SYDNEY: Australia lashed Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (Aug 20) after he said the country’s prime minister was weak, with a top minister saying strength was more than “how many people you can blow up”.
For decades Australia has considered itself a close friend of Israel, but the relationship has swiftly unravelled since Canberra announced last week it would recognise a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu drastically escalated a war of words on Tuesday night, calling his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese a “weak politician who betrayed Israel”.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Wednesday it was the sign of a frustrated leader “lashing out”.
“Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” Burke told national broadcaster ABC.
Through the 1950s Australia was a refuge for Jews fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust.
The city of Melbourne at one point housed, per capita, the largest population of Holocaust survivors anywhere outside of Israel.
Netanyahu was infuriated when Australia declared it would recognise Palestinian statehood next month, following similar pledges from France, Canada and the United Kingdom.
In the space of nine days since that decision, relations between Australia and Israel have plummeted.
