ABC interviews offer informed perspectives on Syria weapons strike
February 1, 2013 | Ahron Shapiro
In the aftermath of reports of an Israeli attack on a Syrian weapons convoy, ABC Radio carried two interviews on Friday worthy of special notice.
On Radio National’s Breakfast program, Fran Kelly spoke with Israeli Channel 2’s esteemed journalist and analyst Ehud Yaari, who of course recently visited Australia and spoke at an AIJAC function, video available here.
Hours later, on The World Today, Simon Santow interviewed former CIA operative Robert Baer.
Media Week – Inane Faine; Spot the difference; Out of sync
January 31, 2013 | Allon Lee
ABC Radio‘s Melbourne host Jon Faine (23/1) should hang his head in shame for his line of questioning to Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the results of the Israeli election.
Even though the evidence showed the opposite, Faine claimed that “the Coalition likely to be elected in the new Knesset in Israel looks like it is going to oppose the peace process.”
International Holocaust Remembrance Day Misused and Abused
January 31, 2013 | Sharyn Mittelman
Increasingly January 27, ‘International Holocaust Remembrance Day’ is being misused and abused. This year was no exception with three prominent cases: Gerald Scarfe’s cartoon in the Sunday Times; former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s comments praising Italy’s former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini who was allied with Hitler’s Nazi Germany; and most concerning were the outrageous comments made by Fathi Shihab-Eddim, a senior figure close to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi who chose January 27 to deny the Holocaust.
Egypt’s Islamist Spring/More UN hypocrisy
January 31, 2013
Two years after the Arab Spring erupted in the Middle East, sweeping away long standing governments and leaders, the biggest winners are unquestionably the Islamists, particularly in Egypt. Today’s Update considers the strategic outlook. To the north of Israel, Syria is roiling in the blood of 60,000 dead as the Assad regime and Islamist rebels clash. To the south of Israel, Egypt’s streets are once more filling up with protesters as the Muslim Brotherhood boldly exposes its antisemitic and anti-democratic colours at breakneck speed, while its offshoot in Gaza is approaching its sixth year of rule.
Media Week – Lyons – 11, Pollard – 1; Tony talks, facts walk; Bruce the goose; A bit of a downer
January 25, 2013 | Allon Lee
In a story for the Age/Canberra Times/Sydney Morning Herald (21/1) on Israeli Arab voters Ruth Pollard spoke to the controversial anti-Zionist Israeli MK Haneen Zoabi – an interview best described as softer than cashmere.
After Israel’s elections, where to now?
January 25, 2013
With all the ballots counted and the horse-trading beginning to see which parties will join what will almost certainly be a Netanyahu-led governing coalition, today’s update looks at what it means for the moribund peace process.
First up, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz reveals his initiative last December to convince Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to restart peace talks.
Making sense of Israel’s election results
January 23, 2013 | Talia Katz
Contrary to predictions prior to the election by many that Israeli politics is increasingly right-wing, with 99 per cent of the vote already counted the Knesset’s character is looking decidedly centrist, with an almost even split predicted in early television exit polling.
AIJAC comments on Carr/Hague AUKMIN 2013 Communique
January 22, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein
On Friday January 18 at the close of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) conference in Perth, Foreign Minister the Hon Senator Bob Carr and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague released a joint statement on the Middle East peace process, condemning Israel’s settlements as “illegal under international law”.
AIJAC released the following media statement to the press in response on Friday 18 January.
Right turn for Israel?/ An Insider on Iran’s nuclear plans
January 22, 2013
The theme of most Australian media coverage of the Israeli election taking place tonight, Australia time, is that Israel seems to be shifting towards the right. This Update contains two attempts to challenge this conventional wisdom – as well as a unique eyewitness report from an Iranian regime insider about Iran’s nuclear plans.
Insights into the Israeli election campaign
January 17, 2013
Today’s Update features three articles on aspects of the Israeli election campaign – and especially devoted to correcting some myths about the campaign and its likely outcome.
First up is Barry Rubin, commenting on some strange features of the election campaign, but also the exaggerated claims being made about Israel moving toward the right. He notes that current PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s opponents appear to be doing a poor job of challenging him, relying too much on American political consultants, fighting amongst themselves, and boxing themselves into a corner by ruling out involvement in a Netanyahu coalition.
