05-August-2008
Speeches, Foreign Affairs
The Hon Andrew Robb AO MP, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member for Goldstein, recently addressed a lunch hosted by the Australia / Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) after returning from a six-day visit to Israel.
During Mr Robb’s visit to Israel he visited Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Massada, Galilee, the Golan Heights, Tel Aviv, Sderot and Beersheba, and met with Israeli government Ministers and officials, members of the Knesset, members of the security forces and numerous members of the Israeli media.
Below is an extract of remarks made during an AIJAC lunch held on Thursday, July 31st –
“Firstly I would like to extend my thanks to the Australia / Israel Jewish Affairs Council and the Rambam fellowship for their support of this visit.
“While I have been a student of the middle east since I was 17 years of age, my six day visit to Israel has greatly honed my perspective; although I am conscious of not appearing to be an “instant expert”.
“I left Israel with a number of powerful impressions.
“When I first arrived in Jerusalem at 4.45am on a Saturday morning, I went for a walk as the sun rose. I strolled past the King David Hotel and Herrod’s tombs. As I took photos of Mt Sion and the valleys of Jerusalem and looked out over the buildings, two things, in particular, struck me.
“Firstly, I found it a profound spiritual experience.
“The other thing was the inspired town planning and the decision to mandate the white buildings; it is unbelievably striking.
“Another impression is that despite everything else that has happened in Israel over the last 60 years, it is a state that is flourishing and thriving. Not just economically, which I think is an achievement in itself, but thriving in spirit, in culture, in science, in technology, in agriculture and in industry.
“Wherever we travelled it conjured that impression.
“I was also impressed by the extraordinary geography. For a country a third of the side of Tasmania are deserts, lush agriculture, strong industrial areas, sophisticated modern cities, of course historical cities and sites thousands of years old.
“It confirmed to me that the Israeli achievements and strengths derive from the Jewish brain and spirit as there aren’t many resources.
“Another impression is the ever present threat of provocation. No incidents occurred while we were there; however, I was amazed by the way weapons and guns have become an extension of people’s bodies
“While I was in the Golan Heights it was brought home that the only stable thing within the Middle East is instability.
“In Beersheba I was reminded of the long standing connections between Israel and Australia, when I visited the memorial to the Light Horsemen and the military cemetery where so many young Australians lie.
“Within Israel there is great diversity; one nation, many tribes.
“Twenty percent of the population are Arab Israeli’s, there are Bedouin encampments in Negev and elsewhere and there is huge diversity within the Jewish community itself.
“It is almost as though the Jewish community wanted a nation state so they could be whatever they wanted.
“On the political front I left extremely optimistic about the spirit and resilience of the Israeli Jewish community, but pessimistic about the peace process.
“At the heart of this pessimism is the sense that so many people in the Middle East do not accept the legitimacy of the Jewish Sate. It is a wrong, but it is an ever present fact that must inform future actions.”