Monsters and Heroes: An Australian perspective
February 4, 2025 | Justin Amler
It’s impossible not to be moved by a myriad of emotions as we watched young women and an old man go from the dark abyss of evil, hatred and despair into the euphoria of lightness, good and the loving embrace of their family and friends.
To succeed, the Gaza ceasefire must lead to hope and stability
January 31, 2025 | Ran Porat
The text of the ceasefire agreement is a masterclass of internal contradictions, vagueness, and word choices that enable both sides to claim they did not compromise on their key demands
A peaceful Gaza is possible
January 28, 2025 | Bren Carlill
It goes without saying that imposing conditions in Gaza is complicated. Hamas’s ideology is deeply entrenched; Hamas was in charge of school curriculum for 16 years, in a territory where the median age is 18. Erasing this influence will demand a sustained effort to reshape Gaza’s political, social and economic systems – something for which the international community has, historically, shown zero appetite.
A ceasefire is not enough for a strategic victory in the Middle East
January 28, 2025 | Colin Rubenstein
Israelis are overjoyed to see some hostages released after 15 months of captivity under the Hamas deal. However, they also overwhelmingly recognise that the second phase of the agreement, which is supposed to create arrangements for a permanent end to the war and whose details are still to be negotiated, must not preserve the status quo.
Price of the Israel-Hamas hostage exchange ‘excruciatingly high’ as hatred of Jews explodes across the Western world
January 21, 2025 | Justin Amler
To see our first three hostages, Emily, Romi and Doron, emerge from that darkness into the light illustrates what this war is truly about. We cannot even begin to imagine the suffering they have endured.
A welcome pause, but Hamas horror lingers
January 20, 2025 | Ahron Shapiro
Releasing terrorists is inherently risky for Israel. A similar prisoner release with Hamas in 2011 in exchange for Gilad Shalit freed Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 attack. Nevertheless, most Israelis and diaspora Jews viscerally welcome the deal. For so many of us, since October 7, the families of the hostages have become part of our own. The plight of the hostages cast a pall on every holiday, wedding and birthday, and for many, kept us awake at night.
There is no big winner in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
January 17, 2025 | Jamie Hyams
Hamas will glory in the horrors of October 7. It will claim it won because it survived. However, it hoped to ignite a wider war with Israel which would be attacked with equal force from all sides and ultimately destroyed.
Gaza ceasefire deal: What it means for the Middle East
January 16, 2025 | Ran Porat
After almost a year-and-a-half of agony and suffering, millions in the Middle East, especially Israelis and Palestinians, are finally seeing a silver lining.
UN’s anti-Israel biases can’t hide facts of terror
January 15, 2025 | Oved Lobel
One need not take every single IDF claim at face value to see that the reason that Gaza’s medical infrastructure has been so battered is that it is constantly and routinely being used by Hamas and other groups “to commit acts harmful to the enemy”. Yet one would never know this reading UN reports…
Ice Hockey tournament cancelled to “protect” Israelis
January 14, 2025 | Justin Amler
The tournament’s cancellation highlights the broader failure of many Western governments, including Australia, to confront the surge of antisemitism which followed Hamas’ October 7 terror war.
“The child is the father of the man”: How the birth of my grandson renewed my hope for a gentler year
January 9, 2025 | Rabbi Ralph Genende
When my grandson was soon to be born, I was filled with dread — like the Hebrew parents of my Egyptian slave ancestors, a hundred generations ago, who must have wondered: “How can we bring children into this dangerous world?”
A black day for the international community
December 18, 2024 | Justin Amler
This is a resolution of surrender to terrorism and tyranny, effectively rewarding Hamas by giving it everything it has been asking for since October 7, while sacrificing all Western ideals of justice, fairness and freedom. It is shameful that countries such as Britain, Canada, France and New Zealand could support such a resolution…
