Pay-for-Slay is likely still Pay-for-Slay
March 7, 2025 | Alana Schetzer
When embattled Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced that the PA would restructure its ‘pay-to-slay’ policy – its system of financially rewarding imprisoned terrorists, or the families of terrorists killed – in late January, the news was met with a mix of cautious optimism and scepticism.
The missing pieces of the Thai hostages story
February 21, 2025 | Allon Lee
On January 30, the world’s eyes were focused on Israeli hostages… as they were released in Gaza after close to 500 days in captivity. Far less attention was given to five Thai workers… who found their freedom after also being kidnapped on October 7, 2023. To set the record straight, here’s some information on the treatment and benefits provided to the Thai nationals by Israel and Israelis, as reported in the Israeli and Thai media.
Gaza protests: A turning point or a moment of desperation?
April 2, 2025 | Justin Amler
Gazans are protesting not out of a moral change of heart, but out of sheer desperation. Perhaps some are realizing the harsh truth: when you initiate a war with the explicit goal of eradicating another nation and you fail, consequences follow.
Trump needs to hit Iran where it hurts: Tehran, not Yemen
March 30, 2025 | Oved Lobel
If the administration’s rhetoric reflects its actual intent and is translated into concrete action, then this campaign could eventually succeed where others have failed. The alternative, in which, despite the administration’s tough rhetoric, the US ineffectively bombs the Houthis for several days or weeks with no ground component, no increased interdiction campaign, and no strikes against the Iranian regime, is likely to dramatically embolden already-emboldened Western adversaries.
Essay: The Politics of Hatred
April 1, 2025 | Henry Ergas
Few things are more obvious than the role that significant elements in the Muslim community have played in the current wave of antisemitism. That Muslims in Australia are fully entitled to hold and express strong views about the Middle East scarcely needs to be said; but it is one thing to hold strong views and quite another to insult, intimidate and injure others
Iran: Moving beyond diplomatic delusions
April 1, 2025 | Mehran Mossadegh
Since the 1979 revolution, Teheran’s theocratic regime has demonstrated time and again that what the West views as negotiations, Iran treats as tactical delay and calibrated deception. This is not a regime that seeks compromise; it views diplomacy as a battlefield, another front on which to wage its revolutionary campaign.
The Last Word: One Story
April 1, 2025 | Rabbi Ralph Genende
For the Jewish people, the Passover saga remains the oldest and most compelling story of who we are. The Passover seder night is not only the most celebrated Jewish festival – it is also the most profound distillation of Jewish dreams, aspirations and lived reality.
