The Israel Connexion: Recent Episodes
David Schulberg
Exploring our close links with Israel and delves into the news behind the news and aims to provide detailed analysis of important current political, social and cultural issues to do with Israel. In collaboration with experts from all walks of life, who specialise in various aspects of Israel’s political life, arts and culture you can hear in depth interviews delving into issues affecting Israel, on topics to do with Israelis and their involvements around the world.
Augustine Zycher is a Strategic Communications Consultant, director of PresentationStrategies.com.au, director and editor at WomanGoingPlaces.com.au advocating for Australian women 50+, journalist, speechwriter and documentary film-maker.
According to Augustine of the greatest concern is the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion failing to properly scrutinise the role of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia in the rise of antisemitism. The public broadcasters have mainstreamed a pattern of prejudiced reporting nightly into Australian homes. It has fostered a mindset that equates Israel and Zionism with evil, and branded Jews in Australia and elsewhere guilty by association.
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Augustine Zycher is a Strategic Communications Consultant, director of PresentationStrategies.com.au, director and editor at WomanGoingPlaces.com.au advocating for Australian women 50+, journalist, speechwriter and documentary film-maker.
According to Augustine of the greatest concern is the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion failing to properly scrutinise the role of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia in the rise of antisemitism. The public broadcasters have mainstreamed a pattern of prejudiced reporting nightly into Australian homes. It has fostered a mindset that equates Israel and Zionism with evil, and branded Jews in Australia and elsewhere guilty by association. (0:52-25:30)
Michael Scott CSC will join me for the rest of the program. Michael is a keynote speaker, author, and advisor on leadership, resilience, and the defence of Western democratic values. He brings to the stage a lifetime of operational insight and moral clarity—engaging Jewish, Christian, secular, and multicultural audiences around the world. (25:35-56:13)
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Rawan Osman is a Syrian-born German activist, writer, public speaker, and content creator focused on advancing Arab–Israeli normalisation and confronting antisemitism in the Arab and Western world.
In 2026, she received the Moral Courage Award at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in recognition of her advocacy and public engagement. She has also received multiple international honours for her work, including the White Rose Society Award in the United States and the Oppenheimer Medal in Germany. (1:00-28:26)
Joshua Moshe is an award-winning saxophonist, composer, and educator. Born in South Africa and raised between New Zealand and Australia, his creative voice reflects a journey across borders and generations, fusing jazz, Jewish, and electronic influences.
He was publicly dumped from Melbourne musical group 30/70 in 2024 after comments he made in a private Whatsapp group were made public. He was forced to close his homewares and giftware store in Melbourne's northern suburbs because of antisemitism. (28:32-end)
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Stephen M. Flatow is the president of the Religious Zionists of America- Mizrachi (not affiliated with any Israeli or American political party) and the father of Alisa Flatow who was murdered by Iranian sponsored Palestinian terrorists in April 1995. He is the author of "A Father's Story: My Fight For Justice Against Iranian Terror" now available on Amazon in an expanded paperback edition, and the proud grandparent of 16 and great-grandparent of Avigayil Ora, the Duchess, and Esther Pesya, the Countess. He has a blog on the Times of Israel. (0:31-30:34)
Ambassador Hillel Newman, PhD has served as Ambassador of Israel to Australia since February 2026. A South African–born Israeli career diplomat, he joined Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a cadet and has more than 26 years of diplomatic experience.
Prior to his current role, Ambassador Newman served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament (2024–2026), and as Chief of Policy Staff in the Bureau of Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (2023–2024). From 2019 to 2023, he served as Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Southwest based in Los Angeles, representing Israel across seven U.S. states. Earlier in his career, he served as Ambassador of Israel to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (2008–2013), as well as in senior policy and strategic roles within the Foreign Ministry. (30:40-52:24)
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Brig. Gen (Res) Amir Avivi has been the mainstay of the Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) briefings. At the beginning of June at one of the briefings, he announced that he is stepping down from his position as chairman of IDSF in order to pursue a position in the next government.
Amir Avivi has served as a military lieutenant at the Defense Establishment Comptroller Unit, he was the commander of the Sagi Brigade and the chief of staff for Israeli general and politician Moshe Ya'alon.
He sees the coming Israeli elections as crucial for Israel to shaping its future.
[Full interview]
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Dr Anthony Bergin, Senior Research Fellow at the National Security College and senior analyst at ASPI, has a background in political science, law, and international relations. With 25 years in military education, he led the Australian Defence Studies Centre and taught at ANU and the University of Delaware. A prolific writer on national security and foreign policy, he frequently contributes to The Strategist and major publications.
We discuss the terror threat from operatives associated with the Iranian regime and consider moves by ASIO, working with the Home Affairs department, to overhaul our terror warning system.
[Full interview]
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Dr Anthony Bergin, Senior Research Fellow at the National Security College and senior analyst at ASPI, has a background in political science, law, and international relations. With 25 years in military education, he led the Australian Defence Studies Centre and taught at ANU and the University of Delaware. A prolific writer on national security and foreign policy, he frequently contributes to The Strategist and major publications.
We discuss the terror threat from operatives associated with the Iranian regime and consider moves by ASIO, working with the Home Affairs department, to overhaul our terror warning system. (0:31-31:07)
Brig. Gen (Res) Amir Avivi has been the mainstay of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) briefings. At the beginning of June at one of the briefings, he announced that he is stepping down from his position as chairman of IDSF in order to pursue a position in the next government.
Amir Avivi has served as a military lieutenant at the Defense Establishment Comptroller Unit, he was the commander of the Sagi Brigade and the chief of staff for Israeli general and politician Moshe Ya'alon. He sees the coming Israeli elections as crucial for Israel to shaping its future. (31:13-57:49)
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Avi Melamed is the founder and CEO of Inside The Middle East | Intelligence Perspectives [ITME]and he says to understand Israel, we must understand the whole Middle East.
Avi brings to the table apolitical Middle East education, intelligence-based frameworks for critical thinking and media literacy engaging with Middle East experts absent from Western discourse.
Avi is an Israeli author, educator, and independent Middle East strategic intelligence analyst. He is a former senior official on Arab affairs and an Israeli intelligence official. He is an expert on current affairs in the Muslim and Arab society and their effect on the Middle East and Israel.
[Full interview]
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Avi Melamed is the founder and CEO of Inside The Middle East | Intelligence Perspectives [ITME]and he says to understand Israel, we must understand the whole Middle East.
Avi brings to the table apolitical Middle East education, intelligence-based frameworks for critical thinking and media literacy engaging with Middle East experts absent from Western discourse.
Avi is an Israeli author, educator, and independent Middle East strategic intelligence analyst. He is a former senior official on Arab affairs and an Israeli intelligence official. He is an expert on current affairs in the Muslim and Arab society and their effect on the Middle East and Israel. (0:31-26:10)
Major humanitarian and human rights organisations with Australian links have been accused of failing Jewish staff, mishandling antisemitism complaints and allowing contested claims on Israel and Gaza to influence Australian media, education, Parliament and public debate according to Danielle Haas, one of EiGHT’s lead organizers.
A 63-page report by EiGHT, a group founded by current and former NGO professionals, says major international NGOs have minimised, reframed or dismissed antisemitism complaints despite presenting themselves as defenders of human rights, equality and accountability. (26:15-57:44)
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I spoke with Meyer Levinson-Blount, who directed the film Butcher's Stain, which won a Silver Medal in the Narrative category at the 2025 Student Academy Awards. Additionally, the short film earned a nomination for Best Live Action Short at the 2026 Academy Awards.
The 26-minute film was created by Levinson-Blount while at Tel Aviv University's Steve Tish School of Film and Television. The story follows Samir, an Arab Israeli butcher working at a Tel Aviv supermarket, who must fight to prove his innocence after being wrongfully accused of tearing down hostage posters in the break room at his workplace. (0:38-14:54)
Ben Adler, director of SHIR has testified at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion and this is his submission..
SHIR is Australia’s only national Jewish performing arts organisation and CHUTNEY, his music band, is one of Australia’s most established Jewish ensembles. Taking both of these projects ‘outside of the shtetl’ has consistently brought him against the very coalface of antizionism and antisemitism in Australia - especially since October 7. (15:00-30:46)
A new Jewish-Arab political party has been established in Israel ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections later this year. 'A Place For Us All' (in Hebrew מקום לכולנו) was launched by its new co-leaders, Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green.
The party will be made up of activists from the Standing Together movement, a grassroots group established in 2015, which aims to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives and harmony between Arab and Jewish Israelis.
I will be speaking about this new party with former Israeli ambassador to South Africa Alon Liel and Jonathan Zeigin (the son of late Vivian Silver from Kibbutz Be'eri), who is number 6 on the new party's list (30:52-56:52)
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Gidon Katz, an expert in marketing Israeli real estate to the global Jewish community for close to three decades, and I met up with him at an informational event that took place at Caulfield Shule in Melbourne earlier this year.
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I spoke with Kate Mannix and Julie Szego about how our public broadcasters have caused much angst for our Jewish community and discussed how the ABC and SBS must bear some responsibility for fuelling antisemitism in Australia by their slanted coverage from Israel-Palestine in particular.
Kate Mannix is a former senior researcher for ABC Television, including on the Compass program. She has made a submission to the Royal Commission on antisemitism and social cohesion with details of how “the ABC’s consistently biased reporting of the Israel-Hamas War has caused antisemitism in Australia to grow”. She talks about the special role of the ABC and its audience’s trust being let down by entrenched bias.
Julie Szego, a Melbourne-based writer, wrote an article for The Australian titled 'Blaming and vilifying Jews – it’s as easy as ABC', where she refers to a very strange cultural moment featuring Penny Wong, Mehreen Faruqi, Grace Tame, Charlie Pickering, Avi Yemini and a vast supporting cast in what is about racism and hypocrisy, rape and lies, truth and propaganda.
[Full interview]
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I spoke with Kate Mannix and Julie Szego about how our public broadcasters have caused much angst for our Jewish community and discussed how the ABC and SBS must bear some responsibility for fuelling antisemitism in Australia by their slanted coverage from Israel-Palestine in particular.
Kate Mannix is a former senior researcher for ABC Television, including on the Compass program. She has made a submission to the Royal Commission on antisemitism and social cohesion with details of how “the ABC’s consistently biased reporting of the Israel-Hamas War has caused antisemitism in Australia to grow”. She talks about the special role of the ABC and its audience’s trust being let down by entrenched bias.
Julie Szego, a Melbourne-based writer, wrote an article for The Australian titled 'Blaming and vilifying Jews – it’s as easy as ABC', where she refers to a very strange cultural moment featuring Penny Wong, Mehreen Faruqi, Grace Tame, Charlie Pickering, Avi Yemini and a vast supporting cast in what is about racism and hypocrisy, rape and lies, truth and propaganda. (0:31-38:06)
Jettisoned by the attempted excoriation of Gwyneth Paltrow for promoting Israeli real estate by the rabid left, I explore some facets of the Israeli real estate market. This will be my introduction to my next guest, Israeli property lawyer Yaacov Epstein, who has vast experience in advising clients in all areas of real estate including purchase, sales and leasing transactions, contracts and labor law. (38:06-57:48)
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Jeff Sparrow is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne. He has written an article titled 'How to Sell a Genocide exposes the double standards of reporting on Gaza' and to discuss it I have invited Professor Timothy Lynch, professor of American politics and co-chair of the political science discipline in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne and Pnina Levine from the faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University, who researches in the area of higher education law, focusing on the protection of academic freedom and freedom of speech.
[Full interview]
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Jeff Sparrow is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne. He has written an article titled 'How to Sell a Genocide exposes the double standards of reporting on Gaza' and to discuss it I have invited Professor Timothy Lynch, professor of American politics and co-chair of the political science discipline in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne and Pnina Levine from the faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University, who researches in the area of higher education law, focusing on the protection of academic freedom and freedom of speech. (0:31-35:59)
James Moran was principal advisor on the Middle East and North Africa at the EU’s External Action Service in Brussels in 2016-17. His long service with the European institutions was spent entirely in external relations and includes wide experience in European foreign, security, trade and development policy in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. From 2012 to 2016, he was Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and he headed the EU missions to Jordan and Yemen in 1999-2002. James was also the EU’s senior coordinator in Libya during the 2011 revolution.
He has written 'In the Middle East, the EU doesn’t need Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ to be more effective'.and will talk about EU policy toward Israel. (36:04-57:03)
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The ADL's Deputy National Director Kenneth Jacobson considers how to best tackle antisemitism by examining what Israel is doing to improve the condition of Jews around the world, and what should it be doing differently. He has written that Israel should avoid using antisemitism as political tool and more recently Is America’s Golden Age of Jewish Life Unraveling? and Anti-Zionism is Helping Fuel the Surge in Antisemitism.
[Full interview]
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Nissan Ratzlav-Katz is an experienced marketing communications professional and a published columnist. The views are his own. The facts are everybody's. Click to read Letters from the Homeland by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz, a substack publication.
Nissan joins me in providing a historical sketch about Hezbollah and Hamas summing up what Israel needs to do to manage the threats from these terrorist organisations. (0:31-27:37)
Jonathan Spyer is a British-Israeli analyst, writer, and journalist of Middle Eastern affairs. He is director of research at the Middle East Forum, editor of Middle East Quarterly magazine, a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, a freelance security analyst and correspondent for Jane's Information Group, and a columnist for The Jerusalem Post. He sums up his assessment of the trajectory of the war with Iran and its proxies.(27:37-36:52)
The ADL's Deputy National Director Kenneth Jacobson considers how to best tackle antisemitism by examining what Israel is doing to improve the condition of Jews around the world, and what should it be doing differently. He has written that Israel should avoid using antisemitism as political tool. (36:58-57:40)
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Itai Ater is a Professor of Economics at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University, a Research Fellow at CEPR, and head of the Israeli Economists’ Forum for Democracy. He holds undergraduate degrees in law and economics from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in economics from Stanford University. Over the years, he has also been a visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley and a senior fellow at the Israeli Democracy Institute.
His current research focuses on recent emigration trends from Israel which is the main focus in this interview with the discussion spotlighting Israel's brain drain.
More broadly, his work examines the cost of living, competition, and transportation policy, with a focus on issues that directly affect everyday life in Israel. (0:31-29:23)
Israel goes to the polls very soon – the stakes couldn’t be higher.
JNF Australia hosted an exclusive online briefing with Amit Segal – Chief Political Analyst at Channel 12 News and Israel Hayom, bestselling author, and one of Israel’s most influential media voices on politics and current affairs.
A frequent contributor to the widely followed Call Me Back podcast, Amit unpacked the rapidly evolving political landscape ahead of Israel’s 2026 elections – including:
🎙️ The key players shaping Israel’s future
🎙️ The major issues driving the national conversation
🎙️ What the elections could mean for Israel and the Jewish world (29:29-43:32)
As U.S.-Iran negotiations continue, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah may be entering a new phase, with the prospect of expanded military operations toward Beirut looming.
Media Central invited Dr. Shmuel Bar, a former senior Israeli intelligence official and expert on Middle East strategy and national security, to discuss the strategic implications of a widening campaign. The linkage between developments in Lebanon and negotiations with Iran were examined, and how this dynamic may constrain Israel's freedom of action, while steering the conflict toward a prolonged war of attrition rather than a decisive outcome.
The briefing also explored the broader implications for regional security, deterrence and the future of Israel and Lebanon.
Dr. Bar has extensive experience analyzing Iran and regional developments and currently focuses on intelligence assessments across the Middle East. He is also a member of Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS). (43:38-57:24)
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Mohammad Darawashe leads Givat Haviva’s strategic development with empathy, innovation, and a lifelong dedication to advancing an equal and shared society in Israel. Currently pursuing a Ph.D., he holds a Master’s in Conflict and Peace Studies from the University of Haifa and a Bachelor’s in English and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Recognized internationally as an expert on Jewish–Arab relations, Mohammad brings decades of experience in public policy, leadership, and social partnership-building, strengthening Givat Haviva’s vision through dialogue and strategic collaboration.
We will discuss the reaction of Israeli Arabs to Israel's wars, crime in Arab communities, the coming elections and the role of Israeli Arabs in Israeli society.
