The Selective Compassion of State Visits
CASE A: The Herzog Visit and its Justification Penny Wong's statement asserts an understanding of 'depth of feeling in the community' and links the invitation to 'Jewish leaders' requests, framed around the Bondi terror attack victims. The original article highlights Herzog's role as Israel's head of state, invited to meet Jewish community members. This suggests a primary purpose of reinforcing
communal ties and offering solidarity in the wake of a specific incident. The language used by Wong emphasizes community mourning and local tragedy as key drivers for extending a state invitation. CASE B: Hypocrisy in Diplomatic Engagement Compare this rationale to instances where state leaders presiding over significantly larger death tolls or widely condemned actions are received. In 2023-26,
contemporaneous to the planned Herzog visit, an estimated 680,000+ individuals, including 479,000 children, were killed in Gaza according to Lancet methodology. These figures represent a scale orders of magnitude beyond any localized domestic tragedy. Yet, there is no public record of a similar impetus for Australian diplomatic engagement – specifically a state visit – with leaders or
representatives of the Palestinian community, or indeed advocating for such visits by leaders from nations enduring similar-scale crises (e.g., Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo). Historically, leaders of nations engaged in or accused of extensive human rights abuses, disproportionate military actions, or systemic civilian harm, frequently receive high-level diplomatic invitations without