Graph of housing starts in Israel's West Bank settlements based on official statistical data

Settlements squeezed, not surged under Trump

May 5, 2021 | Ahron Shapiro

Contrary to the narrative promoted by a number of Israeli left-wing NGOs that formed the basis for a number of…

Then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the opening of the Durban Review Conference (UN's Conference against Racism) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, 2009. (Credit: AP Photo/Laurent Gillieron)

US pulls out of Durban anti-racism meet up, is Australia next?

May 4, 2021 | Naomi Levin, Tzvi Fleischer

As countries prepare to officially mark the 20th anniversary of a 2001 United Nations conference notorious for its extreme antisemitism, the United States has made the principled decision not to participate.

Thing

Greek-Israel defence deal is latest evidence of the blossoming Eastmed alliance

April 30, 2021 | Oved Lobel

Erdogan seems incapable of maintaining genuine normalisation with anyone: every irritant in every relationship, from the S-400 to Hamas to Khashoggi, is celebrated by Erdogan, who doubles down on these policies to instrumentalise tensions with regional neighbours for domestic political purposes. It is still possible that Erdogan’s disingenuous outreach may pay off, but even if it does, it is unlikely to break the overlapping system of alliances that have been forming to contain him.

Putin

Russia is astutely playing the players in Yemen

April 29, 2021 | Oved Lobel

The inevitable outcome of the Biden administration’s policy on Yemen, with its overarching goal of ending the Saudi intervention, will again see Russia assume the role of supreme arbiter, as it has in several conflicts and crises across the region.

Suez Canal Blocked By Ever Given March 27 2021

The Great Suez Canal Plot

April 1, 2021 | Ran Porat

The Ever Given got itself stuck deliberately, and this whole incident was actually the product of a massive international mega-plot to replace the Suez Canal with a new Israeli-controlled “Ben Gurion Canal” from the Mediterranean to the port of Eilat on the Red Sea! At least, this is the claim published in Australia by an Arabic language news portal.

Likud

Surprise: Likud drew more Israeli Arab votes than ever

April 1, 2021 | Ahron Shapiro

One of the remarkable stories of the March 23 Israeli election is the Likud achieving a historically high percentage of Arab votes. According to voting data publicly available online (in Hebrew), in one Arab city, the Likud soared close to 10x higher than in past elections.

Australian Federal Police arrest Ahmed Talib in Melbourne on March 25. 
Photo: Supplied/AFP

Mavi Marmara passenger arrested on terrorist charges

April 1, 2021 | Naomi Levin

A Melbourne man arrested in March for alleged involvement in jihadist terrorism has a history of extreme activity, including involvement in a violent attempt to breach Israel’s legal blockade of Gaza. 

Copy Of Water Tw

Israel’s Powerful Connections: The strategic logic behind plans for the world’s longest undersea cable

March 30, 2021 | Oved Lobel

Even more than the positive outcomes for energy security and climate change goals, the project’s political and strategic ramifications are difficult to overstate. Israel’s burgeoning energy and security partnership with Greece and Cyprus, which has qualitatively blossomed since 2017, will further anchor Israel’s importance for Europe and the Middle East. 

(image: Aviva Childress/@artbyaviva)

Becoming Ansar Allah: How the Islamic Revolution Conquered Yemen

March 30, 2021 | Oved Lobel

The Houthis, far from being a local movement, are a core, organic component of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and always have been.

Sydney's El-Telegraph (Screenshot)

Australian Arabic language newspaper claims Israel sent prostitutes to entice Gulf states

March 22, 2021 | Ran Porat

El-Telegraph has become a platform for spreading antisemitic tropes and wild conspiracy theories among Arabic readers in Australia.

(Credit: Shutterstock)

Oil spill off Israel’s coast reveals Iranian smuggling dangers

March 16, 2021 | Judy Maynard

The environmental damage wreaked by a recent oil spill off Israel’s Mediterranean coast is the visible manifestation of a much larger and more insidious problem.

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After her own release, Kylie Moore-Gilbert helps others 

March 3, 2021 | Naomi Levin

Kylie Moore-Gilbert could be forgiven for laying low and adjusting to life back home after her long incarceration on falsified charges of espionage. Instead, the University of Melbourne academic has been using her profile to draw attention to gross human rights abuses in Iran. 

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