[Full interview]
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Eleven Australians took part in the Gaza flotilla charade and following Ben-Gvir's appalling behaviour dealing with the detainees in Israel the story grew horns.
Avi Abelow who calls himself the Pulse of Israel wrote about the outfall from the Gaza flotilla with an illuminating perspective.
"The reaction from Western governments, media outlets, Jewish organizational leaders, and even Israel’s own leadership, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, was immediate outrage directed at Ben-Gvir. To many people, based on how the story has been framed and how we Western-educated Jews have been conditioned to think about what it means to be “good Jews,” that outrage may sound reasonable at first.
But according to Avi that is not the real scandal. (0:57-27:23)
Mohammad Darawashe leads Givat Haviva’s strategic development with empathy, innovation, and a lifelong dedication to advancing an equal and shared society in Israel. Currently pursuing a Ph.D., he holds a Master’s in Conflict and Peace Studies from the University of Haifa and a Bachelor’s in English and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Recognized internationally as an expert on Jewish–Arab relations, Mohammad brings decades of experience in public policy, leadership, and social partnership-building, strengthening Givat Haviva’s vision through dialogue and strategic collaboration.
We will discuss the reaction of Israeli Arabs to Israel's wars, crime in Arab communities, the coming elections and the role of Israeli Arabs in Israeli society. (27:23-57:02)
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Shamai Glick has come from the high-tech sector. In recent years, he has served as the CEO of the B'Tsalmo. He has led the struggle against "terror culture" and inspired the closure of the Al-Meydan Theater, the Barbour Gallery, and the Negev Coexistence Forum, when he argued that they spread hatred and evil against Israel.
[Full interview}
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Nissan Ratzlav-Katz is an experienced marketing communications professional and a published columnist. The views are his own. The facts are everybody's. Click to read Letters from the Homeland by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz, a substack publication. (0:31-31:08)
Shamai Glick has come from the high-tech sector. In recent years, he has served as the CEO of the B'Tsalmo. He has led the struggle against "terror culture" and inspired the closure of the Al-Meydan Theater, the Barbour Gallery, and the Negev Coexistence Forum, when he argued that they spread hatred and evil against Israel. (31:13-57:45)
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Nitsana Darshan-Leitner is an Israeli attorney, human rights activist, and the founder of the civil rights organization Shurat HaDin – Israeli Law Center. She has been at the forefront of defending Israel’s interests on the global legal stage. She has spearheaded efforts to counteract campaigns that seek to delegitimize Israel and disrupt its security. Her innovative approach involves using legal avenues to challenge hostile activities targeting the Jewish state, including offensive litigation and direct confrontation of those who advocate for the BDS movement.
Chris Sidoti is a UN Commissioner on the permanent UN Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories, East Jerusalem and Israel. He is an Australian expert on international human rights law, a lawyer and advocate. He is a former Human Rights Commissioner,and a former commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission. Sidoti co-led a UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar established in 2017 to look into "alleged recent human rights violations by military and security forces" related to the Rohingya genocide.
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The Australian Zionist Healthcare Alliance (AZHA) is a specialized advocacy organization launched in October 2025 to combat rising antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and harassment within Australia's healthcare sector.
AZHA supports Zionist healthcare professionals, students, and patients, addressing discrimination across all health disciplines.
I will speak with psychiatrist Doron Samuell about the concerted efforts of his organisation to deal with manifestations of antisemitism in the healthcare sector, their persistent endeavours to get the regulatory authority AHPRA to take proper remedial actions and their active support for the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.(0:32-27:12)
The Stimson Centeris a leading foreign affairs think tank promoting international security and shared prosperity through applied research and global engagement.
Home to more than 100 scholars and global affiliates, the Stimson Center is proud to be a magnet for the world’s leading experts on the most pressing foreign policy and national security issues of our time.
I will speak with Barbara Slavin, who is an American journalist and foreign policy expert. She is a Distinguished Fellow at The Stimson Center and former director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East Programs. We will be discussing the current deadlock in the battle of wits between the United States and Iran. (27:19-57:39)
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Dr Andrew Thomas is a lecturer in International Relations and Middle East Studies at Deakin University specialising in Middle East politics and non-Western international relations theory.
We will discuss Israel's war in Lebanon, the state of play with Iran, the stalemate in Gaza and take a look at how the Palestinian Authority is tracking. (0:31-30:04)
Project A was founded in the wake of October 7, 2023 to empower Jewish Australians and allies to activate, advocate and amplify their voices in the fight again antisemitism and anti-Zionism.
Liora Miller co-leads Project A and is Vice President of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia. (30:09-57:26)
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In early March an event ‘Settler colonialism’: What it can tell us about the conflict in Israel/Palestinetook place in Adelaide. Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, was in conversation with Henry Reynolds, a historian of frontier violence in Australia, and Lana Tatour, a proponent of settler colonialism. The event was moderated by UN commissioner Chris Sidoti.
This episode of 'The Israel Connexion' debunks the notion of settler colonialism as it is applied to Israel, dismantling particularly the fallacious remarks made by Tatour.
Prof Greg Melleuish is a professorial fellow of the Robert Menzies Institute. Before his recent retirement, he was a professor in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry at the University of Wollongong, where he taught, among other things, Australian politics. He has written widely on Australian political thought, including Cultural Liberalism in Australia and Despotic State or Free Individual.
Dr Ran Porat is a university lecturer and analyst on Israel and Middle Eastern Affairs; he is an expert on extremism in the Australian Arab/Muslim Community and on the Israeli Diaspora in Australia. He is also a research associate at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) and a research fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Reichman University in Herzliya. (0:31-52:54)
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Dr Martin Sherman spent seven years in operational capacities in the Israeli defence establishment. He is the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a member of the Habithonistim-Israel Defense & Security Forum (IDSF) research team and a participant in the Israel Victory Project.
We discuss Israel's strategy in its multi-faceted war involving Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. (0:31-31:17)
You will also hear commentary from Prof. Kobi Michael (37:39-44:15) and from one of Israel’s foremost security analysts, who unpacks the military developments and the diplomatic road ahead with Lebanon. (31:17-37:39)
The icing on the cake will be more revelations of the ABC's systemic anti-Israel bias in the media, which is fuelling antisemitism in Australia.(44:21-54:53)
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Israel's new ambassador to Australia Dr Hillel Newman has hit the ground running and seems determined to give the Australia-Israel relationship a fillip. Today he addressed the National Press Club in Canberra much to the consternation of the Greens and their anti-Israel allies. (0:32-31:00)
Deborah Danan is an Israeli journalist and communications consultant who gives us a sanguine perspective on Israelis coping with having to spend a lot of time in bomb shelters during this current war with Iran, Hezbollah and now the Houthis. (34:07-56:07)
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ASMEA and SPME held the webinar "The Arab Case for Israel" that was led by Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD). He is the author of the book The Arab Case for Israel. He champions immediate, unconditional, and comprehensive peace between every Arab nation and the Jewish state.
Before the State of Israel emerged, Arab nationalism and Islamism rejected the European-crafted state boundaries in the Middle East, including the concept of Palestine. Instead, these nations aspired to forge a unified Arab or Muslim nation. This grand vision, however, never materialized. The notion of Palestine as a distinct entity emerged in 1964, largely driven by inter-Arab rivalries rather than a historical reality. Since then, Palestinians have cultivated a narrative of a lost state that, in truth, never existed as a sovereign entity. Their collective aspiration for a “return” is less about reclaiming a physical homeland and more about yearning for a time when Israel did not exist. This imagined past fuels a vision that, if realized, risks creating yet another unstable state, given the challenges faced by many Arab nations today, including neighboring Syria and further away Iraq, where peace is always tenuous and civil war haunting these countries and their failing states.
According to Hussain Abdul-Hussain a more pragmatic path forward lies in recognizing Israel’s existence as an opportunity rather than a threat. Israel’s robust economy, technological innovation, and regional influence make it a valuable partner. Arab states that have embraced peace with Israel, such as those in the Abraham Accords, have unlocked significant economic benefits proportional to their level of normalization. These agreements demonstrate that cooperation can yield mutual prosperity, fostering stability and growth across the region.
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The war between the US-Israel alliance and the Islamic Republic of Iran rages on and one facet of it has played out on Australian soil with the case of some of the Iranian female soccer team members who sought asylum in Australia, but under coercion most have changed their minds. I play some commentary about this fiasco from ABC sports commentator Tracey Holmes. (0:39-3:36)
Mahdi Athari is an Iranian who migrated to Australia in 2013. He works for government agencies on large railway projects. He is involved in local community affairs and advocacy within the Iranian diaspora.
This weekend in Melbourne the Persian community will be celebrating NOWRUZ, the Persian New Year, and this provides an opportunity for our two ancient nations (Iran and Israel) to come together at a special event and celebrate. Booking details are available here. (3:42-17:46)
I play a talk by Olga Deutsch, the VP at NGO Monitor and Senior Fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security on the topic Europe and Iran: Why the Silence? that she recently presented at a MediaCentral briefing. (17:52-40:07)
Repeat of large part of the interview with Senator Sarah Henderson from last week. (40:07-57:32)
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Christopher Allen is the national art critic for Culture at The Australian and has been writing for the newspaper since 2008. He is an art historian and educator, teaching classical Greek and Latin. He has written an edited several books including Art in Australia and believes that the history of art in this country is often underestimated.We discuss his article that was published in The Australian "How a plague of antisemitism revealed a crisis of self-loathing in Australian culture".
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Christopher Allen is the national art critic for Culture and has been writing in The Australian since 2008. He is an art historian and educator, teaching classical Greek and Latin. He has written an edited several books including Art in Australia and believes that the history of art in this country is often underestimated.We discuss his article that was published in The Australian "How a plague of antisemitism revealed a crisis of self-loathing in Australian culture". (0:28-37:36)
Senator Sarah Henderson is the shadow minister for communications and we speak about the role that the ABC has been playing in the media that has had a significant adverse affect on our Jewish community, with many feeling that the ABC has contributed to the current spate of antisemitism in Australia. (37:41-57:42)
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Dr. Einat Wilf is the co-author of “The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace” and a leading intellectual and original thinker on matters of foreign policy, economics, education, Israel and Zionism. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010-2013, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. She is considered one of Israel’s most articulate representatives on the international stage.
Dr Wilf has founded Israel’s newest political party, Oz. She began considering establishing the Oz Party as an independent movement after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas onslaught on Israel.
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Joshua Dabelstein isthe Australian liaison to the Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ) and a freelance writer based in Sydney. His work features in the AFR, The Australian, SBS, Australian Jewish News, Sydney Morning Herald, and the ABC.
Besides telling us about distinctions between antizionism and antisemitism, Joshua also expressed his views about the Jewish Council of Australia and The Jewish Independent publication.
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Joshua Dabelstein isthe Australian liaison to the Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ) and a freelance writer based in Sydney. His work features in the AFR, The Australian, SBS, Australian Jewish News, Sydney Morning Herald, and the ABC. (0:32-37:12)
Yigal Nisell is a seasoned nonprofit executive and Jewish communal leader with extensive experience across education, advocacy, and cross-community engagement. Currently he is the Executive Director of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) in Australia. (37:18-57:39)
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Augustine Zycher is a former foreign correspondent for The Age and senior producer for CNN in Israel. She is a communications consultant, founder and editor for WomanGoingPlaces.
Augustine has written about how Hamas was found guilty of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) both during its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 and against Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity by the United Nations. Yet our public networks, the ABC and SBS, have chosen to omit or diminish reports of the sexual violence committed by Hamas. Why have they effectively sanitised the crimes of Hamas? (0:00-29:15)
Almost as if mounted in deliberate counterpoint to the indisputable CRSV committed by Hamas there have been acccusations mounted against Israel for itself committing sexual war crimes. (29:15-38:40)
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Pierre Rehov is an accomplished investigative filmmaker, author and columnist based in Israel. Pierre oscillates between reason and passion, truth and illusion. We talk about what he does to express his political inclinations.
[Full interview]
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Augustine Zycher is a former foreign correspondent for The Age and senior producer for CNN in Israel. She is a communications consultant, founder and editor for WomanGoingPlaces.
Augustine has written about how Hamas was found guilty of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) both during its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 and against Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity by the United Nations. Yet our public networks, the ABC and SBS, have chosen to omit or diminish reports of the sexual violence committed by Hamas. Why have they effectively sanitised the crimes of Hamas? (0:32-30:05)
Pierre Rehov is an accomplished investigative filmmaker, author and columnist based in Israel. Pierre oscillates between reason and passion, truth and illusion. We talk about what he does to express his political inclinations. (30:11-57:26)
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Shadow NSW attorney-general Damien Tudehope and Menachem Vorchheimer, corporate troubleshooter cum lawyer and veteran campaigner against anti-Jewish hate and extremism, joined me for a conversation about legislative measures to tackle antisemitism, including a bill introduced to the NSW parliament to combat antisemitism and a report produced by a NSW committee that considered measures against hate slogans.
[Full interview]
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Hava Mendelle is a writer in Queensland with a focus on identity, politics, and global Jewry. She is co-founder of Minority Impact, and a writer and activist focused on Jewish advocacy, social cohesion, and countering extremism. Hava is also affiliated with the Australian Cohesion Forum.
[Full interview]
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Shadow NSW attorney-general Damien Tudehope and Menachem Vorchheimer, corporate troubleshooter cum lawyer and veteran campaigner against anti-Jewish hate and extremism, joined me for a conversation about legislative measures to tackle antisemitism, including a bill introduced to the NSW parliament to combat antisemitism and a report produced by a NSW committee that considered measures against hate slogans. (0:32-32:02)
Hava Mendelle is a writer in Queensland with a focus on identity, politics, and global Jewry. She is co-founder of Minority Impact, and a writer and activist focused on Jewish advocacy, social cohesion, and countering extremism. Hava is also affiliated with the Australian Cohesion Forum, who are conducting a a free webinar today at 12:30 pm AEST with Muslim Women Speak, in partnership with AMMWEC, bringing together Muslim women leaders working directly on education, prevention, and confronting antisemitism, antizionism, and extremism.(32:08-57:36)
Photo: Children’s character Bluey was hijacked by activist teachers to spread anti-Israel propaganda in schools
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Gidi Grinstein is the Founder and President of The Reut Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit policy-group based in Tel-Aviv. Gidi served as the Secretary and Coordinator of the Israeli negotiation team between Israel and the PLO in the Office and later the Bureau of Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999 – 2001).
We discuss the potential involvement of the Palestinian Authority in the reconstruction of Gaza and how Hamas can be marginalised.
[Full interview]
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With tensions concerning Iran at an all-time high I am playing a special briefing direct from Israel, featuring insight and analysis from Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus.
Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow at FDD focused on the Middle East. He served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 24 years as a combat commander in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. (0:38-34:55)
After the briefing coming from StandWithUs TV hosted by Michael Dickson I will be providing additional analysis from Gidi Grinstein.
Gidi Grinstein is the Founder and President of The Reut Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit policy-group based in Tel-Aviv. Gidi served as the Secretary and Coordinator of the Israeli negotiation team between Israel and the PLO in the Office and later the Bureau of Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999 – 2001). (35:01-57:30)
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Naomi Kahn is the Director of the International Division at Regavim, a research-based think tank and lobbying group dedicated to the protection and preservation of Israel’s sovereignty.
When arguments about Hamas violence or Palestinian terror gain momentum, the conversation is often deflected to a single accusation: “What about settler violence in the West Bank?” which has become a common catch cry.
Pro-Israel advocates stumble or fall silent, while self-described neutral observers automatically side with the accusation.
The reason is straightforward – there is very little media coverage on where “settler violence” claims come from, how they are measured, or how they compare with realities on the ground.
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Peter Wertheim has been involved with the ECAJ for nearly 30 years and is currently its co-CEO. Peter previously worked as a lawyer for 32 years, during which he acted as honorary solicitor for a number of charities in the Jewish and wider communities.
We spoke about the outcome of the parliamentary measures to combat antisemitism, considering concerns about the nature of the legislation.
We also looked at how community members can make submissions to the Australian Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion and discussed the NSW inquiry that is currently considering measures to prohibit slogans that incite hatred.
We spoke of former PM Scott Morrison's call for controls to be placed on the practice of Islam in Australia and considered what motivated PM Albanese to issue an invitation to Israeli President Herzog who is being touted as a war criminal by very misguided anti-Israel protestors.
