Some people just talk about Palestinian human rights and others actually put that support into action: A convoy of more than 100 vehicles loaded with aid bound for the Gaza Strip left London on Saturday. The convoy, including 12 ambulances and a fire engine, is bearing more than one million pounds (1.4 million dollars, 1.1…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
The outrage takes off
The case of students at Hampshire University in the US leading the charge against Israeli occupation has caused a firestorm. Some background to the story here and here. One of the organisers of the campaign has contacted me and asked me to promote the “Voices of Hampshire, Voices of Divestment” blog. These students should be…
Writers can have an impact
Sri Lanka is currently in the middle of military and civil chaos, with the regime causing untold civilian misery. One prominent Tamil is calling the campaign against her people “genocide.” In the midst of this uncertainty, the Galle Literary Festival recently took place, with prominent writers including Australian expat Germaine Greer talking about politics, culture…
What price for information?
Being a journalist, even in so-called “democracies”, can be a deadly business: The number of journalists and other media workers killed as they carried out their jobs across the globe fell to 70 last year, according to figures released today by the World Association of Newspapers. Global media fatalities in 2008 were down from the…
Why a debate over Zionism has to happen
The Australian Jewish community has reacted with predictable anger to a couple of local Jewish academics who are calling for the dismantling of Zionism. I had no personal involvement in the statement but I support an important debate over the future of Zionism and its detrimental effects. I was interviewed by the Iranian satellite channel…
When the stereotypes came to town
A recent survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League found that anti-Semitic attitudes in seven European countries have worsened due to the global financial crisis and Israel’s military actions against the Palestinians. Some 31 percent of adults polled blame Jews in the financial industry for the economic meltdown, while 58 percent of respondents admitted that their…
When peace has no chance
This Hamas official gets it straight when describing the Israeli election: This shows that the Zionist voters clearly start choosing the one who is most extreme in his speech, the one who wants war with the Palestinians. This troika, this trio of terrorism of Lieberman, Livni and Netanyahu chose the dramatic development in Israeli society…
A challenge to the status-quo
I spoke at Sydney’s Politics in the Pub event last week on the crisis in Gaza (photos here). Actress Judy Davis and Palestinian activist Rihab Charida joined me in discussing ways to analyse the conflict and how to move forward. The following letter was endorsed by 300 participants at the meeting on February 6 and…