MEDIA RELEASES

AIJAC welcomes speeches celebrating Israel’s 70th Anniversary in Federal Parliament

March 28, 2018

AIJAC welcomes speeches celebrating Israel's 70th Anniversary in Federal Parliament

Media Release

 

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today welcomed the Parliamentary speeches made on March 26 by Federal MPs Stuart Robert, Steve Irons, Dr Mike Kelly, Mark Dreyfus, Tim Wilson, Milton Dick and Michael Danby in support of a motion moved by Mr Robert congratulating Israel on its upcoming 70th anniversary.

The motion also sought to apologise for Australia’s role at the Evian Conference held 80 years ago, which limited Jewish immigration in the lead-up to the Shoah.

AIJAC Executive Director Colin Rubenstein applauded the statements by the MPs saying:

“It is heartening to read these principled, genuine statements of support from Coalition and Labor MPs which celebrate Israel’s survival in its early days against the odds and subsequent flourishing success and acknowledge the importance of the long-standing special relationship Australia and Israel share. It is a relationship that stretches back to well before the Jewish state’s founding, and it is very encouraging to see that the relationship remains a bipartisan priority. We also welcome the heartfelt apology expressed for Australia’s initial lack of empathy in the 30’s towards Jews desperate to escape the Nazi persecution spreading across Europe.”

For additional information, contact AIJAC on (03)-9807-4269.

 

RELATED ARTICLES

RECENT POSTS

Screenshot 2025 07 11 At 12.30.23 pm

‘Time’s up for talk’: Joel Burnie discusses Antisemitism Envoy’s report on Sky News

Screenshot from a video showing radical Israeli rioters torching Palestinian homes in the West Bank town of Huwara in 2023

Myths and Facts about Settler violence

National Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism

AIJAC welcomes release of the Antisemitism Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism; Calls on Government to adopt and implement it “urgently and vigorously”

Anti-Israel protest in Melbourne in October 2024 (Image: Diana Zavaleta/ Shutterstock)

Melbourne’s night of shame

Screenshot 2025 07 08 At 5.15.51 pm

Israeli defence technology the rising star of Operation Rising Lion

SORT BY TOPICS