have seen, regrettably, in recent days—vile antisemitism and the Islamophobia which is its bedfellow—it undermines some of our greatest strengths: our diversity, our tolerance, our values.

This week, President Biden reminded us that history teaches us that hate towards one group, left unanswered, leaves open the door for more hate for more groups, so I ask all of us: when we speak, let us speak with respect; when we speak, let us speak with understanding for difference. We should reject all in this country who seek to create division. We should all be striving for unity. We reject hate and condemn prejudice and discrimination in all its forms. We reject the terror perpetrated by Hamas and separate their heinous acts from the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people. We stand firmly against antisemitism. We stand against Islamophobia. We stand against prejudice. We stand against hate speech in all its forms and we call it out when and where we see it. We must maintain mutual respect for each other here at home, and this chamber has a role in that. We must preserve our uniquely harmonious multicultural character. It is why people come to this country and it is who we are as a country.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The attacks by Hamas against Israel just over a week ago were amongst the worst examples of terrorism in the modern age. That word, 'terrorism', speaks of horror. It speaks of violence. It speaks of instilling fear in a people to achieve a political or ideological aim. Until Saturday a week ago most of us could not have imagined just how abhorrent the imposition of terror could be on innocent people—women, the elderly, mothers and grandmothers, children and, the most innocent of all, babies.

As rockets rained down on populations in Israel's south, the terror that is Hamas unleashed the most inhumane attacks on innocent civilians. It was bloody and brutal murder, of more than 1,300 people, carried out with animalistic savagery that has no place in our world. No reasonable person could not be affected by the horror we saw unfolding in Israel, beginning with the wholesale slaughter of young people who had simply gathered in a field to enjoy music and dance. Could the horror be worse? Sadly, what followed were unimaginable reports of rape, torture, beheading and kidnapping. Still, hostages are being held by Hamas. They should be released unconditionally. Many of the reports are haunting, for none more than those with family and loved ones in Israel. What they are enduring is beyond our comprehension, especially for those still waiting for confirmation of whether their worst fears for loved ones become a grim reality. We can only try to imagine and empathise for the pain felt by those directly affected. That pain reverberated around Australia even before we knew that an Australian grandmother was among those murdered. To the family, friends and loved ones, both here in Australia and in Israel, of Galit Carbone, who sadly became the first Australian to be confirmed to have been killed in Hamas' attack, the horror became deeply personal. Words are inadequate but we offer our sympathies to Ms Carbone's family and loved ones. But whether or not this horror directly affected a relative, friend or acquaintance, it is still deeply personal for Australia's Jewish community. It is personal because they can relate. In those who have died, they can see themselves, their loved ones or, perhaps most painfully of all, their forebears.

In the history of humanity, many people have suffered persecution at the hands of others. However, the Jewish story of persecution stands out in its horror, its scale and its still relative proximity. The Holocaust was less than 100 years ago and took six million lives. The horrors of the Holocaust continue to be deeply felt by the generations who have followed. The attacks of Saturday a week ago are deeply personal for Jewish people because they go to their personal identity. As they see it and feel it, the victims could just as easily has been them or their loved ones just because they are Jews. The brutal unprovoked murder of Ms Carbone and so many others seeks to deny not only the right of Israel to exist or of Jewish people to a homeland but threatens the very right of Jews to live. That there remain those who would pursued genocide as their objective should send a chill down the collective spine of decent societies around the world.

Australia, along with all like-minded nations, must support efforts by Israel to defend itself and its people against this and the risk of future atrocities. The coalition believes that through this motion the Australian parliament is telling the world, especially our Jewish friends here in Australia, that we stand with you and that we will support you in your moment of greatest need since the darkest days of World War II.

Hamas's brutal attack has led to the largest killing of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust. What is more difficult to comprehend is that such targeted slaughter—that is what it was, slaughter—should lead to scenes of jubilation amongst those who support the twisted ideologies of Hamas. What great shame can befall a nation than to be the focus of such scenes of jubilation. The gross antisemitic scenes on the steps of the Sydney Opera House stain our nation in shame. These abhorrent actions have instilled fear in Australia's strong and proud Jewish community deepen that shame.

