When a serious academic from Sydney University – Ben Saul, co-Director of the Sydney Centre for International Law – writes a piece like this, it’s significant. A respected liberal who simply can’t remain silent any more:
Britain’s expulsion of an Israeli diplomat is a lesson for Australia to stop handling Israel with kid gloves.
Israel has made clear that it does not respond to gentle persuasion or constructive criticism from its friends, nor does it listen to the quiet language of international law. Israel is willing to abuse the trust of its friends by defrauding their passports, assassinating people on foreign territory, and approving new settlements on Palestinian land on the eve of peace talks.
Strangely, Australian politicians from both major parties have often fallen over themselves to defend Israel. In doing so, Australia has often been indifferent to shocking violations of international law by Israel.