Gripping testimony from Al-Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal: Firstly I must apologise for taking so long to update my blog. The events of the past few days have been hectic to say the least, and I am still trying to come to grips with many of the things that have happened. It was this time last week…
Showing all posts tagged Gaza
Slamming Muslims won’t solve Israel’s issues
I sent the following (now unpublished) letter to the Sydney Morning Herald: Israel’s raid on the Gaza flotilla has been almost universally condemned but Paul Sheehan (Beware the words of a wolf dressed in sheikh’s clothing, 7 June) asserts that Muslim fundamentalists, the Left and Greens have formed an unholy alliance to destroy the Jewish…
Questioning the Promised Land is a Jewish need
I’m pleased to see my friend and co-founder of Indpendent Australian Jewish Voices (IAJV), Peter Slezak, with a piece in today’s Sydney Morning Herald on the importance of Jewish dissent. These are the kinds of debates the Jewish community are so afraid to have. By defending all Israeli actions, they are blind to the reality…
Waiting for President Palin
The increasingly vocal liberal Zionist Peter Beinart on the fear, loathing and anticipation gripping the Israeli government and its American backers: Netanyahu’s response to the Gaza blockade crisis shows just how out of touch he is with America. Peter Beinart on why Israeli leaders—and their U.S. defenders—need to join the age of Obama. This week,…
No, anti-Semitism isn’t (mostly) behind the current campaign
Radio Farda is the Iranian branch of Radio Free Europe and receives millions of hits monthly by discussing issues the Islamic Republic would rather keep hidden. I was interviewed last week about the Gaza flotilla (though I should note, for the record, that I think real anti-Semitism is a tiny reason behind the current campaign…
Give us something to love, please, pleads Zionists
One of the undoubted successes of the Gaza flotilla has been highlighting the humanitarian crisis inside the Strip. It’s real; I saw it with my own eyes last year. With news that Iran may escort further aid ships to Gaza – let’s not even think about how Tel Aviv would deal with that – it’s…
The Wall has been updated to the 21st century
Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd Fame, records “We Shall Overcome” in dedication to the people of Palestine and those of us on the Gaza Freedom March:
Former US Israeli ambassador pleads: Tel Aviv needs to find a better PR agent
Here’s the new narrative. A right-wing Israeli website produces a video mocking the aid workers killed last week near Gaza, damns the Gazans themselves and uses racism to make its oh-so-subtle point; we Israelis have nothing to apologise for, so bugger off. The Israeli government initially promotes the video globally – spokespeople find it “funny”…
Bring on the Tea Party in the Jewish state
There is no real opposition party in Israel. The nation is increasingly mirroring the Tea Party movement in the US – see here for a thorough explanation about how Israel believes it can simply ignore global opinion, a nice little delusion that won’t last when BDS starts to hit more – and sees blind defence…
It’s like Israel wants to be loathed internationally
Yesterday’s editorial in Haaretz: The intelligence failure and faulty planning in last week’s operation to board the Mavi Marmara led to a crisis in Israel’s foreign relations in the blink of an eye and a low in its standing in world public opinion. The international community is demanding an investigation into the incident and is…