My interview on global broadcaster TRT World on yesterday’s awful terrorist attack in Jerusalem and the wider political context of endless Israeli occupation.
Time for new, brave leadership in the Jewish community over Israel/Palestine
My story appears in yesterday’s Melbourne Age in print and online and Sydney Morning Herald online: After the Albanese government recently announced that it would no longer recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, returning Canberra to the global consensus after Scott Morrison’s 2018 decision to imitate Donald Trump, the Jewish establishment expressed outrage.…
Australia’s role as a sub-imperial power
My review in The Saturday Paper, of the new book by Clinton Fernandes, Subimperial Power Australia in the International Arena: In early October, Australia’s deputy prime minister and minister for Defence, Richard Marles, was in Hawaii to meet the American and Japanese defence chiefs near Pearl Harbor. “The global, rules-based order is being pressured in…
The rise of Declassified Australia
Declassified Australia was launched nearly one year ago by journalist Peter Cronau and me. We’ve published more than 20 stories since on a range of issues including spying, social media manipulation, Afghan refugees and Australia’s foreign policy. We have big plans for ramping up the reach and scale of the outlet so stay tuned. This…
What next in Palestine?
Last night I spoke at an online event about Palestine organised by APAN (Australia Palestine Advocacy Network) and the Islamic Council of Victoria alongside former Palestinian parliamentarians (based in Palestine) Haneen Zoabi and Basel Ghattas: The Albanese Labor Government has committed to recognising Palestine in this term. Great, but what does that actually mean? How…
Jerusalem must be shared by Palestinians and Israelis
The Australian government has reversed the previous government’s decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It’s a smart move but largely symbolic. I was interviewed by global broadcaster TRT World about it last night. I was also interviewed by The Guardian: Antony Loewenstein, a journalist who co-founded Independent Australian Jewish Voices and…
Art, war and another Afghanistan
I recently spoke at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre about Afghanistan. Here’s the event blurb and video below: Writers, musicians, sportspeople, artists, refugees and activists celebrate the resilience, art and creativity of Afghanistan. Haunting images from Kabul Airport filled Western television screens following the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, drawing into sharp relief the devastation caused by…
What the media should be doing
This letter was just published in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette newspaper in Pennsylvania: Oscar Wilde said, “In the old days men had the rack. Today they have the Press.” We are bombarded with what the media says is news, but, in most cases, does not identify a real source, or attribute the facts to a specific…
The Way podcast on the never-ending war on drugs
My latest book is Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs. I was recently interviewed on US podcast, The Way, about the drug war, why it’s so hard to end and why things are slowly changing:
Art, war and another Afghanistan
Last week I spoke on a panel at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on “Art, War and Another Afghanistan” alongside photographer Barat Ali Batoor, human rights lawyer and activist Diana Sayed, Afghan football player and recently arrived from Kabul, Fatima Yousufi (who was featured in a recent New York Times story), and Hazara musician Taqi Khan. Afghanistan…