AIJAC congratulates Australian Government on emphatic UN Security Council success
October 19, 2012
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today welcomed the election of Australia to a two-year temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council in New York overnight, and congratulated the Australian Government on achieving this outcome.
AIJAC National Chairman Mark Leibler stated, “AIJAC welcomes a successful end to Australia’s long-fought efforts to gain a temporary seat on the UN Security Council. We also congratulate the Australian Government – especially Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Foreign Minister Bob Carr, his deputy Richard Marles, and all the professionals who worked diligently to achieve this very happy outcome so emphatically. Our success is well-deserved – as a middle-level, principled, democratic nation and good global citizen, we won the respect and ultimately the support of others internationally, on our own merits and without compromising our support for Israel.”
AIJAC regrets Zentai extradition decision, calls for review of other options to achieve justice in the case
August 15, 2012
AIJAC today expressed extreme disappointment over the High Court’s decision that accused Nazi war criminal Charles Zentai cannot be extradited to Hungary to face trial. It also called for the Federal Government to look at additional means for justice to be done for his alleged crimes.
Israel wows Coalition lawmakers
March 1, 2012 | Gareth Nurunsky
SIX federal Coalition MPs who recently returned from Israel said they were full of praise for Israel’s achievements, more understanding of its challenges and ready to spread the word.
Bradfield MP Paul Fletcher, Tasmanian Senator David Bushby, Paterson MP Bob Baldwin, South Australian Senator David Fawcett, Brisbane MP Teresa Gambaro and Cowan MP Luke Simpkins all travelled as part of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council’s Rambam program.
AIJAC visitors Emanuele Ottolenghi and Yaakov Katz to speak in Melbourne and Sydney
February 29, 2012
AIJAC, in partnership with its co-sponsors, is proud to present two expert speakers in Melbourne and Sydney:
Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi – Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies. He is a frequent commentator on Middle East politics, regular contributor for newspapers, magazines and blogs, and the author of Under a Mushroom Cloud: Europe, Iran and the Bomb (2009).
Yaakov Katz – military correspondent and defence analyst for the Jerusalem Post, and Israel correspondent for the London-based Jane’s Defence Weekly. He led the Post‘s coverage of recent IDF wars and operations and his first book Israel vs. Iran – The Shadow War was published in 2011.
Politicians report on Israel visit
February 28, 2012 | Henry Benjamin
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council has hosted a meeting in Sydney at which three Australian members of Parliament told of their experiences on a recent visit to Israel.
Liberal Bob Baldwin member for Paterson near Newcastle, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Shadow Minister for Tourism, Liberal Teresa Gambaro represents Brisbane and is the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for International Assistance and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement and Tasmanian Liberal Senator David Bushby spent a week in Israel as guests of the Rambam Program which has in its ten years has hosted more than 500 journalists, politicians, youth leaders, union leaders and clergy on specially guided tours of the Holy Land.
The three politicians formed part of a group of six members of Federal Parliament.
AIJAC welcomes Australian support for further sanctions on Iran
December 6, 2011 | Colin Rubenstein
AIJAC welcomes the announcement by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd that Australia will be pursuing additional sanctions against Iran, including measures that will “further restrict business with Iran’s petroleum and financial sectors.”
Hopefully, these measures will, when enacted, bring Australia into line with the international consensus developing, which includes the US, EU and Canada, that, in the wake of the latest IAEA report on Iran’s illegal nuclear program, the time has come to bring the maximum diplomatic/economic pressures on the Iranian regime before it is too late.
AIJAC says UNESCO vote “undermines genuine progress towards peace”
November 1, 2011 | AIJAC staff
The decision of the General Assembly of UNESCO to “further the folly and fiction” that there is a State of Palestine which can participate in international organisations “undermines genuine progress towards peace”, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council said today, while stressing that “it is heartening to see that the Australian government was not party to the cynical and destructive political decision”.
“The Palestinian leadership is fully aware that they do not control a ‘State’ and rather than work on state-building and peace building are indulging in self-defeating grandstanding” Mark Leibler, National Chairman of AIJAC said.
AIJAC welcomes release of former researcher Ilan Grapel; “victim of judicial kidnapping”.
October 28, 2011 | Colin Rubenstein
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council has welcomed the release yesterday by Egypt of Ilan Grapel, who served as a visiting research fellow in its Melbourne office in 2009.
A law student at Emory University in Atlanta, USA, Mr. Grapel travelled to Egypt early this year to volunteer for a charity helping develop civil society there before being arrested in early June amidst allegations he was an Israeli agent. He was held for more than four months without any charges being formally laid against him…
AIJAC statement on reported deal to release Gilad Shalit
October 12, 2011 | Colin Rubenstein and Mark Leibler
This is a very hopeful announcement, given the many years of effort by successive Israeli governments, with the full support of the Israeli people and all with a genuine concern for morality. If Gilad Shalit is released this will indeed be a joyful end to a terrible violation of basic human rights…
AIJAC welcomes Federal Government decision not to participate in Durban III
August 24, 2011
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council today welcomed the announcement last night that Australia would refrain from participating in the UN’s tainted Durban III “anti-racism” conference in New York next month.
