Australia takes steps to mend strained ties with Israel

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will soon travel to Israel to help mend the fractured relationship between the Albanese and Netanyahu governments.

Mr Dreyfus will take a week-long trip after a planned visit for the first anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attack had to be cancelled when Iran launched missile strikes against Israel.

"We have people regularly visit our friends," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Tuesday.

Mr Dreyfus, who is Jewish and the descendant of Holocaust survivors, would be the first government minister to visit the nation since Foreign Minister Penny Wong went to the Middle East in January 2024.

The diplomatic relationship between the two nations has come under strain and tensions soared last December when the Israeli prime minister linked growing anti-Semitism in Australia to decisions made by the Albanese government relating to the conflict.

A spokesperson for Mr Dreyfus said further details about the trip would be released.

Asked why Mr Dreyfus was being sent, Mr Albanese said the attorney-general was an appropriate person to visit Israel and that the foreign minister had already gone.

Israel's war in Gaza was launched after Hamas' offensive in 2023, which killed 1200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken, according to Israeli authorities.

More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's retaliatory strikes according to the local health ministry, with many more missing or believed to be buried under rubble.

Independent Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps said linking rising anti-Semitism to Australia's support for a two-state solution to the conflict was a "long bow to draw".

She said sending the attorney-general to Israel was the right call.

"Great to see that the attorney-general's going over there to show that we are supporting Israel and we do support a two-state solution," Dr Scamps told Nine's Today.

"But we do need to crack down hard on this anti- Semitism at the same time, it has no place in Australia."

Responding to the decision made by Ice Hockey Australia to dump an international tournament over safety fears due to Israel's participation, Mr Albanese said any form of racism should be opposed.

"We are a tolerant country that (has) got to have respect for every person, regardless of their faith, regardless of their ethnicity ... and this is an unfortunate decision," he told Nine's Today.

Asked about anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted on a car in Sydney's east, the prime minister said the government had taken a number of measures to crack down on the incidents.

"We're addressing in every single way possible these issues, because we understand that it is very hurtful for the Jewish community," he said.

Police are treating an arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne last December as a terror incident.