Israel’s influence over US foreign policy is weakening as the political costs of unconditional support rise, and that shift may also reshape the pro-Israel lobby’s power in Australia. (more…)
Category: Israel Palestine
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Mary Kostakidis wins freedom of the press award
Mary Kostakidis has received the 2026 Gary Webb Freedom of the Press Award, recognising her long record in Australian journalism and her defence of press freedom amid legal action over her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza. (more…)
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Gaza and the failure of colonial thinking
Plans to remake Gaza as an economic project ignore the deeper reality of land, memory and belonging, reducing historical peoples to statistics while denying the political rights and human dignity that cannot be displaced. (more…)
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Whose grief changes the world?
The suffering in Gaza has forced many people to question whether human rights are truly universal, or whether some lives and some grief are still treated as more politically urgent than others. (more…)
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Israel’s Iran failure is an opportunity to face reality
Israel’s failure to impose its will on Iran should be treated not as a disaster but as a reality check, exposing the limits of military force and the urgent need to end a politics built on permanent war.
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Hannah Arendt and the creation of Israel
Hannah Arendt warned in 1948 that a Jewish state built without Jewish-Arab agreement would live by permanent war, fear and exclusion – a warning that now reads less like idealism than realism. (more…)
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The questions Hanson was not made to answer
Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address gave the media a chance to test One Nation’s claims on racism, public broadcasting, nuclear power, AUKUS, defence spending and foreign policy – but too many of the hardest questions went unasked. (more…)
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Refugee Week should be more than celebration
Each June, Australians gather to celebrate Refugee Week and honour those who have found safety. It must not overlook those who remain trapped in suffering. (more…)
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Israel’s defenders should confront what is being done to Palestinians
Australia’s sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers have drawn accusations of antisemitism, but criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians must not be confused with hatred of Jewish people. (more…)
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The Israeli army’s skewed scales of justice
Brigadier General Yisrael Shomer, head of the IDF Operations Division, has finally faced the consequences of his actions. (more…)
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Israel accounted for most civilian deaths from explosive weapons in 2025
A new Explosive Weapons Monitor report finds civilians are continuing to bear the brunt of explosive weapons in populated areas, with Israel’s armed forces responsible for the majority of recorded civilian fatalities in 2025. (more…)
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An open letter to the Minister for Home Affairs – Australia’s obligations to Palestinians must reach the visa system
In an open letter to the Minister for Home Affairs, Meg Schwarz argues that Australia’s obligations to Palestinians must be reflected not only in foreign policy statements, but in the practical systems that shape access to visas, scholarships and education. (more…)
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Challenging governments’ indifference to international law
A public forum organised by Australians for Humanity brought together legal, political and human rights experts to examine why international law must be upheld consistently – from Gaza to Australia.
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Trump urges Israel not to retaliate after Iran missile strikes
Iran has launched missile strikes towards Israel, calling the attack a warning over Israel’s continued assault on southern Lebanon and threatening broader regional action if attacks continue. (more…)
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AFP urged to investigate Australians allegedly involved in Gaza genocide
Human rights organisations have referred evidence to the AFP, urging an investigation into whether Australian-Israeli dual nationals may have been involved in genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity in Gaza. (more…)
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The students we aren’t seeing
Displaced Palestinians are seeking ways to continue their education. These aspirations need to be part of the screening process, which has become too focussed on risk. (more…)
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Marwan Barghouti is the Palestinian leader peace now needs
A sustainable Palestinian-Israeli peace process requires leadership with real legitimacy among Palestinians, and Marwan Barghouti remains one of the few figures capable of uniting Palestinian politics behind a negotiated settlement. (more…)
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Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners violates basic humanitarian law
The imprisonment of Palestinian health workers without charge and new death penalty laws targeting Palestinians expose a detention system that disregards humanitarian law, due process and equality before the law.
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The genie is out of the bottle. Where to from here for Iran’s Arab neighbours?
The Iran war has damaged US leverage in the Persian Gulf, strengthened Iran’s regional bargaining position and forced Gulf Arab states to reassess their reliance on Washington.
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Israel’s solution to the Gaza problem is well underway
Israel’s military campaign has been accompanied by a broader objective: the destruction of Gaza’s social, civic and institutional fabric, creating conditions in which mass displacement becomes increasingly possible. (more…)
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Women’s health should not be collateral damage of war and sanctions
Whether through sanctions, blockade or war, policies presented as matters of security and strategy often impose predictable and disproportionate harm on women’s health, particularly reproductive and maternal care. (more…)
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Social cohesion cannot be built by exceptionalising antisemitism
A submission to the Royal Commission argues that privileging antisemitism above other forms of racism, while suppressing criticism of Israel and Zionism, undermines freedom of expression and weakens social cohesion. (more…)
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Not in our name: Jewish Australians speak out
The first tranche of hearings of the Antisemitism Royal Commission did not hear enough from those Jewish Australians who oppose Israel’s actions in the Occupied Territories. (more…)
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Antoun Issa’s novel of loss and rebirth
Deepcut News co-founder and journalist Antoun Issa captures his mother’s true experiences of love, heartbreak and new hope during the violence of civil war in Lebanon, in his new book Rebirth. (more…)
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Don’t forget the plight of Palestinian Christians
The brutal beating of a French Catholic nun in Jerusalem has caused revulsion. It should also remind us of the marginalisation of Christians in the Palestinian homeland. (more…)
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The chilling effect of recent legislation
Freedom of speech and assembly is being curbed by legislation designed to address hate speech. What does this mean for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement? (more…)
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Ben-Gvir’s flotilla humiliation exposes Australia’s selective human rights language
The detention and public humiliation of Australian citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla raises broader questions about whether Australia applies its human rights principles differently when the state involved is a close ally.
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Putin and Trump can’t win
Believing in their military might, neither Putin nor Trump considered the consequences of their attacks on Ukraine and Iran. Now their wars are failing. (more…)
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Compassion does not end at the front gate – Message from the Editor
Like many I was revolted by the video of Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting and humiliating courageous international citizens determined to get supplies to Palestine. If you haven’t seen it, the video shows the Israeli Minister humiliating Gaza flotilla activists, who are shown kneeling in rows, heads bowed, hands cable-tied behind their backs.
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Taunting and degrading civilians in armed conflict is a clear violation of international law
The public humiliation and mistreatment of Gaza flotilla activists violated core protections under international humanitarian law governing the treatment of civilians and detainees during armed conflict.