Bibi’s travels
July 8, 2016
Today’s Update looks at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s historic trip to Africa, which is about to conclude. Whilst there, he visited, and met with the leaders of, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. His first stop was Uganda, where he commemorated the famous 1976 Israeli rescue of the hostages from the country’s Entebbe airport. The operation was renamed Operation Yonatan, in honour of Mr. Netanyahu’s older brother, who led the operation and was killed there. More information is contained in Aaron Torop’s blog post here.
Uganda is Full of Surprises
July 7, 2016 | Aaron Torop
The first stop of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s widely anticipated trip to Africa was Uganda, where he commemorated the fortieth anniversary of Operation Yonatan.
Road to Reconciliation: Israel and Turkey
July 6, 2016
Last week brought news that Israel and Turkey are set to restore full diplomatic ties, ending the six-year impasse that followed Israel’s interception of the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has heralded the deal as “an agreement of strategic importance” that will improve stability in the region, but it may be too soon to start celebrating.
UK antisemitism documented
July 5, 2016 | Gareth Narunsky
The release of the UK Labour Party’s report into antisemitism last week revealed the significant extent of the problem. We’re not talking about what was contained within the report, we’re talking about the launch itself.
Media Week – Beyond the pale; Siege mentality
July 1, 2016 | Allon Lee
In the Australian (June 24), analyst Paul Monk rebuked governments for cosying up to Iran whilst “vicious anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and virulent anti-Zionism” remains part of its “DNA”.
Analysing the deal to normalise Turkish-Israeli relations
June 29, 2016
Today’s Update looks at the significance of the deal announced between Israel and Turkey to re-establish full diplomatic relations which have been in the doldrums since the deaths of Turkish citizens in the Mavi Marmara naval incident in 2010 when a flotilla tried to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and Israeli commandos enforcing it were violently attacked.
Justice for Holocaust Survivors Before It’s Too Late
June 28, 2016 | Aaron Torop
June brought two developments of note to the Australian Holocaust survivor community. First, we express our deep sadness at the passing of Masha Zeleznikow, the 89-year-old Holocaust survivor and founder of Café Scheherazade in Melbourne, known for helping Holocaust survivors and other refugees. The second development is the conviction of Reinhold Hanning, a former Auschwitz guard, in Germany.
Same old Mahathir
June 28, 2016 | Gareth Narunsky
One could have been forgiven for thinking, during a 60 Minutes interview with former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in March, that the one-time strongman of Malaysian politics had mellowed out significantly.
Reviving the Arab Peace Initiative
June 27, 2016 | Glen Falkenstein
Shifting dynamics in the Middle East may have presented a rare opportunity to establish the groundwork for a lasting, regionally-backed peace between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and their Arab neighbours.
Terror Wave subsides amid worrying signs in Palestinian society/ Discrediting ISIS
June 24, 2016
This Update features some pieces on some worrying developments in Palestinian society – even as the current wave of knife violence seems to be subsiding overall (notwithstanding the Tel Aviv Sarona market attack earlier this month). Plus, following up on the last Update on the aftermath of Orlando, it also includes an important piece on his to discredit ISIS from veteran American Middle East mediator Amb. Dennis Ross.
