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Israeli Lawmakers Call on Australian Counterparts to Reject Two-State Solution
Australian Member of Parliament Andrew Wallace. Photo: Screenshot
A group of Israeli politicians has called on Australian Members of Parliament to reject their country’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ahead of the upcoming Australian federal election.
In a letter signed by eight members from both governing coalition and opposition parties in the Knesset (Israeli parliament), lawmakers raised concerns about the Australian government’s increasing hostility toward Israel and the rising wave of antisemitic attacks against the local Jewish community in Australia.
Its signatories — including Ohad Tal of the Religious Zionism party, chair of the Australia-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Amit Halevi from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party — also urged Australian politicians to abandon support for a two-state solution, claiming that continuing to back it would reward Hamas and those seeking to destroy Israel.
“While Australia’s main political parties formally continue to endorse two states, Israel’s political representatives and public have long opposed such a plan,” the letter read.
“Especially since the Oct. 7 massacre, it is clear that the creation of a Palestinian state would mean the destruction of the state of Israel,” the lawmakers added, referring to Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Addressed to Australian politician Andrew Wallace, former speaker of the House of Representatives, the letter said that rejecting the government’s current stance would “benefit” both countries.
“Such a move would send a strong message of support and friendship to Israel and to Jewish Australians,” the Israeli officials wrote. “It would also express a commitment to common sense, justice, and peace in Israel and in the region.”
The letter comes ahead of Australia’ federal election in May, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces criticism from the conservative opposition for being ineffective in preventing hate crimes against Jews.
Israel has previously called on the Australian government to do more to halt the “epidemic of antisemitism” in the country.
While Albanese defended his government’s response, stating it was doing all it could to combat the recent attacks, Netanyahu blamed the rise in antisemitic incidents on the Australian government’s alleged animus toward Israel, accusing it of holding an “extreme anti-Israeli position.”
The letter was initially given to Australian coalition members of parliament and senators during an event in Parliament House in February, celebrating the launch of the Australia-Israel Allies Caucus.
“The consequences of Oct. 7 must include the deletion of the two-state option rather than rewarding the savages who committed the massacre,” the letter read. “A Palestinian state would serve the sole, defining, antisemitic goal of Palestinian nationalism: the eradication of the Jewish state.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, reaffirmed the government’s position supporting both a Palestinian state and the state of Israel, “living side by side in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has previously criticized the Australian government, saying it treated Israel as “an adversary” by urging Jerusalem to scale back its military actions against Hamas in Gaza.
“The Albanese government has adopted adversarial positions towards Israel to shore-up Labor votes in certain seats where there are, undeniably, anti-Israel and antisemitic views,” Dutton said.
According to Nasser Mashni, the president of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, this letter reveals the “true intentions of the Israeli government, which has never been interested in the Palestinian people achieving self-determination or liberation.”
“It confirms what we’ve always known, and what Israel’s genocide in Gaza underscores – the two-state solution has always been a hollow promise, designed to enable Israel to maintain its apartheid and occupation while the rest of the world ignores Palestinian justice,” Mashni said.
The post Israeli Lawmakers Call on Australian Counterparts to Reject Two-State Solution first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.