Senate debates

Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Matters of Public Interest

Israel

1:28 pm

Photo of Mark FurnerMark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My contribution to today's matters of public interest is on the subject of Israel. I must put on record initially that I am no expert on Israel, but I am better informed than those who have not had the opportunity or taken the effort to go to that country and see its complex issues before they pass judgment on that amazing country. I also put up front my acknowledgement of and thanks to the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, including in particular Dr Colin Rubenstein and Jamie Hyams, for their consideration in providing me the opportunity to visit that amazing country in September this year.

The diversity of the country and its myriad issues confront you as you journey through Israel. The Arab Muslims who wish to maintain their Israeli lifestyles, the Israelis, the Jews and the Palestinians all have an opinion about how to solve the country's problems. With its technology based advanced market economy, Israel is well placed in this region. It depends on imports of crude oil, grain, raw materials and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agriculture and industry sectors over the past 20 years. Cut diamonds, high-tech equipment and agricultural products—fruits and vegetables—are the leading exports.

After contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-tech sector, Israel's GDP grew by about five per cent from 2004 to 2007. The global financial crisis of 2008-09 spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country ended the crisis with solid fundamentals following a year of prudent fiscal policy and a series of liberalisation reforms, and with a resilient banking sector. The economy has shown signs of an early recovery. Following GDP growth of four per cent in 2008, Israel's GDP slipped by 0.2 per cent in 2009 but GDP growth reached 3.4 per cent in 2010, as exports rebounded. Israel is soundly placed economically in the region.

Jerusalem had a profound effect on me. When you visit this holy city, you gain a greater appreciation of its beauty and the spiritual place that it is. Walking along the cobbled streets and through narrow alleyways, you cannot help reflecting on the period of time when Jesus would have been in the same area. When you find yourself passing within metres of a mosque and a church you realise the resilience and the passion of the people who reside in Israel who are looking for a peaceful settlement to their differences.

Then I went to the town of Sderot. This is not the only opportunity that I was provided with, but it was certainly one that made me realise a few things. This small town is close to the border of Gaza. I saw firsthand what they described as the 'rocket gallery'. I was shown this by Noam Bedein the day after a rocket was launched into this town from Gaza by terrorists. Looking at these rockets lined up on racks at the rear of the police station was an eerie experience. I realised that rocket attacks are an everyday occurrence for these people. These rockets are made out of cut-up water pipes, no doubt from Gaza. They are made into crude and elementary projectiles packed with explosives and then fired into the town of Sderot.

Following this presentation at the rocket gallery we went round the township and saw some further alarming examples of what these people go through day to day. We saw bomb shelters that are bus stops. We saw how the Israeli government is helping to build bomb shelters in the backyards of each residence to protect them from rockets fired from Gaza. We saw burnt-out homes where rockets had destroyed the residents' property and, in some cases, lives. That brought the government's policy home. We saw a playground for children with play equipment such as a long worm that had strengthened ribs to provide shelter from rockets. We saw the sports ground at the high school, where strategically placed bomb shelters dotted the area where secondary school children were playing basketball.

I challenge everyone to think about taking your child to a playground and dealing with that issue. It is beyond comprehension to have to deal with those threats as a parent. You can only imagine the stress and anxiety felt by the residents of Sderot. They get only 15 seconds warning when rockets are fired from Gaza into their neighbourhoods. So when the warning comes you have 15 seconds to get into a bomb shelter or, if you are in a playground, to get into that worm and protect your children from a rocket that has been fired from Gaza.

Over 5,000 rockets, missiles and mortar bombs have been launched from Gaza towards Israel between 2005 and January 2009, when the naval blockade was imposed. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians live in range of these attacks and the town of Sderot is an example. As their effectiveness has increased, some rockets are now capable of reaching Tel Aviv, some 68 kilometres away. Since 2001 such attacks have caused more than 25 deaths and hundreds of injuries. In addition, since the start of 2009, a further 548 rockets and 356 mortars have been fired from Gaza into Israel. The enormity of the psychological toll on the affected population cannot be underestimated. In addition, there have been substantial material losses. The purpose of these acts of violence, which have been repeatedly condemned by the international community, has been to do damage to the population of Israel.

I recently read with absolute amazement of the comments of former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser in the Age on 4 October. In this article he claims rockets fired into Israel were 'the propaganda weapon that it provides Israel.' That has to be one of the most bizarre comments I have ever encountered. What absolute nonsense!

The other matter that I wish to comment on is the improved security measures implemented by the Israeli government. They have put security measures in the entrances of supermarket and put walls along roadsides to protect people from being shot at. Walking into a supermarket brought this home to me. I was scanned by a security guard with a machine gun.

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