Last week I was in Brussels and Berlin, and to be asked unprompted by members of other parliaments in nations far away about those scenes on the steps of the Sydney Opera House was not only embarrassing but disturbing. Is this Australia in 2023? I would hope not. While we defend the right to protest, there should be no effort spared to prosecute any who crossed the line through words or deeds to incite violence or further terrorism. Such sentiments have no place in Australia. The racist bigots who attracted this international attention do not reflect what I know the overwhelming majority of fair-minded, decent Australians stand for.

Australia's Jewish community has made an enormous contribution to Australia's multicultural, modern, tolerant, peaceful, respectful society. It is a community that is welcome here, a community that belongs here, a community of Australians, of Jewish Australians. If the events in Israel and the reverberations we saw on the steps of the Opera House make us shudder, as they should, then when David Adler, the President of the Australian Jewish Association, says he has had reports of mobs driving around Sydney saying they are 'looking for Jews', then we need to act. We need to act when this is not an isolated event but the manifestation of what seems to be a dangerous creeping wave of antisemitism. When 21-year-old Benji van der Plaat, who spoke in The Age last Wednesday, chillingly summed up the fear of many of his faith when he said, 'I am Jewish but I am currently scared to show it,' then we need to act. When businessman Oliver Friedman is told to stay away from his workplace in the heart of Sydney in Martin Place unless he can make himself look 'less Jewish', we need to act. When parents are afraid to take their children to schools which reflect their faith, when those very schools have for so many years had to employ security and now had to increase that security, then we need to act. These actions require unequivocal condemnation. They require action across our security agencies at federal and state levels to ensure our Jewish community feel and are safe in their homes, their schools, their workplaces and their daily lives.

We need longer term action too. Whilst in Germany, in light of the horror unfolding in Israel, I changed my program to visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Here, as elsewhere across Germany, I was struck by the honest acknowledgement of wrongdoing and how comprehensively those lessons of intolerance and antisemitism have been learnt. No Australian child, regardless of their school, should have anything less than a comprehensive understanding of these dark moments in history and why it is so important to stand against the ideologies, beliefs and actions that enabled them.

The Liberal and National parties once again, in concert with virtually all Australians, stand against all forms of antisemitism. We were proud, in government, to lead Australia's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of 'antisemitism'. To our Jewish friends who are hurting or are fearful, I say this: you are a much loved and intrinsic part of our Australian family. What you and your loved ones are enduring, both here and in Israel, is what this parliament today must denounce in the strongest possible terms—endorsed, I hope, by all parties and individuals.

Australia and Israel are democracies. We argue for rights and the rule of law. Australia was the first country to vote in favour of the UN partition plan in 1947, and we became one of the first countries to formally recognise the state of Israel in 1949. The strong bonds between our nations continue to this day and underpin our recognition of Israel's absolute right to defend itself, its right to exist and its right to protect its citizens from terrorism. The coalition is unequivocal in the belief that, in exercising its right to self-defence, Israel has the right to remove the threat that Hamas presents to the Israeli people. Hamas, which stands only for bloodshed and terror, is not only a threat to Israel but presents a permanent blockage to any pathway they could lead Israelis and Palestinians towards a more peaceful future.

The removal of Hamas from any position of power or influence is a prerequisite not just for security but for any hope of long-term peace. The former coalition government officially recognised Hamas as a terrorist organisation, as have many other nations. We have all known of its evil motivations for too long. There is a lesson when we look at global events like Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year or Hamas's attack on Israel this year. The lesson is that those who act in bad faith don't get better with time. Many will rightly ask whether more could or should have been done when Putin invaded Crimea in 2014 or, in the same year, blasted hundreds of innocent lives out of the air, including 27 Australians. Equally, they may ask what more could or should have been done when Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007 or kidnapped and murdered teenagers in 2014, or any of the countless other atrocities it has undertaken over the years.

