The truth behind the wrecking ball
November 10, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro
The Palestinian Authority-aligned news agency Ma’an is hardly ever used as the primary source for an article in major international outlets, and for good reason. They produce advocacy journalism for the Palestinian cause, and have a pattern of one-sided and sometimes wildly inaccurate, biased and misleading reporting.
On November 2, however, John Lyons did just that in a story for the Weekend Australian. The story, “New wave of demolitions in Jerusalem”, was based on a story published online by Ma’an on October 31. In his story, Lyons uncritically parroted a claim by a Palestinian official that 200 buildings were threatened with demolition, potentially displacing 15,000 Palestinians.
Arafat polonium-poisoning story returns
November 8, 2013 | Allon Lee
So the question of whether Yasser Arafat was poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210 has lurched forward again…
Egypt’s future/ Israel’s Bedouin policies
November 7, 2013
This Update deals with the situation in Egypt – where the military government of General Abd el Fattah el-Sisi seems to be consolidating power as it continues its relentless crackdown on the deposed Muslim Brotherhood and has just placed former President Mohammed Morsi on trial. On a separate matter, it also includes some important information about the controversial policies in Israel to resolve long standing land and housing issues affecting Bedouin communities in the southern part of the country.
Hamas faces isolation and its own domestic “resistance” movement
November 6, 2013 | Allon Lee
As the Palestinian Authority (PA) receives international plaudits for participating in peace talks with Israel and a domestic fillip for securing the release of a second batch of long-term Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Hamas, its Islamist rival in Gaza is at a low ebb, battling declining popular support and regional influence.
The deterioration in its fortunes is described in the Times of Israel by Avi Issacharoff who writes that “This isn’t the same terror organization – it’s now a movement more occupied with its survival as a ruling government.”
Jerusalem Arabs being treated as political pawns
October 31, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
As peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians continue, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles to an agreement. … The status of Jerusalem involves complex considerations of unity and division, and fiery debate on this issue has become a staple of Israeli politics. Many of these realities were brought to light in last week’s municipal elections…
The Yom Kippur War: Australian controversies of 1973
October 29, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro
This blog, the last instalment of a three-part series on the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, uses original Australian source material to obtain some insights into the Australian government’s controversial response to the war at the time, as well as the persuasive but ultimately futile arguments used by Israel’s supporters to convince Canberra to improve its response. Finally, the blog concludes with some observations about how the Australian coverage of the Yom Kippur War can tell us something about the way the Australian media views Israel today.
Attack on Jewish group in Bondi
October 28, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
AIJAC strongly condemns the attack on five members of Sydney’s Jewish community in Bondi, in what appears to have been one of the most severe acts of racist violence against the Australian Jewish community in decades.
Saudi Arabia’s show of temper/ Hamas’ troubles
October 25, 2013
This Update deals with some extraordinary moves from the usually diplomatically careful Saudi Arabians, turning down a UN Security Council seat in what Riyadh made clear is mainly a show of anger directed at US Middle East policy, as well as at UN impotence, and also scaling back intelligence cooperation with the US.
Arafat NOT poisoned? Media yawns
October 18, 2013 | Allon Lee
In a sane world, it would not be al-Jazeera‘s overblown boast on Saturday of supposed scientific confirmation for its 2012 ‘scoop’ that Yasser Arafat might have been poisoned by polonium-210 which would have made headlines, but instead the revelation on Tuesday of genuinely new and apparently decisive information contradicting any such theory. That’s when a senior Russia toxicologist who had access to testing of samples of Arafat’s body tissues stated that, according to these definitive tests, Arafat “could not have died of polonium poisoning.”
Toward a viable Iran nuclear deal
October 18, 2013
A round of talks in Geneva about Iran’s nuclear program Tuesday and Wednesday ended with the Western powers reporting some progress, and plans made for additional talks early next month after Iran gave a Powerpoint presentation whose exact content is unknown but which Iran described as a roadmap for resolving the nuclear issue. This Update looks at where the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) meeting with Iran should be looking to go from here.
