ABC story misrepresents shoddy HRW report, even as it hypes it
July 30, 2021 | Allon Lee
If it wasn’t bad enough that Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued yet another shoddy and poorly researched anti-Israel report, an ABC online article by reporter Sowaibah Hanifie managed to make that shoddy report seem more balanced than the ABC’s poor effort.
Why was Julian Burnside’s message antisemitic?
July 29, 2021 | Naomi Levin
On July 28, Australian barrister and former Greens candidate Julian Burnside tweeted that “The curious thing about the Israeli stance is that their treatment of the Palestinians looks horribly like the German treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust.”
HRW’s latest Gaza report is a pathetic effort
July 29, 2021 | Ahron Shapiro and Tzvi Fleischer
Human Rights Watch’s latest report accusing Israel of committing possible war crimes during the May 2021 mini-war launched by Hamas in Gaza against Israel is a poorly researched and factually bankrupt smear centred around three incidents, all of which have already been widely reported and explained.
When Golda met Jordana – the ABC offers tarnished history
July 29, 2021 | Allon Lee
As a taxpayer funded broadcaster, the ABC has an obligation to verify that material which goes out under the ABC banner is fair and balanced… It is also required to make a full disclosure if and when potential conflicts of interest arise. This includes informing ABC consumers when a badly flawed historical piece about former Israeli prime minister Gold Meir is written by a local anti-Israel activist.
Push to boycott Israel only prolongs the Palestinian conflict
July 21, 2021 | Jamie Hyams
Such groups only prolong the conflict, because by convincing the PA that its demonisation strategy is working, they encourage Palestinian intransigence. If Barns and others really want Palestinian justice, they should urge the Palestinian leadership to genuinely engage with Israel and work for a two-state peace that would benefit all Palestinians and Israelis.
Vote won’t end family unification controversy
July 12, 2021 | Ahron Shapiro
On June 6, the Israeli Government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett failed to pass a compromise that would have extended Israel’s Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, commonly known as the “family unification law”, a piece of legislation that, among other things, effectively places curbs on the automatic granting of Israeli citizenship or Israeli residency to citizens of enemy states or the West Bank and Gaza.
Brutal new Iranian President raises major policy questions
July 6, 2021 | Oved Lobel
Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement in February entitled “Putting Human Rights at the Center of US Foreign Policy,” the title of which reflects the ostensible approach of the administration to foreign affairs. Will the new US administration be happy to directly engage with Raisi, a mass murderer accused of crimes against humanity, especially given its own sanctions against him?
The LaRouchites latch on to Australia Post
July 6, 2021 | Judy Maynard
The obscure and conspiracy theory-peddling Australian Citizens Party (ACP) recently featured in one of our national broadcaster’s highest profile news programs. How it came to spend this brief and unaccustomed time in the limelight gives a glimpse into the party’s machinations.
German experience can inform Australia’s next move on Hezbollah
June 30, 2021 | Naomi Levin
There is no timeline in place for the Australian Government to consider the PJCIS’ recommendation on Hezbollah. However, the committee has requested that the Department of Home Affairs and other relevant agencies provide classified feedback on their considerations about moving to proscribe all of Hezbollah, preferably within three months. The German experience should certainly be considered by the Department as it prepares any such feedback.
Iranian online Jew-hatred likely fed international wave of antisemitism
June 19, 2021 | Oved Lobel
While antisemitism is a pervasive problem that long predates the Iranian regime, which is but one of its many champions – although likely its most active and open state promoter – there is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest that its social media incitement campaigns are playing a role in the recent spike in attacks against Jews in the US and perhaps elsewhere.
