THE Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has sought to placate an angry Jewish lobby with strong words of support in Parliament for Israel after Australia backed Palestine at the United Nations.

Ms Gillard's leadership is bruised but intact after she was forced to abandon her support for Israel to avoid being rolled by her own caucus.

"We all want to wake up in a world where Israel can live behind secure borders" ... Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Credit:Andrew Meares

Senior colleagues acknowledged that had Ms Gillard not backed down on the issue, it could have spelt the end of her leadership.

''This has weakened her leadership but had she lost [in caucus] it would have been worse,'' said one senior source.