Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has conveyed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Labor’s concern about Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied territories, in a meeting he described as “warm and productive”.

Mr Shorten – flanked by foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong, shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby on Friday – also raised Labor’s support for a two-state solution, an outcome that Mr Netanyahu’s government has backed away from in recent years.

Read more: Bill Shorten raises settlements ‘clearly and unambiguously’ in meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take a circuitous route through South East Asia to dodge Indonesian airspace as he departs Australia for Israel.

The Israeli PM and wife Sara Netanyahu jetted out of Sydney Airport on Sunday morning bound for Hong Kong after a five-day visit meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and a slew of Australian officials.

The Israeli PM left Sydney just 10 minutes behind schedule, after a morning meeting with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, during which he described his stay as “wonderful.”

Read more: Benjamin Netanyahu says his visit to Australia was ‘wonderful’

For most people flying from Singapore to Sydney, the flight takes seven hours, give or take.But not if you are Benjamin Netanyahu. In the Israeli prime minister’s case, it can take more than 11 hours.FlightAware showed The Israeli leader took an unusual detour when travelling from Singapore to Australia on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Read more: The strange route Benjamin Netanyahu took to get from Singapore to Sydney | Stuff.co.nz

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop greets Israel’s PM, Benjamin Netanyahu

In the past fortnight the Israeli leader has visited London and Washington DC for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and “old friend” US President Donald Trump.His visit to Australia this week will be the first for a serving Israeli Prime Minister.

His time with Malcolm Turnbull will likely cover similar ground: the Palestinian conflict, West Bank settlements, Iran, and combatting global terror.

Mr Netanyahu, accompanied by wife Sara, will also meet with Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove, opposition leader Bill Shorten, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and members from Australia’s Israeli communities.

Australia’s Israeli embassy confirmed that, during Mr Netanyahu’s visit, the countries will sign two bilateral agreements. The first will focus on technological innovation, while the second will help “facilitate commercial air transport services” between Australia and Israel.

Anthony Bergin, from the Australian Strategic and Policy Institute, says the Israel-Australia relationship could be strengthened.

“It’s a good time for an Israeli Prime Minister to visit, and I think while we’ve got a lot of rhetoric about common values there isn’t at the moment a lot of substance,” he said. “The relationship, in many ways is underachieving. It could be developed.”

Read more: Netanyahu visit: Australia’s relationship with Israel and where it could go | SBS News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken warmly of his country’s relationship with Australia on a visit to the Central Synagogue in Bondi Junction on Wednesday evening.

It comes after a day spent fielding questions over the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.

“There’s no better friend for the state of Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said of Mr Turnbull as the pair appeared before a 2000-strong Jewish congregation.

“But he’s had some standard bearers before him. John Howard and Tony Abbott.

“Both former prime ministers were seated just behind Mr Netanyahu in the synagogue and received huge applause from the congregation, which included NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, prominent lawyer Mark Leibler, retail billionaire Solomon Lew and Jeanne Pratt, widow of the late industrialist Richard Pratt.

Read more: Jewish community welcomes Netanyahu at Bondi Synagogue on controversial visit | SBS News

Protesters gathered at Sydney’s Town Hall say Australia has been embarrassed by the warm reception given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

About 1,000 people gathered at the George Street landmark in the city’s centre, although Mr Netanyahu was not in the area.

Mr Netanyahu spent the second day of his five-day tour meeting Federal Government ministers and visiting a Jewish school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has emphasised the strength of the friendship between the two nations but protester Mona Abuzalaf said Mr Netanyahu was not welcome here.”

He’s responsible for settlement expansion which is illegal under international law, he’s responsible for a lot of the wars that have been committed against the Palestinians in Gaza, and really this man should be tried in the ICC, not welcomed down in Sydney,” she said.

Source: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Australian visit slammed by 1,000 protesters – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “torpedoing” plans for recognising a Palestinian state, causing “enduring frustration” for diplomats attempting to bring peace to the region.The comment comes after a press conference in Sydney on Wednesday, where Mr Netanyahu – who is in Australia until Sunday – was asked about recent criticism of Israel by Mr Rudd and another former Labor prime minister, Bob Hawke.

Source: ‘I beg to differ’: Kevin Rudd scolds Benjamin Netanyahu amid Australia visit

A suburban St. Louis Jewish cemetery badly damaged by vandals is getting a show of support from cleanup volunteers, well-wishers and financial contributors from across many faiths.

Muslim groups have launched a crowdfunding campaign for the Chesed Shel Emeth Society cemetery in University City, Missouri, with a goal of $20,000. It has raised nearly $75,000.

