During my recent 1.5 years living in Jerusalem, I became friends with the great Israeli-Canadian journalist David Sheen. He’s one of the sharpest reporters on Israel’s far-right turn including the Jewish state’s war on African refugees. He’s currently embroiled in a legal case in Israel that goes to the heart of that country’s increasing opposition…
ABC TV The Drum on refugees, boycotting Australia and Israel/Palestine
This week I appeared on ABC TV’s The Drum talking about Australia’s awful refugee policies, Israel/Palestine and the Israel lobby’s pernicious attacks on anybody who dares challenge the Jewish state: The show has gone viral. One clip, of fellow journalist John Lyons and I talking about the Zionist lobby’s pressuring of critical voices, has been…
The Wire interview on Netanyahu, Israel and its contempt for Europe
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been caught speaking privately against the European Union and its often critical stance towards Israel. In reality, the EU occasionally condemns the Israeli occupation of Palestine but continues to maintain very close ties with the Jewish state. Today I was interviewed by Australian current affairs show, The Wire, about…
How do we escape our filter bubbles?
We live in an age of filter bubbles. I’ve been commissioned by Germany’s Goethe Institute to discuss these issues online for the next month alongside Austrian journalist Robert Misik. Here’s the first entry that is distributed in 160 nations around the world (here’s the German version): Once upon a time there were hopes that the…
Arundhati Roy returns with force to fiction
My book review in The National newspaper: Twenty years is a long time to wait for new writing but in the case of Indian writer Arundhati Roy she’s remained deeply engaged with her country over the last two decades. After the huge success of her first novel, The God of Small Things won the Man…
What happens when Israeli occupation is permanent?
My article in Australian magazine Crikey: Less than one and a half hours from Jerusalem, Gaza is like a different planet, literally cut off from the outside world. Its 2 million residents, suffering huge electricity cuts, polluted water (a recent Oxfam report details Israel’s refusal to allow vital equipment into Gaza to fix infrastructure destroyed…
What 50 years of Israeli occupation does to Palestine
My investigation and analysis in The National newspaper on the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of Palestine: For the two million Palestinians living under siege in Gaza, every week presents new challenges. Electricity is now reduced to about four hours a day due to political infighting between Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas. Israel refuses to…
ABC TV The Drum on refugees, terrorism and the limits of comedy
Yesterday I appeared on ABC TV’s The Drum talking about refugees, terrorism, comedy and the “war on terror”:
The wonder, anger and occupation of Jerusalem
My essay in The National newspaper about the city of Jerusalem: House demolitions occur regularly in East Jerusalem, well away from the tourist path. According to the United Nations, Israel destroyed 190 Palestinian homes in 2016 and displaced thousands of people. It was the highest figure since 2000. I’ve witnessed Palestinian families thrown out of…
Humanising Palestinians guarantees Israeli resistance
I recently reported from Gaza for the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age. The piece was spread widely online around the world. Unsurprisingly, it upset the Israel lobby because I hadn’t simply republished Israeli government talking points. Furthermore, humanising Palestinians is always a problem for people and groups that loathe empathetic Arabs. A major, Zionist…