AFOPA MEDIA REPORT, 2 AUG 2017

Selections from Australian newspapers.

[Note: Updated 15/08/2017 - articles added]

It takes two sides to create lasting peace, Sydney Morning Herald, 27-JUL-2017

Michal Biran, a Member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, for the Israeli Labor Party (now called Zionist Union)
Last month I went on a mission to Australia to develop and deepen the ongoing dialogue between the Israeli Labor Party and its sister Social Democratic Party, the Australian Labor Party. I travelled for a week between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, and during the trip I met Labor and other lawmakers, party officials and trade unionists, with whom I held in-depth discussions about our shared values and common struggles. My visit to Australia concluded on a personal note, with a visit to the grave of my great-grandfather, Harry Kurzki, at the Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. ...
[NOTE: ARTICLE FOUND & ADDED 15/08/2017]

Palestine recognition far from assured: Carr critics, The Australian, 31-JUL-2017

Former NSW Labor premier Bob Carr claims a resolution agreed by his state’s party conference is a historic shift because it urges “unconditional” recognition of Palestine by the next federal ALP government. At the climax of a months-long campaign he hopes will push Labor to endorse immediate Palestinian recognition as national policy next year, Mr Carr said Australia should not be “left stranded in history” behind 137 other countries who had given the nod already. ...
[NOTE: ARTICLE FOUND & ADDED 15/08/2017]

Palestine policy bid goes from ALP blowtorch to the back-burner, The Australian, 27-JUL-2017

The time permitted for debate on a contentious ALP resolution pressuring the next federal Labor government to recognise Palestine could be extended, soothing rising concerns among advocates of a dramatic change to Labor’s traditional policy that they faced being shut down. A decision by NSW ALP party boss Kaila Murnain to put a debate about ending Labor’s unqualified support of Israel last on the agenda of her party’s state annual conference this weekend has prompted questions about whether the issue would be debated at all. ...

Israeli Labor urges NSW ALP to not recognise Palestine, The Australian Financial Review, 27-JUL-2017

Israel's parliamentary Labor leader Isaac Herzog has called on his "sister" NSW Labor Party to reject a push to recognise a Palestinian state ahead of the party's conference this weekend. "I call upon my colleagues, and I trust that the leadership there, experienced and knowledge leadership of our sister party would understand that NSW should not pass through this resolution," Isaac Herzog said. Speaking exclusively to The Australian Financial Review from Jerusalem, the Labor leader in the Knesset slammed NSW Labor saying it doesn't understand the complex politics of the Middle East. ...

Palestine-Israel: Why does New South Wales ALP care about this dispute?, ABC NEWS, 01-AUG-2017

The New South Wales ALP has passed a resolution urging the next federal Labor government to unilaterally recognise the state of Palestine. It sailed through fairly uneventfully on Sunday — but furious backroom negotiations roiled the state party in the lead-up to vote. The turmoil in the Middle East is a long way away from Australia. So why has so much time and energy gone into an argument about Labor's stance on a conflict thousands of kilometres away? ...

Bill Shorten reiterates support for two-state solution after NSW Labor Palestinian motion, ABC NEWS, 31-JUL-2017

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has avoided supporting unilateral recognition of Palestine as a state, saying acknowledgement should be part of a two-state solution. Speaking on RN Breakfast, the federal Labor leader said any recognition needed to address the concerns of both sides.

"There's two issues, one is the legitimate aspirations, and I stress legitimate aspirations of Palestinians to have their own state and I do support that, but also the legitimate aspirations of the people of Israel to live in secure borders," he said. ...

Elor Azaria: Jail sentence upheld as appeal fails for Israeli soldier that killed Palestinian attacker, ABC NEWS, 31-JUL-2017

An Israeli military appeal court has upheld a manslaughter conviction and 18-month jail sentence for a former army conscript who killed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant in the occupied West Bank. ...

Bonus article: Haaretz – Labor Party of Australia's Most Populous State Votes to Recognize Palestinian State, HAARETZ, 01-AUG-2017

The New South Wales party's resolution is a watered-down version of the original proposed by ex-Foreign Minister Bob Carr, but pressure is increased on the federal Labor leader to come down on the issue...