Ed Husic’s push for Labor to recognise claims of a genocide in Gaza is set to fail after union backers withdrew their support, preventing a public stoush over the Middle East on the final day of the party’s national conference.
The move will give way to a staged moment of unity for Labor, with MPs Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and Basem Abdo, the son of Palestinian refugees, jointly supporting an update to the party’s foreign platform to reflect the government’s position on Israel, Palestine and Hamas.
After two days of carefully controlled proceedings in Adelaide, factional powerbrokers have been scrambling to prevent internal tensions over Israel and Palestine spilling out on to the conference floor.
Husic drafted a resolution that went much further than the party’s draft language on Israel, including to recognise a decision of the international court of justice that Palestinians have a “plausible” claim to be protected from acts of genocide.
His proposed amendments also included an acknowledgment of findings of the UN independent international commission of inquiry, that determined that “Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide”. The Israeli mission in Geneva has said Israel rejected the commission’s “libellous sham”, and the country’s government has fought hard against allegations of genocide.
The proposed resolution also supported trade sanctions,backed the investigation and prosecution of dual nationals who fought with the Israel Defense Force, and called for defence and trade officials to leave Australia’s embassy in Tel Aviv. It also called on the government to build on its recognition of a Palestinian state by exchanging ambassadors and consolidating diplomatic ties.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) originally agreed to back Husic’s resolution after other left-wing unions were pressured to withdraw their support.
But the MUA withdrew its support on Saturday morning, leaving Husic without a seconder just hours before the start of debate on the party’s foreign policy.
Delegates were expected to rubber-stamp the government’s defence policies on Saturday, with a push from Labor’s anti-war movement to withdraw from the Aukus security pact expected to fail.
Israel and Palestine has emerged as the biggest point of tension in an otherwise conflict-free national conference.
Jewish groups and Israel’s embassy in Canberra have lobbied the party to water down the draft text, which they claim is not critical enough of Hamas’s role in the Gaza war, while pro-Palestine supporters within Labor are pushing to strengthen the language.
The government believed the draft version struck the right balance and has been reluctant to bend to either group.
The language in the draft platform relating to Israel and Palestine is substantially different to the 2023 iteration, reflecting shifts in government policy following Hamas’ 7 October attack and Israel’s war in Gaza.
For example, it included Labor’s opposition to the annexation of Palestinian territory and to call for an end to settler violence and the occupation.