We cannot always bend the arc of history towards a better outcome, but we should be ever vigilant about trying to do so. Right now, that should cause the world to cast its eyes towards Iran. While most of the Arab world has been normalising relations with Israel, Iran is known to have been arming Hamas. While much of the Arab world has been opening up to the world, Iran has been doubling down on the murder and oppression of its own people, especially women and girls. Iran spreads evil ideology. It funds or empowers proxies like Hamas or Hezbollah, the latter having seized upon Hamas's violent acts to join in its own attacks on Israel.

Let us not be asking, in five or 10 years time, what more could've been done to prevent Iran unleashing whatever atrocity its regime might commit, including the threat of a nuclear one. Instead, let us take every principled step we can right now to prevent that from happening, including calling Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps what it is: a terrorist organisation. Right now Australia, along with all like-minded nations, should support efforts by Israel to defend itself and its people against the risk of future atrocities. The coalition believes that Australia should be willing not to just stand with Israel but to help Israel.

We're already witnessing that the battle to disarm and disempower Hamas will not be easy. The politics of this region are complex—the history even more so. There is great compassion for the Palestinian people, which, if anything, has only grown in recent years. Earlier this year, I finished reading a booked called Apeirogon. It was given to me by two fathers who are members of the Parents Circle, a peaceful group bringing together Israelis and Palestinians who have lost children in conflict. Apeirogon is a book like no other that I've ever read, intertwining history, analogy and the tragic stories of Smadar, killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber at the age of 13, with that of Abir, killed by an Israeli rubber bullet at the age of 10. The forgiveness shown by these parents, as they hope for a peaceful future, is the best of humanity. I suspect they would disagree with many of the conclusions I've drawn from recent events, but, in Hamas, their cause for peace confronts the worst of humanity.

Be under no mistake: Hamas has brought Israel's response upon itself, and, in doing so, it has tragically exposed to danger the very people they falsely claim to stand for. Hamas are responsible for the current loss of Israeli, Palestinian and other innocent lives. The task being undertaken by Israel is not one that any of us would envy, especially with the moral dilemmas it presents. Nobody wants to see other innocent lives lost, least of all those of other children. They deserve care and support too, which is why the coalition supports properly targeted humanitarian assistance. However, let us not be led into false equivalences. In attack, Hamas acts with surprise and with intent to brutally kill women and children. In defence, Hamas acts with cowardice by using women and children as shields.

Israel, in contrast, provides public warnings to minimise civilian losses, acting in defence to target the weapons, capabilities and perpetrators of terrorist acts. As difficult as this situation becomes, let us be unflinching and unwavering in our support for Israel removing Hamas terrorists from power. Let us hope that, in removing this mighty obstacle to progress or peace, Israel and genuine representatives of the Palestinian people may eventually find a pathway to live alongside one another in peace.

To live in Australia is to live in a multicultural society that respects all traditions and heritages, asking only that they also respect one another. Both Australia and Israel ask our citizens to respect one another, to respect diversity and to respect the rights and responsibilities that come with living in a liberal democracy and market economy. We as nations, Australia and Israel, are more inclusive, compassionate and successful societies than any governed by Hamas or its supporters such as Iran. That is why, at this historical turning point of Hamas's evil acts of war against Israel, we stand with our Israeli and Jewish friends, together and resolute in defence of Israel.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week the world watched in horror as Hamas began its assault upon the state of Israel and upon its citizens. The scale and brutality with which innocent civilians just trying to live out their lives were targeted for slaughter, mutilation and abduction has rightly moved so many in the Australian community to voice our compassion and solidarity with all Israelis impacted and to offer help in the midst of an immense trauma.

Among the murdered were older people just living in their homes, kids enjoying a music festival and children who knew little of the history of a conflict that far predates their arrival on this planet. There is no excuse, no justification and no celebration that can be found in attacks that deliberately target and seek to traumatise civilian communities. It is not resistance. It's not a military offensive. The compassion, honesty and commitment to peace and justice, demanded of us all in this moment, call on us to call out these acts as the acts of terrorism and the blatant war crimes that they are.

