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…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
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…
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…
How much do we owe Afghan refugees?
My new piece for Declassified Australia on the disparity between Afghan and Ukrainian refugees and how Australia (and the US) view the neediest people on the planet: Around 6,000 humanitarian visas have been granted to Afghan refugees in the 12 months since the end of the US occupation in August 2021. This is from a total of…
Twenty Years plus since Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
The Twenty Years project is a collaboration between Afghan artists, journalists and a number of Australians, including me, about the legacy of the US-led war in Afghanistan. There was recently a major exhibition at Blacktown Arts gallery in Sydney, Australia featuring Afghan artists Khadim Ali, Elyas Alavi, Orna Kazimi, Najiba Noori, Melbourne-based artist Tia Kass…
In conversation with whistle-blower David McBride
David McBride is a courageous whistleblower who exposed Australian war crimes in Afghanistan. For his sins, he’s now facing trial and potentially life in prison (while not one soldier who committed the war crimes has faced court). We’ve become friends over the last years and I deeply admire his principles. David interviewed me recently about my…
Challenging the power of Murdoch
My debut article for US outlet The Intercept: RUPERT MURDOCH, who oversees a global media empire that includes Fox News, doesn’t like losing, but he just tasted defeat in Australia’s election. Despite years in which Murdoch’s media properties vociferously backed conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Labor leader Anthony Albanese won the May 21 contest. Australia…
Will the Australian election give voice to Palestinians?
My latest investigation for Declassified Australia (including my photos from Gaza in 2017): It’s one of the longest trials of a Palestinian in Israeli history with no end in sight. Israel charged a Gaza-based, World Vision Australia employee, Mohammed El Halabi, in 2016 with illegally diverting millions of dollars of aid money to Hamas. Six years on, Halabi remains in detention…
Supporting Palestinian rights can be risky
Back in 2007, I co-founded Independent Australian Jewish Voices (IAJV) with academic Peter Slezak, a space to support more critical voices on Israel/Palestine. One of our early signatories was Moss Cass, a senior minister in Gough Whitlam’s government in the 1970s and one of the world’s finest environment ministers. He recently died at 95 and…