Sometimes you just have to laugh. Yesterday I wrote a piece for Crikey about the visit of leading Jewish activist Jeff Halper and the multiple, ham-fisted attempts by the Australian Jewish News (AJN) and Zionist lobby to ignore and censor him. Suffice to say, it’s back-fired spectacularly, even leading the Sydney Morning Herald to today…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Aussie Jewish paper refuses ad for activist’s speech
Global Jewish news service JTA reports: An Australian Jewish newspaper refused an ad for a lecture by an activist opposed to Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes. Robert Magid, the publisher of the Australian Jewish News, would not run an advertisement in this week’s edition for a speaking tour by Jeff Halper, a co-founder of the…
With friends like these in Australia
The following editorial appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: Israel is a democracy. It contains many political parties with a wide spectrum of views about how to approach the great issue of an eventual Palestinian settlement, as well as many more mundane policies. It has human rights groups which put the Israeli security forces under…
How to score an own goal, part 7543
The Australian Jewish News publishes the story below today. Who says the Zionist establishment isn’t petrified of debate? The more these clowns try and shut down discussion about Israel/Palestine, the more they look like cowards. And how do they think this plays in the wider community? Jews trying to stifle open debate. Yet another own…
Academic’s visit divides Jewish groups
The following story by Andrew West appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: A leading Jewish publication stands accused of censorship after cancelling an advertisement for a series of lectures to be delivered by a visiting Israeli human rights campaigner. The publisher of The Australian Jewish News, Robert Magid, confirmed that he had pulled an ad…
Australian academics and professionals sign Sri Lankan Crisis Statement
Australian Academics and Professionals Sign Sri Lankan Crisis Statement Prominent Australians, including human rights lawyer Mr. Julian Burnside AO QC and world renowned landscaper and TV personality Mr. Jamie Durie, have joined a list of signatories urging the Rudd Government to help end the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka. Several non-Australians, including…
Behind the evil
My following review of Paul McGeough’s book, Kill Khalid: Mossad’s failed hit…and the rise of Hamas, appears in the March edition of the Australian Literary Review: At a pro-Israel rally in London in January, one Jewish participant compared fighting Hamas terrorism with treating cancer: “When you treat cancer you kill some of the innocent blood…
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…
Such selective outrage
Victoria is currently experiencing shocking bushfires that have claimed countless lives. One fire-fighter told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper that the scenes were like a “Holocaust”. A leading Muslim leader recently said that the Holocaust was being used by Israel to justify Israeli violence against Palestinians, which is “just as ugly as the Holocaust”. Jewish leaders…
Stop and listen now
Akiva Eldar is one of Israel’s finest commentators and writes for the Haaretz newspaper. He was interviewed on last night’s ABC TV Lateline about Israel’s upcoming elections and the country’s move to the far-right. His conclusions when asked his thoughts about the future? I’m afraid that the next Israeli Government will be under much greater…