Netanyahu talks to new Aussie PM, invites him to Jerusalem
Morrison, considered a strong supporter of Israel, took over the premiership on Friday after the Liberal party pushed out Malcolm Turnbull.
By HERB KEINONUpdated: AUGUST 30, 2018 01:33Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Scott Morrison (right) (photo credit: ABIR SULTAN/POOL/REUTERS AND DAVID GRAY/REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday to congratulate him on his new position, inviting him and his wife to Jerusalem.Morrison took over the premiership on Friday after the Liberal Party pushed out Malcolm Turnbull and voted in the former treasurer Morrison to replace him.According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the two leaders emphasized the excellent relations between the two countries and agreed to work to further strengthen security and economic ties.Netanyahu and Turnbull had a strong working relationship, with Netanyahu being the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit Australia, when he did so in February 2017. Nine months later Turnbull visited Israel to take part in the centenary ceremony of the Battle of Beersheba.Australia reacts as Scott Morrison becomes new PM, August 24, 2018 (Reuters)Morrison – an Evangelical Christian – is considered a staunch supporter of Israel, a country he has visited in the past, and there is not expected to be any change in the strong relations between the two countries.Some officials believe that with a new prime minister, there may be a chance to get Australia’s policy on Iran more in line with that of the US than it is now, and even to put on the agenda the possibility of moving Australia’s embassy to Jerusalem.Morrison is now expected to lead the Liberal Party, trailing in the polls, until the country goes to elections, which it must do by May 2019.Morrison’s deputy as head of the Liberal Party is Josh Frydenberg, the son of Holocaust survivors, who is a committed member of the Melbourne Jewish community and a product of its day schools. He has been appointed as treasurer in the new Morrison government.