The cemetery posted on Facebook that 154 headstones were vandalized in the damage discovered Monday. Many were tipped over. Gov. Eric Greitens, who is Jewish, organized a volunteer effort to help in the cleanup Wednesday, and an interfaith service was planned for the afternoon. A large crowd attended a candlelight vigil at the cemetery Tuesday night.Investigators have been reviewing surveillance video to determine who was responsible. The Anti-Defamation League offered a $10,000 reward for the vandals’ arrest and conviction. Police say there is no evidence of a hate crime, but haven’t ruled out the possibility.

Read more: Support pours in for damaged Jewish cemetery near St. Louis – Chicago Tribune

Our friendship is as old as the state of Israel itself.

Australia was the first country to vote in favour of the 1947 UN partition resolution adopted by the General Assembly, which led to the establishment of Israel in 1948. Following the vote, Israeli representative Abba Eban acknowledged Australia’s contribution: “The manner in which you steered to a vote this second historic resolution … the warmth and eloquence with which you welcomed Israel into the family of nations, have earned for you the undying gratitude of our people.”

The key role Australia played in ensuring the security and prosperity of the Jewish people should be a source of pride for us all.

This week our friendship will take a historic step forward. For the first time, a serving Israeli prime minister will visit Australia. The government is honoured to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Our peoples are bound together first and foremost by the values we share — a mutual commitment to freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

And as a majority Christian nation, we share the rich cultural inheritance of the Bible, its stories and values a foundation and a context for our history, our literature, our imagination.

And we could not imagine modern Australia, the most successful multicultural society in the world, without the brilliance and the enterprise of our almost 120,000-strong Jewish-Australian community.

To paraphrase the great Shimon Peres, Australia and Israel understand the value of creativity and innovation. Together our scientists and businesspeople are partners in every field of technology. Australia is vast, Israel is tiny. But both are short of water and we lead the world in making every drop count so that deserts can bloom.

I’m particularly keen to discuss with Prime Minister Netanyahu the progress of our “landing pad” in Tel Aviv — the second of five innovation hubs to be established globally — which is helping Australian entrepreneurs make the connections they need to link into Israel’s world-class start-up and innovation ecosystem.

While in Australia, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I will oversee the signing of an air services agreement to enhance air links; explore opportunities for greater collaboration in cyberspace; commit to negotiations on an agreement on science and technology co-operation; and announce a declaration of intent to create a fully operational and commercial farm around Wagga Wagga. The new facilities will provide Australian farmers with an opportunity to benefit from world-leading Israeli dairy and agricultural technology.

Israel is a miraculous nation. It has flourished despite invasion, conflict and an almost complete lack of natural resources, other than the determination and genius of its people.

And yet in a region racked by war, it succeeds as the sole liberal democracy, a world leader in every field of science and technology, its culture of innovation the envy of the world.

Despite these achievements and the breadth of our relationship, many view Israel exclusively through the lens of its conflict with the Palestinians. They demand that the government take the side of those in the international community who seek to chastise Israel — and it alone — for the continuing failure of the peace process. In a speech to the UN General Assembly in 2015, Prime Minister Netanyahu pointed out that in the preceding 12 months, the General Assembly had adopted 20 resolutions critical of Israel, compared to just one in response to the war in Syria, which has resulted in more than 250,000 killed and millions driven from their homes.

My government will not support one-sided resolutions criticising Israel of the kind recently adopted by the UN Security Council and we deplore the boycott campaigns designed to delegitimise the Jewish state.

At the same time, we recognise that Israel and the Palestinians need to come to a settlement and we support a directly negotiated two-state solution so that Palestinians will have their own state and the people of Israel can be secure within agreed borders.

We believe that with so many other larger, more destructive and intractable disputes in the Middle East, this is a time when Israeli and Palestinian leaders, supported by the global community, should return to the negotiating table and work towards a solution that upholds the rights of both peoples to live side by side in peace and security.

Malcolm Turnbull is the Prime Minister of Australia.

Source: Welcome, Mr Netanyahu: the first Israeli PM to visit Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Australia on Wednesday for being “courageously willing to puncture U.N. hypocrisy” on anti-Israel resolutions.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull marked the first visit to Australia by a serving Israeli leader by writing an opinion piece in Wednesday’s The Australian newspaper that backed Netanyahu’s criticism in 2015 that the United Nations General Assembly had adopted 20 resolutions critical of Israel in the preceding year and only one in response to the Syrian war.

Source: Netanyahu is first Israeli prime minister to visit Australia – World – NZ Herald News