An interview with Israeli academic and activist Idan Landau, who says “as long as the US and Europe continue to insulate Israel from the moral consequences of its policies,” things are likely to go from bad to worse. (more…)
Category: Israel Palestine
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Keeping your chin up – Message from the Editor
Around our dinner table we volunteer our ‘best bits’ for the day. My eldest daughter started it with her boys, and it has now become an evening ritual for us all. It forces you to articulate the good bits of the day, and to listen to what have been the good bits for others. So I thought I would start doing that with readers as well. Each week, as I filter through the hundreds of articles, podcasts, and Instagram posts that inform our coverage, I will pick a best bit. If you are reading this on social media I would love to hear your best bits. (more…)
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I am 25 – wars shaped my consciousness and memory
From childhood to adulthood, Refaat Ibrahim recounts a life marked by repeated war, displacement and loss – a personal testimony of a generation growing up under siege in Gaza. (more…)
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The anti-Zionism of Sir Isaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Isaacs warned in the 1940s that Zionism risked deep and lasting conflict. Decades on, those arguments about justice and prudence remain sharply relevant. (more…)
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The weaponisation of antisemitism is making Jews less safe
Revulsion at Israel’s actions in Gaza is driving a global rise in antisemitism, while efforts to conflate criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews are deepening the danger. (more…)
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ABC’s National Forum fails its first test on antisemitism
The ABC’s new flagship forum failed to interrogate key claims and perspectives on antisemitism, leaving major gaps in a critical national debate.
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Mary Kostakidis case heads to court after mediation fails
A failed mediation means a high-profile discrimination complaint over social media posts about Israel will now be decided in court. (more…)
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Why did Dennis Richardson walk away from the antisemitism commission?
Dennis Richardson’s resignation from the antisemitism royal commission has been widely portrayed as a setback, but the episode raises deeper questions about the inquiry. (more…)
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Antisemitism: “It’s a trick. We always use it.”
Public debate about genocide in Gaza is increasingly dominated by claims of antisemitism. The result is a political climate where outrage at Israel’s actions is recast as prejudice.
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Iran war – controlling the narrative
Claims that groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah are simply terrorist organisations reflect a political narrative that obscures the context of occupation and resistance.
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The Albanese controversy shows how universities have lost their way
A cancelled venue for a UN rapporteur’s appearance highlights how universities are increasingly restricting debate about Israel and Palestine under pressure over antisemitism.
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Diplomacy as cover – how the road to war with Iran was paved
Negotiations with Iran appeared to promise a diplomatic breakthrough, but the launch of Operation Epic Fury suggests the talks served mainly to mask a pre-planned path to war driven by political and strategic pressure. (more…)
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A growing Jewish challenge to Israel’s war narrative
Jewish organisations using social media are challenging dominant narratives about Israel’s actions in Gaza, framing the conflict through human rights, international law and Jewish ethical traditions. (more…)
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Settler colonialism: what it can tell you about the Israel/Palestine conflict
In spite of a last minute venue cancellation by Adelaide University, a sold-out Adelaide crowd heard from Chris Sidoti, Francesca Albanese, Henry Reynolds and Lana Tatour on lessons and links for Australia on settler colonialism and the Israel/Palestine conflict.
The event was hosted by Association for the Promotion of International Law (APIL).
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When is an illegal war morally defensible?
Some illegal uses of force have been judged morally defensible, as in Kosovo in 1999. But the US–Israel war on Iran fails that test – lacking lawful authority, credible motives and a plausible path to a better outcome. (more…)
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How long can Israel sustain a military conflict with Iran?
Public support for Israel’s war effort contrasts with doubts over its long-term military and economic sustainability. (more…)
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Australia’s politics of consensus is stifling dissent and compassion
Governments sustain power by repeating stories about themselves. In Australia’s federal parliament, a narrow political consensus – marked by conformity, cruelty and evasion – is weakening democratic debate and eroding the principles of human rights and international law.
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You don’t have to like Iran’s government to oppose this war
After the killing of more than 150 schoolchildren in southern Iran, memories of a visit to Isfahan in 2018 return with painful clarity for Eugene Doyle. Beyond governments and geopolitics are ordinary families, whose children now bear the cost of escalating war. (more…)
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The US-Israeli attack on Iran is also an assault on the United Nations
The US–Israel war on Iran is a direct breach of the UN Charter and a blow to international law. But the attempt to impose global hegemony and hollow out the UN will ultimately fail in a multipolar world determined to resist domination. (more…)
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Another poor US intelligence call?
As the US strikes Iran while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, questions grow about selective enforcement of international law and a long record of flawed intelligence assessments. (more…)
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War is the opiate of the Israeli masses
Israel has once again entered war to solve its “existential problems once and for all”. History suggests those promises of total victory rarely survive contact with reality.
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Royal Commission gets off on the wrong foot
The Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has begun by adopting the IHRA definition as uncontroversial. Yet that definition – and its application to criticism of Israel – remains hotly disputed and politically charged. (more…)
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If Iran resists, the global economy will pay
Western governments, including Australia and New Zealand, have backed US and Israeli strikes on Iran. But the decision risks economic catastrophe, regional escalation and the further erosion of international law. (more…)
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Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely
The US–Israel strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader have pushed the Middle East into open war. But regime change in Tehran is far from assured and the conflict could trigger prolonged regional instability with global consequences.
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Louise Adler sets the record straight on Adelaide Writers’ Week
The Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) debacle might have served as a “life lesson” to politicians and lobbyists about the risks involved in interfering with the independence of arts organisations. But as we have seen at Newcastle and the Sydney Writers Festival some are apparently slow learners. (more…)
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No Plan B: Trump’s Gaza plan sidelines justice and law
Donald Trump’s so-called Peace Board for Gaza promises reconstruction but delivers domination. With Palestinians excluded and international law sidelined, the plan exposes the urgent need for a credible alternative grounded in justice, accountability and self-determination. (more…)
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Foreign fighters for Israel – beyond the reach of Australian law?
While the government vows to block the return of Australian women and children from Syria, hundreds of Australians who have served with the Israeli Defence Force face little scrutiny on their return – despite serious allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
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Terrorism – a blow back from western violence in Muslim countries
Terrorism dominates political debate and media coverage in Australia despite causing relatively few deaths. The deeper causes – western military violence, state power, and selective moral language – are rarely examined. (more…)
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Death tolls, settlements and the closing space for a two-state future
New research confirms that far more Palestinians have been killed in Gaza than first acknowledged, while settlement expansion and political rhetoric point to deeper structural realities. (more…)
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Globalisation of occupation: when genocide becomes an international project
Thousands of foreign nationals are serving in Israel’s military with the legal tolerance of their home states, while peaceful protest against the war is criminalised. This double standard exposes a deep failure of international law and accountability. (more…)