Last night I spoke at an online event about Palestine organised by APAN (Australia Palestine Advocacy Network) and the Islamic Council of Victoria alongside former Palestinian parliamentarians (based in Palestine) Haneen Zoabi and Basel Ghattas: The Albanese Labor Government has committed to recognising Palestine in this term. Great, but what does that actually mean? How…
Showing all posts by Antony Loewenstein
Jerusalem must be shared by Palestinians and Israelis
The Australian government has reversed the previous government’s decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It’s a smart move but largely symbolic. I was interviewed by global broadcaster TRT World about it last night. I was also interviewed by The Guardian: Antony Loewenstein, a journalist who co-founded Independent Australian Jewish Voices and…
Art, war and another Afghanistan
I recently spoke at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre about Afghanistan. Here’s the event blurb and video below: Writers, musicians, sportspeople, artists, refugees and activists celebrate the resilience, art and creativity of Afghanistan. Haunting images from Kabul Airport filled Western television screens following the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, drawing into sharp relief the devastation caused by…
What the media should be doing
This letter was just published in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette newspaper in Pennsylvania: Oscar Wilde said, “In the old days men had the rack. Today they have the Press.” We are bombarded with what the media says is news, but, in most cases, does not identify a real source, or attribute the facts to a specific…
The Way podcast on the never-ending war on drugs
My latest book is Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs. I was recently interviewed on US podcast, The Way, about the drug war, why it’s so hard to end and why things are slowly changing:
Art, war and another Afghanistan
Last week I spoke on a panel at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on “Art, War and Another Afghanistan” alongside photographer Barat Ali Batoor, human rights lawyer and activist Diana Sayed, Afghan football player and recently arrived from Kabul, Fatima Yousufi (who was featured in a recent New York Times story), and Hazara musician Taqi Khan. Afghanistan…
Understanding the mega-rich mindset
My book review is published today in The Saturday Paper: Douglas Rushkoff Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires How will the world end? If you’re a tech billionaire, you’re likely already imagining the grisly final act. When American Marxist media theorist, graphic novelist and early cyberpunk embracer Douglas Rushkoff is invited…
How much do we owe Afghan refugees?
My new piece for Declassified Australia on the disparity between Afghan and Ukrainian refugees and how Australia (and the US) view the neediest people on the planet: Around 6,000 humanitarian visas have been granted to Afghan refugees in the 12 months since the end of the US occupation in August 2021. This is from a total of…
The Kafkaesque nightmare for Halabi
My latest story for Israeli/Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine on the shameful case of imprisoned Palestinian Mohammed El-Halabi. I’ve been reporting on this story for years, here’s my +972 Magazine investigation from 2019, and it speaks to the systematic injustice meted out to Palestinians. Here’s my new piece: Kafka in Gaza: How Israel turned a Palestinian…
Twenty Years plus since Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
The Twenty Years project is a collaboration between Afghan artists, journalists and a number of Australians, including me, about the legacy of the US-led war in Afghanistan. There was recently a major exhibition at Blacktown Arts gallery in Sydney, Australia featuring Afghan artists Khadim Ali, Elyas Alavi, Orna Kazimi, Najiba Noori, Melbourne-based artist Tia Kass…