Israel Stands Tall — Why Is Australia Silent?

Golda Meir once said, “We don’t rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown, and when strawberries bloom in Israel.” That sentiment captures a truth often forgotten: Israel’s greatest pride lies not in war, but in creation—life-saving medical innovation, world-changing technology, and a democracy thriving in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

This is the Israel the world ought to support: a nation that defends itself out of necessity, seeks peace where possible, and refuses to entrust its future to those who openly vow to destroy it. Even its adversaries benefit from its ingenuity. And long after this Labor government in Canberra fades, Israel will endure—anchored in resilience, freedom, and Hatikvah, the hope that has guided it from the beginning.

In Jewish tradition, survival is woven into the calendar. On Passover, Jews recall their exodus from slavery in Egypt, led by Moses through plagues and parted seas. On Purim, they celebrate how Queen Esther, in 474 BCE, exposed a plot by Haman in ancient Persia—modern-day Iran—to annihilate the Jewish people. These are not distant myths; they are blueprints for moral clarity in times of crisis.

Last week felt like another chapter in that story. On June 13, Israel launched targeted strikes against Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. In Judaism, there are 613 mitzvot—moral obligations or good deeds. In that light, this war may be seen as a mitzvah: a necessary act in defense of life—not just for Israelis, but for the West, and for Jews around the world.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has long resembled a modern Haman. His ambitions are clear: the destruction of Israel, exported through a deadly network of proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. These groups do not merely resist; they target civilians, schools, hospitals, and synagogues, unashamed and unrepentant. Israel’s response has been resolute—and long overdue.

This moment also offers strategic opportunity. The Abraham Accords, brokered under the Trump administration, proved what many doubted: that Arab-Israeli peace is not only possible, but mutually beneficial. Today, countries like the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia may not speak publicly—but they surely welcome the blow dealt to Iran’s regional ambitions. Israel’s strength is not a threat to stability; it is a prerequisite for it.

There is real cause for hope. Israel is acting with clarity and purpose, backed by its greatest ally, the United States. Yet even there, moral clarity has been clouded. President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which handed the Taliban a country overnight and left allies behind, emboldened autocrats and terrorists worldwide. That moment of weakness sent a dangerous signal—one that Iran, among others, was watching closely.

In contrast, leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump have shown the kind of strength Western democracies now sorely lack. Netanyahu has stood firm under impossible pressures to protect his people. Trump, regardless of what one thinks of his style, made strategic decisions few others dared—moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognising Israeli sovereignty in disputed areas, and brokering unprecedented Arab-Israeli agreements. They understood that peace is achieved not through appeasement, but deterrence.

Albanese and Wong, meanwhile, represent the opposite: silence, moral ambiguity, and a timid foreign policy that confuses neutrality with virtue.

As a younger man, Albanese was often seen at pro-Palestinian rallies, megaphone in hand, shouting slogans alongside hard-left activists. He was a union warrior then. He is a prime minister now—but nothing about his position on Israel appears to have evolved. His silence today, particularly in response to Iranian aggression and antisemitic rhetoric on our streets, is not diplomacy. It is abdication.

Australia now finds itself at a crossroads. Is it in our national interest to accept 3,000 Gazan refugees without proper vetting? To continue funding UNRWA, despite its documented ties to terrorism? To allow hate-filled sermons and weekly rallies calling for Israel’s destruction to proceed unchecked? This is not humanitarianism. It is a security risk—and a failure of national leadership.

Even more absurd is the ideological embrace of Iran by segments of the Western left—not the Iranian people, many of whom despise their regime, but the regime itself. This is a government that hangs gay men, imprisons women for showing their hair, and executes political dissidents. And yet, bizarrely, groups like “Queers for Palestine” champion its cause. It would be comical if it weren’t so tragically self-destructive.

Let us be clear: Iran has no problem targeting civilians. Israel, by contrast, has struck only military and nuclear targets with extraordinary restraint. But when Israel defends itself, when it dares to survive, a chorus of Western voices inevitably demands “de-escalation.” A terrorist pleads for negotiation only when he’s losing. Equating Israeli self-defence with Iranian aggression is not diplomacy—it’s capitulation.

World leaders—some of whom have been frequent critics of Israel—have at least responded. But from Canberra: nothing. No statement of support. No condemnation of Iran’s attack. No reassurance that Australia still stands with its democratic allies.

Whose side is this government on?

The Albanese government is not merely silent—it is showing clear bias. From its absence in condemning Iran’s aggression to its double standard on Israel’s right to self-defence, this government is no longer even pretending to be even-handed. In trying to placate fringe activists and ideological allies, it is eroding Australia’s international credibility and abandoning our democratic values. Washington and Jerusalem are watching—and they will rightly ask if Australia remains a trustworthy partner. Silence in the face of evil is not neutrality. It is complicity. And history will not be kind to those who stood by.