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The Biden Administration’s Turkish Dilemma
Turkey’s own behaviour will play a role in determining US policy, but there appears little likelihood of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan making anything more than the most cosmetic efforts to get into the Biden Administration’s good graces. If anything, he appears to be doubling down on his policies and provocations.
Read MoreB’Tselem & “Apartheid”
Israeli left-wing NGO B’Tselem managed to grab some international attention by releasing a provocative report on Jan. 12, in which it labelled Israel an apartheid and Jewish supremacist regime. The report’s overblown title, “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid”, appears to have been a deliberate mirroring of the catchcry of those who would eliminate Israel: “Palestine must be free, from the river to the sea.”
Read MoreMalka Leifer extradited
With an enormous sense of relief, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) welcomes the news that Malka Leifer is en route to Australia to face 74 counts of child sexual abuse.
Read MoreWhat we can expect from President Biden
Much has changed since Biden spoke with the autonomy of a senator, particularly the increasing volume of Israel critics among Democrats. Therefore, Biden’s underlying attitudes towards today’s Israel are not altogether clear.
Read MoreThe Biden Administration’s challenge on Iran
If Biden intends the JCPOA to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, and to moderate its other rogue behaviour, he needs to first insist that Iran return to full compliance with the deal, and then significantly renegotiate or expand it.
Read MoreHistory’s lessons vital to counter extremism
THE recent shocking events at the US Capitol have underlined how extremists around the world are promoting racist conspiracy theories, recruiting online and trying to provoke “race wars” — and helped cause the violence we saw in Washington. Meanwhile, Australian security agencies continue to warn about the growth of far-right extremism here.
Read MoreClive Williams’ misguided claims on Iran, Israel and the Trump Administration – a fisking
Clive Williams is a campus visitor with the ANU Centre for Military and Security Law. His article on The Conversation website asked, “Are the US and Iran headed for a military showdown before Trump leaves office?” (Jan 4). Unfortunately, the article was a mixture of out-of-context information, factual errors and half-truths brought together by an underlying presumption that the real threat to peace and security in the Middle East is not Iran, but Israel and the US Administration.
Read MoreOne Nation Senator fails to moderate antisemitic comments
During violent riots at the US Capitol, Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts published provocative commentary on his Facebook page, which resulted in some of his supporters leaving antisemitic comments in response.
Read MoreBeware Turkey’s normalisation noise
Absent concrete Turkish concessions or a substantial change in the regional situation, no Israeli interests can be served by humouring Erdogan’s outreach or indulging Turkey’s progressively more appalling demands and activities.
Read More‘Tis the season: Israeli Government to dissolve at midnight
Israel will be headed for its fourth election in the past two years as a last-ditch Knesset vote that would have held the National Emergency Unity Government together failed in a dramatic fashion late last night, 49-47.
Read MoreAIJAC welcomes latest Leifer decision
“Like the rest of the Australian Jewish community, AIJAC is pleased that Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal against the decision to extradite former school principal, Malka Leifer, to face 74 counts of child sexual assault in Melbourne.
Read MoreWe are at a pivotal moment for addressing the Iranian nuclear threat
Taken on face value, the November 27 assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, like the targeted killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani last January, would appear to be aimed at breaking the momentum of Iranian aggression in the region…
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