Antony Loewenstein

As a co-founder of Independent Australian Jewish Voices, the following email was just sent out to our list:

Dear friends,

Since we were last in touch, we’ve been making efforts with other groups to organise visiting speakers along the lines we had indicated. We would like to inform you of our plans.

Jeff Halper, a leading Israeli/American academic and peace activist, was scheduled to visit Australia in September but due to his involvement in the successful attempt to break the siege of Gaza by boat, he was unable to come. However, we are currently co-operating with the organisation of his tour in early 2009 and more details will soon be forthcoming.

We are pleased to announce that Sara Roy, a senior research scholar at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, will be in Australia to present the annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture this month. She is one of the world’s authorities on the West Bank and Gaza and will be speaking on the realities of the occupation for both Israelis and Palestinians. Details of her Sydney and Melbourne talks can be found on our website. The highlights include:

Melbourne, October 8: University of Melbourne, 6.30pm

Adelaide, October 11: The University of Adelaide, 5pm

Sydney, October 14: Seymour Centre Theatre, 6.30pm

Sydney, October 16: UNSW, Civil Engineering Room G1, 1pm

Our website continues to feature up-to-date news and analysis about the Israel/Palestine conflict.

We look forward to keeping in touch and to your ongoing support for widening the debate on the Middle East in Australia.

Best wishes,

Peter Slezak
James Levy
Antony Loewenstein