Penny Wong, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ‘clash’ on ‘heated’ call over Israel support failings

Israel’s foreign minister has blasted his Australian counterpart Penny Wong and accused her of abandoning the Jewish state in its darkest hour, marking a further deterioration of the fraught bilateral relationship.

According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, Senator Wong spoke to Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday in a conversation that turned into a “sharp verbal clash” as he lashed Australia’s waning support for Israel amid its war with Gaza.

The Hebrew newspaper, referring to Senator Wong as “among the most anti-Israel in her party”, reported she had told Mr Sa’ar Israel had not done enough humanitarian work for “the Arabs in Gaza”.

A spokesperson for Senator Wong confirmed the conversation was “direct” but “respectful”, and that both ministers had “explained their perspectives”.

“Minister Wong spoke with Mr Sa’ar to reiterate Australia’s concern about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the need for humanitarian assistance and our repeated calls for the release of the hostages,” the spokesperson said.

But Mr Sa’ar reportedly responded by saying Israel was the true victim, who had been attacked “not only by Hamas by five other countries” on October 7.

He went on to express Israel’s disappointment that Australia had downgraded its support for Israel in international forums “in its most difficult year, when it has fought against its bitterest enemies”.

Australia has voted with the majority of United Nations members but against Israel in a series of votes in recent weeks, including by voting in favour of a resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza as soon as possible in a move that broke 20 years of tradition.

Senator Wong is understood to have stressed that Australia was concerned about the humanitarian crisis and reiterated a commitment to a two-state solution.

A spokesperson said during the call, she had “noted that Australia’s position reflected that of many other countries”.

Mr Sa’ar also reportedly rebuked Senator Wong over a speech she gave last week, in which she said Australia expected Israel to comply with international law just as it expected the same from China and Russia.

“Israel is a Western democracy that maintains the rule of law, has an independent judiciary and adheres to international law. In the past year, Israel has fought the radical axis led by Iran, which is supported by Russia and China,” Mr Sa’ar reportedly said.

Senator Wong last week defended her speech, saying she had not been drawing a moral equivalence between Israel, China and Russia, arguing her point had instead been about Australia’s interest in ensuring all nations upheld and complied with international law.

During the call, Mr Sa’ar also reportedly demanded “decisive action” by the Federal Government in the wake of the terrorist firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue - a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Federal Government of taking an “extreme anti-Israel position” which had fueled anti-Semitism in Australia.

“Minister Wong conveyed Australia’s commitment to countering anti-Semitism and hate in all forms,” a spokesperson for Senator Wong said.

The Israeli report went on to claim Mr Sa’ar had also chastised Labor over its denial of a visa for former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked - a decision that was made on the grounds she could incite discord because of a history of making anti-Palestine comments.

“How would you react if we acted like this towards a former minister from Australia,” Mr Sa’ar reportedly told Senator Wong.

It’s understood the pair exchanged cordial messages after the call, and agreed to stay in touch.