Following my involvement with Independent Australian Jewish Voices in the recent public response to Australia’s endorsement of Israel’s 60th anniversary – something that has now been noted by leading Jewish bloggers in America and Britain – the group is receiving, along with a great deal of support, messages such as this: You bunch of dirty…
Showing all posts tagged Kevin Rudd
Jewish voices condemn pro-Israeli solidarity
Watch out if you’re Jewish and don’t entirely support Israeli policies. Today’s Australian reports: A pro-Palestinian advertisement protesting against parliament’s motion in support of Israel has divided members of a Jewish group critical of Israeli national policy. Antony Loewenstein, a founder of Independent Australian Jewish Voices, was a signatory to the advertisement, published in The…
Why I won’t be celebrating 60 years of Israel
My following article appears in today’s ABC Unleashed: Like Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s recent apology to the Stolen Generations, the local Jewish community celebrated the gesture of reconciliation to the indigenous population, but as I wrote in Haaretz remained unwilling to extend this sentiment to the Palestinians. Rudd’s parliamentary motion to celebrate Israel’s 60th…
Our “passionately pro Israel” PM throws compassion out the window
My following article appears in today’s edition of Crikey: A recent report released by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel exposed shocking racism in the Jewish state. 50 per cent of Israelis said they would not live in the same buildings as Arabs or allow Arabs to enter their homes. Also, Israel announced the…
A Jew who feels shame about Israel’s actions
My following letter appear in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: Criticising Israel is a risky business. Robert Goot and David Knoll (Letters, March 12) round on Alan Ramsey for suggesting that Palestinians will not be celebrating Kevin Rudd’s parliamentary motion on the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state. They use the armoury of Israeli Foreign Ministry…
An improper motion
Blindly praising Israel has its limits: A bipartisan motion congratulating Israel on 60 years of statehood has provoked division in federal Labor, with one government MP threatening to boycott the vote and union heavyweights accusing the Jewish state of racism and ethnic cleansing. The parliamentary motion is due to be passed by MPs today, commemorating…
How can we serve you, occupiers?
This is how the Australian government grovels before Israel and its local propagandists.
The hardest word
My following essay appeared on February 19 in the Israeli publication, Haaretz: Newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized last week to tens of thousands of Aboriginals known as the ‘stolen generation’, who as children were forcibly removed from their families by the government until as recently as the early 1970s. The apology was…
We say sorry
Australia’s new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says sorry to the Stolen Generations with the following statement to parliament: I give notice that, at the next sitting, I will move: That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in…
Complicit in silence
My following article appeared in yesterday’s Guardian Comment is Free section: During the current Israeli siege of Gaza – correctly described by Saree Makdisi as “strangulation”, Israel’s ambassador to Australia issued a plea for understanding the Jewish state’s position. The ambassador, Yuval Rotem, argued that, “the people of Gaza are not the enemy”. He also…