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Peter Wertheim has been involved with the ECAJ for nearly 30 years and is currently its co-CEO. Peter previously worked as a lawyer for 32 years, during which he acted as honorary solicitor for a number of charities in the Jewish and wider communities.
We will talk about the outcome of the parliamentary measures to combat antisemitism, considering concerns about the nature of the legislation.
We will also look at how community members can make submissions to the Australian Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion and discuss the NSW inquiry that is currently considering measures to prohibit slogans that incite hatred. (0:33-30:36)
Naomi Kahn is the Director of the International Division at Regavim, a research-based think tank and lobbying group dedicated to the protection and preservation of Israel’s sovereignty.
When arguments about Hamas violence or Palestinian terror gain momentum, the conversation is often deflected to a single accusation: “What about settler violence in the West Bank?” which has become a common catch cry.
Pro-Israel advocates stumble or fall silent, while self-described neutral observers automatically side with the accusation.
The reason is straightforward – there is very little media coverage on where “settler violence” claims come from, how they are measured, or how they compare with realities on the ground. (30:43-57:36)
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n 1948, Stan Andrews left a comfortable postwar life in Los Angeles to travel to the war-torn Middle East, where a four-front Arab invasion threatened to destroy the newly-declared State of Israel. There he joined the Israeli Air Force and became one of its first fighter pilots. Andrews was an unexpected volunteer for the fight for a Jewish state. He was many things-an artist, writer, assimilated Jew, ladies' man, pilot, and combat veteran of the Pacific War. He had previously been aloof from the struggle for Jewish independence but found himself so roused by the anti-Semitism of 1940s America that he decided to go to Israel and risk everything.
Jeffrey and Craig Weiss have documented Stan's extraordinary story and I will speak with Jeffrey Weiss about Stan Andrews, a Jewish hero who has become the stuff of legend.
[Full interview]
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Liz Hirsh Naftali is the author of "Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage," which chronicles the harrowing ordeal her great-niece endured after being orphaned and taken hostage in Gaza for 51 days. The unimaginable tragedy struck her family on October 7, 2023, when her niece and nephew were murdered in front of their three young children in Kfar Aza. Liz’s commitment as a hostage advocate and humanitarian began in those agonizing hours and grew more impactful from her strenuous efforts to see all the hostages freed from the clutches of Hamas.
[Full interview]
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Alyza Lewin is the recently appointed President of U.S. Affairs for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), where she leads strategic engagement with government, educational and civic institutions nationwide. She previously served as President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, where she spearheaded landmark legal efforts protecting the civil rights of Jewish students and employees across the U.S.
We examine the spate of antisemitism today with a particular focus on Australia and the emergence of virulent antiZionism - an especially insidious form of antisemitism.
[Full interview]
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Alyza Lewin is the recently appointed President of U.S. Affairs for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), where she leads strategic engagement with government, educational and civic institutions nationwide. She previously served as President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, where she spearheaded landmark legal efforts protecting the civil rights of Jewish students and employees across the U.S.
We examine the spate of antisemitism today with a particular focus on Australia and the emergence of virulent antiZionism - an especially insidious form of antisemitism. (0:27-25:07)
Liz Hirsh Naftali is the author of "Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage," which chronicles the harrowing ordeal her great-niece endured after being orphaned and taken hostage in Gaza for 51 days. The unimaginable tragedy struck her family on October 7, 2023, when her niece and nephew were murdered in front of their three young children in Kfar Aza. Liz’s commitment as a hostage advocate and humanitarian began in those agonizing hours and grew more impactful from her strenuous efforts to see all the hostages freed from the clutches of Hamas. (25:07-42:31)
In 1948, Stan Andrews left a comfortable postwar life in Los Angeles to travel to the war-torn Middle East, where a four-front Arab invasion threatened to destroy the newly-declared State of Israel. There he joined the Israeli Air Force and became one of its first fighter pilots. Andrews was an unexpected volunteer for the fight for a Jewish state. He was many things-an artist, writer, assimilated Jew, ladies' man, pilot, and combat veteran of the Pacific War. He had previously been aloof from the struggle for Jewish independence but found himself so roused by the anti-Semitism of 1940s America that he decided to go to Israel and risk everything.
Jeffrey and Craig Weiss have documented Stan's extraordinary story and I will speak with Jeffrey Weiss about Stan Andrews, a Jewish hero who has become the stuff of legend. (42:31-57:29)
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Australia has experienced one of its deadliest mass shootings in its history on Sunday when two gunmen opened fire on the first night of Chanukah at Bondi in Sydney. 16 people are dead, including one of the attackers. At least 38 people were injured, including two police officers.
I spoke with Jillian Segal, the envoy appointed by the Australian government to combat antisemitism. We considered the spate of antisemitism in Australia and I probed into the work that Jillian Segal has been doing, considered the report she has produced and what she is trying to achieve in her role.
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Ola Najami is the Director for the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace, which operates under the guise of Givat Haviva, the Center for a Shared Society, founded by the Havatzelet Group, a civic organization for social change working to promote a model society in Israel, with an emphasis on creating a shared society for Jews and Arabs.
Ola was previously a Co-Deputy Executive Director for Abraham Initiatives and worked for the Women Against Violence Association for eight years. She is keen to boost the representation of women in decision-making roles in society.
[Full interview]
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Just over a month ago senior fellow of Strategic Analysis Australia Anthony Bergin had returned from a trip to Israel when he together wth his director Peter Jennings penned an article for The Australian titled ‘In Israel, Australia’s betrayal is evident everywhere you go’. Both had travelled to Israel to participate in the Australia-Israel Strategic Dialogue with the support of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
I spoke with Anthony about impressions he gleaned from his recent trip to Israel, the deterioration of the relationship between Israel and Australia, the Liberal Party's tepid response to 'Jewish' issues at the moment and how Israel can best manage its strategic interests going forward.
Anthony has just today had another article 'We should work with the US to make the Gaza plan work' published in The Australian newspaper.
[Full interview]
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Israel's Arameans are a small, indigenous Christian minority reclaiming their ancient Semitic heritage, preserving Aramaic in their liturgy and culture.
As founder and chairman of the Israeli Christian Aramean Association, Shadi Khalloul's life’s work has focused on empowering Israel’s Christian Aramean minority and reviving traditions lost to history. His experience as an IDF paratrooper, combined with deep cultural roots, gives him a unique perspective on coexistence and democracy in Israel. His mission is to build bridges between Christians and Jews and to promote military integration for young Aramean Christians.
Shadi’s leadership in achieving official Aramean Christian recognition, his ongoing language revival efforts, and his commitment to interfaith dialogue made for a thoughtful conversation.
[Full interview]
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Israel's Arameans are a small, indigenous Christian minority reclaiming their ancient Semitic heritage, preserving Aramaic in their liturgy and culture.
As founder and chairman of the Israeli Christian Aramean Association, Shadi Khalloul's life’s work has focused on empowering Israel’s Christian Aramean minority and reviving traditions lost to history. His experience as an IDF paratrooper, combined with deep cultural roots, gives him a unique perspective on coexistence and democracy in Israel. His mission is to build bridges between Christians and Jews and to promote military integration for young Aramean Christians.
Shadi’s leadership in achieving official Aramean Christian recognition, his ongoing language revival efforts, and his commitment to interfaith dialogue made for a thoughtful conversation. (0:27-29:06)
Just over a month ago senior fellow of Strategic Analysis Australia Anthony Bergin had returned from a trip to Israel when he together wth his director Peter Jennings penned an article for The Australian titled ‘In Israel, Australia’s betrayal is evident everywhere you go’. Both had travelled to Israel to participate in the Australia-Israel Strategic Dialogue with the support of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
I spoke with Anthony about impressions he gleaned from his recent trip to Israel, the deterioration of the relationship between Israel and Australia, the Liberal Party's tepid response to 'Jewish' issues at the moment and how Israel can best manage its strategic interests going forward.
Anthony has just today had another article 'We should work with the US to make the Gaza plan work' published in The Australian newspaper. (29:12-57:36)
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In The Australian Senator Sarah Henderson is "demanding an urgent Senate inquiry into the ABC, claiming the public broadcaster’s editorial division has been allowed to run wild and is no longer “fit for purpose” as a taxpayer-funded source of trusted news and current affairs".
In last week's Australian Jewish News the first three pages were devoted to the community's concerns over what is perceived as the "ABC's Israel Problem".
Today there was a session at Senate Estimates where the ABC fronted with their news and current affairs editor expected to be in the firing line. However disappointingly Senator Henderson did not raise a solitary 'Jewish' issue.
To put all of this into perspective I will have ILTV editor-in-chief Maayan Hoffman joining me in the studio and participating in the conversation will be Adam Lippman, who has been involved in compiling a 142 page submission (shared with Senator Henderson) together with a group of like-minded people, which has been active in exposing the malfeasances of the ABC.(0:27-27:01)
Other israel-related issues (27:08-52:41)
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[Full interview]
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer is the head of the Iyun Institute, focused on promoting Haredi integration and responsibility. He is a community rabbi in Ramot, Jerusalem, and the founding editor of Tzarich Iyun, a journal of Haredi thought and ideas.
Our conversation will cover issues around the drafting of Haredi men into the IDF, which has been brewing for decades. The current situation where Israel has found itself fighting a prolonged war has put additional pressure on the state to find more conscripts to relieve the undue stress on those who have been serving very long stints as reservists.
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Israel Innovation Fund
Adam Scott Bellos is a revolutionary voice in Jewish innovation, identity, and culture. As Founder and CEO of The Israel Innovation Fund (TIIF), Adam is reshaping how the world connects to Israel—through wine, language, self-defense, and a cultural revival rooted in Hebraization.
A media-savvy strategist and visionary builder, Adam has created bold platforms like Wine on the Vine and Shomrei Ha’Am that bridge Jewish heritage and modern activism.
With a background in politics, diplomacy, media, and business, Adam fuses storytelling with nation-building. He has advised Israeli leaders, appeared on international news networks, and led campaigns that blend Zionist philosophy with grassroots action.
We will dive into an article he wrote You can’t influence your way out of antisemitism: The coming Jewish collapse which explains how the Jewish world hides behind influencers, institutions, and illusions. (0:27-28:58)
The Haredi Draft Controversy
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer is the head of the Iyun Institute, focused on promoting Haredi integration and responsibility. He is a community rabbi in Ramot, Jerusalem, and the founding editor of Tzarich Iyun, a journal of Haredi thought and ideas.
Our conversation will cover issues around the drafting of Haredi men into the IDF, which has been brewing for decades. The current situation where Israel has found itself fighting a prolonged war has put additional pressure on the state to find more conscripts to relieve the undue stress on those who have been serving very long stints as reservists. (29:04-57:33)
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The Jewish Independent is hosting Sir Mick Davis and Mike Prashker of The London Initiative (TLI) in collaboration with The Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and the Great Synagogue in Sydney. This community-wide conversation purports to be one that will explore the future of Israel’s democracy and the role of the Jewish Diaspora in shaping it.
However as the noted pro-Israel advocate Melanie Phillips has pointed out in an article titled 'Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome', the founders of the TLI are waging what amounts to a bitter campaign to attack Netanyahu, who Davis and Prashker claim has done nothing less than betray Zionism itself.
The big problem though is that the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) has bought into this charade and are endorsing it, while orthodox synagogues are hosting it.
I spoke with former ZFA president Danny Lamm about the political wrangling at the World Zionist Congress and how that links into this issue with the TLI. (0:27-21:48)
Furthermore I discussed the concerns over the TLI's visit to Australia with Tamir Aloni, who represents the Australian Jewish Association and with pro-Israel blogger Shane Shmuel, a guest on my show a couple of times recently. (21:54-43:53)
Also on the show I played an excerpt from a media briefing sponsored by Media Central in Israel that took place just prior to the UN Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States, which explicitly includes the term “Palestinian state,” sparking controversy and concern in Israel. (43:53-56:46)
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Ariella Noveck is a broadcast journalist and the co-founder of BottomLine Media and the nonprofit ShieldGiving. She brings over a decade of experience in news, public affairs, and nonprofit communications, contributing to CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, ABC, FOX, MSNBC, and CBS News.
Ariella specializes in political and strategic communications and is deeply committed to combating antisemitism, supporting humanitarian efforts, and addressing bias across media and politics.
Joining me is Eva Migdal, an educator, writer and community radio producer with a long history in media and social innovation.
[Full interview]
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Ariella Noveck is a broadcast journalist and the co-founder of BottomLine Media and the nonprofit ShieldGiving. She brings over a decade of experience in news, public affairs, and nonprofit communications, contributing to CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, ABC, FOX, MSNBC, and CBS News.
Ariella specializes in political and strategic communications and is deeply committed to combating antisemitism, supporting humanitarian efforts, and addressing bias across media and politics.
Joining me is Eva Migdal, an educator, writer and community radio producer with a long history in media and social innovation. (0:27-30:09)
Deborah Conway and her husband Willy Zygier had their concert last Friday at the Brunswick Ballroom cancelled because of serious threats of harassment and intimidation led by a group calling itself Merri-bek & Northern Suburbs for Palestine.
This pair of musicians, not shy to show their support for Israel and the Jewish community, have just completed a tour around the country and have had to face menacing actions by anti-Israel protesters at most venues where they have performed.
Their latest album is called Right Wing Propaganda (subtitled Songs You Can Trust) and is available on vinyl, CD or via streaming platforms.(30:15-57:37)
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Sharren Haskel MK recently completed a six-day historic diplomatic tour in the Pacific region visiting Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Tonga and New Zealand.
I discussed the significance of her trip, the current challenging relationship between Israel and Australia and the outfall from the ICJ's non-binding decision obligating Israel to lift restrictions on UNRWA's operations and facilitate its activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, despite UNRWA's proven links to Hamas. (0:27-24:44)
Ola Najami is the Director for the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace, which operates under the guise of Givat Haviva, the Center for a Shared Society, founded by the Havatzelet Group, a civic organization for social change working to promote a model society in Israel, with an emphasis on creating a shared society for Jews and Arabs. (24:50-49:56)
Ola was previously a Co-Deputy Executive Director for Abraham Initiatives and worked for the Women Against Violence Association for eight years. She is keen to boost the representation of women in decision-making roles.
Australia has just commemorated the 50th anniversary of its Racial Discrimination Act and Andrew Wallace MP used the occasion to deliver a resounding speech in parliament in support of the Jewish community. (49:56-57:25)
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) resoundingly supported UNRWA’s mandate and continued operations in the so-called Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Court stated that Israel is obliged to lift restrictions on UNRWA’s operations and agree to and facilitate relief provided by the agency.
David Bedein runs the website Israel Behind the News, reporting Israel’s reality to the media by retaining the services of the best Israeli and Arab journalists to cover, research and investigate current events. We spoke about how UNRWA is being allowed to continue operating despite irrefutable evidence that it is complicit with Hamas and educating Palestinian children to hate and kill Jews. (0:30-30:31)
Infected Mushroom is an Israeli musical duo formed in Haifa in 1996 by Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. They produce and perform psytrance, electronica, dream trance and psychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups in Israeli music history in terms of both domestic and international sales.
The duo are touring Australia and will be performing at the Forum next Monday. Together with Shane Shmuel and Gideon Cohen I spoke with the band, referring to protests from anti-Israel activists, who object to them just because they are Israeli. Israel has perhaps the biggest psy-trance scene in the world, with outdoor psy-trance parties happening most weekends during the summer. (30:37-52:49)
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In this complete interview you hear top Israeli film director Erez Tadmore talking about his latest film Soda which is showing at JIFF
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The 2025 Australia-Israel Innovation Summit is an essential update for leaders across business, government & community grappling with the challenges of business and rapidly changing technologies, a significantly heightened cyber security threat landscape, and pivoting to the hyper-speed adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), now essential to competitive advantage.
Lior Handelsman is a General Partner at Grove Ventures, a venture capital fund managing over half a billion dollars, focused on early-stage investments in AI, deep tech, health-tech, and enterprise SaaS. He is the founder of SolarEdge Technologies, and helped transform the company from a start-up into a multi-billion-dollar global leader in smart energy
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The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is committed to delivering critical emergency food aid to the people of Gaza safely and directly. Working in partnership with NGOs and local Palestinian communities, GHF has aimed to ensure food aid reaches those who need it most.
