Israel's parliamentary Labor leader Isaac Herzog has called on his "sister" NSW Labor Party to reject a push to recognise a Palestinian state ahead of the party's conference this weekend.
"I call upon my colleagues, and I trust that the leadership there, experienced and knowledge leadership of our sister party would understand that NSW should not pass through this resolution," Isaac Herzog said.
Speaking exclusively to The Australian Financial Review from Jerusalem, the Labor leader in the Knesset slammed NSW Labor saying it doesn't understand the complex politics of the Middle East.
"Labor in Israel is really the champion of the two state solution, we advocate adamantly the two state solution and that requires two to tango and the more one learns about the resolution you realise what is required is bold steps."
Factions within the NSW Labor Party will put forward a series of motions to condemn the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government and change party policy. The current and bipartisan Labor policy is to conditionally recognise a Palestinian state based on a negotiated peace settlement in consultation with other nations. Former NSW Premier Bob Carr is backing the NSW push.
"If one talks about a two state solution: what are you going to do in Gaza? Before you demand unilateralism when it comes to Israel, can you sort out one negotiator for both Gaza and the West Bank?," Mr Herzog said. Gaza is controlled by the Islamic Terrorist organisation Hamas.
It is expected that 26 of the 52 conference motions on international relations will be about Israel. One states that Israel's government is the "most conservative and chauvinist in the country's history" and that Israel is "repeatedly defying international law by spreading settlement on the West Bank". Mr Herzog claims that is nonsense.
"At times I'm a vehement criticiser of Benjamin Netanyahu and he made a number of mistakes, but to put all the blame on him is ridiculous and not correct, the Palestinians have been extremely stubborn and have stuck with their internal politics for years."
The proposed motion, Mr Herzog said, referring to the Syrian War, Islamic State and the brutal battle for Mosul, shows a lack of perspective.
"I think to single out only Palestine as the only problem in the world, I would say as an understatement, is extremely anti-Israel," Mr Herzog said. "I think the proponents of this resolution need to understand that there's a new geo-strategic reality in the Middle East. It needs to come by way of negotiation not resolution".
He was at pains to point out that federal Labor was not responsible, praising Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek. "At that level they understand the intricacies of the conflict. The [NSW] people who are initiating this resolution, they are unaware of the intricacies."
Mr Herzog's family, sometimes called Israel's Kennedys, has deep ties to what he called "our sister party" in Australia. He highlighted the close relationship between Israeli Labor and the ALP.
Mr Herzog's father, Chaim, was the first Israeli president to visit Australia in 1986. His uncle, Abba Eban, "was present ... when Labor leader [H.V. Evatt] was your foreign minister and he was the first one to declare support for the State of Israel at the UN", Mr Herzog said. Australia, under the Chifley Labor government recognised the state of Israel at the United Nations in 1947.
"It goes also to the union world, we enjoy a very strong unions influence. It's very strong in Israeli economy, in collective agreements and balancing the economy with government."
While opposition and Zionist Union leader in the Knesset, Mr Herzog was recently replaced as Labor leader by unapologetic millionaire Avi Gabbay. Because Mr Gabbay is not currently an MP, Mr Herzog retained leadership in the parliament.
