Australia Reverses Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

Australia’s Labor party government on Tuesday reversed the decision of the previous government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the city’s status should be decided through Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. “Australia’s embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv,” Wong said. In 2018, following the Trump Administration’s move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, from the center-right Liberal Party, said Canberra would also recognize the holy city as Israel’s capital – a move that caused a sharp backlash, particularly among Muslim Australians, and conflict with neighboring Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. “I know this has caused conflict and distress in part of the Australian community, and today the government seeks to resolve that,” Wong said. The backtracking drew a rebuke from Israeli Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who will face a difficult battle to retain his position as Israelis head back to the polls on November 1. “We can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally,” Lapid said.