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UAE’s and Bahrain’s normalisation of relations with Israel could be an opportunity for Palestinians

September 30, 2020 | Jamie Hyams

Israel’s normalisation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed on 15 September, signify a potentially tectonic shift in the Middle East and represent perhaps the greatest advance towards peace there in 25 years… Predictably, they have also been condemned by those who measure success in the region not by the welfare of its population, including the Palestinians, but by how bad things are for Israel.

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Russia’s quest to make itself indispensable in the Middle East

September 17, 2020 | Oved Lobel

Although it has neither the desire nor the financial or military capacity to actually displace the United States in the Middle East, Russia has become adept at planting itself firmly in the middle of crises and conflicts and establishing itself as an indispensable intermediary at relatively little cost.

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Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates fully normalise relations with Israel – ABC Radio interview

September 16, 2020

AIJAC’s Ahron Shapiro discussed the US-brokered diplomatic rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab and Emirates and Bahrain with ABC Newsradio’s Glen Bartholomew.

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Bridging the gulf to peace

September 15, 2020 | Sharyn Mittelman

The deals reflect a broader geopolitical realignment taking place – an already existing covert alliance of the US, Israel and Sunni Gulf nations against the threat represented by Iran and its proxies including terror group Hezbollah, due to Iran’s nuclear program and its destabilising activities across the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces full diplomatic ties will be established with the United Arab Emirates. CREDIT: EPA

Deals between Israel, UAE and Bahrain shatter old barriers

September 15, 2020 | Colin Rubenstein

These historic deals, unlike those before them, have not grown out of the cold, transactional “land for peace” framework that followed the 1967 Six-Day War, but a new model of “peace for peace” and shared mutual interests. They are the organic product of both economic opportunity and common security concerns, particularly regarding the threat to all three countries from Iran – through conventional warfare, proxy militias and terror groups, and nuclear weapon ambitions.

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Australia must do more to get Melbourne academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert out of Iranian prison

August 25, 2020 | Naomi Levin

The University of Melbourne Middle East expert has become another pawn in the Iranian game of taking foreign hostages under the guise of imprisoning “spies”. But should the Australian government be doing more, or doing things differently, to secure Moore-Gilbert’s release?

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Senior Israeli diplomat Yuval Rotem explains UAE triumph to AIJAC webinar

August 21, 2020 | AIJAC staff

The latest guest for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) in its Live Online series of webinars was Yuval Rotem, the recently retired Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former Ambassador to Australia, among many other senior roles.

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A fortnight that has transformed the Middle East

August 20, 2020 | Allon Lee

Two explosions – one literal, the other political – have rocked the Middle East in quick succession over the past fortnight, with profound consequences.

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China-Iran deal shows folly of ending UN arms embargo on Iran

August 6, 2020 | Colin Rubenstein

Australia, together with its Western partners, should lend all diplomatic support to US efforts to extend the arms embargo on Iran and, given the latest IAEA findings, look for ways to increase pressure on Iran over its dangerous nuclear program and the threat it represents to international peace and security.

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WHO’s unhealthy attitude towards Israel

July 23, 2020 | Judy Maynard

The WHO has a vitally important role in improving world health. While it discharges much of its work effectively, it suffers from a long and lamentably politicised record, including on Israel, as critics are increasingly noting. 

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Black Lives Matter and the scourge of anti-semitism

July 16, 2020 | Ahron Shapiro

The murder of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer on 25 May set off massive protests that spread around the world and awakened sympathies of people of all ethnicities, including world Jewry.

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A so-called Israeli “annexation” might provide Palestinians with an opportunity

July 10, 2020 | Ahron Shapiro

We have seen concern in Canberra about the intent of the Israeli government to extend sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, in accordance with the current US peace plan.

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