For years, the response to antisemitism has been predictable: more education, awareness campaigns and structured teaching designed to help people recognise antisemitism when it appears; Holocaust remembrance. These tools are no longer enough because they are not fully engaging with the world people are actually reacting to now. (more…)
Category: Israel Palestine
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Light rations from the Antisemitism Royal Commission thus far
The recommendations from the interim report of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion are tentative, lightweight and backed by scarcely any supporting analysis. Further recommendations must take into account the Netanyahu government’s responsibilty for the stimulation of antisemitism here and around the world.
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US support for Israel is faltering
The political consensus in America that sustained unconditional US support for Israel was built over decades; it will not be dismantled quickly. But the direction of change is now clear. The shift in public opinion away from supporting Israel reflects generational change. That demographic trajectory will not reverse. (more…)
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Interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla raises legal and humanitarian questions
Israeli forces intercepted a civilian flotilla heading to Gaza in international waters. On board were hundreds of activists, including Australians. Reports say forces boarded the vessels, detained some people and cut communication with others. The incident raises urgent questions about what happened at sea and how governments respond. (more…)
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Let’s hope Bell looks for real antisemitism, not being anti-Israel
Here’s hoping that the royal commission into the Bondi massacre of last December does not turn into partisan point-scoring, least of all over whether the Albanese government effectively ’caused’ the tragic massacre by reducing its activity against antisemitism in the aftermath of the October 2024 Hamas attack on Israelis. (more…)
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What do we anti-Zionist Jews talk about when we talk about Zionism?
Non-Zionist Jews lament the conflation of all Jewish life with a creed of bigotry, insularity and belligerence. They must call out Israel’s crimes against humanity and call for the dissolution of the Zionist state. Otherwise, antisemitic voices will continue to equate Judaism with Zionism. (more…)
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The cost of turning identity into blame
The conflict in Gaza that has fuelled antisemitism and Islamophobia is spilling into everyday life. People are starting to blame individuals and communities for the actions of governments or armed groups. This is dangerous. (more…)
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End this war, stop bleeding taxpayers dry, say Democrat senators
The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has been hammered on the true costs of the Iran war during a Senate hearing and dubbed a war criminal by anti-war activists. (more…)
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Antisemitism inquiry interim report: we don’t need more terror laws – we need gun reform
The antisemitism inquiry interim report finds Australia already has extensive terrorism laws, while urging governments to move faster on long-delayed national gun reform.
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Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps humanises Palestinian lives
Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps brings Palestinian lives into focus through personal stories of occupation, dispossession and resilience.
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The ‘little’ things that matter – Message from the Editor
There were lots of ‘big’ stories this week, in the wider world and in P&I. The assassination attempt at the White House dinner, the anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, rising debate over our place in the world in our Foreign Policy Rethink series, and constant violations of the Israel/Lebanon ceasefire. The list goes on. (more…)
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Why a 73 year old Jew had himself arrested
After being arrested in Brisbane for wearing a T-shirt that read ‘Jews for a free Palestine from the river to the sea’, a 73-year-old Jewish protester writes that the law is suppressing dissent and targeting supporters of human rights. (more…)
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Mission creep in the Gulf shows Australia hasn’t learned from past wars
Australia has again joined a US-led conflict with little transparency or debate, raising the risk of mission creep, economic costs and another drawn-out military failure. (more…)
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Open letter to the Prime Minister – Call for withdrawal of diplomatic relations with Israel
An open letter from Australians for Humanity urges the government to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel until it complies with international law and humanitarian standards. (more…)
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Israel’s war obsession
Israel’s escalating wars reflect a long-standing strategy of military dominance, but recent conflicts are exposing its limits and internal contradictions.
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Louise Adler on Howard Jacobson’s Howl – a novel overtaken by ideology
The review that the mainstream media would not run – Louise Adler on Booker-Prize winner Howard Jacobson’s latest novel Howl. (more…)
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The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies
The Middle East conflict reflects competing theocratic mindsets in Iran, Israel and the US, where religious conviction is being used to justify violence.
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Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift
Italy has suspended military cooperation with Israel after months of mounting public anger. (more…)
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The UAE’s shadow network of power and war
Behind multiple conflicts across the Middle East and Africa sits a powerful but often overlooked actor – the UAE’s network of finance, logistics and proxy forces shaping outcomes on the ground. (more…)
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The world acts for oil – but not for human life
Global powers moved quickly to end a war that threatened energy supplies, while years of mass civilian suffering in Gaza has failed to prompt meaningful action. (more…)
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Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension
Amid rising tensions and a national inquiry into antisemitism, understanding the complexity of Australia’s Jewish community is essential to any serious conversation about social cohesion. (more…)
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Pope 1, Trump 0 – Message from the Editor
You think things can’t get any worse and then they do! (more…)
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Ending Israel’s war on peace
To make lasting peace in the Middle East, the US must end its blank cheque to Israel’s perpetual wars and join with the rest of the world to force Israel to live within its internationally recognised borders of 4 June, 1967.
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US disapproval of Israel hits an all-time high
Public support for Israel in the United States has dropped sharply, with younger voters driving a significant shift that could reshape future politics.
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Jewish voices challenge the war on Iran
Dissenting Jewish organisations are challenging support for war on Iran, reframing Jewish identity around justice, international law and the equal value of all lives.
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The language of war is built on lies
The language used by Trump and Netanyahu turns violence into virtue, framing war as moral, necessary and inevitable while masking its human cost. (more…)
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From Gaza to Minab – children are paying the price of war
The scale of children killed, wounded and orphaned in modern conflicts demands more than outrage – it requires a refusal to accept their deaths as normal.
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Trump and Netanyahu: two madmen playing God
The war on Iran reflects a convergence of unchecked power, psychological pathology and religious delusion – placing the world at extreme risk.
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Gaza included – Iran rejects truce and sets terms for ending war
Amid a hail of increasingly violent threats from the US regime, and confusion about negotiations, Iran has laid out its conditions for peace.
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National Press Club under fire for ‘disgraceful’ invitation to Israeli envoy
The National Press Club is under fire for hosting Israel’s ambassador after cancelling other speakers and remaining largely silent on the killing of journalists in Gaza. (more…)