The following statement was just released by the Australian Parliamentary Friends of Palestine at the conclusion of the delegation’s Middle East visit: The Parliamentary Friends of Palestine study tour arrived in Palestine on 17 April and has been here for eight days, visiting the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. It has been an informative and…
Showing all posts tagged Palestine
My book news for those who still like to read anything longer than an article
My first book, the best-selling My Israel Question, has just been released as an e-book and is available via the Kindle, iBook and other formats. The title is currently being updated and translated into Arabic and Indonesian and will be released in various nations over the coming 12 months. My second book, The Blogging Revolution,…
It’s my fault that Hamas is now working with Fatah?
The proposed Hamas/Fatah reconciliation is a big “what if? moment. How such a decision can operate well under occupation is the ultimate question. In this context, I just received the following email from Jeff Lenchiner, publisher and editor of InsideHoops, on US basketball. Yes, a man who loves sports thinks he should write and tell…
Rules for aspiring politicians and journalists; Israel must be obeyed
If anything has been clear over the last months during the Marrickville BDS/Israel-Palestinian debate, it’s that every major, Australian mainstream politician and most journalists simply won’t allow any dissent on the Middle East. Insecurity, paranoia and bullying are the norm. The local Zionist community just wants to sing the Israeli national anthem. And now this…
Murdoch broadsheet gives lesson in how not to report news
Murdoch’s Australian has spent the last months demonising NSW Greens Senator elect Lee Rhiannon. The main reason is her strong and principled support for sanctions against apartheid Israel and her progressive politics. Today’s paper features a Labor party press release dressed up as a news story. Memo to reporters there; only quoting one political enemy…
ABCTV News24 on human rights in China, Gitmo torture and Sri Lankan war crimes
I appeared last night on ABCTV News 24’s The Drum alongside ABC journalist Marius Benson and lobbyist Sue Cato (video here). While China, we learn via Wikileaks, ignores Australia’s supposed concerns for human rights, I asked if Prime Minister Julia Gillard actually cared about human rights as there had been no public comments from her…
Lock them up in Gaza and don’t be surprised with the brutality
The recent murder in Gaza of Italian human rights activist Vittorio Arrigoni was a shock to all of us. He was killed by a self-proclaimed Salafi jihadi group. The isolation of Gaza almost guarantees some extremism, writes Jared Malsin in Foreign Policy: Beyond the tragic events of the story itself, however, Arrigoni’s death highlights a…
Marrickville, BDS and Palestine in eyes of The Jerusalem Post
One week after Sydney’s Marrickville BDS vote, the issue continues to resonate globally. I was interviewed late last week by the pro-settler and conservative Jerusalem Post newspaper. The journalist was friendly enough but it was clear I speaking to a man who didn’t see the West Bank as occupied but merely Judea and Samaria (the…
This is what the Palestinian Authority is good at; flying first class
This Newsweek profile/interview with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas simply shows an elite Palestinian elite utterly out of touch with Palestinians on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza. The focus isn’t on ending the occupation or stopping daily Zionist incursions into Palestinian territory. This Palestinian leadership has become drunk on Israeli and American largesse;…