I was referencing a biblical tale shared by both groups, about how to solve property disputes. The Judgement of Solomon! It uses a baby as a stand-in for property, though.
I was referencing a biblical tale shared by both groups, about how to solve property disputes. The Judgement of Solomon! It uses a baby as a stand-in for property, though.
That's not the only reason. There's also the issue that not everyone in Australia is sympathetic to Israel, as a result of its historical and current actions against the Palestinians. Some (many?)...
My understanding is that some Australians are upset because this move jeopardizes a trade deal with Indonesia.
That's not the only reason.
There's also the issue that not everyone in Australia is sympathetic to Israel, as a result of its historical and current actions against the Palestinians. Some (many?) people in Australia see Israel as the aggressor in this conflict, and are unwilling to support the "bad guy" in any way. Moving our embassy to Jerusalem would annoy some Australians just on principle - and Prime Minister Morrison can't afford to piss off any more people.
There's the local political context to consider. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the initial announcement that Australia would consider moving its embassy to Jerusalem in the middle of a local by-election for a crucial seat. It was seen as a way of swaying the non-trivial Jewish vote in that electorate. However, Mr Morrison had not consulted with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or anyone else outside a couple of senior ministers before he threw this thought bubble out into the political aether. Not only the content of the announcement is concerning to some people, but the method and motive of the announcement was of concern. It was seen as a political move to win an election, rather than a serious considered stance on a high-profile diplomatic issue.
And this outcome, of declaring support for West Jerusalem as Israel's capital but not moving Australia's embassy there, is seen as Prime Minister Morrison's least-bad way out of a political mess he created. He couldn't actually move the embassy without causing a huge international kerfuffle that we don't want, but he couldn't back down totally and do nothing because that would have been admitting that he only made this announcement for political purposes.
Morrison messed this up from Day One. He should never have raised this issue in the first place.
And it didn't even work : the government-endorsed candidate lost the by-election anyway.
Why don't we just split Jerusalem in half and have them split it between them? Right up and down the Y axis.
I can't help but feel the joke might have been missed a bit. Y'know, the Judgement of Solomon?
Who gets Temple Mount/Al Aqsa?
I think if dividing the city like you suggest was a viable solution it would have been done a long time ago.
I was referencing a biblical tale shared by both groups, about how to solve property disputes. The Judgement of Solomon! It uses a baby as a stand-in for property, though.
Oh. I was unaware of that tale.
That's not the only reason.
There's also the issue that not everyone in Australia is sympathetic to Israel, as a result of its historical and current actions against the Palestinians. Some (many?) people in Australia see Israel as the aggressor in this conflict, and are unwilling to support the "bad guy" in any way. Moving our embassy to Jerusalem would annoy some Australians just on principle - and Prime Minister Morrison can't afford to piss off any more people.
There's the local political context to consider. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the initial announcement that Australia would consider moving its embassy to Jerusalem in the middle of a local by-election for a crucial seat. It was seen as a way of swaying the non-trivial Jewish vote in that electorate. However, Mr Morrison had not consulted with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or anyone else outside a couple of senior ministers before he threw this thought bubble out into the political aether. Not only the content of the announcement is concerning to some people, but the method and motive of the announcement was of concern. It was seen as a political move to win an election, rather than a serious considered stance on a high-profile diplomatic issue.
And this outcome, of declaring support for West Jerusalem as Israel's capital but not moving Australia's embassy there, is seen as Prime Minister Morrison's least-bad way out of a political mess he created. He couldn't actually move the embassy without causing a huge international kerfuffle that we don't want, but he couldn't back down totally and do nothing because that would have been admitting that he only made this announcement for political purposes.
Morrison messed this up from Day One. He should never have raised this issue in the first place.
And it didn't even work : the government-endorsed candidate lost the by-election anyway.