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Hamas is the cause, not the effect, of Israeli policies
Hamas is the cause, not the effect, of the policies they decry, and October 7 has no relation to settlements in the West Bank, the blockade of Gaza or any other Israeli policy. To deny this is to deny history and ignore Hamas’ description of itself and its ideology and motives.
Read MoreNo ceasefire can work unless Hamas disarms
It should be obvious that the only way to achieve any such sustainable outcome is for the military pressure on Hamas to continue until it capitulates. Voting in favour of an UNGA resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” with no conditions on Hamas doesn’t advance Australian interests for such a “sustainable ceasefire”. It works against it.
Read MoreAIJAC questions Australia co-signing “counter-productive” statement on settler violence
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein has questioned Australia’s co-signing a statement with other nations, including France and the United Kingdom, that condemned what they claimed was “record high” violence from extremist settlers
Read MoreDismantling Hamas is vital to any hopes of Middle East peace
Australia’s foreign policy goals can best be served by searching for ways to make sure the current Gaza war will end with Hamas’ rule dismantled rather than seeking to legitimise or strengthen Hamas in the utterly misguided hope it can somehow be moderated and converted into a genuine peace partner.
Read MoreUN embraces Iranian human rights abusers at refugee forum
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was set to attend the United Nations Global Refugee Forum, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 13… However, just hours before his plane was meant to land in Geneva, Raisi announced he had cancelled.
Read MoreAIJAC endorses efforts to urge International Committee of the Red Cross to demand access to Israeli hostages
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today endorsed the grassroots Australian effort urging Red Cross Australia to lobby its international umbrella organisation to demand access to, and the release of, the Israeli hostages who remain in captivity since being abducted by Hamas on October 7. AIJAC also rejected excuses from the International Committee of…
Read MoreAustralia’s “profoundly disappointing” UN vote on Gaza ceasefire: Colin Rubenstein on Sky News
Colin Rubenstein discussed Australia’s statement and UN vote on the Israel-Hamas war with Sky News’ Chris Kenny, 13 December 2023.
Read MoreStatement regarding Australia/Canada/New Zealand joint statement and UN vote on the Israel/Hamas conflict
By effectively calling for an end to the military pressure on Hamas, but not demanding Hamas be disarmed, this resolution makes it much less likely that the “sustainable ceasefire” Australia appropriately supports will ever be achieved.
Read MoreHow October 7th Changed the Middle East and the World: Danielle Pletka
Danielle Pletka, an Australian-born Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), briefed AIJAC supporters about the complexities of Israel-US relations during the current war with Hamas at a lunch on December 11.
Read MoreArticle 51 and Israel’s inherent right to self-defence
In a public address in Canberra on Nov. 14, Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, made the argument that Israel “cannot claim the right of self-defence against a threat that emanates from the territory it occupies – from a territory that is kept under belligerent occupation.” It is in the public interest to examine whether this sweeping assertion actually has a basis in settled international law.
Read MoreA one-state Israel-Palestine solution is a bad and dangerous idea
Australian newspapers have published various articles calling for a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which would supposedly fulfil the rights of both Jews and Palestinians. Let us pause there and note this is actually advocating dismantling the sovereign State of Israel, a member state of the United Nations for 75 years… This raises so many alarm bells for Jewish people like me it is hard to know where to start.
Read MoreFacts Sheet: “I went through hell” – What the released hostages say about their captivity
Returning hostages were forced to smile, shake hands with their captors and thank them publicly as part of Hamas’ propaganda. However, in one video a Hamas fighter is seen ordering captives to keep waving – and there are also reports that hostages were given tranquilisers prior to their release to make them appear happy.
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