Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made history, not once, but twice. Last Monday, he became the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit Singapore, and the next day, he made the first visit to Australia by an Israeli Prime Minister.
Israel and Singapore enjoy excellent relations, that in fact go back decades. The countries are actually quite similar in a number of ways – both of them are geographically small, and have faced the threat of invasion and war since their independence. When the newly independent Singapore was looking to build its army in 1965, Israel sent a delegation to help them, and the Israel Defense Forces became the model for their armed forces. In April, the Prime Minister of Singapore made a historic first visit to Israel, and now Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a visit of his own. Israel and Singapore also work together in the area of technological innovation, with an official organization being in charge of collaboration between the two countries.
PM Netanyahu then traveled to Australia for a four day visit there. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is a strong supporter of Israel. He recently condemned UN Security Council Resolution 2334 as being one-sided, and in an op-ed that the Prime Minister wrote in honor of Netanyahu’s visit, he condemned BDS, stating that “We deplore the boycott campaigns designed to delegitimize the Jewish State.” Netanyahu noted the historic connection that Australia has with Israel, going all the way back to Australia’s critical role in the Battle of Beersheba in World War I.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has stressed over the past year that Israel’s foreign relations continue to improve, as more countries, like Singapore and Australia, form ever stronger alliances and partnerships with Israel, for the betterment of all peoples.
Contributed by Aron White, CAMERA intern.