Relations between Israel and Australia have been something of a roller-coaster, with diplomatic tensions, political disagreements, and growing antisemitism threatening a partnership that Israeli Ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman believes still has enormous potential.
But Newman, who presented his credentials in February 2026, remains optimistic that the two countries can overcome their differences, and he sees business, innovation, and personal relationships as important parts of the solution.
“It’s really been like a roller-coaster journey, which has its ups and downs all the time,” Newman shared during a call with The Jerusalem Post ahead of the media outlet’s November 19 Australia Summit in Sydney. “It’s really upside down.”
The event will bring together senior business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, innovators, and decision-makers from Australia, Israel, and beyond for a high-level gathering focused on business, innovation, and collaboration. The summit aims to strengthen relations between Australia and Israel by connecting people and ideas across two countries with strong cultures of entrepreneurship, innovation, and global engagement.
Newman said Israel and Australia have always enjoyed “natural, excellent relations.”
The countries share similar values, with historical ties dating back to before the founding of the State of Israel, when ANZAC forces fought alongside Jewish forces in the campaign against the Ottoman Empire.
However, over the past several years, especially since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and the ensuing war, there has been a “serious deterioration in relations,” Newman said. That deterioration was amplified by Australia’s decision to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state in the midst of the war.
Still, Newman, who arrived in Australia less than a year ago, said that in nearly every meeting, even at the highest levels, he has encountered a stated desire to improve relations.
At the beginning of the war against Iran, Australia stood with Israel and the US, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government providing strong verbal and strategic support. But as the fighting continued and energy prices rose, public sentiment began to shift.
Newman said he doesn’t believe negative sentiment will last. Although “it’s really difficult to assume how things will be when we have a new government in Israel and the war ends, I assume that things will improve dramatically.”
One of the core challenges, as he sees it, is Australia’s geographical distance from the Middle East. The countries are located more than 12,000 kilometers apart, and Australia, because of its relative isolation, “doesn’t really perceive the threats the same way Israel does,” Newman maintained.
Other major points of contention include the countries’ differing perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the issue of expansion in the West Bank.
Nevertheless, Newman believes trust can be rebuilt and stressed that Israel has both the desire and goodwill to improve the relationship.
“It’s up to Australia, really,” Newman said. “We say all the time that we must rise above the differences of opinion and the different issues.”
Newman believes stronger relations with Israel would also benefit Australia, and he hopes The Jerusalem Post Australia Summit will help showcase those opportunities.
“If we take it out of the political realm and we move toward community engagement and economic issues, business ties, things like that, there is wide support in Australia for Israel,” Newman noted. “One of our priorities has been to reach out to communities. We’ve reached out to Christian communities, Indian-speaking communities, Hindu communities, even Greek communities, and we see a tremendous amount of support within Australia for Israel.”
He said there is even a strong Iranian community in Australia that supports Israel and regularly marches in support of the Jewish state outside the Israeli embassy.
Beyond community engagement, Newman sees economic cooperation as one of the most promising ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
“There’s a saying that the economy can open the doors of diplomatic ties, and diplomacy can actually open the doors for economics,” Newman explained.
To date, more than 150 Israeli companies are active in Australia, and Israel is one of the largest sources of foreign listings on the Australian Securities Exchange. An Israeli economic attaché in Sydney, along with two chambers of commerce, one in Israel and one in Australia, works to strengthen economic ties between the countries. Australia ranks high among Israel’s export destinations, according to Newman.
He also pointed to Israel’s strategic location at the crossroads of East and West, which offers Australia potential connections to distant markets and regions, including Europe and Latin America.
Moreover, Israel brings a unique combination of adaptability, innovation, research and development, cutting-edge technology, and resilience.
Already, Australia is turning to Israel for expertise in fields such as defense and security, space, agritech, water technologies, and healthtech. Newman pointed to several well-known Israeli companies that have found success in Australia, including Netafim, Elbit, CyberArk, and Monday.com.
He also sees considerable opportunities in industries where Israel itself has little direct experience. Australia, for example, is a global leader in mining, an industry in which Israel has limited expertise because it lacks natural resources. But Newman argued that Israeli technology could nevertheless play a significant role in improving mining operations.
“When you go into a mine, and you see how many adaptations of technology can assist them, and Israel can be of tremendous benefit, whether it’s sensors, whether it’s thermal readings, whether it’s drones… In just about every field that you talk about, even if it’s not an expertise of Israel like mining, Israel can come in with its technology and provide solutions.”
The opportunities also run in the other direction.
Newman described Australia as an attractive partner because of its world-class research institutions, deep pools of investment capital, vast territory, and skilled workforce.
“I would say Australia offers new frontiers, and we can also work with Australia and the Pacific Islands,” Newman said. “We can open up the whole Indo-Pacific region and work together, even in trilateral relationships like Israel, Australia, the Pacific Islands, or Israel, Australia, India.”
He described the two countries as “like-minded” and said Israelis have repeatedly told him how easy it is to do business in Australia.
However, Newman acknowledged that growing antisemitism in Australia poses another serious challenge to the relationship. Beyond the tragic Bondi Beach massacre last December, which claimed 15 lives, multiple reports have documented a rise in antisemitic incidents across the country.
According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s report on antisemitism, released at the end of last year, there were 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents recorded in the country between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. Between 2014 and 2023, the average was 342 incidents.
“We can’t ignore the fact that there are a lot of haters here in Australia,” Newman said. “There’s a lot of antisemitism, and so we must work together to stand strong against these haters and give legitimacy to this relationship.”
Despite these concerns, Newman believes most Australians recognize Israel as an ally and close friend and would “like to jump over the political issues and move straight towards cooperation. And that’s where I think The Jerusalem Post Australia Summit can also play a big role.”
The summit aims to bring together potential business partners, entrepreneurs, and innovators from both countries, alongside leading figures in security and geopolitics, to explore new opportunities for cooperation. For Newman, the personal connections that emerge from such gatherings may ultimately prove more important than any formal agreement.
“If one gets the phone number and the personal connection, the chemistry with the person, it makes a big difference,” Newman said.
“Each company that comes, and doesn’t matter at which level, if it’s a CEO, president, or just a worker in the company, and identifies the specific areas of cooperation, maps them out, they can work together later,” he added.
While the political relationship between Israel and Australia may remain unpredictable, Newman believes the opportunities for cooperation are too significant to ignore. For him, rebuilding ties begins with people willing to look beyond their disagreements and find common ground.
“I am always optimistic,” Newman concluded.
This article is part of a special series leading up to The Jerusalem Post Australia Summit, taking place in Sydney on November 19. For more information, visit www.jpost.com/australia2026.