Film Review: Last Dance
August 6, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
Last Dance director David Pulbrook was obviously cognisant that a movie about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict would necessitate negotiating a moral and political minefield. Tellingly, he stressed in numerous interviews that “we were careful not to take sides and worked closely with Palestinian and Jewish communities to ensure a balanced point of view”.
He also went to some length to downplay the political significance of the film, telling the Australian Jewish News‘ Danny Gocs that “[t]he film is more about humanity and motherly love than the politically volatile issue between Israelis and Palestinians.”
His efforts to engage with the Jewish and Muslim communities in Australia are laudable, as were his attempts to create a human drama from an inhuman conflict. His characterisation, however, missed the mark…
Ben Gurion review offers up some home truths
August 3, 2012 | Or Avi Guy
The latest edition of Quadrant magazine featured a book review by Daryl McCann of Ben-Gurion: A Political Life (Schocken Books, 2011), which is highly recommended not only for what it says about the book, but because it explains clearly some truths and some long-forgotten facts about the origins of the Arab-Israel conflict that everyone should understand.
Egyptian President Morsi and the case of the mysterious letter
August 3, 2012 | Allon Lee
Did he or didn’t he?
The saga continues over the authorship of a note purportedly sent by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to Shimon Peres, his Israeli counterpart, thanking him for his good wishes at the start of the Muslim festival of Ramadan.
The Future of Fatah / Preventing military conflict with Iran
August 3, 2012
This Update features two pieces of analysis which discuss worrying signs for the secular nationalist Fatah movement that dominates the Palestinian Authority – emanating from both current Middle East trends, as well as developments in the West Bank itself.
First up is academic expert and recent visitor to Australia Dr. Jonathan Spyer, who sees the entire Palestinian nationalist movement as looking very vulnerable to the Islamist trends which are eclipsing Arab nationalist regimes across the Middle East.
In Israel, Romney seeks to differentiate himself from Obama
August 2, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee in this November’s US presidential race, made the most of a visit to Israel on Sunday, creating daylight – not between the US and Israel under a future Romney Administration, but rather – between his views and attitudes towards Israel and its neighbours and those of the current Obama Administration.
Incitement watch: Hamas denies Holocaust and Israeli-Arab Parliamentarian supports Burgas bombing
August 2, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
When Hamas is criticised for its antisemitic and genocidal rhetoric, the common trend is to refer to its 1988 charter, which repeats traditional antisemitic conspiracy theories, specifically cites notorious antisemitic propaganda document ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, and contains some explicit calls to murder Jews. In return, apologists for Hamas have alleged that the charter is no longer a relevant document and accused Hamas detractors of using the document deceptively to demonise an innocent organisation.
Unfortunately, repeated statements from Hamas indicate that the spirit of the charter pervades the organisation to this day. A recent episode concerning Palestinian Authority (PA) official Ziad Al-Bandak is a case in point…
Israeli innovations in the toilet… and everywhere else
August 1, 2012 | Andrea Nadel
Israel’s internal and external challenges often make headlines around the world. Israel’s contributions to improving living conditions for people the world over, however, are finally starting to get the world’s attention. Here are just a few recent examples which caught our eye.
Olympic opening ceremony reveals hypocrisy of the IOC refusal to honour Munich massacre victims
July 31, 2012 | Sharyn Mittelman
As expected, the Olympic opening ceremony was held on July 28 without a minute’s silence to honour the memory of the eleven Israeli athletes, who were brutally murdered by members of the Palestinian terrorist group ‘Black September’ forty years ago at the Munich Olympics.
However, many were disgusted by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) refusal to agree to such a tribute and provided their own remembrance of Munich. In support of the cause, during the American broadcast, Bob Costas silenced his microphone for five seconds to honour the Munich victims. In another show of solidarity, some 30 members of the Italian Olympic delegation held a moment of silence at the entrance to the Israeli delegation’s residential compound in London.
Hamas courts Egypt’s Morsi, weighs Gazan independence
July 31, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
Hamas officials, who had responded with elation over the election of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Morsi to Egypt’s presidency in late June, have come calling in Cairo twice over the past week, seeking to collect on Morsi’s campaign promises to open Gaza’s border to more trade and easier freedom of movement.
Hamas on the Rise in the “Islamist Spring”?
July 27, 2012
This Update features pieces covering the rising regional and financial clout of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas as a result of the changes re-shaping the Middle East over the past eighteen months in what is sometimes called the “Arab Spring.”
First up is noted American Palestinian Affairs analyst Jonathan Schanzer, who focuses on the financial signs of Hamas’ growing clout compared to the Palestinian Authority (PA). He notes that while the PA is effectively broke, Hamas is riding high financially thanks to growing support from two new benefactors – Qatar and Turkey – despite the weakening of Hamas’ ties to traditional patrons Syria and Iran.
