A welcome development to erase the stain of the ongoing “war on terror”. I look forward to hearing those in Australia who backed David Hicks’ incarceration and torture saying sorry for this terrible injustice: David Hicks has enlisted legal experts in the hope of having his terrorism conviction quashed. In the three years since his…
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Australian Zionists remain in denial about Israeli dispossession
Earlier this year I initiated a petition for Australian Jews to reject their automatic right of return to Israel. In response, the predictably hysterical Philip Mendes (a Jewish social work academic from Melbourne) has responded under the headline, “Radical Australian Jews advocating for Israeli national suicide“: Last month a small group of Australian Jews signed…
The New York Times and its Zionist blind spot
The issue of New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, and the now confirmed state of his son in the IDF, is causing waves across the web. The paper’s Public Editor comments: There are so many considerations swirling around this case: Bronner is a superb reporter. Nobody at The Times wants to give in…
A day in the West Bank shows ‘the soldiers are settlers but in uniform. They both symbolize the occupation.’
The following piece appeared recently on Mondoweiss: Mairav Zonszein, Antony Loewenstein and Joseph Dana write: The occupation can seem predictably mundane from a distance. To most Israelis the settlement project is seen as a problem, but a problem happening “over there” and utterly removed from their lives. Rampaging settlers are viewed occasionally on television. Violent…
Don’t bomb Iran, however…
MJ Rosenberg, the supposedly measured, progressive, American Zionist actor: It is simply no longer possible to argue with confidence that Tehran is rational and would accordingly refrain from using a nuclear weapon on Israel. The election fiasco put that argument to rest. Israel’s concerns are legitimate.
People make revolutions
I wrote before about the dangers of over-playing the significance of the web in Iran. It’s hard not to moved, though, by this Iranian blogger: I will take part in the rally tomorrow. It might become violent. Perhaps I may be one of the people who is meant to die. I am listening to all…
Hating Palestinians is just fine
I recently argued the case for free speech for even Holocaust deniers and the hypocrisy of Zionist groups that only care about supposed anti-Semitism and not racism in general. Now Michael Brull, blogger for Independent Australian Jewish Voices, has continued the argument: Australia’s Zionist lobbies recently scored what they consider a triumph. Frederick Toben of…
We’ve got to keep on talking
Lebanese Chess is a fascinating blog written by a Lebanese Australian. His recent post is titled, “A week of speeches“: Khatami, Halper and Loewenstein … three public speakers at Australia’s main political university, the Australian National University (ANU), in a week. I went to see them all, and nothing much out of the three surprised…
No such thing as humanitarian intervention
My latest New Matilda column is about the myth of “humanitarian intervention”: Last week’s Australian withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq saw a flurry of establishment commentary on the rights and wrongs of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s decision. Former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer wrote that, “despite the problems” in the war-torn country, “Australians should be…
Wanted: reason to bomb Iran
In spite of their best efforts, the Bush administration has yet to come up with a reason to attack Iran that the American public will believe, much less agree with. Why attack Iran? War hawks in Washington are having trouble answering that question. Even their dire warnings about Iran’s nuclear program have not been enough…