MEDIA RELEASES

AIJAC statement on ALP policy to recognise a state of Palestine

March 31, 2021 | AIJAC staff

Penny Wong addressing the ALP National Conference 2021.
Penny Wong addressing the ALP National Conference 2021.

Statement from Dr Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.

 

AIJAC believes that the ALP National Conference vote in favour of unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state was misguided and will be counterproductive to prospects for a negotiated two-state outcome, which the ALP platform still rightly supports.

It is widely understood that recognition of a state of Palestine would be a final status issue to be settled between the parties. Given that the Palestinians have been refusing all negotiations with Israel for more than half a decade, offering unilateral recognition of statehood to the Palestinians without suggesting any obligations on the Palestinian side clearly rewards Palestinian intransigence.

Furthermore, adopting such an outdated stance appears particularly difficult to understand in the wake of last year’s landmark Abraham Accords, normalising relations between Israel and four Arab states, and offering new potential avenues to encourage the achievement of a two-state peace.

However, given senior shadow cabinet figures have offered assurances that the platform’s language remains non-binding and any future ALP government will make up its own mind on the subject, AIJAC hopes this ALP vote will not unduly hinder the cause of peaceful Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.

RELATED ARTICLES

RECENT POSTS

Hamas' October 7 attack produced scenes that Israelis can never forget (Image: Hamas bodycam)

Israel may win the war, but its reputation has been tarnished beyond repair

Image: Shutterstock

Wounds will heal, but scars remain as Israel marks two years since Hamas massacre

Screenshot 2025 10 08 At 9.38.18 am

“It’s a very tough day for Jews worldwide”: Joel Burnie on Sky News

The Nova Festival became a massacre site (Image: Shutterstock)

‘The worst two years’: Israeli lives remain entangled with grief and hope

Screenshot 2025 10 08 At 9.39.06 am

Antisemitic graffiti on October 7 anniversary “deeply saddening”: Joel Burnie on Sky News

SORT BY TOPICS