Prominent Australian journalist and writer Antony Loewenstein was Guest Speaker at an FCA Newsmaker Luncheon in Sydney on Thursday 26 March 2009. Antony’s address focused on the ways in which most of the Western media gloss over the realities of the Israel/Palestine conflict, not least the Israeli occupation, and related topics.
This was a wonderful day. Speaking to any number of journalists from a host of countries, including Germany, Japan and Britain, reinforced my belief that too many reporters are fearful of honestly tackling the Middle East question. Scared of being accused of anti-Semitism. Scared of accurately discussing the brutal occupation. Obsessed with “balance” in the face of Zionist lobby pressure. Sympathetic to the Palestinians but unsure how to show it. Only by talking and understanding an alternative Jewish perspective will more journalists feel greater confidence to deal with the inevitable criticism for daring to write the truth.
This is what the majority of journalists told me both before and after my speech.