In the aftermath of this attack, the government of the state of Israel has implemented several policies and operations. Rather than seek to respond with targeted operations designed to bring individual perpetrators to justice in line with international law, the state of Israel has engaged and is now engaged in a ruthless campaign of collective punishment against the Palestinians of Gaza despite the fact there are one million children living in Gaza; almost 40 per cent of the population of the Gaza Strip is under the age of 15. The Israeli military is indiscriminately bombing civilians in their homes as they try to flee or seek shelter. Neighbourhoods where so many Palestinians have spent years trying to build their lives are being reduced to rubble. The state of Israel has cut off access to water, electricity, food and medicine, meaning those rescued from the rubble face hospital wards that are little more than warehouses for the dead and dying. There is no excuse and no justification, and there can be no solidarity with such actions. It is not self-defence. It is not a military operation.

The very same commitment to compassion, to honesty, to peace and to justice required of us in response to the vile attacks of Hamas requires us to call out the war crimes being committed by the state of Israel right now in Gaza. The need to call out these war crimes is all the more urgent because it appears today that the state of Israel is in the final stages of forcing the removal of 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza in an act of collective punishment and a forced population transfer that would constitute one of the most significant humanitarian disasters and contraventions of international law in the 21st century. This cannot be condoned. It must be opposed.

The Greens reject and condemn all forms of violence, especially against civilians. We call again for an immediate ceasefire between all parties engaged, an immediate halt to the forced removal and transfer of Palestinians in Gaza and an immediate end to the military siege. Nothing can justify the violence we have seen in the last week. We can never forget that peace must always be the goal for both Israelis and Palestinians. To contribute to the work needed to attain this peace, the Australian government must be honest about the context and history surrounding what we are witnessing right now. Failing to do so will reinforce a cycle of violence to be repeated over and over again, with innocent civilians paying the highest price. The Australian government must be honest with the Australian community about the fact that the state of Israel has been committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinian peoples for so many years now, and about the fact that the far-right Netanyahu government has expanded and entrenched the state of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, creating the conditions that have seen Hamas' influence grow and a just peace so much more difficult to achieve.

To achieve peace, the Australian and global community must work together to bring an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, to ensure Hamas unconditionally releases all hostages taken on the 7 October attack, and to ensure the planners and perpetrators of the 7 October attack are brought to justice in accordance with international law and that there are independent UN and ICC backed investigations of the war crimes being committed by the state of Israel in Gaza right now. There must be a removal of Israeli settlers and security forces from all Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including the land and sea blockade of Gaza. We must work to ensure the equitable allocation of national resources, including water, and an end to the siege that now denies Palestinians access to water and medicine. And we must work collectively to ensure full equality before the law for every person, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, language, race, gender identity, class, disability, sexuality or other social status in Palestine and Israel.

In this work, we must remain connected to the reality that thousands have died. Tens of thousands have been injured and hundreds of thousands of human beings have been displaced. These numbers increase daily. The grief of communities across the world increases daily because of the actions of Hamas and of the state of Israel, the actions they are taking against each other's civilian communities. We must respond to these horrors with compassion. We must respond with honesty. We must respond with an ironclad determination to achieve a just and lasting peace.

I indicate to the Senate now on behalf of the Australian Greens that we will be moving an amendment to the government's motion before the chamber to omit paragraph (b) and substitute the paragraph 'condemn war crimes perpetrated by the state of Israel, including the bombing of Palestinian civilians, and calls for an immediate ceasefire between all parties and an end to the war on Gaza, recognising that for there to be peace there must be an end to the state of Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories'.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you moving that?

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the National Party to support this motion and in particular to agree with the remarks from the Opposition leader, Senator Birmingham; also to recommit Australia's and this Senate's unwavering support for the state of Israel in the face of pure, unadulterated evil attacks unleashed by the terrorist organisation Hamas.

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a multipronged military operation on Israel that included rocket attacks, balaclava-clad fighters dropping from paragliders, ground assaults on civilians in their homes, on city streets and at a Jewish music festival. The terrorists burst through border fences without any warning or immediate provocation, landed on Israeli beaches and fired thousands of rockets into Israel early on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath and a Jewish holiday. Australians and the world witnessed an unprovoked mass murder of 1,400 Israeli men, women and children: young people at a music festival rounded up and gunned down in cold blood; Israeli mothers, fathers, children brutally beheaded and butchered in their own homes; more still rounded up as hostages. More than 150 people remain captive in Gaza in a further atrocity. Many Israelis have called this attack their 9/11. More than 1,300 civilians and soldiers slaughtered—not just killed, slaughtered—in Israel. Entire family slain; babies killed their cots.

