The US and its influence in UNESCO
July 7, 2023 | Justin Amler
After a six-year absence, the United States has rejoined the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which it dramatically left in 2017 over its anti-Israel bias.
ALP Must Resist the Activists on Israel
July 6, 2023 | Colin Rubenstein
The Australian Labor Party is shortly going to have to decide if its policy on Middle East peacemaking is going to be based on misconceptions, symbolic “solidarity” and empty slogans, or common sense, reality, and international law.
Australian Government Under Growing Pressure for the Recognition of Palestinian Statehood
June 27, 2023 | Jamie Hyams
There is a genuine concern in Australia that our government may soon recognize “Palestine” as a state, making Australia only the second Western democracy after Sweden to take this premature and counterproductive step.
Stockholm Syndrome in Tehran
June 22, 2023 | Tammy Reznik
In a stranger-than-fiction moment, earlier this month a small group of Jews gathered in a synagogue in the heart of Tehran to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who… died on June 3, 1989. It seems bizarre to see online images of Iranian Jews celebrating the Ayatollah, who infamously implemented Iran’s anti-Israel, anti-Zionist repressive agenda…
Move to recognise Palestine is premature and dangerous
June 21, 2023 | Ahron Shapiro
For the benefit of the Palestinian future, no less than the Israelis, the Albanese Government must firmly remind their ALP colleagues in state branches and at the national conference of the wise words of the late former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon who described his transformation from a rigid ideologue to an outspoken peace proponent responsible for Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
Why ALP’s call to recognise Palestine is based on ignorance
June 21, 2023 | Colin Rubenstein & Jamie Hyams
The only way to achieve peace is that endorsed by the international community and accepted by Israel, but so far rejected by the Palestinian leadership – good faith negotiation between the two sides, involving compromise by both, to settle all outstanding matters, such as borders and Israel’s security concerns. Recognising a Palestinian state before that happens – and rewarding the current Palestinian refusal to even negotiate – would only make such peace harder to achieve.
Explainer: Why does Saudi Arabia want a ‘nuclear Aramco’?
June 16, 2023 | Ran Porat
The idea is to rebrand Saudi Arabia as a civilian nuclear energy powerhouse, and worldwide exporter of nuclear products and technology, given the expected reduction in the usage of fossil fuel in coming decades as part of efforts to control climate change.
On Israel and the Palestinians, Greens party like it’s 1947
June 14, 2023 | Ahron Shapiro
The Palestinians don’t need to forget the past in order to say yes to a bright and independent future. Yet how ironic it is that in order to do so, they will have to overcome not only their own peace rejectionists, but also the regressive policies of their “friends” in the Australian Greens…
Barbaric Russian paramilitary organisations must be put on Australia’s terror list
June 12, 2023 | Oved Lobel
Both RIM and Wagner are effectively terrorist organs of the Russian state – not truly independent organisations. But in this, RIM and Wagner are the Russian equivalent of several other groups listed under Australia’s Criminal Code, including Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Hezbollah.
Israel’s U20 World Cup success shows need to fight sports boycotts
June 8, 2023 | Justin Amler
There are few forces in life that can unite people, generate hope and inspire future generations, the way sport does. It should be a unifying force, promoting fair competition and mutual respect among athletes and nations. Discrimination against Israeli athletes contradicts the spirit of sportsmanship and the principles of fair play. Moreover, ultimately, it will always be the fans and athletes who suffer when political considerations and discrimination undermine the integrity of sporting events.
Iran’s multifront war against Israel is decades old
June 7, 2023 | Oved Lobel
Although the IRGC may be a single integrated network across the Middle East and has increased its numbers as well as its territorial control and lethality, it has yet to demonstrate it is capable of anything more than symbolic local retaliation against Israeli strikes and assassinations, much less coordinating a true multifront war.
The UN Must Not Repeat Its ‘Nakba Day’ Farce
May 31, 2023 | Colin Rubenstein
Abbas has called upon the UN General Assembly to make Nakba Day another permanent day to “commemorate the Palestinian plight.” For the UN, whose credibility is at an all-time low, Abbas’ vile speech hopefully caused enough embarrassment that the Nakba Day hate-fest won’t be repeated.