GHF’s process of securely moving aid into a network of Secure Distribution Sites (SDSs) has been enabling the distribution of millions of lifesaving meals directly to the people of Gaza without interference or diversion.
I will be speaking with GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay about its aid distribution practices and what the role of the GHF will be going forward, since the advent of Trump's Gaza peace plan, having suspended its aid operations since the latest ceasefire. (0:30-25:56)
Australia-Israel Innovation Summit 2025
The 2025 Australia-Israel Innovation Summit is an essential update for leaders across business, government & community grappling with the challenges of business and rapidly changing technologies, a significantly heightened cyber security threat landscape, and pivoting to the hyper-speed adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), now essential to competitive advantage.
Lior Handelsman is a General Partner at Grove Ventures, a venture capital fund managing over half a billion dollars, focused on early-stage investments in AI, deep tech, health-tech, and enterprise SaaS. He is the founder of SolarEdge Technologies, and helped transform the company from a start-up into a multi-billion-dollar global leader in smart energy.(25:56-44:22)
You can hear from top Israeli film director Erez Tadmore talking about his latest film Soda which is showing at JIFF. (44:22-57:26)
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[Full interview]
Belle Jarniewksi is an expert on the weaponisation of Anti-Palestinian Racism in Canada. She is the key Canadian representative on IHRA's Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, and in her day job she is Executive Director at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.
Dr Andre Oboler is an internationally recognised expert in combating online hate and extremism. He is Founder and CEO of the Online Hate Prevention Institute, a not-for-profit organisation in Australia seeking to prevent harm from all forms of online hate and extremism.
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Pro-Israel activist Ran Bar-Yoshafat is a special forces soldier, author, attorney, historian and international speaker. Married on Oct 11, 2023 he returned to the battlefield the very next day.
After nearly 400 days of reserve duty on Israel's frontlines - in Gaza, Lebanon, and along Israel's borders - Ran brings powerful firsthand insights, untold stories and hard-won lessons from Israel's war against terrorism.
American audiences will get the opportunity in November to hear the truth about Israel's challenges directly from someone who has experienced them first hand.
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Pro-Israel activist Ran Bar-Yoshafat is a special forces soldier, author, attorney, historian and international speaker. Married on Oct 11, 2023 he returned to the battlefield the very next day.
After nearly 400 days of reserve duty on Israel's frontlines - in Gaza, Lebanon, and along Israel's borders - Ran brings powerful firsthand insights, untold stories and hard-won lessons from Israel's war against terrorism.
American audiences will get the opportunity in November to hear the truth about Israel's challenges directly from someone who has experienced them first hand. (1:02-26:46)
Belle Jarniewksi is an expert on the weaponisation of Anti-Palestinian Racism in Canada. She is the key Canadian representative on IHRA's Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, and in her day job she is Executive Director at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.
Dr Andre Oboler is an internationally recognised expert in combating online hate and extremism. He is Founder and CEO of the Online Hate Prevention Institute, a not-for-profit organisation in Australia seeking to prevent harm from all forms of online hate and extremism. (26:53-57:40)
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[Full interview]
I speak to another film director Yoav Paz about his film The Ring, to be shown soon at JIFF, which explores themes of memory, family bonds, reconciliation across generations, and the legacy of the Holocaust in a Holocaust-themed Israeli dramedy.
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[Full interview]
Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval has won rave reviews for his sharp visual style and storytelling abilities. In 2007, he graduated with honours from Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel Film & Television School. Shoval’s award-winning short films have been screened at film festivals worldwide. His latest film 'Letter to David' will be shown at JIFF very soon.
Back in 2013, twin brothers David and Eitan Cunio starred in Tom Shoval’s debut feature film, Youth, which focuses on two brothers who kidnap a schoolmate in a misguided attempt to help their family out of debt. Ten years later, in a cruelly ironic case of art mirroring life, David Cunio became a hostage himself when he was abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and has been held in Gaza ever since.
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Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval has won rave reviews for his sharp visual style and storytelling abilities. In 2007, he graduated with honours from Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel Film & Television School. Shoval’s award-winning short films have been screened at film festivals worldwide. His latest film 'Letter to David' will be shown at JIFF very soon.
Back in 2013, twin brothers David and Eitan Cunio starred in Tom Shoval’s debut feature film, Youth, which focuses on two brothers who kidnap a schoolmate in a misguided attempt to help their family out of debt. Ten years later, in a cruelly ironic case of art mirroring life, David Cunio became a hostage himself when he was abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and has been held in Gaza ever since. (0:30-20:25)
Natalie Sanandaji, 28, serves as a public affairs officer for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). A Long Island native born to an Israeli mother and Iranian father, Natalie narrowly survived the Nova music festival massacre during a visit to Israel. Her traumatic experience that day led her to transform her life and switch her career path to Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism. (42:41-57:40)
I speak to another film director Yoav Paz about his film The Ring, to be shown soon at JIFF, which explores themes of memory, family bonds, reconciliation across generations, and the legacy of the Holocaust in a Holocaust-themed Israeli dramedy. (20:31-35:51)
The October 7 massacre and the subsequent war have claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 civilians and soldiers. It has become a tradition in Israel, during this war, for families and friends to create a memorial sticker for their loved ones. The Stickers of Meaning project was co-created by Jeff Weiss to collect and present these stickers to the public in a central repository, making them and the powerful messages they carry accessible to everyone. (35:58-42:41)
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Mike Wagenheim is a political reporter, currently serving as Senior U.S. Correspondent for the i24NEWS television network, covering American government, diplomacy, religion, business and culture, all through the lens of the Middle East. He was previously based in the network's headquarters in Israel, where he covered the Israeli government and religious issues.
Additionally, Mike is a correspondent for the Jewish News Syndicate, with his work appearing in the New York Post, Jerusalem Post, Ynet, Israel Hayom and Canada's National Post, among many outlets.
Mike survived a long career as an award-winning sportscaster.
This mesmerising documentary, which will be screened soon at JIFF, explores Freud’s life and work. It combines dreamlike animation sequences, extensive excerpts from Freud’s letters and insights from leading psychoanalysts and historians to paint a fresh portrait of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. (0:29-31:28)
Outsider. Freud is the latest addition to filmmaker Yair Qedar’s ongoing The Hebrews Project, a documentary series chronicling the histories of Jewish and Israeli figures of the modern Hebrew literary canon. Qedar has created biographical documentaries about poets
Leah Goldberg and Hayim Nahman Bialik, writers Amos Oz and A.B.Yehoshua, philosophers Karl Marx and Baruch Spinoza, and many more.
Outsider. Freud took home the Best Feature Documentary /Animation prize at the Jaipur and New Delhi film festivals.(31:35-57:26)
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On ‘The Israel Connexion’ this week because it overlaps with Rosh Hashana I am taking time off from my regular programming to bring you instead some audio excerpts from The Shabtai Shavit World Summit on Counter-Terrorism on the theme “Israel in the Eye of the Global Storm” which took place from September 15-18, 2025 at the Jusidman Conference Center, Reichman University, Israel. At the end of this program there was a powerful address by Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel.
The Shabtai Shavit World Summit on Counter-Terrorism is a premier global gathering dedicated to addressing the evolving landscape of terrorism and international security.
Each year, this pivotal summit brings together thought leaders, policymakers, security professionals, and academic experts from over 65 countries to engage in high-level discussions and strategic collaborations. From landmark events that shaped the global security agenda to the most pressing challenges of today, the summit provides a unique platform for dialogue, reflection, and innovation.
Over four days, participants experienced a dynamic program featuring keynote addresses from senior officials, expert panel discussions, workshop sessions, and special memorial tributes honouring those who have fallen in the fight against terror.
The summit covered a wide array of critical topics, from regional instability and technological threats to state-sponsored terrorism, ideological extremism, and the broader geopolitical shifts impacting global security.
In the first segment from the summit you will hear from Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the US President & Senior Director for Counterterrorism, National Security Council, White House. (1:52-23:26)
Next up the speech from the summit by Prof Boaz Ganor, President, Reichman University; Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors , ICT, Reichman University, Israel. (23:26-32:12)
Lastly you will hear from Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel. (32:12-57:09)
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Mordechai Nisan is a retired lecturer from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also taught at Bar-Ilan University, the Open University, and the pre-army Lachish academy at Beit Guvrin. Among his books are Minorities in the Middle East, Toward a New Israel, The Crack-up of the Israeli Left, The Conscience of Lebanon, and Identity and Civilization.
We were discussing in detail his essay 'The War Against Netanyahu' that has just been published in the New Englishg Review.
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Neil Drao is a Middle Eastern affairs analyst at the Australian Centre for International Studies in Canberra. He specialises in the Israel-Palestine conflict and holds degrees in Middle Eastern Studies from the Australian National University and History from the University of Edinburgh.
Lately he has been publishing extensively on The Times of Israel and has suggested that Israel's attack on Hamas in Qatar may have jeopardised the Abraham Accords. (0:29-26:27)
Mordechai Nisan is a retired lecturer from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also taught at Bar-Ilan University, the Open University, and the pre-army Lachish academy at Beit Guvrin. Among his books are Minorities in the Middle East, Toward a New Israel, The Crack-up of the Israeli Left, The Conscience of Lebanon, and Identity and Civilization.
We were discussing in detail his essay 'The War Against Netanyahu' that has just been published. (26:27-56:59)
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I spoke at length with Michael Gencher, the CEO for StandWithUs in Australia, about the a clash between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters that took place at Bondi Beach last Sunday morning.
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Sara E. Brown is the director of the American Jewish Committee office in San Diego. She holds the first Ph.D. in comparative genocide studies from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. She was also a director of Chhange, a Holocaust, human rights and genocide education nonprofit.
Sara Brown is a genocide scholar, who has been a member of the International Association for Genocide Scholars for more than 10 years, and was on its advisory board for two, four-year terms.
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Sara E. Brown is the director of the American Jewish Committee office in San Diego. She holds the first Ph.D. in comparative genocide studies from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. She was also a director of Chhange, a Holocaust, human rights and genocide education nonprofit.
Sara Brown is a genocide scholar, who has been a member of the International Association for Genocide Scholars for more than 10 years, and was on its advisory board for two, four-year terms. (0:34-25:01)
I will speak with Michael Gencher, the CEO for StandWithUs in Australia, about the a clash between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters that took place at Bondi Beach last Sunday morning. (25:07-43:36)
Michele Goldman is the CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and will talk about the Antisemitism in New South Wales inquiry that was established on 12 February 2025 to inquire into and report on antisemitism in New South Wales. (43:36-57:22)
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Women Wage Peace
A fifth generation Australian, Peta Jones Pellach made aliyah in 2010. She is the director of educational activities for the Elijah Interfaith Institute, secretary of the Jerusalem Rainbow Group for Jewish-Christian Encounter and Dialogue and a co-founder of Praying Together in Jerusalem.
She is active in Women Wage Peace, Israel's largest grass-root peace movement, promoting and demanding women's involvement in negotiations.
She is visiting Australia in company with Riman Barakat, a Palestinian Muslim from East Jerusalem and I hope to be able to speak with her as well. (0:34-34:26)
Combat Antisemitism Movement
Dr Ron Weiser is Member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency (The Sochnut), Life member of the Zionist Federation of Australia Executive, Board member of the Australian Branch of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and a founding director of OHPI, the Online Hate Prevention Institute.
The 2025 Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, hosted by CAM will bring together more than 250 local government leaders, and community advocates from across Australia in a collective effort to secure and nurture common understanding and safety in our communities.(34:32-57:28)
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I have a long conversation with two men who are highly motivated to be writing about Jewish issues.
Shane Shmuel is based in Melbourne, Australia, He is a proud Zionist and grandson of 4 Holocaust survivors. A finance professional, he is passionate about Israel, Zionism, the Holocaust and politics as it relates to Israel. Since October 7, he began writing, advocating for Israel and fighting for Jews in Australia.
Gideon Cohen is a journalist based in Melbourne. He writes regularly for The Jewish Independent, Broadsheet and has also been published in Right Now, The Citizen and The Junction.
[Full interview]
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Trevor Asserson is the author of the Asserson report that indicated that the BBC is heavily biased against Israel by means of a thorough investigation into how the BBC covered the Israel–Hamas war from 7th October 2023 until 7th February 2024. According to the report which utilised AI, the BBC breached its own editorial guidelines over 1,500 times, showing significant bias against Israel. The analysis was based on a review of over 9 million words of content across English and Arabic broadcasts.
The ABC's programming structure and style have historically been modelled on the BBC, leading to a natural synergy in content acquisition, so it could be said that findings about anti-Israel media bias in relation to the BBC might very likely apply to the ABC.
[Full interview]
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Trevor Asserson is the author of the Asserson report that indicated that the BBC is heavily biased against Israel by means of a thorough investigation into how the BBC covered the Israel–Hamas war from 7th October 2023 until 7th February 2024. According to the report which utilised AI, the BBC breached its own editorial guidelines over 1,500 times, showing significant bias against Israel. The analysis was based on a review of over 9 million words of content across English and Arabic broadcasts.
The ABC's programming structure and style have historically been modelled on the BBC, leading to a natural synergy in content acquisition, so it could be said that findings about anti-Israel media bias in relation to the BBC might very likely apply to the ABC. (0:33-30:47)
I have a long conversation with two men who are highly motivated to be writing about Jewish issues.
Shane Shmuel is based in Melbourne, Australia, He is a proud Zionist and grandson of 4 Holocaust survivors. A finance professional, he is passionate about Israel, Zionism, the Holocaust and politics as it relates to Israel. Since October 7, he began writing, advocating for Israel and fighting for Jews in Australia.
Gideon Cohen is a journalist based in Melbourne. He writes regularly for The Jewish Independent, Broadsheet and has also been published in Right Now, The Citizen and The Junction. (30:53-57:29)
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Simcha Rothman MK has had his visa to Australia revoked and has been banned from visiting Australia for 3 years. Rothman had been invited by the Australia Jewish Association as part of s solidarity tour to show support for Australia's Jewish community.
Australian Jews are experiencing unprecedented antisemitism. Many feel that the Australian Government has abandoned the Jewish community and is pandering to bellicose anti-Israel activists in Australia, who would undoubtedly have caused trouble if Rothman had been allowed to visit.
Unfortunately Mr Rothman did not appear on the show because of some issues. Nonetheless the interview has been conducted separately and will be made available on this program's YouTube channel. In its stead I did some general commentary around the topic of Simcha Rothman and other related matters. (0:47-27:06)
Eli Bernstein is a technology entrepreneur and lawyer, partner of Moto Legal, chair of the Technology and Law Committee of the Law Society of WA and founder of Lawyers for Israel, who were instrumental in raising concerns over the controversial appointment of Antoinette Lattouf to a role at the ABC. (27:12-55:30)
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I spoke with Jewish insider Elahn Zetlin about his experience working at the ABC and how he found the broadcaster to be biased against Israel and biased against him.
Concerns about the institutionalised anti-Israel media bias at the publicly funded ABC and SBS have been mounting. It has become more and more imperative to call out the propaganda emanating from the ABC that is tainting perceptions about Israel's war in Gaza and leading to an overwhelming avalanche of antisemitism.
[Full interview]
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Dr Andrew Thomas is a lecturer in International Relations and Middle East Studies at Deakin University specialising in Middle East politics and non-Western international relations theory.
Just prior to what was meant to be the UN conference sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia looking to canvas more nations to recognise a state of Palestine Andrew Thomas wrote an article 'A two-state solution is gaining momentum again for Israel and the Palestinians. Does it have a chance of success?'
[Full interview]
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Palestinian State Recognition (0:33-25:33)
Dr Andrew Thomas is a lecturer in International Relations and Middle East Studies at Deakin University specialising in Middle East politics and non-Western international relations theory.
Just prior to what was meant to be the UN conference sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia looking to canvas more nations to recognise a state of Palestine Andrew Thomas wrote an article 'A two-state solution is gaining momentum again for Israel and the Palestinians. Does it have a chance of success?'
ABC anti-Israel bias (25:39-57:26)
I spoke with Jewish insider Elahn Zetlin about his experience working at the ABC and how he found the broadcaster to be biased against Israel and biased against him.
