A dangerous deal on Iran
November 27, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein
The world is overwhelmingly united in agreeing on a number of points about the decades-old Iranian nuclear crisis. One is that Iran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities, in violation of both the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and six legally-binding United Nations Security Council resolutions. Furthermore, it is agreed that a diplomatic deal with Iran is by far the most preferred way to attain this end. And thirdly, everyone agrees, in words used both by United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that “a bad deal is worse than no deal.”
Nonetheless, the interim deal reached in Geneva on Sunday appears to be likely to turn out to be just such a “bad deal” – or in the words of Netanyahu, a “historic mistake”
Pause for a rethink will help West
November 13, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein
US Secretary of State John Kerry and his colleagues among the P5+1 powers who are involved in nuclear negotiations with Iran are in full agreement: striking a bad deal in an attempt to curb Iran’s illegal nuclear program would be worse than making no deal at all.
This certainly applies to interim deals reportedly discussed in Geneva last week as much as for a final settlement. The current pause until talks resume next Wednesday offers a golden opportunity for the P5+1 to reassess their latest offer, and it’s imperative that they do so, because the interim deal discussed last week appears to have been a bad one.
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, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