We must call this premeditated attack, perhaps years in the planning, for what it is: absolute indescribable evil. And yet, incomprehensibly for the Jewish people, it was just yet another chapter in millennia of antisemitism and horrific acts of genocide. In fact 7 October 2023 marked the single worst day for loss of life by the Jewish people since the Holocaust, an event all humanity pledged would never happen again.

Our commitment to supporting the State of Israel is deeply rooted in our principles of democracy, freedom and justice. We firmly believe in upholding the rule of law and the rights of sovereign nations to protect their citizens from harm. We defend Israel's right to defend itself and its duty to protect its citizens.

Hamas, which seeks Israel's destruction, says it is defending Palestinians' right to freedom and self-determination. But this wasn't that.

Israel has a right to protect the innocent, to eliminate the threat to its people, to prevent future harm and to uphold its sovereignty, of which Australia has always been a supporter. Australia and Israel share a unique and profound bond, rooted in a common commitment to democratic values, human rights and the rule of law. Israel is the sole genuine democracy in the Middle East and has consistently upheld democratic values and principles whilst grappling with numerous security challenges and threats.

For my part, I am a Zionist. I've visited Israel several times. I steadfastly and unashamedly defend the right of Israel to defend itself from the existential threat to the only genuine democracy in the Middle East.

Australia played a fundamental role in the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, being the first nation in the world to vote in favour of the United Nations resolution. Australia also accepted an influx of refugees after the Second World War, and those citizens and their children have made an enormous and extraordinary contribution to our nation. Most of them ended up in the capital city of my home state, in Melbourne. The close connection between Australia and Israel has continued, mostly uninterrupted, since then. Support for Israel in Australia has been bipartisan.

I acknowledge today that the Labor Party has, for the most part, been entirely supportive of Israel, and its many champions have included past leaders Doc Evatt, Kim Beazley, Bob Hawke and Bill Shorten—lifelong supporters of Israel and our Jewish community here at home. But Labor has occasionally wavered in its support. Most notably, there was Gough Whitlam's cooling of relations with Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. In very recent times, we've witnessed another period of ambivalence from the Australian Labor Party, as the changes in demographics of Labor electorates have meant that some Labor MPs have put principle aside in favour of their preselection and election.

I was very proud to attend on Friday an Erev Shabbat in Caulfield, organised by the Jewish community in my home state, joining not just thousands of people from the Melbourne Jewish community but also supporters from right across the state of Victoria and state and federal members of parliament. I acknowledge that Senator Paterson spoke at that event, but I was moved and struck in particular by the contribution of the Australian Attorney-General, Mr Mark Dreyfus. I just want to share some of his contribution to that event as we joined together to show our united support:

Many of us here this evening are the children or grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. I am the son of a Holocaust survivor.

And it is unbearable to comprehend how, given all we have endured as a people over our long history, this could be happening again.

Spending sleepless nights waiting desperately to hear from loved ones.

So many fearing for the safety of family and friends in Israel—including those being called up to serve.

There is no excuse for the atrocities of Hamas. There is no justification.

This was not just an attack on the State of Israel.

And it was not just an attack on the people of Israel.

This was an attack on the Jewish people.

He then went on to speak about the 'unbreakable spirit' of the Jewish people over time. That was the Australian Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus.

I think, when we say we stand by Israel, it is very concerning that it took days—days—for the Australian Prime Minister to get out of his 'yes' T-shirt and get to a synagogue, to actually stand with our Jewish community at their time of need. There was a wholly inadequate response from the New South Wales government to the protest march at the Opera House. It beggars belief that those racist, bigoted zealots were allowed to get on with their day after that appalling behaviour. The one person that got arrested was a man who peacefully was carrying an Israeli flag whilst other protesters at the Opera House cried, 'Gas the Jews.' This is Australia in 2023. It's appalling, and we need to stand up against it. There were no NSC meetings called. All efforts were to downplay the significance of the event.

