Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull appeared inseparable during Netanyahu’s visit. They made several joint appearances, with Turnbull dedicating two full days to his counterpart.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

SYDNEY – Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull used prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to his country this week not only to showcase the extremely close ties between Australia and Israel, but also to salute the contributions of Jews to Australia.

At an extraordinary event at the Moriah College Jewish day school on Thursday morning, Turnbull told the hundreds of high school students jammed into an auditorium that “we could not imagine our modern Australia without the extraordinary contributions of Jewish Australians like yourselves, your parents and your grandparents. And I thank you for that contribution.”

Just minutes earlier, the Australian prime minister urged primary school students, who sat with incredible discipline for an hour on the floor of a gym waiting for Netanyahu and Turnbull to arrive, to be anything they wanted.

“Believe in yourselves, hold to your Jewish ideals,” he said.

Full coverage here.