For Immediate Release
Zionist Federation of Australia President Dr. Danny Lamm yesterday commended the Coalition for their stance on East Jerusalem, dropping the term “occupied”.
Following a Senate Estimates hearing on Wednesday evening, where Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon continually referred to “occupied East Jerusalem”, Attorney-General George Brandis read out a statement on behalf of the Coalition Government where he declared that such descriptions were unhelpful.
He said, “Australia supports a peaceful solution to the dispute between Israel and the Palestinian people, which recognizes the right of Israel to exist peacefully within secure borders and also recognizes the aspiration to statehood of the Palestinian people… the description of areas which are subject to negotiations in the course of the peace process by reference to historical events… The description of East Jerusalem as ‘Occupied East Jerusalem’ is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither appropriate nor useful”.
ZFA President Dr. Danny Lamm welcomed the Government’s stance on the issue stating that “any use of the term ‘occupied’ “predetermines the outcomes of negotiations as defined in United Resolutions 242 and 338. I commend the Government for taking a stand on this issue and for recognising that the final status of Jerusalem can only be resolved by a return to the negotiating table.”
For more information contact:
Ginette Searle, Executive Director – 9272 5517
Emily Gian, Media and Advocacy Director – 9272 5618
