What’s in a Name: Jahbat al-Nusra, the Syrian Civil War and Israel
August 5, 2016 | Aaron Torop
On 28 July Jahbat al-Nusra (also known as the Nusra Front) voted to officially sever ties with al-Qaeda and change its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (“Front for the Conquest of the Levant”). Since mid-2015, JN has controlled a majority of the Israel-Syria border in the Golan, with relative quiet to this day. What does this name change mean for Israel’s security along the border?
The serious terror-funding allegations against the World Vision head in Gaza
August 5, 2016 | Jamie Hyams
Israeli authorities announced on August 4 that they had arrested Mohammed El-Halabi, the manager of operations in the Gaza branch of the international charity World Vision on suspicion of using his position to funnel millions of dollars to the terrorist organisation Hamas.
Media Week – Clark in the dark; Terror vision; Blue news
July 29, 2016 | Allon Lee
Reflecting on the challenges posed by Islamist terror and radicalisation, Australian Financial Review (July 16) senior writer Andrew Clark said that “existing laws which prohibit Australians from fighting for non-aligned military forces – whether Islamic State, Hezbollah, the Kurdish Peshmerga, or the Israeli Army – must be enforced more tightly.”
Media Week – A capital conspiracy; Vehicular man (and woman) slaughter
July 22, 2016 | Allon Lee
The Chilcot Inquiry into the former Blair Government’s decision to sign up to the Second Iraq War never mentioned Israel as one of the reasons for going to war. Yet the Canberra Times (July 8) apparently knows better, claiming in an editorial the real reason Iraq was invaded had “more to do with protecting Israel’s interests than in shutting down Saddam’s so-called terrorist links or preventing him from manufacturing crude weapons of mass destruction.”
This is a dangerously deluded conspiracy theory.
Exclusive: Settlement ‘expansion’ fails to even match natural growth
July 21, 2016 | Ahron Shapiro
Since Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took office in 2009, on average, demand for housing in settlements for natural growth has exceeded supply of new housing.
US Political Party Platforms Shift on Israel
July 15, 2016 | Aaron Torop
Every four years when the Democratic and Republican parties officially nominate their candidates for president, they also amend their platforms, the official party position on a wide range of issues. Even though the platforms are non-binding and do not directly affect US foreign policy, they do express the overall beliefs and goals of each party.
Uganda is Full of Surprises
July 7, 2016 | Aaron Torop
The first stop of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s widely anticipated trip to Africa was Uganda, where he commemorated the fortieth anniversary of Operation Yonatan.
UK antisemitism documented
July 5, 2016 | Gareth Narunsky
The release of the UK Labour Party’s report into antisemitism last week revealed the significant extent of the problem. We’re not talking about what was contained within the report, we’re talking about the launch itself.
Media Week – Beyond the pale; Siege mentality
July 1, 2016 | Allon Lee
In the Australian (June 24), analyst Paul Monk rebuked governments for cosying up to Iran whilst “vicious anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and virulent anti-Zionism” remains part of its “DNA”.
Justice for Holocaust Survivors Before It’s Too Late
June 28, 2016 | Aaron Torop
June brought two developments of note to the Australian Holocaust survivor community. First, we express our deep sadness at the passing of Masha Zeleznikow, the 89-year-old Holocaust survivor and founder of Café Scheherazade in Melbourne, known for helping Holocaust survivors and other refugees. The second development is the conviction of Reinhold Hanning, a former Auschwitz guard, in Germany.
