In denying the American/Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi a visa to enter Australia, what on earth was the Australian government thinking? What stereotype assumptions about the word ‘Palestinian’ influenced that decision? (more…)
Stuart Rees
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STUART REES, Brexit, A Democratic Absurdity
Fear, deceit, racism, illegalities and foreign interference contributed to Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union. The referendum outcome resulted from a giant con trick, a democratic absurdity which should never have been taken seriously. (more…)
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STUART REES Free Julian Assange
If an individual is repeatedly labelled ‘unusual,deviant,criminal, possibly a terrorist’, that person’s guilt of something reprehensible begins to be taken for granted.
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STUART REES. The Real Villains in the Hakeem Al-Araibi Case
Bahrein soccer player Hakeem Al-Araibi has Australian residency, has lived here for four years but has been held in a Thai prison for sixty days. He was arrested in Bangkok because an Interpol Red Alert warrant indicated that he was wanted by Bahrein authorities, in effect the royal family, for allegedly vandalizing a police station. The charge is spurious. (more…)
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STUART REES Saudi Teenager and Australian Due Process
The human rights of Saudi Arabian teenager Rahaf Aqunun received fast recognition by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and subsequent welcome refuge in Canada. By contrast, Australian Ministers insisted that in assessing claims for asylum in Australia, the government would follow its usual adherence to due process.
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STUART REES. Redefining anti-Semitism erodes freedom of speech.
Claims about western values usually include praise for the freedom enjoyed through governments’ respect for freedom of speech. Yet, even in democratic states, those principles are being treated as outmoded, not least in regard to criticism of Israeli policies towards Palestinians. Other countries also ride roughshod over freedom of speech. Control of the media and suppression of dissent is spreading like wildfire in Sudan, Serbia, Hungary, China, Russia, Egypt, India and elsewhere. Reference to the disregard of free speech in these other countries needs to be made in anticipation of the response, ‘When examining human rights abuses, why single out Israel?’ I am doing so because widening interpretations of anti-Semitism, designed to protect Israeli policies from scrutiny, represent a serious challenge to western commitments to freedom of speech. (more…)
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STUART REES. Free speech about Israel/Palestine at an American and Australian university.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise across Europe and the United States. So too are accusations of anti-Semitism as a means of stifling any criticism of Israeli policies towards Palestinians. As with any racially motivated prejudice, anti-Semitism is completely unjustifiable. So too are the attempts by governments and by the managers of major institutions to not tolerate strong criticism of Israeli government policies towards Palestinians. (more…)
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STUART REES. Israel/Palestine, the Prime Minister and the Language of Peace
A former Australian Ambassador to Israel, Peter Rogers has described as a fraud Prime Minister Morrison’s claim that moving the Australian embassy to Jerusalem could be shock therapy for the non-existent Israel-Palestine peace process. (more…)