Concerns about the institutionalised anti-Israel media bias at the publicly funded ABC and SBS have been mounting. It has become more and more imperative to call out the propaganda emanating from the ABC that is tainting perceptions about Israel's war in Gaza and leading to an overwhelming avalanche of antisemitism.
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Ophir Yarden is the program director of Adasha: the Jerusalem Center for Interreligious Encounter, which is a program/department of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue.
Ophir has been participating in an international conference of Jews and Christians taking place in Melbourne titled ‘Heads, Hearts and Hands’ - What can dialogue do for us?
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Michael Gawenda is a writer, editor, journalist and poet. He deplores the fact that an increasing number of journalists want to be social-justice warriors, anti-racism warriors or anti-colonialist warriors. Since Oct 7th Michael, a former editor of The Age, has channelled his energies into affirming his Jewish identity and arguing against the delegitimisation of Israel. (0:33 - 29:42)
Michele Chabin is a journalist based in Jerusalem, who writes for the National Catholic Register. We discuss some of the stories she has covered and consider some of the questionable behaviour of Pope Francis concerning the Jews and Israel. (29:49 - 55:57)
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Ophir Yarden is the program director of Adasha: the Jerusalem Center for Interreligious Encounter, which is a program/department of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue.
Ophir has been participating in an international conference of Jews and Christians taking place in Melbourne titled ‘Heads, Hearts and Hands’ - What can dialogue do for us? (0:33-34:07)
Amitay Cohen, 22 years old, was born in Jerusalem to a large family of 10 children. He has been injured twice in combat associated with Gaza and is now being supported by Beit Halochem (ZDVO). Amitay and another doubly injured IDF soldier will be speaking to an audience next week on Tuesday Feb 11th at the ZDVO Rehabil-A-Nation event in Melbourne and the following week on Wednesday Feb 19th in Sydney. (34:14-53:01)
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David May is the research manager and a senior research analyst at the influential Foundation for Defense of Democracies specializing in economic warfare. Prior to joining FDD, David was a senior research analyst at AIPAC where he focused on Israeli-Palestinian issues and the United Nations.
We speak about a monograph he has written titled 'War by Other Means: A History of Anti-Israel Boycotts, From the Arab League to BDS' and examine the likely impact of Israel's ban on UNRWA that is looming.
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Danel Elpeleg is the director of the film 'The Governor' which screened here at last year's Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF). In her deeply personal documentary, which won best documentary at the Jerusalem Film Festival last year, Danel investigates her grandfather’s conflicted legacy.
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David May is the research manager and a senior research analyst at the influential Foundation for Defense of Democracies specializing in economic warfare. Prior to joining FDD, David was a senior research analyst at AIPAC where he focused on Israeli-Palestinian issues and the United Nations.
We speak about a monograph he has written titled 'War by Other Means: A History of Anti-Israel Boycotts, From the Arab League to BDS' and examine the likely impact of Israel's ban on UNRWA that is looming. (0:33-29:33)
Danel Elpeleg is the director of the film 'The Governor' which screened here at last year's Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF). In her deeply personal documentary, which won best documentary at the Jerusalem Film Festival last year, Danel investigates her grandfather’s conflicted legacy. (29:39-57:35)
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Ehud Yaari is an Israel-based Lafer international fellow of The Washington Institute. A Middle East commentator for Israel's Channel Twelve television and former associate editor of Jerusalem Report, Ehud Yaari has been a Middle East commentator for Israeli television since 1975. Among his numerous awards for journalism are the Israeli Press Editors-in-Chief prize for coverage of the peace process with Egypt, the Sokolov Prize for coverage of the Lebanon War, and the Israel Broadcasting Award for coverage of the Gulf War.
I speak with Ehud Yaari about the ceasefire deal Israel has made with Hamas and what forbodes for the Middle East and the rest of the world following the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
[Full interview]
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Ehud Yaari is an Israel-based Lafer international fellow of The Washington Institute. A Middle East commentator for Israel's Channel Twelve television and former associate editor of Jerusalem Report, Ehud Yaari has been a Middle East commentator for Israeli television since 1975. Among his numerous awards for journalism are the Israeli Press Editors-in-Chief prize for coverage of the peace process with Egypt, the Sokolov Prize for coverage of the Lebanon War, and the Israel Broadcasting Award for coverage of the Gulf War.
I speak with Ehud Yaari about the ceasefire deal Israel has made with Hamas and what forbodes for the Middle East and the rest of the world following the return of Donald Trump to the White House. (0:39-30:19)
The anti-Israel protests in the centre of Melbourne continue unabated despite the ceasefire agreement. I speak with Yaacov Travitz who leads the group Lions of Zion, who recently were forced to leave Melbourne's CBD 'for their safety' after a peaceful attempt to reclaim the city from the ongoing anti-Israel protests . (39:41-57:23)
You will also hear from my brother Mark Schulberg, who bravely donned an Israeli flag as a cape having approached the back of the crowd during the speeches at last week's protest at the State Library. After declining to leave the public space, he was encircled by protesters with the police paying close attention. (30:19-39:41)
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Pro-Palestinian activist Samah Sabawi speaking ar last week's anti-Israel protest outside the State Library building in Melbourne.
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A supreme advocate for Israel Eylon Levy tells us in no uncertain terms about how the United Nations mistreats Israel, explains how UNRWA is not fit for purpose and denounces the Australian government's failure to support Israel. At the ripe old age of 33 Eylon Levy is the head of the Israeli Citizen Spokespersons' Office.(0:33-25:33)
I speak with three volunteers Ester Silver, Evelyn Flitman and Julian Warne, who have recently served with Sar-El, which offers prospective volunteers an opportunity to live and work on IDF bases to gain an insider view of Israel. Volunteers work alongside soldiers, base employees, and other volunteers, performing non-combat support duties such as packing medical supplies, checking and repairing machinery and equipment; as well as cleaning, painting, and maintaining bases. (25:40-55:07)
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This week I take us to Chile to speak with Daniel Hassonwho is a practising attorney in Chile and vice-president of the Comunidad Judia De Chile to find out what life has been like for Jews living in a country where there is a Palestinian diaspora community of over half a million. (1:03-39:23)
A member of our Jewish community in Melbourne Ervin Schwartz relates an amusing story about some of his experiences riding his bicycle around Israel in the early 1960s.(39:23-54:28)
I also have a few words about the deplorable situation in Australia where anti-Israel sentiment has bled into rampant antisemitism. (54:28-57:26)
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With the Technion celebrating 100 years of innovation, discovery, and changing the world Technion Australia was showcasing Israel's resilience, brilliance and soul at a special event in Melbourne. David M. Weinberg, Senior Managing Fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem, gave the keynote speech.
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The Australian Labor government has just voted in the circus called the UN to show its vile anti-Israel animus in its full glory. I have a few words on this. (0:36-9:02)
With the Technion celebrating 100 years of innovation, discovery, and changing the world Technion Australia is showcasing Israel's resilience, brilliance and soul with events in Melbourne last night and one in Sydney tonight. Listen to Prof Wayne Kaplan, vice president for External Relations and Resource Development of the Technion and David M. Weinberg, Senior Managing Fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem. (9:02-37:34)
Hear from a panel of displaced residents from the northern border
region, who are asking themselves whether it is now really the time to go back to their homes. (37:34-57:26)
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Jonathan Cotler, who is originally from Canada, moved to Israel in 2015. He has consulted on projects for private individuals and government agencies in Canada, the United States and Africa, and works with The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) as a scholar. We discuss the report titled 'South Africa, Hamas, Iran, And Qatar: The Hijacking of the ANC and the International Court Of Justice'.
Note: This is the complete interview with Jonathan Cotler.
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Josh Feldman is an Australian writer who focuses primarily on Israeli and Jewish issues. We discuss his article 'Useless UNIFIL' which considers UNIFIL’s failure to fulfil its mandate in Lebanon and how that has put the Middle East on the precipice of a war of unprecedented destruction.
Note: This is the complete version of the interview with Josh Feldman.
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SmartAID is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organisation specialising in delivering innovative technology to the field. I caught up with its executive director and co-founder Shachar Zahavi who is on a short visit to Australia shoring up opportunies and relationships here. This is the full interview.
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Jonathan Cotler, who is originally from Canada, moved to Israel in 2015. He has consulted on projects for private individuals and government agencies in Canada, the United States and Africa, and works with The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) as a scholar. We discuss the report titled 'South Africa, Hamas, Iran, And Qatar: The Hijacking of the ANC and the International Court Of Justice'. (0:36-25:36)
Josh Feldman is an Australian writer who focuses primarily on Israeli and Jewish issues. We discuss his article 'Useless UNIFIL' which considers UNIFIL’s failure to fulfil its mandate in Lebanon and how that has put the Middle East on the precipice of a war of unprecedented destruction. (25:36-42:48)
SmartAID is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organisation specialising in delivering innovative technology to the field. I caught up with its executive director and co-founder Shachar Zahavi who is on a short visit to Australia shoring up opportunies and relationships here. (42:48-57:26)
Note: Complete unexpurgated versions of the three interviews on this week's show are to be provided as separate podcasts.
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I caught up with Professor Kobi Michael, one of the architects of Israel 2.0. We look at how the war in Gaza is progressing and what Israel is doing to set the stage for the reconstruction of Gaza. Kobi also has done some analysis to reveal 'What Can We Learn From the Public Opinion Polls in Palestinian Society?'. This is the complete interview with Professor Kobi Michael.
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Very soon after Oct 7th last year Dr Sophie Scamps, the Teal member in Mackellar in NSW, was accusing Israel of war crimes. Her rhetoric on the war in Gaza shows her to be just like the Greens with her anti-Israel animus. I speak with Michael Genchner, the CEO for StandWithUs in Australia, about how Scamps is pushing her anti-Israel agenda and improperly representing the people of Australia.
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Very soon after Oct 7th last year Dr Sophie Scamps, the Teal member in Mackellar in NSW, was accusing Israel of war crimes. Her rhetoric on the war in Gaza shows her to be just like the Greens with her anti-Israel animus. I speak with Michael Genchner, the CEO for StandWithUs in Australia, about how Scamps is pushing her anti-Israel agenda and misrepresenting the people of Australia. The full interview is available as a separate podcast.(0:37-24:17)
I catch up with Professor Kobi Michael, one of the architects of Israel 2.0. We look at how the war in Gaza is progressing and what Israel is doing to set the stage for the reconstruction of Gaza. Kobi also has done some analysis to reveal 'What Can We Learn From the Public Opinion Polls in Palestinian Society?'. The full interview is available as a separate podcast. (24:17-50:01)
Ray Hadley (2GB) explains why the Labor government is endorsing this notion of Palestinian sovereignty that is being 'ordained' by the United Nations.(50:01-57:22)
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A major incident occurred in Jerusalem involving Israeli security forces entering a French-administered property. Two French security officials with diplomatic status were briefly detained last week after France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives in occupied East Jerusalem. A French court reversed a government ban on Israeli firms participating in the Euronaval arms show. Macron is proving to be no friend of Israel. (0:34-10:14)
Brian Hook served as a top official during the first Trump administration as the US envoy to Iran. He joined CNN's Becky Anderson to discuss what Trump's foreign policy, particularly in regard to the Middle East, will look like. (10:14-21:41)
Dr Mordechai Kedar is an Israeli scholar of Arab culture and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University who doesn’t mince his words. We spoke about the Saudi summit on the crisis in Lebanon and Gaza, that has just taken place inRiyadh, where Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince was backing Iran and accusing Israel of genocide. (21:41-38:11)
The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations hosted “Stand Together: An Event of Unity, Strength and Resilience,” (38:11-43:36)
Jews of Melbourne met in Caulfield Park in Melbourne to be part of a special installation marking a painful milestone: 400 days in captivity for a considerable nuimber of Israeli hostages still in the clutches of Hamas. (43:36-55:09)
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Last Friday November 1st was Palestine National Day and the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN), the main organization lobbying for the Palestinian cause in Melbourne had received a $25K grant from the Victorian government to honour Palestinian culture and heritage in what they said would be a profound act of resilience and resistance. Their supporters were exhorted to come to Federation Square in Melbourne to honour the rich history of Palestine and the unbreakable spirit of the Palestinian people.
I had chosen to visit Federation Square to see if APAN were adhering to the requirement that their event not be political. Aside from one of the participants proclaiming over a loudspeaker the antisemitic catch-cry ‘Palestine will be free from the river to the sea’ the atmosphere was quite different from what one sees at the weekly protest rallies that have been taking place ever since the atrocities of Oct 7th last year.
I decided to approach some of the attendees to see what they could tell me about the significance of Palestine National Day.
Audio 1
Audio 2
I spoke with a man named Bruce who was manning one of the stalls who said it referred to a day proclaimed in the 1960s and he concurred that the date is supposed to be Nov 15th, but Federation Square had apparently been booked out on that day. Undaunted I continued my quest to see if anyone attending Palestine National Day could tell me what the day signified.
Audio 3
I pressed on and next spoke with a young man who was clearly incensed by what he has been seeing and experiencing.
Audio 4
With the next person I spoke to I hit the jackpot.
As you just heard I hit the jackpot with the last person with whom I spoke. My point is that pro-Palestinian supporters are largely ignorant of any history that pertains to the Palestinian cause.
This has already been made evident in other situations where pro-Palestine supporters have been questioned about their mantra ‘Palestine will be free from the river to the sea’, inquiring as to what river and sea is alluded to there.
It is patently obvious that pro-Palestine supporters have been fed a diet of propaganda and know very little about the narrative they espouse. I ask myself - what hope have we as Jews to turn things around and counter Jew-hatred if this is the level of ignorance with which we have to deal?
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UNRWA is to be banned from operating in Israel and I speak with MK Sharren Haskel about this move.
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I interview Uri Marantz, who directed the film King Khat which is screening at JIFF. This is the complete interview.
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Through innovative, virtual reality technology, the 'Galeed' exhibition invites you to explore and remember the events of October 7, 2023, in Israel, capturing the essence of that pivotal day. These memories are collectively experienced in an interactive and meaningful manner, bridging the past, present, and future. This unique experience provides a special opportunity to share memories, foster connections, and preserve them as part of the collective and personal narrative.
I speak with Oren Ben-Yosef about this unique installation, which is being deployed and made accessible to communities worldwide. (0:33-19:11)
UNRWA is to be banned from operating in Israel and I speak with MK Sharren Haskel about this move. (19:11-35:44)
I interview Uri Marantz, who directed the film King Khat which is screening at JIFF. (35:45-47:19)
On Friday Nov 1st I visit Federation Square in Melbourne to find out about Palestine National Day.(47:19-57:25)
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The full interview with Yael Schlichting, who was born in 1965 in Munich and wasn't brought up Jewish. Her political conscience was kick started in September 1972 following the massacre of the Israeli Olympic team in her home town and after the Yom Kippur war it grew stronger. For a short period she was a member of the Free Democratic Party in Germany, but quit frustrated with its equivocations about freedom.
She has left Germany because she doesn't feel safe there, suggesting that freedom is something the vast majority of the Germans don't value. She doesn't vote any more in Germany, as she is profoundly unhappy with every single political party there. We discuss the rise of Alternative for Germany (AfD) and its support for Israel.
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I spoke with Yael Schlichting, who was born in 1965 in Munich and wasn't brought up Jewish. Her political conscience was kick started in September 1972 following the massacre of the Israeli Olympic team in her home town and after the Yom Kippur war it grew stronger. For a short period she was a member of the Free Democratic Party in Germany, but quit frustrated with its equivocations about freedom.
She has left Germany because she doesn't feel safe there, suggesting that freedom is something the vast majority of the Germans don't value. She doesn't vote any more in Germany, as she is profoundly unhappy with every single political party there. We discuss the rise of Alternative for Germany (AfD) and its support for Israel. (0:36-26:05)
I interview Ofer Pinchasov, the director, producer, editor and writer of the film King of the Sephardim, which is about Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, osef who was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which is screening at JIFF. (26:12-41:30)
Miles Spencer, who co-wrote A Line in the Sand, which captures the essence of the Middle East with a richly detailed historical fiction of two lifelong friends - Magnus and Finn - thrown into a sleuthing adventure, where mysteries of the Middle East and its people are revealed. (41:32-57:12)
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The full interview with Shahar Burla, the producer of Pita with Vegemite: An Israeli Australia Story.
