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AUSTRALIA/ISRAEL REVIEW VOLUME 45 No. 1 JANUARY 2020 AUSTRALIA/ISRAEL & JEWISH AFFAIRS COUNCIL THIRD TIME LUCKY? Political gridlock sends Israel back to the polls yet again THE EMPIRE BUILDER LEGAL HEIGHTS JEREMY AND THE UNRWA JEWS CONUNDRUMS Qassem Soleimani, the mastermind behind The Golan, international law and the Trump Ad- Why UK Labour’s The ins and outs of Iran’s regional adventurism .............. PAGE 19 ministration ......PAGE 30 leader strikes fear into Australia’s aid to the a long-established controversial UN community .....PAGE 25 body .............. PAGE 27 NAME OF SECTION WITH COMPLIMENTS AND BEST WISHES FROM GANDEL GROUP CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE 1341 DANDENONG ROAD CHADSTONE VIC 3148 TEL: (03) 8564 1222 FAX: (03) 8564 1333 WITH COMPLIMENTS L1 26 BEATTY AVENUE ARMADALE VIC 3143 TEL: (03) 9661 8250 FAX: (03) 9661 8257 2 AIR – January 2020 AUSTRALIA/ISRAEL VOLUME 45 No. 1 REVIEW JANUARY 2020 EDITOR’S NOTE NAME OF SECTION his AIR looks at how Israel ended up heading toward its third election in a year ON THE COVER Ton March 2 – and what might finally break the prolonged political stalemate in A woman votes at a polling Jerusalem. station in Rosh Haayin, Is- rael, Sept. 17, 2019. (Photo: We lead with veteran Israeli journalist Shmuel Rosner’s attempt to untangle the AAP/ Sebastian Scheiner) various complex circumstances that led to this impasse, while Ahron Shapiro explains the details of the different parties’ political demands and promises which meant a unity government could not be formed, as had been widely expected. In addition, Amotz Asa-El looks at the attempt to challenge current PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s leadership of the Likud party touched off by longtime rival Gideon Sa’ar. Also featured this month is a profile by Yaakov Lappin of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the key player in Iran’s attempt to build a Middle East empire. Plus, Australian international law scholar Greg Rose looks at some legal myths about the Golan Heights. Finally, don’t miss noted British scholar David Hirsh on the danger posed to the British Jewish community by UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn; Australian academic Ran Porat exploring how Hezbollah managed to defang UNIFIL, the UN force supposed to monitor and disarm it; and Naomi Levin on a key challenge for Australia in formulating our aid to the Palestinians. Please give us your feedback on any or all aspects of this edition of the AIR at [email protected]. Tzvi Fleischer CONTENTS FEATURE STORIES REGULAR COLUMNS ANATOMY OF A FROM THE EDITORIAL CHAIRMAN STALEMATE COLIN RUBENSTEIN ....................................................................... PAGE 4 ................................................. PAGE 5 BY SHMUEL ROSNER WORD FOR WORD The last batch of Israeli polls are SCRIBBLINGS depressing. What we see in them TZVI FLEISCHER ............................................................................ PAGE 6 is, well, nothing. No sign of change, no sign of hope, no sign of DECONSTRUCTION ZONE coalition. If elections were held today, the outcome would be ERIC MANDEL ................................................................................ PAGE 7 much like the ones of last April and September ............... PAGE 12 ASIA WATCH WHY THE QUEST FOR UNITY FAILED MICHAEL SHANNON ...................................................................... PAGE 8 BY AHRON SHAPIRO .................................................................... PAGE 14 AIR NEW ZEALAND SUCCEEDING BIBI MIRIAM BELL ................................................................................ PAGE 9 BY AMOTZ ASA EL ....................................................................... PAGE 15 BEHIND THE NEWS .............................................. PAGE 10 POWER PROJECTOR The man behind Iran’s Middle East empire STRANGER THAN FICTION ........................ PAGE 11 BY YAAKOV LAPPIN ..................................................................... PAGE 19 NOTED AND QUOTED ..................................... PAGE 35 THE PERSIAN AUTUMN ...................................................... PAGE 36 BY DAVID ROSENBERG ................................................................ PAGE 21 IN PARLIAMENT HOW HEZBOLLAH NEUTRALISED UNIFIL MEDIA MICROSCOPE ALLON LEE ................................................................................... PAGE 39 BY RAN PORAT ............................................................................. PAGE 22 ANTISEMITISM OUT OF DOWNING STREET? THE LAST WORD BY DAVID HIRSH .......................................................................... PAGE 25 JEREMY JONES ........................................................................... PAGE 40 AUSTRALIA’S UNRWA CONUNDRUM With Compliments BY NAOMI LEVIN .......................................................................... PAGE 27 BIBLIO FILE: THE ROAD TO HELL BY JONATHAN SPYER ................................................................. PAGE 29 Reid & Vesely ESSAY: LEGAL HEIGHTS Lawyers & Solicitors Recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights Suite 201, 35 Spring St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022 BY GREGORY ROSE ....................................................................... PAGE 30 3 AIR – January 2020 Australia/Israel Review A journal of analysis and opinion published by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) Editorial Chairman EDITORIAL Dr COLIN RUBENSTEIN AM Editor-in-Chief Dr TZVI FLEISCHER Senior Contributing Editor A DEMOCRATIC IMPASSE JEREMY JONES AM Staff Writers ALLON LEE, JAMIE HYAMS, AHRON or months now, Israeli defence officials have been required to hold meetings with SHAPIRO, SHARYN MITTELMAN, NAOMI LEVIN, OVED LOBEL, JUDY MAYNARD, FTreasury officials on a daily basis. The purpose of these meetings is, astonishingly, to DAVID BROCKWELL keep the IDF running for another 24 hours. Publishing Manager MICHAEL SHANNON Alex Fishman, military affairs reporter for the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, has revealed Correspondents how Israel’s failure to form a government for over a year has created an appalling situation ISRAEL: AMOTZ ASA-EL EUROPE: DOUGLAS DAVIS whereby the IDF has been surviving on drip-feed. NEW ZEALAND: MIRIAM BELL “The IDF has no agreed budget for 2020,” Fishman wrote. “For every expenditure of National Editorial Board KEITH BEVILLE, RABBI RALPH more than a million shekels – almost zero in terms of the defence budget – the IDF needs GENENDE OAM, GARY HERZ, MIRIAM approval of the Treasury. LASKY, STEVE LIEBLICH, RABBI JOHN LEVI AM, Hon. HOWARD NATHAN AM, “In a meeting that takes place every afternoon, defence officials present the Treasury IAN WALLER SC a list of projects in order of priority. The Treasury releases the money sparingly, making short-term decisions aimed at keeping existing projects alive.” Meanwhile, new projects AIJAC cannot be funded at all. National Chairman MARK LEIBLER AC Given the range of threats to Israel’s security – from the Iranian nuclear program and NSW Chairman Teheran’s military build-up in Syria, to the missile and rocket arsenal targeting Israel from PAUL RUBENSTEIN Executive Director Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza – this state of af- Dr COLIN RUBENSTEIN AM fairs whereby no serious forward planning and preparation can occur is obviously a recipe Director of International & Community Affairs for potential disaster. But it doesn’t stop there. JEREMY JONES AM Key diplomatic posts have been left unfilled in embassies such as those in Moscow, Ot- Senior Policy Analysts AHRON SHAPIRO, JAMIE HYAMS, tawa and Cairo. ALLON LEE, NAOMI LEVIN, SHARYN A caretaker government cannot pass a budget, so the ministries simply receive the MITTELMAN Policy Analysts same funding they received in the last budget. Israeli analysts have estimated that this OVED LOBEL, JUDY MAYNARD actually translates to an effective cut of NIS 20 billion (A$8.44 billion) across the board. Associate Director of Public Affairs JOEL BURNIE This untenable situation has affected a wide range of government services, most alarm- National Media & Public Affairs Officer ingly health care – where money has dried up for subsidised medications, and specialists in ARIEL ZOHAR emergency rooms – but also transportation infrastructure and education. Events Coordinator HELEN BRUSTMAN OAM The standing of Israel’s international economic reputation is also in jeopardy, with the Administration credit rating agency Moody’s warning recently that “the failure to form a new govern- MELBOURNE: ROSEMARY SANDLER, RENA LANGBERG ment… [would] present a risk to Israel’s credit profile.” SYDNEY: LOUISE DE MESQUITA All these effects are the result of the extended refusal or inability of Israel’s party leaders Israel Liaison PETER ADLER to make the necessary compromises to form unity governments, after inconclusive elections Founding Chairmen last April and September made it clear broad unity coalitions were the only way forward. ISADOR MAGID AM (OBM) ROBERT ZABLUD (OBM) As Shmuel Rosner points out in this edition (p. 12), most party leaders have taken the stances that led to the current impasse with understandable, sensible or even laud- HEAD OFFICE Level 1, 22 Albert Road, able intentions. Yet these intentions do not change the fact that the greater national good South Melbourne, VIC 3205, Australia Telephone: (03) 9681 6660 demands that some of these stances will have to be compromised. Fax: (03) 9681 6650 Email: [email protected] On Nov. 20, after incumbent PM Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud and chief challenger SYDNEY OFFICE Benny Gantz