Lifesaver and Model of Coexistence, yet still Condemned: The Israeli Health System
June 7, 2013 | Or Avi Guy
It would be fair to say that the Israeli health system has been a unique success story – a model of humanitarian considerations trumping politics, as well as providing benefits both to neighbours such as the Palestinians living under their own health systems and Syrians, and offering unique medical innovations whose benefits are felt worldwide. It’s just a pity that it is politics which largely prevents this success story being recognised – and where possible, emulated.
The Six Day War and the changing face of journalism: The view from Australia
June 6, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro
The recent passing of the Associated Press‘ acclaimed journalist Hal McClure at the age of 92 coincides closely with the event that brought him his greatest fame – his coverage of the 1967 Six Day War, which began 46 years ago yesterday.
His passing is yet another reminder of a bygone era when a journalist took pride in reporting the news, rather than acting as a partisan advocate for or against the newsmakers themselves.
Before refecting on that, however, the anniversary of the Six Day War offers us an opportunity to review some of the coverage of the war at the time in two of Australia’s leading newspapers – the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.
Media Week – Birds of a feather; Trigger-happy headliners; Down the memory hole
June 5, 2013 | Allon Lee
SBS TV‘s “Dateline” program (May 21) travelled to Greece to look at the worrying rise in the Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn movement which has used the economic crisis there to increase its Parliamentary representation through scapegoating Jews, foreigners, homosexuals and other rival political groupings.
Whilst it is clear that Golden Dawn mirrors its behaviour on the intimidatory tactics of fascism, Golden Dawn MP Ilias Panayotaros told Evan Williams that they take inspiration from Hezbollah, which has cannily attracted supporters over the years through the provision of social services.
As Panayotaros explained, “Golden Dawn wants to become and will become like the Hezbollah in Lebanon which in effect is a second government which helps even its poorest citizen and over time Golden Dawn will do more for our fellow citizens.”
But that, of course, doesn’t tell the full story. It’s a pity that Williams did not follow up on the Hezbollah angle, and point out how it is not only a proscribed terrorist organisation in many countries but actually controls the Lebanese government.
More on the Australian Greens and the London Declaration against Antisemitism
June 4, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
Last week, this blog reported the refusal of NSW Greens MLCs David Shoebridge and John Kaye to sign the London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism, as well as their self-serving and disingenuous justification for rejecting the document.
It would be remiss of us to leave the story there. … Especially encouraging was the decision by Jeremy Buckingham–a colleague of Shoebridge and Kaye in the NSW Upper House–to sign the Declaration, and thereby demonstrate that the NSW Greens party is not united against the principles in the Declaration.
Federal Greens Leader Christine Milne also issued a very welcome statement….
The increasing perils of peacekeeping for Australia and others
May 31, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro
The unrest in the Arab world commonly mislabelled as the “Arab Spring” has put a strain on United Nations and other peacekeeping forces in the region.
Peacekeeping troops – in which Australia currently and historically has played a role – have limited options for defence available to them according to their mandate, are intended to observe, liaise and act as a buffer between armies.
However, regional non-state actors filling a vacuum created from the weakened national authority in countries affected by the unrest have been increasingly taking advantage of the limitations of the peacekeepers by opportunistically using them as soft targets, bargaining chips and even human shields.
Media Week – One sided conversation
May 30, 2013 | Allon Lee
The Conversation is a website funded by Australian universities and the Federal government for academics and post-grad students to share the fruits of their enquiring minds.
Unfortunately, where the topic of Israel is concerned the Conversation is fast devolving into an outlet for a great deal of slothful, partisan and just plain stupid analysis.
NSW Greens MPs oppose antisemites who don’t mention Israel
May 29, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
In an extremely positive development in Australian politics, recent weeks have seen hundreds of Australian parliamentarians signing the London Declaration on Antisemitism…
Not all, however, support the Declaration. Two parliamentarians who have vocally opposed signing it are NSW Greens leader David Shoebridge, and his colleague in the NSW Legislative Council, John Kaye–who is Jewish by birth, if not by practice.
The two MLCs have written a post on New Matilda explaining their position. If that piece is a true reflection of their views on the subject, they seem to fundamentally misunderstand the substance of the Declaration.
Statement on BDS and publicly-funded bodies
May 27, 2013
An article in Saturday’s Australian “Libs to cut funding for anti-Israel activists” (May 25) – discussing recent debates about publicly-funded bodies engaging in Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel – briefly quoted from a longer statement from AIJAC Executive Director Dr. Colin Rubenstein on the subject. As the brief quote in that piece did not and could not fully represent AIJAC’s position, here is AIJAC’s statement on the subject in full…
French decision sheds light on legality of West Bank settlements
May 24, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
On 23 March this year, the Versaille Court of Appeal in France delivered a very significant judgment in a case brought by the Association France-Palestine Solidarité (France-Palestine Solidarity Association, or ‘AFPS’) and joined by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (‘PLO’), against French companies Societé Alstom and Veolia Transport. The ruling sparked some debate within the Jewish media and — more recently — the international law blogosphere, but seemed to pass by the rest of the world largely unnoticed. Yet it was the first significant decision in a domestic court on many issues of international law that have been hotly debated for years, and the results may be important in the development of international law….
A Teen’s Life in Gaza – Terrorism training, with beatings for anyone sporting “cool” haircuts or skinny jeans
May 20, 2013 | Or Avi Guy
Much of the attention regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects have been focused on “hard” policy issues. Yet over-emphasising “hard” policy questions means that crucial precursors for both making peace and for the long term sustainability of any peace agreement end up being overlooked.
One such crucial aspect is the willingness of each side’s general public to view the other side as a legitimate entity, and to engage in interaction with it by peaceful means. This is a key element in building stable and lasting peace. such a change in perceptions starts with education.
Education in the Palestinian territories has long been a major source of concern for analysts and commentators, who emphasised the dangers of ‘teaching hate,’ and thus perpetuating the conflict. Nowhere is this ‘teaching hate’ trend more troubling than in Gaza.
