There’s never a dull moment when Labor talks about Israel. Just as Penny Wong pauses from condemning the Jewish state long enough to check the political wind, Ed Husic steps up to the mic with his latest greatest music hit, and this time, it’s a doozy.
In what feels like a remix of every activist talking point on X (formerly Twitter), it has been reported that Husic apparently asked Foreign Minister Penny Wong if Australians fighting for the IDF could face consequences if an international court finds Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
As printed in The Australian:
‘Labor sources say Mr Husic questioned whether dual Australian-Israeli citizens who were fighting in Gaza for the Israel Defence Forces could be implicated under foreign fighter laws if the UN’s top court found the Jewish state was committing genocide.’
That’s a big ‘if’, one that is not backed by evidence or international consensus.
It’s worth reminding ourselves of the basics. The IDF is engaged in a military conflict with Hamas, an entity officially designated as a terrorist organisation by Australia, the US, the UK, and much of the West. So are Hezbollah and the Houthis. Only recently, after being cornered by public pressure and reality, did the Labor government reluctantly move toward designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as terrorists too. Slow clap for catching up.
Why does the Labor government appear to be more concerned about Australians fighting with a democratic ally rather than those who are found to fight with terrorist groups? Shouldn’t the real scrutiny, even legal consequences, be directed at Australians who express sympathy, allegiance, or even just rhetorical support for terrorist organisations?
Let’s not forget that last month a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader was displayed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. That wasn’t a mistake. It was a message.
Then there’s the money trail. For all Labor’s hand-wringing over foreign aid transparency, there’s been little noise over the fact that Australian taxpayer dollars, yours and mine, have made their way to the Palestinian Authority, which continues to operate the ‘pay-for-slay’ program. This grotesque system provides financial rewards to terrorists or their families for killing Israelis, including women, children, and civilians going about their daily lives.
In any other context, this would be unthinkable. If any Western government funded, even accidentally and unknowingly, a regime that paid bonuses to people for murdering civilians, the outrage would be deafening. But when it’s Israel, apparently, it’s just geopolitics.
Meanwhile, while Labor postures as morally outraged over Israel’s right to defend itself, two of its heavyweight figures have been off in Beijing mixing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong‑un, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The same China that is building military bases in the Pacific, infiltrating Western institutions, and threatening Taiwan. The same Iran who is involved in the firebombing of Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and Lewis Continental Kitchen in Sydney.
It is tone-deaf foreign policy posture.
And if that weren’t enough, we learn that Australia is preparing to welcome back ISIS brides, women who left this country to be the wives of ISIS fighters who call for the destruction of Australia. It is presumed, like other groups before them, they will be reintegrated with barely a whisper of public debate.
It seems we are stuck listening to Labor’s off-key, deeply confused foreign policy. And it’s not just tone-deaf – it’s dangerous.
