Media Week – So near, and yet so far; Justified fears; Shalom Salam; Justice done; Conspiracy-land; Howe’s that
May 2, 2013 | Allon Lee
On Fairfax‘s “Daily Life” site (April 23) Ruby Hamad, who has previously penned some ill-informed and one-sided pieces on Israel, presented a sober account of the escalating restrictions imposed by Hamas on Gazans.
Unfortunately her explanation for Gaza’s economic difficulties was entirely predictable…
The millionaires of Gaza
May 2, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
While many Gazans struggle with poverty like many people across the Middle East, one may be surprised to find that there is another side to Gaza’s economy – a booming property development industry supported by the smuggling trade that is estimated to have made a thousand millionaires in the last five years. In fact, property prices for luxury villas and apartments in elite Gaza areas like El Remal are reportedly on par with London and New York.
This certainly came as a surprise to television presenter Seyi Rhodes, who filmed the documentary “Unreported World: Gaza’s property ladder” which aired on the UK’s Channel 4 on April 26.
‘Sue me Jew’ part 2: hate-speech off campus and online?
May 1, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
On Monday, AIJAC reported on the first two days of vicious anti-Jewish hate-speech on the Facebook page for an anti-Israel rally held this afternoon at the University of New South Wales (‘UNSW’) to protest the opening of a Max Brenner chocolate shop…
Thankfully, the event saw little identifiable antisemitism — although those present were likely ‘on their best behaviour’ due to the significant media presence. Nevertheless, the real story remains the Facebook page. Below is a continuation of yesterday’s account…
‘Sue me Jew’: horrific hate-speech by Australian students on anti-Israel Facebook page
April 29, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
Student activism in NSW seems to be taking a dark turn.
For those who follow this blog, it would not be especially surprising to hear that the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (‘BDS’) movement is steeped in antisemitism. …
In recent days, students at the University of New South Wales (‘UNSW’) have seen perhaps the most publicly explicit example of this phenomenon to rear its ugly head on Australian shores. A bizarre collective of Muslim students, students from the extreme left, prominent Muslim community leader Rebecca Kay, and “Jihad Sheila” Raisah Douglas, have come together…
Five extreme reactions to the Boston Bombings
April 25, 2013 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
The confusion after the bombing of the Boston Marathon last week saw a number of reactions that were ‘colourful’ to say the least. Australians will be familiar with radio broadcaster Alan Jones’ claim that the perpetrators were most likely “left-wing radical students”, as well as Bob Ellis’ rather bizarre speculation that “it seems to me likely that this was not al-Qaeda or a lone madman … but more likely, much more likely, the NRA.”
The most shocking reactions, however, did not come from Australians. Be it an unnerving sense of vindication or an incomprehensible conspiracy theory, AIJAC has compiled five of the most ‘out-there’ responses to the awful carnage that took place.
Boston Marathon bombing: Israel-trained medical team responds, extremists spread conspiracy theories
April 17, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
Australians woke up yesterday morning to the shocking news that two bombs had exploded in the streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon and had killed three people – Martin Richard an eight-year-old boy who was cheering on his father in the marathon, Krystle Campbell a 29-year-old woman described by her mother as having a “heart of gold”, and a Chinese woman who was a student at Boston University. More than 183 people have been hospitalised, 13 people have had their limbs amputated, and 24 are in a critical condition.
After Salam Fayyad
April 17, 2013
As readers are probably aware, Palestinian Authority PM Salam Fayyad – widely seen internationally as a competent, efficient and moderate state-builder – submitted his resignation on Saturday and had it accepted by President Mahmoud Abbas. This Update is devoted to analysis of how Fayyad’s resignation came about, and the implications of this change for the future of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Palestinian polls and arriving at the two state resolution, which “everbody knows” is the answer
April 16, 2013 | Or Avi Guy
There is a re-appearing assumption that “everybody knows” the general outline of a future two-state peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, that both peoples support the idea, and that it is only distrust and the politics and limitations of the leaders of both sides that prevents it from coming about.
But what do Palestinians really think about the “everybody knows” peace deal? Well, there’s good news and bad news.
A sixty-five year miracle?
April 16, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
Today, Israel celebrates the 65th anniversary of its independence (Yom Haatzmaut).
On 14 May 1948, the day in which the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People’s Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and David Ben Gurion who became Israel’s first Prime Minister, read out the State of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
On that day, the Jewish ‘hope’ to be a free people in their ancient homeland became a reality – recalling the famous words of Theodore Herzl, considered the father of modern political Zionism, who said, “If you will it, it is no dream.”
Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Israel and the Jewish people
April 12, 2013 | Talia Katz
Thatcher’s reputation as the “Iron Lady” reflected her self-proclaimed status as a conviction politician, and this is echoed in the eulogies delivered following her death. Though her legacy has divided opinion, when it came to Israel and the Jewish people, she is remembered for her strong, supportive and effective foreign policy credentials, and her dedication to fighting antisemitism in all its guises.
As a member of Parliament, representing a large Jewish constituency, and as Britain’s longest serving PM in over a hundred years, Thatcher was widely recognised as both a true friend and strong ally to the Jewish people and to the State of Israel.
