The need to respect the other

The Saudi Arabian based Arab News – not always known for its nuanced understanding of the Middle East – gets it right in a recent editorial: The five Palestinians convicted Monday of channeling $12 million to Hamas via the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation are indeed guilty under US law. The reason is that since 1995…

Going online in repressive regimes

My following talk was presented today to a full room at Harvard University’s Berkman Centre: Harvard University’s Berkman Centre for Internet and Society Luncheon Series, 25 November 2008 The Blogging Revolution: Going online in repressive regimes Antony Loewenstein Internet censorship is something that only happens in non-democratic states. Regimes that want to crush free speech…

Shifting sands of Israel/Palestine

My following talk was presented today to a full room at Harvard University: Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government/Centre for Middle Eastern Studies ME Forum, 24 November 2008 The Shifting Sands of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: An Australian Perspective Antony Loewenstein Australian Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, speaking in March this year at a United Israel…

How a militant group thinks

The logic of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and beyond: Escalating the conflict in Gaza, and even committing a suicide bombing within the Green Line, can affect Israel’s electoral process. Hamas may believe that a rise in terrorism will lead to the election of Likud, which will improve the group’s own image in the international…

Bringing Hamas in from the cold

Here’s hoping that this is true: Dr. Ahmad Yousef, a political adviser to the prime minister of the Hamas-led government, Ismail Haniyah, revealed Tuesday… that prior to the US… presidential elections, a secret meeting was held between senior officials from the… Palestinian movement… and President-elect Barack Obama’s advisers in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be involved in any peace…

So now what?

My latest New Matilda column is about a necessary reality check on President-elect Barack Obama: Talking about morality in international affairs is easy. What about action? Antony Loewenstein examines the tough foreign policy challenges facing the President-elect An unprecedented amount of hyperbole from the international media heralded last week’s election of Barack Obama to the…

Government uploads hypocrisy with internet censorship

My following article appears in today’s Melbourne Age: Before this year’s Beijing Olympic Games, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd chastised the Chinese authorities for blocking full access to the internet for the assembled world media: “My attitude to our friends in China is very simple”, he said. “They should have nothing to fear by open digital…

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