 | |
 Israel |  Australia |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Israeli Embassy, Canberra | Australian Embassy, Tel Aviv |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorAmir Maimon | AmbassadorDr Ralph King |
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Israel were formally established in 1949.[1] Australia has an embassy inTel Aviv and Israel has an embassy inCanberra. They are two of the most economically developed countries bordering theIndian Ocean or its marginal seas,[2] and are both members ofOECD.[3][4] The two countries have healthy trading relations, with Israel being Australia's 49th largest two-way trading partner and 56th largest export market.[5]
FourAustralian Light Horse brigades and a battalion of camel troops took part in theSinai Campaign of 1916–1917.
SirJohn Monash, a prominentJewish Australian was a general, civil engineer and public servant.
During World War II, many Australian units were based, at various times, in the Sinai. It was from there that Australian and other Commonwealth forces launched theSyria-Lebanon campaign of 1941.
The Australian foreign ministerH.V. Evatt served as Chairman of theUN General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on Palestine and helped to push through theUN Partition Plan on November 29, 1947. Australia was the first country to vote in favour of the plan despite heavy pressure from theUnited Kingdom on its fellowCommonwealth nations to abstain on the resolution.[6]
Israel and Australia have had diplomatic relations since the Australian government ofBen Chifley recognised Israel on 28 January 1949.[7]
TheLiberal–Country Party Coalition supported Israel during and after the 1967Six-Day War. However, the subsequentLabor government led byGough Whitlam, elected in 1972, shifted to what was described as a more "even-handed" approach to relations. The change came after theYom Kippur War of 1973, and was linked with Whitlam's desire to be on friendlier terms with Arab countries.[8]
The subsequent Liberal government led byMalcolm Fraser, elected in 1975, expressed "support forUnited Nations Security Council Resolutions 242,338 and339 as providing the basis for a peaceful settlement". Fraser later said that Australia should "make more plain our commitment to the survival of Israel". In 1980,Andrew Peacock, thenMinister for Foreign Affairs, said that "peace should be based ... upon Israel's rights to exist within secure and recognised boundaries; and upon recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to a homeland alongside Israel". Peacock's statement was echoed by Fraser in 1982, who said "the legitimate rights of the Palestinians include a homeland alongside Israel".[9]
In the 1980s, Prime MinisterBob Hawke opposedUN Resolution 3379, which designatedZionism as a form ofracism, labelling it a "blatant distortion of the truth".[10] Australia had voted against the resolution's adoption in 1975,[11] and sponsored its revocation in 1991.[12]
Ties with Israel were strengthened under Prime MinisterJohn Howard and Foreign MinisterAlexander Downer, who supported Israel in the2006 Lebanon War.[6] While relations between the two countries were often shaped by theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, Howard stated that Australia's capacity to influence events within the region was limited and should not be overstated.[9]
A 2014BBC World Service opinion poll found that 67% of Australians had a negative view of Israel's influence and 24% had a positive view. However, Israel was viewed less negatively than in the 2007 survey. Of the countries surveyed, only Indonesia and the UK had a greater proportion of their population view Israel negatively. No similar survey was conducted to ascertain Israeli perceptions of Australia.[13]
In December 2016, Foreign MinisterJulie Bishop openly distanced Australia from the United States in response to their abstention regardingUNSC Resolution 2334, suggesting that Australia would have voted against the resolution had it been in the Security Council.[14] Australia was the only nation to have spoken out against the resolution besides Israel.
In February 2017, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu became the first incumbent Israeli leader to visit Australia. Netanyahu met with the Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull, Governor-General SirPeter Cosgrove and other state and federal politicians.[15][16]
In May 2018, Australia's ambassador to Israel, Chris Cannan, along with other diplomats from other countries, did not attend the opening of the new United States embassy inJerusalem.