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The full interview with Alon Daniel the director of 6:30
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I started off interviewing Shai Abramson, the chief chazzan of Israel, heralding his coming visit to Australia to participate in the 'We Sing As One' concerts in Melbourne and Sydney. (0:36-18:19)
Michelle Blum, the CEO of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in NSW and Qld tells us what to expect from the 5th Annual Australia-Israel Innovation Summit on Oct 30th. (18:19-30:53)
As JIFF approaches I talk about a couple of films, 6:30 by director Alon Daniel (30:59-44:23) and Pita with Vegemite: An Israeli Australia Story with producer Shahar Burla (44:23-56:48)
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Senator Sarah Henderson is the Shadow Minister for Education and has said that the Albanese government should have had the moral courage to back the Coalition’s judicial inquiry into campus antisemitism.
University vice-chancellors and key Jewish groups appeared at the recent senate inquiry into Senator Henderson’s private senator’s bill to establish a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities. Here is the report that was produced whereby the Labor government decided not to proceed with an inquiry along the lines that has been advocated by Senator Henderson.
Social activist and storyteller, writer and community leader, Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is the co-founding spiritual leader of the Lab/Shul community in NYC and creator of the ritual theater company Storahtelling, Inc.
Amichai received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2016, the 39th generation of rabbis in his family — the first one to be openly queer. (0:36-30:38)
Rabbi Amichai is the subject of Sabbath Queen, a documentary film directed by Sandi DuBowski, that was 21 years in the making. (30:44-57:16)
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A distinguished scholar in North American History at McGill University, currently living in Jerusalem, Professor Gil Troy is an award-winning American presidential historian and a leading Zionist activist. He is, the editor of the new three-volume set, “Theodor Herzl: Zionist Writings", the inaugural publication of The Library of the Jewish People. He was recently designated one of Algemeiner's J-100, one of the top 100 people "positively influencing Jewish life".
His new publication ‘The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath’ is a 64-page guidebook produced in conjunction with The Jewish People Policy Institute providing facts, figures and some history on the tragedy that befell the Jewish people on that fateful day one year ago. (0:36-33:56)
Listeners can also hear some expressions of solidarity and support for our Australian Jewish community that I solicited:
- the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) led by Dan Diker, its president who was accompanied by Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli Arab journalist, lecturer and documentary filmmaker. Abu Toameh writes for The Jerusalem Post and for the New York–based Gatestone Institute, where he is a senior distinguished fellow. (34:26-41:30)
- Daniel "Danny" Seaman is an Israeli media professional and former civil servant, mainly active in the fields of foreign service and public diplomacy. Danny worked in the Israeli civil service for 31 years (1983-2014). Between 2000-2010, Seaman served as the director of the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), part of the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem responsible for the foreign media contingent in Israel. His last public position was Deputy Director General for Information at the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, where his outspoken views were frequently seen as being controversial. (41:30-43:37)
- Catherine Perez is the Executive Director of We Believe in Israel which is BICOM's pro-Israel advocacy organization in the United Kingdom where BICOM is the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (43:38-44:42)
- Yifat Zailer is acousin of Shiri Bibas, one of her relatives Yarden, Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, a young and happy family from Kibbutz Nir Oz, that was kidnapped in its entirety on October 7.(44:42-52:53)
Lastly I provide an update on Nine Network's failure to screen the award-winning documentary 'We Will Dance Again' that was expected to air on Oct 7th. (52:53-56:10)
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Friendship, love, and freedom—these ideals drew young hearts from around the globe to Nova’s EDM music festival in south Israel. But as the sun rose on October 7th, the fantasy was shattered. Rockets sliced through the sky, and the music cut off. Confusion morphed into terror as gunfire erupted amidst the chaos. Hamas terrorists breached the border fence and unleashed barbarity in its rawest form.
The film is a stark portrayal of the experiences of those who survived and those who didn’t. I interview the director by Yariv Mozer whose film meticulously reconstructs the horrifying events, capturing the raw emotions and heroism that emerged amidst the senseless violence. (0:36-27:17)
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum is a civil, volunteer-based organization focused on the safe return of all Israeli citizens held hostage by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Formed less than 24 hours after the horrific Hamas attack on Israeli villages and towns on October 7th, 2023. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has no political affiliation and is focused on bringing loved ones back home by any means necessary through all available channels.
The forum includes thousands of volunteers, from the families themselves to senior figures in the security, judicial, communication, advertising, creative, and diplomatic sectors.
I will speak with Or Moshe, a representative of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. (27:24-53:42)
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Last weekQueensland Senator Paul Scarr participatedon the senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee that is conducting a Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities.
We discuss in detail some of the major outcomes so far with the Jewish community preferring to see a judicial inquiry be established.
The report is scheduled to be tabled in the senate on October 4th. (0:36-31:22)
Mike Wagenheim is a political reporter, currently serving as senior U.S. Correspondent for the i24NEWS television network, covering American government, diplomacy, religion, business and culture, all through the lens of the Middle East.
Mike is also a correspondent for the Jewish News Syndicate, his work appearing in the JPost, Ynet, Israel Hayom and The Jewish Press, among others.
Mike is currently in New York covering the 79th session of the UN.(31:28-58:06)
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Michael Hirsh was the former national editor for the magazine Politico and a former foreign editor, chief diplomatic correspondent, and national economic correspondent for Newsweek. He is a lecturer and has appeared numerous times as a commentator on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and is a frequent guest of The Young Turks, a streaming internet political talk show. He is the author of two books: Capital Offense: How Washington’s Wise Men Turned America’s Future Over to Wall Street and At War With Ourselves: Why America Is Squandering Its Chance to Build a Better World. These days he is a regular columnist for Foreign Policy.
I caught up with Michael Hirsch to discuss an article he put together for Politico earlier this year titled ‘Arab States Are Giving Palestinians the Cold Shoulder. Here’s Why’ in an interview with the former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. (0:37-32:49)
A historic, one night only concert in Melbourne, direct from Israel, starring 'The Chayalim Band and Singers' will be conducted by Israeli maestro Rafi Greidi and will bring together local singers Shimon and Dov Farkas and some local surprises. I speak with the musical director Rafi Greidi in anticipation of a very moving performance. (32:56-54:58)
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I catch up once again with Gidi Grinstein, an Israeli societal entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Reut Group, a non-partisan not-for-profit research, strategy and leadership group. We spoke on the eve of "Peace Week", the anniversary of major milestones in Israel's modern history - Oslo, the Abraham Accords and Camp David. My previous extensive interview with Gidi Grinstein can be heard here.
This is the full interview with Gidi Grinstein.
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The new drive to introduce “Anti-Palestinian Racism” to “equity and inclusivity strategies” throughout a number of Western countries must be a wake-up call. I speak with Shauna Small, a principal of an elementary school in Canada, who has written an article for the ‘Future of Jewish’ newsletter. in which she says that, “Codifying so-called "Anti-Palestinian Racism" in Canada is harming Jewish Canadians and infringing on our rights, liberties, and safety.”
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The new drive to introduce “Anti-Palestinian Racism” to “equity and inclusivity strategies” throughout a number of Western countries must be a wake-up call. I speak with Shauna Small, a principal of an elementary school in Canada, who has written an article for the ‘Future of Jewish’ newsletter. in which she says that, “Codifying so-called "Anti-Palestinian Racism" in Canada is harming Jewish Canadians and infringing on our rights, liberties, and safety.”(0:36-32:16)
I catch up once again with Gidi Grinstein, an Israeli societal entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Reut Group, a non-partisan not-for-profit research, strategy and leadership group. We spoke on the eve of "Peace Week", the anniversary of major milestones in Israel's modern history - Oslo, the Abraham Accords and Camp David. My previous extensive interview with Gidi Grinstein can be heard here. (32:22-57:25)
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Elliott Abrams is senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, DC. He served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House, and as Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela in the administration of Donald Trump. We will be discussing the US-Israel relationship and what may be the impact of the US presidential elections on that relationship. (0:36-23:27)
I will also be talking about the schism in Israel society, between those who are pushing for a ceasefire deal to get the release of the hostages and those who say that Israel must consider foremost its national security. (23:34-56:52)
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Catherine Perez is the Executive Director of We Believe in Israel which is BICOM's pro-Israel advocacy organization in the United Kingdom. We Believe in Israel has been mounting some important campaigns opposing
- any move by FIFA to ban the Israel Football Association;
- the resumption of funding to UNRWA;
- any moves to block arms sales to Israel.
(This is the full version of the interview with Catherine Perez)
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Catherine Perez is the Executive Director of We Believe in Israel which is BICOM's pro-Israel advocacy organization in the United Kingdom. We Believe in Israel has been mounting some important campaigns opposing
- any move by FIFA to ban the Israel Football Association;
- the resumption of funding to UNRWA;
- any moves to block arms sales to Israel. (0:50-33:17)
Michael Gencher is the Executive Director of StandWithUs Australia, which has been established as an arm of StandWithUs, an international, non-partisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism. (33:23-56:38)
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Dr Gadi Taub is an Israeli historian, author, screenwriter and political commentator. He is a senior lecturer in the School of Public Policy and the Department of Communications at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Taub is also an internationally recognized voice in the discourse on Zionism and illiberalism. I speak with Gadi about the complex political situation in which Israel finds itself today. (0:45-34:26)
Tal Rabani is a 3rd year computer science student at Monash University, who has been instrumental in establishing a chapter of Students Supporting Israel (SSI) at Monash. He is joined by Ilan Sinelnikov, a founding member of SSI, which has been growing exponentially in the aftermath of Oct 7th. (34:32-55:21)
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Dr Adi Schwartz is an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the Misgav Institute for National Security. He is a research fellow at the Ben-Gurion Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, and at the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism. Together with Dr. Einat Wilf, he authored the book The War of the Right of Return: The Battle Over the Palestinian Refugee Problem and How Israel Can Win It. We will take a look at the possibilities of the elimination of UNRWA.(0:36-35:15)
Celina di Veroli is an undergraduate student, one of maybe 10 Jewish students at the University of Sydney, who braved a very large gathering of students on campus last week, who voted resoundingly for anti-Israel motions. She wrote an extraordinarily expressive article describing her experience at the student meeting. (35:22-55:13)
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Professor Dennis Altman is Vice Chancellor's Fellow at LaTrobe University. His most recent books are God Save the Queen: The Strange Persistence of Monarchies, and Death in the Sauna.
Professor Altman wrote a response Crying antisemitism drowns out the real problem to an article Lived experience, paranoia and slippery antisemitism written by Deborah Stone, the editor of The Jewish Independent.
I invited Professor Altman to dig deeper into his response to Deborah Stone. (0:37-34:37)
Gil Hoffman is an Israeli-American journalist and political correspondent who serves as executive director of Honest Reporting. He was previously chief political correspondent for the Jerusalem Post.
I caught up with Gil Hoffman to focus on the endeavours of Honest Reporting since Oct 7th.
Honest Reporting is an Israeli media advocacy group. A pro-Israel media watchdog, it describes its mission as "combatting ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel". (34:44-54:51)
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Professor Gregory Rose teaches international law of the sea and maritime regulation and enforcement at the University of Wollongong. He also publishes on the regulation of counter-terrorism and political violence, particularly the handling and transfer in international military operations of detainees and international legal cooperation for law enforcement in the area of national security.
I speak with Greg about the recent judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), that has called upon Israel to end the occupation of the so-called Occupied Palestinian Territories including East Jerusalem. (0:36-34:32)
J-United is a Melbourne-based grassroots Jewish activist network that has emerged into prominence in the community, in response to the spate of antisemitism that is occurring in our society following the Oct 7th massacre committed by Hamas. I speak with Simonne Whine who is one of founders of J-United.(34:29-
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Labor Friends of Israel are dedicated to fostering strong connections between the Australian Labour movement and the state of Israel. Their mission is to promote understanding, and encourage collaboration between Australia and Israel.
I speak with co-convenor Mike Kelly on the eve of their official launch after having announced that former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and former Labor Senator Nova Peris have agreed to serve as the inaugural patrons of the national body. (0:39-25:26)
Michael Ben-Gad is Professor of Economics, City, University of London. His research focuses on Dynamic Macroeconomics with applications to taxation, public debt, the economic effects of immigration, national security as well as the emergence of multiple equilibria in models of economic growth and the incorporation of compositional data into econometric models.
He has also researched and written widely on defence and national security issues, publishing in a variety of academic journals. He has also been a member of Israel's National Security Forum. (25:32-58:07)
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Talking about the plight of the Jews in France is Dr. Dov Maimon, a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), leading the "Grand Strategy toward Islam" project, the "Israel-Diaspora New Paradigm" project and the Institute's activities in Europe. He is also the author of the action plan for bringing the developing mass migration of French Jews to Israel.
Born in Paris, he earned a Ph.D. in Islamic and Medieval Studies from the Sorbonne University. He is a laureate of the prestigious prize "Grand Prix du chancelier des universites 2005" awarded to the best French PhD work in Literature and Human Sciences. Formerly a high-tech industry entrepreneur, Dov is teaching at the School of Business Administration of the Ben Gurion University.
The Australian government has been failing to deal with antisemitism. I show the neglect by Labor to carry through with the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and how an ABC radio presenter, who just happens to be Jewish, can be complicit with antisemitism.
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Professor Kobi Michael is a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, and a visiting professor at The International Centre for Policing & Security - the University of South Wales UK. He is also an expert associated with the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy.
He served as deputy director general and head of the Palestinian division in the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. He has published 20 books and monographs and more than 100 academic articles and book chapters.
We will discuss Israel 2.0, a flagship project of the Misgav Institute, designed to provide grand vision for the State of Israel over the coming decades.
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Professor Kobi Michael is a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, and a visiting professor at The International Centre for Policing & Security - the University of South Wales UK. He is also an expert associated with the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy.
He served as deputy director general and head of the Palestinian division in the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. He has published 20 books and monographs and more than 100 academic articles and book chapters.
We will discuss Israel 2.0, a flagship project of the Misgav Institute, designed to provide grand vision for the State of Israel over the coming decades.
Argentina doesn't often come within our purview in Australia. With all eyes on Israel at the moment we tend to ignore what is going on in other Jewish communities around the world.
Argentinian president Javier Milei is showing a strong affinity toward Israel and the Jewish people. Being on the verge of the 30th anniversary of the bombing of their community centre, that has been blamed on Iran, there is much to discuss.
I speak with Rabbi Yosi Baumgarten, the grandson of the first emissary of the Lubavitcher rebbe to Argentina Rabbi Berel Baumgarten and Argentinian Jewish community member Silvio Bergman.
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Adam Butt of Counsel, instructed by Levitt Robinson Solicitors, will be imminently launching class action proceedings to protect and defend Jewish students, academics and staff at the University of Sydney and seek redress against the propagators of antisemitism.
I spoke about this class action with senior partner Stewart Levitt, who exhorts the community to donate support financially.
Stewart is known as one of Australia’s leading practitioners in securities class actions and banking/finance and insolvency litigation, having instigated and conducted the Storm Financial litigation against major banks. (0:46-37:43)
Joint interview in Hebrew with Ronen Martin-Cohen, who is the J-AIR presenter of the show 'Peace of Mind'. (37:50-57:06)
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For decades, since the glorious military victory in the Six Days War (1967), Tzvi Elpeleg used every possible public stage to voice his concern about the Israeli government policy, led by the iconic one-eyed Moshe Dayan, who was considered to be the architect of this military victory that took 6 days.
This policy aim was to treat the Palestinians in the Gaza strip and the West Bank in a democratic and ‘enlightened’ way. The Israeli western assumption, led by Dayan, that this kind and generous approach would bring the Palestinians closer to their Israeli neighbors, was the ultimate mistake done by the Israelis, leading, sixty years later, to the horrors of October 7th.
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Jonathan Spyer is a British-Israeli analyst, writer, and journalist of Middle Eastern affairs. He is director of research at the Middle East Forum, editor of Middle East Quarterly magazine, a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, a freelance security analyst and correspondent for Jane's Information Group, and a columnist for The Jerusalem Post.
