Abbas-Fayyad ructions in the PA
April 12, 2013
This Update deals with the apparent political crisis within the Palestinian Authority, with reports saying Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has either submitted or plans to submit his resignation following growing disagreements with President Mahmoud Abbas and the wider Fatah movement he chairs (Fayyad is not a Fatah member).
Another unsuccessful round of Iran talks/ Israel gets gas
April 11, 2013
The latest round of talks over Iran’s nuclear program ended on the weekend with a meeting in Almaty, Kazakhistan, which concluded with little substantive progress and no agreement even about when talks might resume. Moreover, despite Iranian claims to have presented an offer in the latest talks, participants say it was actually, “some interesting, but not fully explained, general comments on our ideas” and an “apparent return to debating modalities for negotiations ” rather than any substantive proposal. Iran then followed up the end of the talks by announcing the opening of two new uranium mines and a yellowcake (uranium oxide) factory. This Update deals with the talks and the current state of the Iranian nuclear crisis.
How to turn a feel-good story into a misleading anti-Israel rant
April 8, 2013 | Talia Katz
In a stunning example of cherry picking, Ruby Hamad has demonstrated that when it comes to Israel, a story of triumph can be turned into a damning parable. It just takes a little willful ignorance and some creativity.
Bassem Youssef and Egypt’s Future Course
April 5, 2013
This Update deals with growing signs that political and economic problems in Egypt may be coming to a head – problems which have been highlighted in the media primarily in the wake of the prosecution for various political “crimes” of Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef. It also features some analysis of the recent secret leadership elections within Hamas.
Media Week – No experience necessary?; Flotilla details sink; McGeough shrugs; Doubting Thomas; One among the pack; Relationships advice
April 4, 2013 | Allon Lee
Ahead of PM Julia Gillard’s cabinet reshuffle Michael Danby’s name was touted in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald (March 25) as a potential foreign affairs parliamentary secretary (in the end he got the gig for the Arts instead).
Danby of course has excellent foreign policy credentials…Unfortunately, unlike the five other MPs profiled whose professional experience was touched upon, Danby’s only qualification appears to be that he is a “staunch supporter of Israel”, according to the Fairfax papers.
Obama, Israel and the “Jewish Lobby”
April 4, 2013 | Talia Katz
Barack Obama’s first visit to Israel as President last month has been widely analysed in the context of the Israel-Palestinian peace process and in terms of other regional security concerns, with a particular focus on the sometimes rocky relationship he shares with Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu. However, both Obama and some of Australia’s less-informed commentators chose to emphasise what the visit tells us about the overall Israel-US relationship, above and beyond any personal issues between individuals.
But despite the President’s eloquence, some media commentators and pundits outdid themselves in attempting to use the visit to push the ugly but increasing well-worn argument that it is only because of the undue and often insidious impact of the “Israel Lobby” (or more crudely the “Jewish Lobby”) that the US has the policy positions that it does on Israel, and the US-Israel alliance endures. Some go as far as to suggest that Israel somehow has direct control over the American government.
Blood libel surfaces at Hanan Ashrawi’s MIFTAH organisation
April 4, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
The Jewish people recently celebrated the festival of Passover, which recounts the Jewish exodus from Egypt. In the Middle East, this festival often leads to new outbreaks of the ugly antisemitic lie of blood libel – the claim that Jews use the blood of non-Jews to make Passover Matzah. This year a particularly concerning case of blood libel promotion occurred in an article by Jordanian writer Nawaf al-Zaru published on the Arabic website of MIFTAH, an NGO founded in 1998 by Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who still plays a senior role there.
Evaluating President Obama’s Israel visit
March 25, 2013
US President Obama ended his visit to Israel and the Palestinian terrorities on Friday, going on to Jordan and then returning home.
His major statements in Israel were his speech on arrival, his media conference with Israeli PM Netanyahu, his media conference with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and his major speech to Israeli students in Jerusalem Thursday night (video is available here). All are worth reading in their entirety, if you have the time. For those who don’t, AIJAC analyst Sharyn Mittelman offered a preliminary evaluation on Friday, while this Update is devoted to further evaluations of their cumulative effect, along with President Obama’s other major stops in Israel and the West Bank.
Media Week – One-Way Traffic
March 22, 2013 | Allon Lee
It is one of the seminal images that appeared over and over again in the early stages of last November’s Second Gaza-Israel war.
Distraught Palestinian father Jihad Masharawi, holding the dead body of his 11-month-old son, Omar, who was reported to have been the victim of an Israeli rocket hitting the family home.
Except on March 6 2013, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that its investigation into the circumstances of Omar’s death suggests he was most likely a victim of a rocket fired by Hamas or one of its affiliates that fell short.
So, yes, in a very real sense, Omar was a symbol – a tragic victim of the callous indifference of the so-called Palestinian resistance movement that is based in, and operates from, built up civilian areas in Gaza.
Aspects of Israel’s new coalition government
March 19, 2013
With the details of the new Israeli cabinet still being sorted out right up until the night before the cabinet was sworn in on Monday, this Update is devoted to the details of the cabinet and coalition, as well as the implications for both domestic Israeli and international policies of their composition.