In October 2018, Australian prime ministerScott Morrison announced Australia was reviewing whether to move Australia's embassy in Israel fromTel Aviv to Jerusalem, and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.[17] In December 2018, Morrison announced Australia has recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but will not immediately move its embassy from Tel Aviv.[18]
In October 2022, Australia reversed the previous government's decision and stated it would no longer recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Foreign MinisterPenny Wong reaffirmed that Jerusalem's status should be decided through peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.[19][20]
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese has openly condemned theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.[21]
In August 2023, Wong reinstated the previous policy that had been in place up to 2014. Australia would once again refer to the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as "Occupied Palestinian Territories" and to Israeli settlements there as "illegal".[22][23]Theforeign affairs minister of Australia has stated that the country has not given weapons to Israel since the start of theGaza war.[24]In December 2024, Australia split with the United States and voted with 156 other countries at the United Nations to end Israel's "unlawful presence" in the occupied Palestinian territories.[25]
In the wake of the2024 Melbourne synagogue attack, Israeli Prime Minister,Benjamin Netanyahu, linked the above UN resolution with the attack. He was quoted as saying, "“It is impossible to separate the reprehensible arson attack from the federal government’s extreme anti-Israeli position".[26]On 21 November 2024, theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) issuedarrest warrants for Israel's Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu and Defense MinisterYoav Gallant, and Hamas military commanderMohammed Deif (who was subsequently confirmed to have been killed).[27] Foreign MinisterPenny Wong stated in anX post that the Australian government "respects the independence of the ICC and its important role in upholding international law".[28][29]
In May 2025, Albanese echoed criticisms from other nations in demanding Israel allow the supply ofhumanitarian aid into theGaza Strip, condemning Israel's actions as "completely unacceptable" and an "outrage".[30] On 16 May, Israel announced the launch of theoperation, Foreign MinisterPenny Wong said Israel "cannot allow the suffering to continue" and condemned the "abhorrent and outrageous comments made by members of the Netanyahu Government about these people in crisis."[31] However, Albanese opposedsanctions against Israel over theblockade of Gaza, saying he was focusing on "peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians" rather than "soundbites".[32] On 11 June, Australia joinedNew Zealand,Canada, theUnited Kingdom andNorway in banning and freezing the assets of two far-right Israeli government ministersItamar Ben-Gvir andBezalel Smotrich for allegedly advocating violence and the displacement ofPalestinians.[33]
On 30 July 2025, the Australian government joined 15 other countries including France, Canada and New Zealand in signing the "New York Call" which proposed recognising Palestinian statehood at theUnited Nations General Assembly in September 2025. This announcement was criticised by both the US and Israeli governments for allegedly "rewarding" Hamas' terrorism.[34] On 9 August, Wong joined her German, Italian, New Zealand and British counterparts in issuing a joint statement condemning Netanyahu's plan to militarily occupyGaza City.[35] That same day, Albanese andNew Zealand Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon called for a ceasefire in Gaza and opposed Israeli plans to occupy Gaza City.[36]
On 11 August 2025,Anthony Albanese announced that Australia would formally recognise aPalestinian state at theUnited Nations General Assembly in September of that year. This was contingent on a number of assurances by thePalestinian Authority, including commitments to recogniseIsrael’s right to exist, demilitarise, and hold general elections. Albanese justified his decision by asserting that "a two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza". He cited decades of failures at establishing a two-state consensus between Israelis and Palestinians as providing an impetus for Palestinian recognition, stating that "the risk of trying is nothing compared to the danger of letting this moment pass us by".Penny Wong also sought to justify the decision, arguing that it had been over 77 years since the world promised a Palestinian state and that "we can’t keep waiting for the end of a peace process that has ground to a halt".Benjamin Netanyahu roundly criticised the decision, suggesting that Australia and other nations were "delusional" for thinking that recognition of a Palestinian state would bring peace to the region. Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, also criticised Albanese’s decision, suggesting it would "[elevate] the position ofHamas". The move was further condemned by Australia’s opposition leader,Sussan Ley, who accused Albanese of breaking with the longstanding bipartisan position that recognition should only come at the end of a negotiated peace settlement.[37]
