I am a cultural Jew because I am an atheist. I cannot celebrate the Jewish New Year because of the continuing horror in Gaza, and now in Lebanon. A genocide is being perpetrated by Netanyahu and his government which is destroying Jewish humanist traditions. Netanyahu, Ben-Gevir, Smotrich and other Kahanites have hijacked the Jewish masses Continue reading »
International Relations
Last week, Indonesia, our biggest and closest neighbour, deposited its instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN. This was a major international and regional development, a good-news story with a very positive impact on international security, but we’ve heard virtually nothing about it from our government Continue reading »
Israel’s violent extremists now in control of its government believe that Israel has the Biblical license, indeed a religious mandate, to destroy the Palestinian people. When Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium at the U.N. General Assembly last week, dozens of governments walked out of the chamber. The global opprobrium of Netanyahu and his Continue reading »
Peter Dutton’s campaign to make Palestinian refugees into figures of fear mirrors the provocations to the recent UK Islamophobic riots. These were inspired by politicians such as Nigel Farage as much as by far-right influencers. Both examples are connected to Donald Trump’s debate amplification of the far-right American lie that Haitian immigrants are eating the Continue reading »
Exploding pagers and two-way radios. What a brilliant act of ….. state sponsored terrorism. Or a classic destruction of an adversary’s command and control communications ability. Continue reading »
Thousands of Lebanese citizens, injured or murdered by apparent Israeli planted explosives in pagers and other communications devices, are referred to as Hezbollah operatives, even though victims have included small children. A macabre picture does not end there. The public is given the usual either or account of slaughter in a war depicted as between Continue reading »
The Presidential election campaigns that are currently underway in the US are full of hoopla, hysteria, loopy hats and fatuous slogans. But is our political system in Australia really that much better than in America? And are our political mindsets really more attuned to refined Aussie nuances? Continue reading »
The Jewish Council of Australia says it is deeply disappointed at Australia’s abstention from a critical United Nations General Assembly resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months. The resolution passed with 124 votes in favour, highlighting global frustration with Israel’s actions. In a statement, the JCA said Continue reading »
I’m guessing that anyone who reads Pearls and Irritations knows that Land Forces, Australia’s largest weapons expo, was held in Melbourne from 11 to 13 September in the face of strong opposition. Given the blanket coverage, it’s likely the great majority of those in the city also knew this was happening, as well as a Continue reading »
Naval and air standoffs, sabre-rattling and accusations of underhand dealings are heightening tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and causing a security dilemma. It does not have to be like this. Diplomacy and referral to international dispute resolution mechanisms can make a difference. Unless information exchange is improved and serious attempts are made to understand all Continue reading »