Tensions on Israel’s northern border have escalated to the point where Israel has declared that it is ready for all out war against Hezbollah if necessary. What might trigger such an eventuality and what could be the consequences of such an escalation? Is the threat real or are we seeing the use of strong rhetoric as a deterrent against an all out war?
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Jonathan Spyer is a British-Israeli analyst, writer, and journalist of Middle Eastern affairs. He is director of research at the Middle East Forum, editor of Middle East Quarterly magazine, a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, a freelance security analyst and correspondent for Jane's Information Group, and a columnist for The Jerusalem Post.
Tensions on Israel’s northern border have escalated to the point where Israel has declared that it is ready for all out war against Hezbollah if necessary. What might trigger such an eventuality and what could be the consequences of such an escalation? Is the threat real or are we seeing the use of strong rhetoric as a deterrent against an all out war? (0:31-27:47)
For decades, since the glorious military victory in the Six Days War (1967), Tzvi Elpeleg used every possible public stage to voice his concern about the Israeli government policy, led by the iconic one-eyed Moshe Dayan, who was considered to be the architect of this military victory that took 6 days.
This policy aim was to treat the Palestinians in the Gaza strip and the West Bank in a democratic and ‘enlightened’ way. The Israeli western assumption, led by Dayan, that this kind and generous approach would bring the Palestinians closer to their Israeli neighbors, was the ultimate mistake done by the Israelis, leading, sixty years later, to the horrors of October 7th. (27:53-56:56)
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Air Doctor connects travelers to a global network of over 25,000 professional medical practitioners, including GPs, paediatricians, dentists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, gynaecologists, and orthopedic specialists, spanning 75 countries. I speak with co-founder Jenny Cohen Derfler.
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Former ABC director Joe Gersh has called out the public broadcaster for not examining the current explosion of antisemitism in Australia. Gersh affirms that he is a supporter of a “strong, independent and impartial” ABC.
“It is a matter of deep concern to me, as a member of the Jewish community, as a former ABC director, and as an Australian citizen that our national broadcaster has not fully understood and dealt with what I believe has reached crisis proportions.”
Includes audio clips demonstrating ABC anti-Israel bias (0:37-40:32)
Michael Starr is the Diaspora Affairs correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, covering global Jewish affairs, antisemitism, and radical anti-Israel activities. I will be speaking with him about his role. Previously, Starr was the legal affairs and police affairs correspondent.
Starr is a veteran of the October 7 war and earned a BA in government and diplomacy and an MA in security studies at Reichman University. (40:39-57:18)
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Dr Alon Liel is the former director general of the Foreign Ministry of Israel and was also Israel's ambassador to South Africa. He is one of the instigators of an Israeli campaign to advance recognition of a Palestinian state by European parliaments and government.
We will be discussing the different attitudes of the various nations that have been expressing strong views in relation to the on-going Israel-Gaza war.
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Julian Leeser MP haspresented a private members bill in the House of Representatives that would introduce a judicial inquiry with royal commission powers to investigate antisemitism on university campuses.
This compares with the Labor government's proposal for a two year study into various kinds of racism at our universities.
Julian Leeser does not trust Labor’s new probe into racism in universities, which will be run by the Australian Human Rights Commission, because there is “systemic racism against Jews at the commission”. (0:31-29:43)
Dr Alon Liel is the former director general of the Foreign Ministry of Israel and was also Israel's ambassador to South Africa. He is one of the instigators of an Israeli campaign to advance recognition of a Palestinian state by European parliaments and government. (29:49-58:24)
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David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the influential Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
We discussed possible scenarios after Israel reaches the point where it sees that its mission to destroy the military infrastructure of Hamas has been achieved. (0:31-45:35)
Tali Hamilton is a first year student studying chemistry and physiology at the University of Sydney.(45:42-58:26)
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Shay Khatiri, vice president of development and senior fellow of the Yorktown Institute, has written on the Iranian regime in many publications, including the Jewish News Syndicate, the Middle East Forum, and The Hill.
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal Shay discussed the potential regional and political repercussions and succession scenarios following the sudden death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi.
As a dissident Iranian and a distinguished authority vocally opposing the regime, Shay provides an intricate and informed perspective. (6:43-57:23)
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The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) has reported a 738% increase “in antisemitic attacks on Jewish Australians” since Oct 7th.
I speak with Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the ECAJ about the avalanche of antisemitism we are experiencing in Australian society today. (0:31-37:10)
Air Doctor connects travelers to a global network of over 25,000 professional medical practitioners, including GPs, paediatricians, dentists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, gynaecologists, and orthopedic specialists, spanning 75 countries. I speak with co-founder Jenny Cohen Derfler. (37:17-57:35)
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The situation on our university campuses has worsened with anti-Israel protests continuing unabated.
I speak with Ilya Somin, who is a law professor at George Mason University, the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute and a blogger for the Volokh Conspiracy He has written a couple of articles Student Movements Are Often Wrong and Campus Anti-Israel Protests and the Ethics of Civil Disobedience. (0:31-31:57)
To gauge some reactions to the anti-Israel encampments on many of our universities in Australia I spoke with Alyssa Peterson, a Ph.D student at the University of Queensland, who is part of the team responsible for the establishment of Camp Shalom there (31:57-43:48) and an undergraduate student at Melbourne University.(43:48-58:22)
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Many countries including Canada and Australia have now resumed funding UNRWA, despite all of the explosive revelations about UNRWA's complicity with Hamas. Both my guests this week are involved in initiatives to redress this injustice.
Richard Marceau is Vice President, External Affairs and General Counsel, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). Richard is a former Member of Parliament, a lawyer, a published author, a human rights activist, and a person passionate about the Jewish story.
For over thirty years Henry Kopel served as a US criminal prosecutor. His writings challenge conventional wisdom regarding the causes of mass atrocities, by re-focusing the discussion away from the oft-cited factors of “ancient hatreds” and “poverty” and towards the more demonstrable causal vector of ideological hate indoctrination. His latest book War on Hate: How to Stop Genocide, Fight Terrorism, and Defend Freedom calls on the liberal democracies to robustly confront the sources and conduits of mass hate indoctrination.
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The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A) comprising a network of 250 academics, working across 26 Australian universities and medical centres, from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, cultural identities, and religious affiliations, aims to counteract antisemitism in the tertiary sector and medical and research affiliates through education and advocacy.
Steven Prawer, professor of physics at the University of Melbourne and co-chair of the alliance, recalls how October 7 became his ‘Herzl’ moment.
[This is the full interview with Professor Steven Prawer.]
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John Lockwood, the chairman of an Australian pro-Israel Christian organisation called Kingdom Builders, is partnering with Jewish community organsations and the Global Israeli Leadership. John founded the Southern Cross Alliance for Israel, which started 5 years ago in an effort to bring Jews and Christians together in support of Israel and to combat the scourge of antisemitism.
John is also associated with Never Again is Now, (NAIN), a Christian grassroots movement educating and mobilising Christians to actively stand up against antisemitism. (0:31-34:06)
The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A) comprising a network of 250 academics, working across 26 Australian universities and medical centres, from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, cultural identities, and religious affiliations, aims to counteract antisemitism in the tertiary sector and medical and research affiliates through education and advocacy.
Steven Prawer, professor of physics at the University of Melbourne and co-chair of the alliance, recalls how October 7 became his ‘Herzl’ moment. (34:12-58:24)
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Ralph Seliger has been a left-wing Zionist activist since the 1980s. He's edited and written widely for print and online platforms, usually on Israel and Jewish-related topics. His current focus is as co-editor of The Third Narrative, a website dedicated to a nuanced perspective on Israel, defending its existence and security, while also advocating a two-state solution with the Palestinians. The Third Narrative is critical of the settlement enterprise and most Israeli practices and policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (0:42-42:06)
Noam Safir, 20, from Eilat, is the granddaughter of Shlomo Mantzur, 86 who is a Holocaust survivor and the oldest hostage taking into captivity by Hamas. Just before Passover she made a speech pleading for the release of her elderly grandfather. (42:13-49:43)
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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism happens to be Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law, Sydney Law School and Elected Academic Fellow, The University of Sydney Senate.
In this complete interview with Professor Ben Saul we wrestled over the consequences of the accidental killing of an Australian aid-worker, discussed Israel's handling of humanitarian aid for Gaza and I questioned the validity of much of what the United Nations represents.
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Eitan Drori OAM joined me in the studio live speaking with Ahal Besorai, an Israeli Certified Forum Facilitator and Coach and British lawyer, who currently lives in the Phillipines. Ahal, born in Kibbutz Be'eri, is a former officer in an IDF Navy Commando unit and a chairman of the Young President Organization (YPO) London Chapter. Ahal's younger sister was killed in Kibbutz Be'eri on Oct 7th, while her husband was taken hostage.
Eitan Drori manages his own consultancy company focusing on promoting Israeli innovations in Asia Pacific and Europe. He is Chairman of Global Israeli Leadership that fosters worldwide Israeli Diasporic leadership. (0:53-29:23)
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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism happens to be Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law, Sydney Law School and Elected Academic Fellow, The University of Sydney Senate.
We tangle over the consequences of the accidental killing of an Australian aid-worker, examine Israel's handling of humanitarian aid for Gaza and I question the validity of much of what the United Nations represents.(29:30-57:25)
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The recently appointed CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia Alon Cassuto is responsible for leading the organisation through the most challenging times being faced by Australia’s Jewish community.
Cassuto is an accomplished lawyer and management consultant. Born and raised in Jerusalem, the former youth movement madrich (leader), AUJS and Israel Programs leader, and Chair of the Young Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (YAICC), Cassuto embodies the spirit of activism and advocacy that is at the core of the ZFA’s mission. (0:41-34:55)
COGAT (Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories) is the official Israeli unit tasked with the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian initiatives to assist the civilian population in Gaza and is doing so in coordination with the international community. I spoke with Shimon Freedman, who is a COGAT spokesperson for international media. (34:56-56:37)
Australia's deluded foreign minister Wong responding to a question from an ABC interviewer by totally avoiding an answer, instead uttering a bunch of weasel words and then seeing the ABC interviewer not bothering to ask for a proper answer to the question. (56:37-58:22)
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Born in Tel Aviv and educated at UCLA and Columbia College in Chicago, Duki Dror Darwish is an internationally award-winning documentary filmmaker.
His extensive body of work spreads over multiple topics and forms - character-driven journeys, experiment biographies, investigative docs, and historical epics, have won him international recognition and success. His latest production is about the Nova Music Festival Massacre.
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Understanding the world is harder than ever. There is too much information, too much propaganda, and too much virtue signalling. Moral Clarity: Truths in Politics and Culture is a vehicle to speak truth to nonsense.
Nachum Kaplan holds a degree in politics from Monash University in his native Australia and has spent 30 years working as a journalist, commentator, and C-suite media strategist to Fortune 500 companies.
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Born in Tel Aviv and educated at UCLA and Columbia College in Chicago, Duki Dror Darwish is an internationally award-winning documentary filmmaker.
His extensive body of work spreads over multiple topics and forms - character-driven journeys, experiment biographies, investigative docs, and historical epics, have won him international recognition and success. His latest production is about the Nova Music Festival Massacre. (0:37-29:45)
Understanding the world is harder than ever. There is too much information, too much propaganda, and too much virtue signalling. Moral Clarity: Truths in Politics and Culture is a vehicle to speak truth to nonsense.
Nachum Kaplan holds a degree in politics from Monash University in his native Australia and has spent 30 years working as a journalist, commentator, and C-suite media strategist to Fortune 500 companies. (29:52-58:16)
[Separate full length versions of each of these interviews are available].
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ABC radio presenter Rafi Epstein toeing the line at the ABC.
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𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 - is the acting Head of Philanthropy for the Victor Smorgon Group and the Founder of Impact Outfit, a family office advisory group. She has just returned from a trip to Israel. Lillian is passionate about working with individual investors and family offices to help them align their personal values with their philanthropic and business interests. Lillian was the inaugural director of the Pathways to Politics Program for Women at Melbourne University and the former development director at Stand Up, a Jewish social justice organisation. (0:56-19:53)
𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐳𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐡𝐮 - works with the Eshkol Regional Council, which consists of 32 communities along the Israeli border between Israel and Gaza. She was a guest speaker at the United Israel Appeal’s gala event recently. She is working directly with the regional Mayor to develop the region’s response to the incredible trauma they have endured. Her message is inspirational amidst the intense pain and suffering she was bearing personally and communally. (23:19-33:36)
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐢 at an IDSF briefing discussed his meeting with the US State Department and a shocking accusation about IDF soldiers in Gaza. He also bemoaned the US-Israel relationship following the US abstaining in a vote by the UN Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire to the war in Gaza. (33:36-57:42)
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Israel had to change its entry for Eurovision because its original selection 'October Rain' was deemed to be too political. Now Eden Golan will be singing 'Hurricane' and I spoke with Israeli Eurovision expert Amir Alon about Israel's prospects at Eurovision 2024. Alon Amir was slated to be a judge before the Estonian pre-Eurovision contest, a position he has held multiple times, but was rescinded the offer due to being Israeli. (0:38-27:34)
Dr. Laura Wharton, originally from the U.S., received a B.A.from Harvard University before immigrating to Israel. She served in the IDF, was a member of Kibbutz Kfar Blum, and completed a doctorate at the Hebrew University, where she now teaches. Laura is and has been very politically active, was on the Meretz party list for the Knesset and today is a member of Jerusalem's City Council. (27:41-58:14)
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Dr. Dan Diker is president of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs and a Senior Fellow and longtime Director of the Counter-Political Warfare Project at the Jerusalem Center, former Secretary-General of the World Jewish Congress and Research Fellow of the International Institute for Counter Terrorism at Reichman University (formerly IDC, Herzliya). We will discuss the latest issues emerging that are affecting the progress of Israel's war in Gaza. (00:53-26:15)
Daniel Lewkovitz is a security expert and the mastermind behind a new documentary in the making "Where's the Jews?", covering what took place at a hateful rally outside the Sydney Opera House on Oct 9th. It includes never before seen high quality (4K) footage from the Opera House, speeches and images which are shocking, highlighting how this rally was poorly handled by the police, which is symptomatic of a serious malaise in our society. (26:22-58:09)
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Joseph Braude is a Middle East scholar and author, who is the founder and president of the Centre for Peace Communications, which works through media, schools, and centres of spiritual and moral leadership in the Middle East and North Africa to roll back divisive ideologies and foster a mindset of inclusion and engagement.
A year ago I spoke to Joseph about a major initiative of the Centre for Peace Communications, an animated series “Whispered in Gaza” which depicts Gazans from all walks of life sharing their stories, struggles, and hopes for the future. This week we will speak about the amplification of the voices of Gazans who are critical of Hamas.
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Gidi Grinstein is an Israeli societal entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Reut Group), a non-partisan not-for-profit research, strategy and leadership group. He helped to found TOM: Tikkun Olam Makers, a global nonprofit that aids the disabled, elderly and poor.
Gidi has been involved in peacemaking in the Middle East region since 1995 and is able to offer his astute insights into how we arrived at the events of October 7, where we stand now, and what current and future negotiators need to know. Grinstein is the co-author of the book, (In)Sights: Peacemaking in the Oslo Process Thirty Years and Counting, which chronicles the past three decades of the peace-making process and outlines a path forward.
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Gidi Grinstein is an Israeli societal entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Reut Group), a non-partisan not-for-profit research, strategy and leadership group. He helped to found TOM: Tikkun Olam Makers, a global nonprofit that aids the disabled, elderly and poor.
Gidi has been involved in peacemaking in the Middle East region since 1995 and is able to offer his astute insights into how we arrived at the events of October 7, where we stand now, and what current and future negotiators need to know. Grinstein is the co-author of the book, (In)Sights: Peacemaking in the Oslo Process Thirty Years and Counting, which chronicles the past three decades of the peace-making process and outlines a path forward.
Last week I played the first part of my extensive interview with Gidi Grinstein and this week listeners can hear the second part of it. (0:37-29:47)
Joseph Braude is a Middle East scholar and author, who is the founder and president of the Centre for Peace Communications, which works through media, schools, and centres of spiritual and moral leadership in the Middle East and North Africa to roll back divisive ideologies and foster a mindset of inclusion and engagement.