On 19 August 2025,Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement on social media in which he accusedAnthony Albanese of being a "weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandonedAustralia’s Jews".[38] The move followed a decision by Israel’s foreign minister,Gideon Sa’ar, to revoke the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority. This was preceded by a separate decision of the Australian government to cancel the visa of far-rightKnesset memberSimcha Rothman.[39] Netanyahu’s comments were criticised by Israeli opposition leaderYair Lapid, who described him as "the most politically toxic leader in the Western world". Australian opposition leaderSussan Ley ascribed blame to Albanese, and accused him of mismanaging Australia’s international relationships.[40]
On 28 March 2019, the governments of Australia and Israel signed the first tax treaty between the two countries, to prevent double taxation andtax avoidance.[41][42] In 2017–18, total merchandise trade between Australia and Israel was worth over $1 billion, and Israel's investment in Australia in 2017 was $301 million.[41] The treaty entered into force on 1 January 2020 after both countries completed their domestic ratification procedures.[43] In 2013, Australia'sDepartment of Foreign Affairs describes Australia and Israel as having "a healthy commercial relationship with two-way trade worth $919 million."[5] In 2015–16, two-way goods and services trade amounted to $1.3 billion, of which Australian exports were worth $349 million and imports from Israel $952 million. In 2015, Australian investment in Israel totalled $663 million and Israeli investment in Australia was $262 million.[5]
In Israel,Anzac Day is commemorated at the Commonwealth War cemetery onMount Scopus inJerusalem. TheAustralian Soldier Park inBeersheba is dedicated to the memory of theAustralian Light Horse regiment that charged at Beersheba and defeated the Turks in World War I.[44]
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In the early 1980s, Australia'sMinister for Foreign Affairs,Tony Street, criticised Israeli'sJerusalem Law andGolan Heights Law. WhenIsrael invaded Lebanon in 1982, Australian Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser said Israel's actions were "of the gravest concern to the Australian Government and people", and were "short sighted and foolish".[9]
In May 2010, the Australian government expelled an Israeli diplomat over the use ofAustralian passports forged by the Israeli government which were used in theassassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh. Foreign MinisterStephen Smith said that Israel had forged Australian passports previously, and while "Australia remains a firm friend of Israel ... our relationship must be conducted on the basis of mutual trust and respect".[45]
Tension rose again after the2010 Gaza flotilla raid,[46] in which an Australian citizen was injured. Prime MinisterKevin Rudd condemned Israel's actions.[47]
In 2013, the ABC reported that a dual Australian-Israeli citizen,Ben Zygier, had died in Israeli custody in 2010.[48] The ABC reported that Zygier, who had worked for Israeli security agency,Mossad, had been imprisoned after unintentionally sabotaging a spy operation dedicated to repatriating the bodies of Israeli soldiers killed during the Israel-Lebanon war of the 1980s.[49] This story reignited discussion about the potential for conflicts arising from dual citizenship in general, and about Jewish Australians' relationships to Israel.[50]
In June 2024,The Guardian reported that theAustralian Border Force had questioned three Australian nationals suspected of planning to travel to Israel to serve in theIsraeli Defense Force (IDF). The Australian government also issued a warning for Australians planning to serve in foreign militaries "to carefully consider their legal obligations and ensure their conduct does not constitute a criminal offence."[51] In mid-December 2024, theJerusalem Post andMiddle East Eye reported that Israeli nationals intending to enter Australia on visitor visas were asked to complete lengthy questionnaires regarding their military service in the IDF and involvement in human rights abuses, war crimes and genocide during theGaza war. This led to two Israeli siblings, intending to attend a family function in Australia, having their visa applications delayed.[52][53] In response, theZionist Federation of Australia sought clarification from the Australian government on whether visa requirements for Israeli nationals had changed.[52]
In August 2025, theGreens urged theAlbanese government to impose direct sanctions on high-ranking members of Netanyahu's government and to stop supplying parts forF-35 fighter jets to the global supply chain that can be accessed by Israel.[54] Greens senatorDavid Shoebridge said: "If the Albanese government stopped the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, then their F-35 fleet would be grounded."[55] According toAmnesty International, by participating in the production of the F-35, Australia has violated theArms Trade Treaty (ATT).[56]
For the purpose of this paper, the number of sovereign states in the Indian Ocean can be put at 47, and that of the rim, 28 [...] All of them are categorized as developing states, with the exception of Australia and Israel (industrial countries)
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