ISRAEL’S Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin wants Australian Jewish community organisations to drop the quasi-diplomatic role they have adopted in Australia-Israel affairs of state (1993)
He has told Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) president Isi Leibler that while he appreciates the Australian Jewish community’s past efforts, government-to-government relations should be left to Israel’s embassy. Mr Leibler, recently returned from a visit to Israel, said this week that Mr Rabin had spoken very highly about Israel’s new ambassador to Australia, Yehuda Avner. Mr Rabin had suggested that Australia’s Jewish community organisations concentrate more on encouraging trade with Israel, investment, aliya,1 cultural matters and fighting antisemitism, Mr Leibler said.
(The Israeli prime minister’s reported views on the need for a markedly new pro-Israel lobbying role by Australian Jewish organisations is in line with those he and other members of his government have expressed to American Jewish leaders since the Labour-led coalition took office in mid-1992.
The ECAJ president’s meetings with the Israeli prime minister and Mr Rabin’s views on the role community organisations principally the ECAJ and the Zionist Federation of Australia – should now play in order to support Israel are bound to arouse considerable internal discussion within local Jewish leader-ship circles. Mr Rabin’s views add a further dimension to the question of how Isi Leibler and ZFA president Mark Leibler will develop their working relationship in their dealings with the Australian government and to what extent they will scale back their quasi-diplomatic public relations activities Differences over these activities and over who should act as the principal spokes-man for Australian Jewry led, during 1991 and 1992, to tension between the two bodies.)
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told Mr Leibler that Jewish community organisations should be considering a major campaign to expose the clangers not only to Israel, but the entire world, of Islamic fundamentalism. Mr Rabin and Mr Peres were among more than 30 leading Israeli political, financial and cultural figures – headed by President Chaim Herzog – whom Mr Leibler met during his 20-day stay in Israel. He discussed trade and investment with Finance Minister Avraham Shohat, Industrial Minister Micha Harish and the chairmen of Israel’s leading banks and investment organisation.
Mr Leibler said these financial leaders believe that while fundraising for Israel is valuable, trade and investment from Jewish business people is the long-term basis for more employment and economic stability. The rate of unemployment in Israel is about the same as in Australia, but despite this and a large immigration program. the great majority of Russian immigrants have found work. Israelis believe the Arab economic boycott of Israel is receding rapidly, Mr Leibler said. The Japanese are now vigorously condemning the boycott and Japanese businesses are being urged not to adhere to it, he said.
By Bernard Freedman and Sam Lipski – January 22, 1993
Thanks to Michael West News for unearthing this – Post on Twitter (We don’t do X)
Mark Leibler and John Howard
Faux Aboriginal “leaders” who love mining, development and the high life – we dodged a bullet with that mining company-backed referendum
Hamas bad – Genocide good
Jewish access to our PMs and influence in Australia’s domestic and foreign affairs is vastly disproportionate to their numbers
About 100,000 Jews live in Australia (the vast majority in the two big cities of Melbourne and Sydney),
where they account for a tiny fraction of the total population – 0.4 percent
Thinking a “disproportionate” Jewish influence might be an understatement
Notes
Original source: 
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The Hebrew word “Aliyah” literally means ascent or rise, but for generations it has been used to mean “immigration to Israel.”
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