Bob Carr Calls Israel’s Actions Genocide

Former Australian Foreign Minister demands sanctions, recognition of Palestine, and an end to lobby pressure distorting democracy.

From a long-standing Premiership in New South Wales to serving as Australia’s top diplomat as Foreign Minister (2012–2013), Bob Carr carved out one of the rare success stories in Australian politics. Few who make the leap from state to federal politics succeed. Carr stood apart, proving himself one of the very few modern Australian figures with the intellect to excel as a “two-hatter.”

Before politics, Carr began as a journalist with the ABC, cutting his teeth on flagship current affairs programs AM and PM. That training sharpened his ability to see through spin and confront uncomfortable truths — qualities that would later define his stance on Middle East policy.

In a recent interview with independent outlet OnePath Network, Carr delivered one of the most scathing rebukes of Israel ever heard from an Australian statesman, while mounting a powerful defence of Palestinian statehood. His words carried weight not just because of their content but their honesty.

Carr admitted he had once been a founder — alongside former Prime Minister Bob Hawke — of the Australian Friends of Israel. “Back in the 70s,” he said, “none of us knew a Palestinian, knew their stories, knew what massacres had accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel. We were blind to that story.”

That blindness, he said, was shattered by experience: meeting Palestinians, hearing their stories, and witnessing the relentless spread of illegal settlements. “It appeared the settlements were being done to block the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he said. “And today, even as we speak, members of the Israeli cabinet confirm that openly.”

Carr recalled his role as Foreign Minister during the UN vote to upgrade Palestine’s status to a non-member observer state. Then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard wanted Australia to side with the US and Israel and vote no. Carr pushed back. In a remarkable act of defiance, he secured an abstention — something he now views as a turning point.

The episode, he said, exposed Gillard’s willingness to compromise Australia’s foreign policy independence under pressure from the Israel lobby. “Labor’s dependence on donations from the Jewish community shaped her stance,” he said. It was a sobering lesson: foreign policy was not always guided by Australia’s national interest, but by lobby influence.

Carr called this a corruption of democracy. “The Israel lobby in Australia is a foreign influence operation. No other country has an operation with offices in every Australian capital city. No one else organises donations to elevate its influence in the way the Jewish lobby does.”

He compared it to AIPAC in the US, where members of Congress who express sympathy for Palestinians face well-funded challengers. Such tactics, he argued, distort democracy — forcing elected representatives to align with a foreign power rather than their own people.

Carr has lived this pressure. As NSW Premier, he agreed to present a peace prize to Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi. The backlash was ferocious: petitions, calls from business leaders, and withdrawals of support from prominent Australians. But Carr stood firm. “I gave my word I would present this peace prize, and I would not be bullied into breaking it,” he said.

That integrity was recognised by ordinary Australians, many without Palestinian or Arab backgrounds, who wrote to him in support. It was proof, Carr said, that “the Australian people’s instincts are decent and fair — even when their political class lags behind.”

Carr reserved his most searing words for Gaza. He catalogued the horrors: homes destroyed, children starved, hospitals without medicine, women giving birth in tents without sanitation, families forced on death marches.

“What other word can you use?” he asked. “If you destroy housing, cut off food, deny medicine, poison water, and target civilians — you are committing genocide.”

Invoking the UN Convention on Genocide, Carr declared Israel’s actions under Netanyahu meet its definition. Netanyahu, he said, should be treated as a criminal: “If he set foot in Australia, the government would be legally obliged to arrest him.”

Carr urged Australia to impose sanctions, recognise Palestine without delay, and label settlement products so consumers could make ethical choices. He declared normal relations with Israel impossible while its government “celebrates war crimes.”

Netanyahu’s attack on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “weak” for recognising Palestine, Carr said, was absurd. Albanese’s move reflected the will of Australians and the global community. “History will not remember Netanyahu’s slurs,” Carr said. “It will remember the genocide he directed against a vulnerable civilian population.”

Despite pro-Israel media campaigns, Carr argued public opinion has shifted decisively. Even within Jewish communities, dissent is growing. He praised Albanese’s recognition of Palestine as overdue but essential — a moment when Australia rediscovered its independence as a middle power and its moral voice in the world.

Carr’s words cut through because they were not couched in diplomatic jargon but in the raw language of human suffering. He spoke of babies starving, families uprooted, and children executed for being late to food distribution centres.

“This is about humanity,” he said, his voice breaking. “It’s about the suffering of a little Palestinian baby crying its heart out because he cannot get food.”
At a time when many politicians retreat into silence, Carr’s courage stands out. He admits his past blindness, confronts the toxic influence of lobbies, and names Israel’s crimes without hesitation. For this, he has faced vilification. But in standing firm, he has become a voice of conscience — for Australia and for the world.

History will remember Netanyahu as the architect of atrocity, and Gillard as a leader who surrendered principle to pressure. But it will remember Bob Carr as a statesman who, when it mattered most, stood for justice, humanity, and Palestine.