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Australia Reverses Recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli Capital
(Sydney Morning Herald-Australia) Matthew Knott - The Australian government decided on Tuesday to no longer recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - in a messy and confusing way. The question of West Jerusalem had faded from attention in Australia over recent years and did not feature in the May election campaign. According to the government, an overeager public servant got ahead of themselves by updating the website to reflect the government's stated position on West Jerusalem. The problem was that the cabinet hadn't made a decision on the issue and the government hadn't announced any policy change. On Monday night, the government hurriedly assured reporters and anxious pro-Israel groups that Australia hadn't changed its position on recognizing West Jerusalem. That was true until a few hours later when the Albanese cabinet met in Canberra on Tuesday morning and agreed to reverse the Morrison government's 2018 stance on Jerusalem.