The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has been chastised by her Israeli counterpart for what he claimed was Australia distancing itself from Israel in its “most difficult year”, Israeli media reports.
Wong held talks with the Israeli foreign affairs minister, Gideon Sa’ar, on Tuesday, Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported, after a war of words between the two nations over recent votes at the United Nations general assembly.
Wong reportedly accused Israel of not providing enough humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza, culminating in a heated clash, the paper, which is known for broadly supporting the Netanyahu government’s agenda, reported.
Sa’ar rejected the response and pointed to the 7 October attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas against southern Israel.
“Australia chose to distance itself from Israel in its most difficult year, in which it fought against its bitterest enemies,” Sa’ar is reported to have said.
A spokesperson for Wong said the call was “direct but respectful” and that the minister “conveyed Australia’s commitment to countering antisemitism and hate in all forms”.
Australia has shifted its support at the UN in recent months, backing motions condemning Israel’s recent vote to ban Palestinian aid agency Unrwa over allegations its staff had ties with Hamas and supporting a “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
In a vote in mid-December, Australia’s representative to the UN, James Larsen, said the government did “not agree with everything in the resolution” for supporting Unrwa but said it “reflects our view that Unrwa must be able to continue its life-saving work”.
At a separate UN vote in early December, Australia sided with 156 UN member countries, including the UK and Canada, against the US and Israel to demand the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible”.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, criticised Australia’s decision to support the resolution for the first time in two decades, claiming on X the Albanese government held an “extreme anti-Israeli position”.
The Israeli prime minister also claimed that the government’s “anti-Israel sentiment” at the UN had led to an arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue, adding it was “impossible to separate” the events.
Wong defended Australia’s position against Israel’s criticisms in a December speech, saying it was not antisemitic to “expect that Israel should comply with the international law that applies to all countries”.
“Nor is it antisemitic to call for children and other civilians to be protected, or to call for a two-state solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.”
The Israeli foreign affairs minister, Gideon Sa’ar. Photograph: Martin Divíšek/EPA
Sa’ar reportedly emphasised Israel was a western democratic country that adheres to international law and has fought the “radical axis” led by Iran.
Sa’ar is also reported to have criticised Wong for drawing comparisons between Israel and Russia and China in regards to respecting international law.
In Wong’s December speech, she said Australia could not “pick and choose which rules we are going to apply”.
“We expect Russia to abide by international law and end its illegal full-scale war on Ukraine,” Wong said. “We expect China to abide by international legal decisions in the South China Sea. We also expect Israel to abide by international law.”
The Israeli foreign affairs minister also reportedly confronted Wong about Australia’s decision to refuse a visa to former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked for a speaking tour.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, told Sky News in early December Shaked’s visit would have undermined social cohesion, and he did not want to import hatred from overseas.
“Whether those hatreds are demeaning of Israelis or demeaning of Palestinians, I’m going to have the exact same hard line … my view is really simple – if you’re simply coming here to demean people, we can do without you,” he said.
Burke said Shaked had publicly expressed “horrific” views about Palestinians in Gaza, including referring to Palestinian children as “snakes”.