Language is very important. When we finished Erev Shabbat, as we all dispersed back to our Friday evening, local community members were saying: 'Thank you for coming. I know you're not Jewish, but thank you for standing with us.' On Saturday night, while they were watching this and WhatsApping their families in Irael, there was silence from their own government, the Australian government, in their time of need. A woman pulled me aside and said, 'I felt so alone.' That is why this motion is so important. It is so important that they know the Australian parliament—not just the opposition but the government and the Australian Senate—stands with them.

We've seen our Minister for Foreign Affairs use very carefully chosen but deliberate words in order to placate some sections within the Australian Labor Party. Hamas is a radical Islamist organisation. It has been a constant threat to the peace and security of Israel and the region. Its repeated rocket attacks and border infiltration—kites aimed at Israeli civilians—have had devastating consequences over many years. These attacks not only violate international law but also demonstrate Hamas's complete disregard for the lives of both Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza whom they claim to represent. To those who have genuine concerns for Palestinians living in Gaza: do not forget that Hamas has repeatedly used its own people as human shields. This moral distinction underscores a fundamental difference between a nation that values human life and a terrorist organisation that uses it as a bargaining chip. Australia is the most successful multicultural nation in the world. We are so because there is respect and acceptance of people from all nations and all faiths. I ask those who are torn in their genuine, heartfelt sympathy for Palestinians to just imagine for one moment the same atrocity being perpetuated here on Australian soil. Would your demands for restraint and even-handedness be the same?

In the face of ongoing threats from Hamas, we stand by Israel. The brutal terrorist attack is a tragedy, and one that may change the course of the nation and the entire region. In coming months it's going to be difficult. The consequences of his unprovoked attack fill us all with dread, but we also must recognise the truth of what has happened. Today is a day when we must clearly and unequivocally say to the people of Israel: we stand with our Jewish community; we reject with all our of hearts, all of our minds and all of our actions any threat to you and yours.

David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Never again'. They are the words that have been said since the Holocaust in the Second World War. Let me see them again: never again! Yet last weekend we saw the same atrocities happen in Israel—against Israelis, against my Jewish family and friends. Let's make no mistake about it: Hamas is synonymous with evil, the same evil that we saw perpetuated by the Nazis in the Second World War. Therefore, in my mind, there can be no doubt that Hamas is synonymous with the Nazis.

This was proven at that horrible march in Sydney following the attacks, on an occasion which was meant to be remembering the lives lost in Israel, where there were people chanting, 'Gas the Jews.' My family are Jewish. Can you imagine the effect, 70-odd years since the Holocaust, of again hearing people saying, 'Gas the Jews'? We cannot stand for this. I am so heartbroken by the atrocities that we saw, and they felt so close to home for me, my family, my friends in Israel and the Jewish community—in Melbourne in particular but right across Victoria.

The stories of atrocities and killing from that raid into Israel by Hamas have to be condemned. It does not sit well with me when I hear about the teenagers who were murdered at the music festival and those who were paraded through the streets with bloodied crotches, seemingly after being raped. That does not sit well with me. It does not sit well with me that grandmothers were burned. It does not sit well with me that babies were killed in their cots. The number of hostages taken, the 1,300 people murdered—none of this sits well with me. That is why I stand with Israel and with the Jewish community in Australia. That is why I believe that the Israeli people have the right to defend themselves and that Hamas must be neutralised and can never again be allowed to rule over the people of Gaza and bring terror to their lives and to Israel.

We must do everything we can to save the lives of nonbelligerents, but let's face facts. Hamas did not give days of warning to the babies that were killed, the women that were raped, the grandmothers that were burned and the hostages taken—nothing like that. They did not play by the rules of war. At least we are seeing the IDF act with courage and within the rules of humanitarian law in giving people an opportunity to escape. Israel was not given this opportunity. This war will be prosecuted. It will be bloody. It will be against Hamas. It is not against the people of Islam. It's not against the Gazans. I stand also with the members of the Islamic community here in Australia, every bit as much as I do with the Jewish community in Australia. This is just a fight against evil, and I stand behind that fight. I stand behind Israel.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pursuant to order, the debate is now adjourned.