A peace deal of hopes and fears
October 11, 2025 | Justin Amler
For the first time, the full weight of the Oval Office is behind a deal. And also for the first time, many Muslim and Arab nations, including countries with long-standing ties to Hamas such as Qatar and Turkey, have welcomed and supported the agreement. That’s no small thing.
Will Trump’s plan give peace a chance in Gaza?
October 10, 2025 | Joel Burnie
Beyond most of their wartime objectives being realised, the key reason fighting is unlikely to resume is because of the immense pressure being brought on Israel, and the isolation suddenly experienced by Hamas.
Good news, but the world must make sure Hamas falls in line
October 10, 2025 | Colin Rubenstein
Allowing Hamas to recover from the war is a recipe only for further violence and devastation, especially for Gaza. The international community must now do all it can to ensure every point of the Trump plan is implemented, including directing its opprobrium where it is warranted – at Hamas.
Israel winning the war, but losing the world
October 8, 2025 | Jamie Hyams
Israel has since been forced to fight two parallel wars — an exceptionally successful military campaign, and a propaganda war, where it has done poorly, with the odds stacked against it.
Wounds will heal, but scars remain as Israel marks two years since Hamas massacre
October 8, 2025 | Justin Amler
The horrors unfolding were far away from us in Australia, yet I, like the rest of the Jewish community, felt their impact so personally, leaving us with a sickening, helpless feeling of dread.
‘The worst two years’: Israeli lives remain entangled with grief and hope
October 8, 2025 | Ran Porat
Much of the world has since moved on from the events of that terrible day, focusing attention instead on the high death toll and widespread destruction in Gaza following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. But Israelis remain trapped in a psychological time loop, a kind of “Groundhog Day” of horror, reliving the nightmare…
When Israel woke up on October 7
October 7, 2025 | Bren Carlill
In the years before October 7, Israel did what the world had done for eight decades – it lulled itself into believing that its enemies didn’t mean what they said. Israelis thought that if money went into Gaza, if Gazans could work in Israel, if Gaza’s economy improved, then Hamas, as Gaza’s ruler, wouldn’t want to throw that away… But Hamas attacked anyway, and Israel woke up.
The message is simple: Be joyful!
October 3, 2025 | Rabbi Ralph Genende
So much to be sad about and in the shadow of the agony of the Holocaust, the pall of October 7 has enshrouded us. Yet for all this, we have days of almost riotous celebration like Purim and Simchat Torah. The word for joy, Simcha, is a motif of our regular prayers; a repeated reminder in the book of Deuteronomy by Moses in his final words to his people; and it is indeed the leitmotif of the Sukkot festival.
Gaza peace plan offers hope, but also faces major hurdles
October 3, 2025 | Ran Porat
Hamas is very reluctant to surrender its last remaining bargaining chips: the hostages and its weapons. A vague promise of future statehood and the return of the PA is not enough of an achievement to justify what befell the Palestinians as a result of the 7 October attack.
Trump’s Gaza deal may be the last best chance for peace
October 3, 2025 | Joel Burnie
Achieving the Plan will be probably be tortuous. Many of the details will need to be negotiated, and any of these could potentially derail it. And it will only truly work if Hamas agrees.
