Video of the week- Beer Sheva Anzac cavalry charge-http://tinyurl.com/y74rzupo
Isi Leibler, J.Post
1-11-2017
Today Australia is indisputably Israel’s best friend in the
world – in every respect.
The origins of this relationship have their genesis a
century ago with the spectacular victory of Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps (ANZAC) that liberated Beersheba on October 31, 1917 and paved the way
for the conquest of Jerusalem. This was
followed two days later by the issuance of the Balfour Declaration which
preceded the British Mandate and subsequently served as the basis for the
establishment of a Jewish state.
The Battle of Beersheba was a turning point in the war
against the Ottoman Empire after successive failures to capture Gaza. It was
the first time Australians and New Zealanders were highlighted as having
effected a critical impact. The stunning charge of the ANZAC Light Horse
Brigade that overcame the Turkish defenses was hailed as a milestone of
military bravery comparable to that of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854
and is remembered as the last great cavalry charge, establishing it as the best
cavalry force in the world. It represented Australia’s first outstanding
achievement as a fighting force, predating the 1918 Western Front victories.
With the disaster at Gallipoli, where over 8,000 Australians
needlessly lost their lives, many initially predicted that this attempt was
doomed to failure and represented yet another example of military incompetence
and willingness to cynically sacrifice soldiers.
Beersheba was heavily fortified, making the town a virtual
fortress, and the battle was considered a last-ditch effort to defeat the
Ottoman Empire in the region.
Late in the afternoon of October 31, following an order by
their commander, Sir Harry Chauvel, 800 Australian light horsemen, brandishing
bayonets, galloped directly into machine-gun fire, many dismounting and
engaging in hand-to-hand combat, surprising the Turks who did not imagine that
the Australians would act so brazenly. Galloping over 2 kilometers at top
speed, they overcame the stunned Turkish defenders in less than an hour. Thirty
Australian horsemen were killed and 36 wounded. Over 500 Turks were killed and
1,500 surrendered.
It was a glorious victory, a turning point in the struggle
enabling General Edmund Allenby to defeat the Ottomans in Palestine.
It also heralded the beginning of an extraordinary close
relationship between Australia and Israel.
On the personal and individual level, it was enhanced by
Australian soldiers temporarily stationed in Palestine at the outset of World
War II who developed good relations with the Jews. Old timers still relate
nostalgically to the friendship extended by the Australians as tensions were
rising with the British mandatory officials.
This week the Australian and Israeli governments will jointly
celebrate the centennial anniversary of the heroic Light Brigade’s
extraordinary role in Beersheba. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull,
New Zealand Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and a major entourage of ministers, officials, descendants of the
ANZACs, and over 100 Australian horsemen, as well as private citizens from both
countries will participate in commemorative ceremonies. These will include a
joint Australian-New Zealand service at the war cemetery, the opening of an
ANZAC museum, and a re-enactment of the charge by the Australian Light Horse
Brigade.
It is anticipated that huge numbers will attend what
promises to be a spectacular event highlighting the Australian-Israeli
relationship.
Australian Jewry enjoys an outstanding Jewish lifestyle and
can be considered a jewel in the crown of the Diaspora. Jews were among the
first boatloads of convicts transported to Australia in the 18th century.
The first military commander of Australian forces serving
during World War I was Sir John Monash, a proud Jew who was also the founding
president of the Zionist Federation of Australia.
In the 1930s, the Jewish community was declining and rapidly
assimilating but over the course of time it became reinvigorated by Holocaust
refugees and survivors. Most of the newcomers were passionately Zionist and
created a unique network of Jewish schools ranging from secular Zionist to
Chabad, from Modern Orthodox to Reform and even a Bundist Yiddish school. From
the 1980s, the community expanded further with the immigration of large numbers
of Russians and South Africans.
Many penniless Jewish immigrants to “the lucky country”
became leading industrial titans. Jewish leaders were appointed prominent roles
in public life, including two governors general. One, the late Sir Zelman
Cowan, was an outspoken Zionist and champion of Jewish rights. My brother, Mark
Leibler, a long-standing Zionist leader and head of the Australia/Israel &
Jewish Affairs Council, was appointed by the government as co-chairman of the
expert panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples.
Today, Australian Jewry numbers over 120,000, has the
highest percentage of Holocaust survivors and their descendants in a Diaspora
Jewish community, and is one of the most Zionist communities in the world with
15,000 – more than 10% of the community – having made aliyah.
The community, united under the umbrella of the Executive
Council of Australian Jewry and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council,
could well serve as a template for other Jewish communities to emulate. The
Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce has emerged as probably the most
successful chamber of commerce in the nation.
Despite its geographical distance, except for two minor aberrations,
Australia has consistently maintained a positive bipartisan relationship with
Israel since its creation, when Labor leader Dr. H.V. Evatt chaired the U.N.
General Assembly.
Both parties also supported broader Jewish concerns.
Successive governments made major global contributions toward ameliorating the
plight of Soviet Jews, particularly in 1962 when Australia became the first
country in the world to raise the issue of Soviet Jewry at the U.N., condemning
Soviet anti-Semitism and calling for the right of Jews to emigrate. On a
personal note, two successive prime ministers from each of the two major
parties directly intervened to enable me to assist Soviet Jews and instructed
the Australian Embassy in Moscow to provide me with maximum assistance. The
embassy was regarded as a haven for refuseniks despite the tension this created
with the Soviet authorities.
Australia was directly involved in efforts to rescind the
infamous 1975 U.N. resolution that equated Zionism with racism. It also served
as a crucial intermediary for Jewish leaders seeking to promote diplomatic
relations between Israel and Asian countries.
The Jewish community can claim much of the credit for this.
In contrast to their American and European counterparts,
Australian community leaders have not hesitated to confront their government on
the rare occasions they considered their government was acting in a biased
manner or applying double standards against Israel. The all-encompassing
Zionist orientation of the bipartisan Jewish community is undoubtedly a major
factor contributing to the pro-Israel orientation of the mainstream political
parties.
However, there are now dark clouds emanating from sectors of
the Australian Labor Party, whose former Foreign Minister Bob Carr has become a
spokesman for extremist Arab causes and vitriolically lambasts the Jewish
community for being extreme right-wing. He is supported by former Prime
Minister Bob Hawke, who was once one of Israel’s greatest supporters. The
growing electoral power of over 500,000 Muslims, especially concentrated in the
Labor electorates, also strengthens these trends.
Yet, despite a growth of anti-Semitism and intensified
anti-Israeli activity at universities, overall, the public tends toward Israel.
But there are legitimate concerns that if the current government is defeated by
Labor in the next elections, the Arab lobby – which now has a powerful
electoral influence within Labor and its left-wing allies – will pressure
Australia to adjust its Israel policy in line with that of the hostile EU.
But 18 months to the next election is a long time and
meanwhile the Australia-Israel relationship has exceeded all expectations.
Netanyahu’s visit to Australia earlier this year was a
resounding success and undoubtedly Turnbull’s visit will further cement this
relationship.
We warmly welcome the Australian prime minister and his
entourage to Israel and are confident that this will further strengthen the
burgeoning economic, technological, defense and investment ties that bind our
countries.
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