I gave the following speech at the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008 in Budapest today: NGO’s and on-the ground activists: Defending the Voices How can NGOs seeking to advance freedom of expression most effectively work with on-the-ground free speech activists to combat censorship? As a journalist, author and blogger living in Sydney, Australia, the…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Name-calling by the blind
Following my debate last week on SBS Television regarding Israel/Palestine and the death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, the following comment was left on the program’s website by Melbourne-based Jewish writer, Philip Mendes: Rachel Corrie’s death is no more or less tragic than the deaths of many Israelis and Palestinians in this horrendous conflict.…
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…
An insignificant Iraq withdrawal
My following article appears in today’s ABC Unleashed: Retired Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez, the onetime commander of US troops in Iraq, has recently released a book about his time in the country. In Wiser in Battle: A Soldier’s Story, he recalls a teleconference with US President George W. Bush soon after four contractors were…
Author calls for economic sanctions against Israel
The following article appears in this week’s Australian Jewish News (AJN): Speaking to a crowd of almost 200 people at Gleebooks in Glebe recently, outspoken Israel critic Antony Loewenstein spoke with Palestinian-American author Ali Abunimah about his perceived need for a shift in understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the necessity of moving towards a…
Weapons of mass instruction
My latest New Matilda column is about Israel after its 60th anniversary and features an exclusive interview with Palestinian-American Ali Abunimah: Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations are over. Hardline British Zionist commentator Melanie Phillips hopes that Israel or America will now bomb Iran. Israel complained to the UN about its use of the word “Nakba” to…
Don’t meet/speak/hang out with dissident Jews
The following article, headlined, “Uni students face heat over Loewenstein debate”, appears in this week’s Australian Jewish News: A decision by Jewish university students to invite outspoken Israel critic Antony Loewenstein held at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has angered some community members. Hillel director Gary Samowitz, 25, said he organised the April…
What comes next?
Is it really the job of a corporate to ban material on the internet? Qantas has defended the adequacy of its internet filters after a man accessed child pornography in its Melbourne Airport lounge. Mark Stephen Heers, 45, of St Leonards, NSW, pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday to three counts of…
Ali Abunimah in Australia
Ali Abunimah is a Palestinian who resides in Chicago. As the co-founder of the essential Electronic Intifada website, his goal is to give voice to the Palestinian cause and challenge the dominant Zionist narrative of our time. Leading Jewish blogger Phil Weiss writes that people like Ali should be seriously considered as a major figure…
Rudd government reignites campaign against Iranian president
My following article appears in today’s edition of Crikey: Antony Loewenstein, author of My Israel Question, writes: In late 2006, hardline Zionists in Israel and the United States raised the possibility of indicting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for “direct and public incitement to commit genocide” against the Jewish…