Australia Won’t Move Embassy To Jerusalem
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Australia will not be moving its embassy to Jerusalem, despite her Liberal Party’s support for the move.
The party approved a non-binding resolution supporting the move and calling for a suspension of aid to Palestine until it stops paying jailed terrorists and their families. The motion was approved by a vote of 43 to 31, the British newspaper The Guardian reported.
“While I understand the sentiment behind this resolution, the Australian government will not be moving our embassy to Jerusalem,” Bishop said, according to the newspaper. “Jerusalem is a final status issue and we have maintained that position for decades and we are doing all we can do to ensure that any support we give to the Palestinian Authority is only used for purposes that we determine.”
Bishop said she had recently written to her Palestinian counterpart, Palesitnian Foreign Miniser Riyad al-Maliki, to ensure that the $43 million in Australian aid is spent on health, education and governance.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
