BDS bigotry undermines peace prospects: Response to Randa Abdel-Fattah

BDS bigotry undermines peace prospects: Response to Randa Abdel-Fattah

November 4, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz

Does boycotting Israelis make someone racist? Randa Abdel-Fattah says no.

She disagrees with the claim being brought against Associate Professor Jake Lynch of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS) under Australia’s racial discrimination laws for engaging in the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel (BDS). According to Abdel-Fattah, the lawsuit is “clearly an external political attack on Australian democratic principles and freedoms.” Israel, she says, is “exporting its brand of oppression into Australia.”

Letter: West Bank settlements are not ‘illegal’

September 11, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro

On the issue of Israeli settlements, Tony Walker erroneously claimed that the US considers Israeli West Bank settlements “illegal”. Yet he then correctly quoted US Secretary of State John Kerry saying that the US views them as “illegitimate”

ALP

ALP, Coalition offer answers to key policy question for the Jewish Community

August 29, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman

The campaign teams of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott revealed some significant differences on aspects of both Middle East and domestic policies in their answers to ten policy questions posed them by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

The questions and answers – published in the September edition of the Australia/Israel Review – deal with Israel and the peace process, communal education, counter-terrorism and communal security, the Iranian nuclear crisis, racial hatred laws and other issues.

The real obstacles to Israeli-Palestinian peace

The real obstacles to Israeli-Palestinian peace

August 23, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman

A great deal has been said and misrepresented regarding Israel’s recent announcement that it plans to build settlement units.  For example, Amin Saikal wrote in “Peace not on Israel’s agenda” (16/8) that it was a “deliberate” attempt to “sabotage ‘current peace talks'”.

However, such a response ignores US Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement that Israel pre-warned the US and the Palestinians that there would be some building announced during the talks.

Negotiation is the only path to sustainable peace

Negotiation is the only path to sustainable peace

August 13, 2013 | Or Avi Guy

The idea that peace can successfully be imposed on the Middle East through an “impartial” body like the UN demonstrates a misunderstanding of history and diplomacy, writes Or Avi-Guy on the ABC”s “The Drum”.

Stop the ugly politicking: this is a matter of life and death

Stop the ugly politicking: this is a matter of life and death

August 5, 2013 | Mark Leibler

It chills me that we have come to a point where we are denying refugees reaching Australian waters any prospect of ever being settled in this country.

When we demonise those who arrive by boat, we simply fuel fear in the community, leaving us all feeling helpless and confused, to say nothing of the mental health effects on the refugees concerned…

Risks aplenty in minefield of Mid-East peace talks

Risks aplenty in minefield of Mid-East peace talks

August 2, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein

ON Sunday, Israel’s cabinet made the agonising decision to authorise the staggered release of 104 Palestinian prisoners – including notorious mass murderers convicted for acts of wanton terror – in order to satisfy a Palestinian precondition for peace talks that began this week in Washington.

The risky move underscores some of the perils accompanying US Secretary of State John Kerry’s herculean efforts to reconvene negotiations which have substantively floundered since the Palestinians walked away from a generous, comprehensive peace offer from then-Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in late 2008…

 

Defend those who are bullied

Defend those who are bullied

July 15, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz

Given the very real harm that victims of racial abuse suffer, it is not appropriate to tell them to just “shut up and take it”. Not being offended may not necessarily be a right, but it is certainly not a duty. If we are serious about stamping out racism, we have to attach negative consequences to its promotion. Some of that will be done through civil society, but it also requires laws.

No time for nuclear honeymoon as Iran changes guard

No time for nuclear honeymoon as Iran changes guard

July 2, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein

In his first press conference following his election as President, Rouhani introduced preconditions for direct Iranian talks with the US – including the easing of sanctions and conceding the core of Iran’s position on the nuclear issue before negotiations even begin.

Time has run out for such shenanigans and doubletalk. That’s just another reason why calls for some sort of a “grace period” for Rouhani over the nuclear issue must be rejected. While Iran’s political machine may have paused for an election, there is no suggestion that its centrifuges have taken a holiday.

Some forms of criticism of Israel can indeed be antisemitic

Some forms of criticism of Israel can indeed be antisemitic

May 31, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro

It is incumbent upon world governments to take a leadership role in rejecting antisemitism in their own countries. That is why parliamentarians from around Australia – from Prime Minister Julia Gillard, members of her government, members of the Opposition and now a growing number of lawmakers down to the state level – deserve praise for recently adding their names to the London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism.

Asia ahead in courting hi-tech Israel

Asia ahead in courting hi-tech Israel

May 23, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to China was revealing. Despite Chinese criticism of alleged Israeli airstrikes on arms shipments in Syria, Beijing arranged a program that strongly hinted it regards Netanyahu as an important visitor.

Opposing radical Islamist terrorism is a moral duty

Opposing radical Islamist terrorism is a moral duty

May 1, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein

Some are now arguing that terrorism should be accepted as a normal hazard of modern life, like traffic accidents. Others draw false comparisons between terrorist acts and the rampages of mentally ill gunmen tragically endemic in the US. These sentiments fail to acknowledge the unique characteristics and goals of terrorism. Terror attacks are perpetrated by immoral ideologues, not the mentally ill. This is true whether the terrorist is acting alone or as an operative in an organised network.

As the instigator for terrorism, radical Islamism is not the only global actor, but it is a major player, and to deny this is to deny reality.

 

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