A year ago I spoke to Joseph about a major initiative of the Centre for Peace Communications, an animated series “Whispered in Gaza” which depicts Gazans from all walks of life sharing their stories, struggles, and hopes for the future. This week we will speak about the amplification of the voices of Gazans who are critical of Hamas. (29:54-58:03)
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𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒛𝒂 𝑾𝒂𝒓 (Lessons from Oslo)
Gidi Grinstein is an Israeli societal entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Reut Group), a non-partisan not-for-profit research, strategy and leadership group. He helped to found TOM: Tikkun Olam Makers, a global nonprofit that aids the disabled, elderly and poor. He has been involved in peacemaking in the Middle East region since 1995 and is able to offer his astute insights into how we arrived at the events of October 7, where we stand now, and what current and future negotiators need to know. Grinstein is the co-author of the book, (In)Sights: Peacemaking in the Oslo Process Thirty Years and Counting, which chronicles the past three decades of the peace-making process and outlines a path forward.This interview will be in two parts, with the second part to be broadcast next week. (1:05-29:28)
ABC questions Islamic leaderThis year, the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in Australia is being overshadowed by the Israel-Gaza war. In Australia, anger at the ongoing conflict has now sparked a boycott, with Muslim community groups pulling out of an annual dinner with the Victorian Premier. Listen to the guest on ABC RN Breakfast who was Adel Salman, the president of the Islamic Council of Victoria. (30:11-39:40)
David Adler (AJA)
- Muslim organisations motives in cancelling Iftar events.
- The presumptious, pretentious and pompous Jewish Council of Australia
- Visa program bring large numbers of Palestinian refugees from Gaza into Australia. (39:40-57:41)
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Sarah Leah Whitson is the Executive Director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). Previously, she served as executive director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Division from 2004 – 2020, overseeing the work of the division in 19 countries, with staff located in 10 countries.
She has led dozens of advocacy and investigative missions throughout the region, focusing on issues of armed conflict, accountability, legal reform, migrant workers, and human rights.
Professor Kobi Michael is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute. His primary research interests are conflict resolution, strategy, national security, civil-military relations, failed states and peace keeping and state building operations, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He once served as the deputy director general and head of the Palestinian desk at the Ministry for Strategic Affairs.
In the spirit of promoting dialogue I hosted a discussion with these two protagonists about a recent article that was published in the Australian media 'The two-state solution has failed. A true democracy is the Middle East’s only hope' by Sarah Leah Whitson.
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Professor Jeffrey Sachs is an American economist and public policy analyst, professor at Columbia University, where he was former director of The Earth Institute. He is known for his work on sustainable development, economic development, and the fight to end poverty. We locked horns over Israel's war in Gaza. (0:50-26:42)
An excerpt from a Times of Israel podcast What Matters Now to Haviv Rettig Gur: Clashing visions of victory with senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur considering what might transpire after the war. (26:42-34:05)
Joshua Hoffman is a 35-year-old Los Angeles native and long-time entrepreneur, living in Tel Aviv since 2013. He has written three books and founded IZZY the online Israeli streaming service.
Currently, he leads a nimble team of researchers and guest writers who are dedicated to bringing you the best of Judaism, Israel, and the Jewish world on a daily basis. (36:34-58:14)
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There has been much happening in Australia related to the Israel-Gaza war with a policy investigation suggesting that 'Gas the Jews' was not uttered at the infamous protest outside the Sydney Opera House on Oct 9th and the arrest now of two men in Melbourne for the Burgertory arson attack in November.
Yesterday an article appeared in the Fairfax/Nine newspapers 'As Jews, we don’t accept that criticism of Israel’s government is antisemitic', written by two Jews connected with the newly convened Jewish Council of Australia.
Former Labor senator Nova Peris has launched a campaign to reclaim the Aboriginal flag from the war in Gaza.
Anti-Israel activists have fallen out bitterly over claims there are too many white people advocating for Gaza in their ranks.
I will also be interviewing Michelle Blum, chief Executive Officer for the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (NSW), who will expound on Israel business/innovation resilience stories going under the radar in this current climate dominated by the Israel-Gaza war. (28:20-58:07)
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Professor Edward Luttwak is an American author known for his works on grand stategy, military strategy, geoeconomics, military history, and international relations. We discuss his article Israel is still winning the political war and hear his views on how Biden might tackle Iran following the drone attack in Jordan that killed 3 American service-men and wounded dozens of others.
We also discussed his book The Art of Military Innovation: Lessons from the Israel Defense Forces and heard about some of the innovative strategies that have moulded the IDF into a force to be reckoned with.
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Professor Edward Luttwak is an American author known for his works on grand stategy, military strategy, geoeconomics, military history, and international relations. We discuss his article Israel is still winning the political war and hear his views on how Biden might tackle Iran following the drone attack in Jordan that killed 3 American service-men and wounded dozens of others. (00:41-28:05)
Following allegations of UNRWA employees participating in the Oct 7 massacre, many countries have decided to freeze the organization's funds. How could this impact UNRWA's activity and legitimacy? What should Israel do in light of these disconcerting findings? Dr. Adi Schwartz is a specialist in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and spoke at a media briefing. He is a research fellow at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, and the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. He co-authored with Dr. Einat Wilf The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace. (28:12-58:04)
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Independent Senator David Pocock tells me how he perceives the Israel-Gaza war, bemoaning the loss of civilian life in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire and approving of the move by South Africa to take Israel to the ICJ for a judgement on whether Israel is committing genocide
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Supporters of Israel have found themselves under pressure as Israel's war with Hamas continues. The legitimacy of Israel's efforts to eliminate Hamas and the right to defend itself after the barbaric atrocity of October 7 are being questioned.
Independent Senator David Pocock tells me how he perceives the Israel-Gaza war. This is just an excerpt of the full podcast of the interview with the senator. (1:13-5:47)
A former Labor minister Dr Michael Kelly and former NSW treasurer Eric Roozendaal are leading a new initiative to counter misguided attitudes towards Israel “from people who claim to be progressive” – including blaming the nation for collective punishment of Palestinians. The newly minted Labor Friends of Israel aims to provide “salient facts” about the conflict, counter misinformation and combat support for Hamas among “progressives”.(5:53-33:11)
Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace, the deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security and chair of the Israel Allies Caucus in Australia, has condemned Penny Wong for failing to visit the sites where the atrocity of October 7 took place. (33:54-57:33)
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Raheel Raza is president of The Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow, author of the book ‘Their Jihad – Not My Jihad’ and an award-winning journalist, public speaker, and activist for human rights.
She is recipient of Canada’s Sesquicentennial commemorative medal for ‘exceptional contributions to Canada’, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for service to Canada and the Museum of Tolerance Medal of Valor.
Most importantly she is heads the Council of Muslims Against Antisemitism that on Oct 7th strongly and unreservedly condemned the murderous attack on Israel and its civilian population by the terrorist organization Hamas backed by Iran. (0:45-37:24)
Or Yissachar is a national security researcher and team lead in the Israeli high-tech industry, leading the Research Department of the Israel Defence and Security Forum (IDSF). Or Yissachar shared his idea of what might happen the day after Hamas is defeated. (37:30-57:15)
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Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP for Higgins in Victoria spoke at a pro-Israel rally in Kings Domain in Melbourne. Michelle Ananda-Rajah and another Labor MP Josh Burns are currently touring Israel with Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham, visiting the site of a Hamas massacre that took place on 7 October. (1:22-6:52)
Dr Jason Thomas is the director of Frontier Assessments. He specialises in geo-political, field-based assessments in complex operating environments to assist with due-diligence, capital raising, feasibility studies and early works of major projects and humanitarian operations.(6:52-26:29)
Arnold Roth, whose daughter died in the Sbarro pizzeria bombing over 20 years ago, has now sadly lost his son-in-law Naftali Gordon, who was killed on the battlefield in Gaza late last week. I spoke with Arnold just hours before Naftali Gordon's funeral. (26:35-58:49)
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Rabbi James Kennard, principal of of Melbourne’s largest Jewish school, Mount Scopus Memorial College, said that pro-Palestine rallies have left the Jewish community feeling vulnerable and unsafe and "there is every reason to fear that young people attending a School Strike for Palestine would be exposed to the current surge in antisemitism, thereby increasing the division and even violence in the community.” (1:03-29:07)
Lt. Col. (res) Maurice Hirsch is the Director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) and the former Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria. We discussed an appalling ABC podcast on the topic 'The economies of Gaza and Israel' from 'The Money' program that paints a false picture that Israel is responsible for ruining Gaza's economy. (29:14-58:27)
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Aharon Ariel-Lavi is a rabbi, economist and community builder and a thinker who believes Judaism can inspire and inform all walks of life. He lives with his wife and their five children in Garin Shuva a “Jewish eco-mission-driven community” on the Gaza border. Aharon is also working to identify elements in the moderate Muslim world that oppose extreme Islamist ideologies. (0:58-31:24)
Melbourne-based author and journalist Julie Szego wrote a searing and straight from the soul article 'The vanishing of October 7'. Author, mentor, writing teacher and speaker Lee Kofman masterminded the initiative Jews4Humanity, an open letter signed by Jewish creatives, academics and allies. I spoke with them both about their response to what has followed the Hamas atrocity inflicted on Israel on Oct 7th. (31:31-57:54)
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Students on university campuses are facing unprecedented attacks from anti-Israel elements that have come out in force following the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Ilan Sinelnikov is the founder and president of the international Students Supporting Israel movement, a speaker, blogger, and a coach on the topics of Israel, campus advocacy, and grassroots activism. (1:02-24:52)
I also covered the Greens idiotic stunt in the Senate when they walked out to protest the Labor Government's support for Israel in its war against Hamas (24:59-34:12), played a chilling audio clip from a dentist who had the gruesome job of identifying the mutilated bodies of Israelis after the Hamas massacre (34:35-39:04) and caught a media briefing on Israel's strategy going forward in its campaign to destroy Hamas (39:11-54:55)
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Professor Avi Bell, an Israeli Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law and at Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Law, affirms that Israel has no obligation to provide anything to Gaza under the current conditions of war and has written Israel has the right — and the duty — to besiege Gaza. In a media briefing Professor Bell provided a comprehensive legal argument that justifies Israel's retaliation against Hamas. (0:41-34:06)
Get the facts about the war in #gaza. This war is clearly justified by Hillel Fuld (34:06-39:47)
Last Friday night a Vigil for Gaza took place at Federation Square in Melbourne, which is owned by the Victorian government. Preceding the event nine Palestinian flags were raised for the entire day. I will be speaking with David Southwick MP about this inflammatory action, which has generated much consternation in our Jewish community.(39:47-58:18)
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Brent Nagtegaal (Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology) worked alongside the famous Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar on all of her excavations in ancient Jerusalem. Now he works at Hebrew University in collaboration with the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology, having worked on excavations at the southern wall of the Temple Mount and in the City of David, which have led to the finding of massive Solomonic Period remains, as well as the seal impressions of King Hezekiah of Judah and other personalities in the book of Jeremiah. (1:54-23:03)
Proportionality (23:11-27:17)
Dr Gedaliah Aftermanis Head of Asia Policy Program, Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations .The Israel-Asia Policy Program is focused on shaping and supporting Israel’s engagement with Asia in the 21st century by providing relevant knowledge and economic diplomacy guidelines, maintaining various communication channels, and forming strategic policies to develop the relationships with countries in the region. (27:23-51:00)
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Founded in 2003 by David Lange, Israellycool has become the largest English-language blog in Israel, and one of the largest focused on Israel in the world. It is a project of Israellycool Israel Advocacy, a registered Israeli non-profit. (0:59-37:56)
Latest report from ABC 'The World Today' (38:03-42:30)
The Australian Greens show their contempt for Israel in our Houses of Parliaments (42:33-45:26)
Dave Rubin - American commentator from Sky News (45:26-48:29)
Senator James Paterson (48:29-57:36)
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Lt. Col. Wurmser responds to a question about opening the Gaza border with Egypt in order to provide an escape route for Gazans wanting to flee the violence.
David Wurmser is an American foreign policy specialist. He served as Middle East adviser to former US Vice President Dick Cheney, as special assistant to John Bolton at the State Department and as a research fellow on the Middle East at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He served in the US Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
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Daniel Seaman is a media professional who has served the Israeli Government in various roles over the past 30 years, including Director of the Government Press Office and most recently as the Deputy Director General for Information at the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. Danny has been an adviser and spokesperson to the governments of six Prime Ministers.
Yael Noy leads an organisation Road to Recovery, the Israeli group established in 2010 that ferries Palestinians, mostly children, from West Bank and Gaza crossing points to hospitals inside Israel and back. It facilitates daily meetings of people from both sides of the border, who are in a bloody and ongoing conflict.
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Eran Berkovich is the recently appointed Director of Eastern Europe for the Jewish Agency. I spoke with him about his important role, which inter alia has the responsibility for dealing with the plight of Jews caught up in the war in Ukraine. (0:39-32:25)
Screening at JIFF in November will be a work in progress by documentarian Danny Ben-Moshe, who is creating an immersive virtual reality film, which will take the viewer on a journey into the widespread movement in Israel challenging Israel's democratic foundations. (32:32-50:14)
B’nai B’rith Melbourne has kicked off the latest series of its popular Armchair Society Current Affairs Discussions. The first session featured the esteemed Greg Sheridan AO, Foreign Editor of the Australian on the topic: 'ISRAEL AND AUSTRALIA – DEMOCRACY IN DANGEROUS TIMES’. I play one question that was posed to Greg Sheridan. (50:21-57:48)
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Eran Berkovich is the recently appointed Director of Eastern Europe for the Jewish Agency. I spoke with him about his important role, which inter alia has the responsibility for dealing with the plight of Jews caught up in the war in Ukraine. (0:39-35:03)
Screening at JIFF in November will be a work in progress by documentarian Danny Ben-Moshe, who is creating an immersive virtual reality film, which will take the viewer on a journey into the widespread movement in Israel challenging Israel's democratic foundations. (35:10-52:53)
Mike Wagenheim on i24TV summarising the reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week (52:53-58:12)
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Approaching Yom Kippur we remember the war that caught Israel by surprise 50 years ago. I spoke with Maj Gen (res) Gershon Hacohen, who wrote an article 'The Yom Kippur War: Much More than an Intelligence Failure' in which he discusses and reflects on the war's significance in Israel's history. (0:36-34:33)
Gili Meisler, the brother of Giora, the most talked about Israeli soldier of the Yom Kippur war, who disappeared “missing in action”, has been searching for him and for himself ever since. In this special interview Gili, who is a protagonist for the Parents Circle Family Forum, allowed me to record his story and tell how it has had such a profound influence on him. (34:39-56:32)
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Writer and researcher Samuel Hyde is the editor of “We Should All Be Zionists” by Dr. Einat Wilf and is currently co-writing a book with Wilf titled 'Political Intelligence.' He focuses on political theory, Israel’s political climate, conflict resolution, Israel-Africa relations, the education sector, democracy and Middle East affairs. We discussed the viability of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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Natasha Hausdorff (UK Lawyers for Israel) and Professor Gregory Rose questioned the purpose and validity of The International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ) enquiry, the objective of which is to establish an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem, which may well be damning of Israel. (0:40-24:54)
Writer and researcher Samuel Hyde is the editor of “We Should All Be Zionists” by Dr. Einat Wilf and is currently co-writing a book with Wilf titled 'Political Intelligence.' He focuses on political theory, Israel’s political climate, conflict resolution, Israel-Africa relations, the education sector, democracy and Middle East affairs. We discussed the viability of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (24:54-56:21)
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I speak with Ittay Flescher, the educational director for Kids4Peace Jerusalem. Founded in Jerusalem in 2002, Kids4Peace is a global interfaith youth movement, dedicated to ending conflict and inspiring hope in divided societies around the world. They believe youth have the power to bring new questions and new answers to the struggle for peace and justice. (00:34-42:07)
In the rest of the show I relate my experience oft last week's WIZO gala event, where I heard Sky journalist Sharri Markson lambast the Labor Party and its leader in particular Anthony Albanese over their handling of the Palestine issue. (42:07-47:29)
To finish Gaith Al-Omari, senior fellow in the Washington Institute’s Irwin Levy Family Program on the US-Israel strategic relationship, courtesy of Media Central, ruminates on possible repercussions of recent diplomatic developments in Saudi-Palestinian relations. (47:29-58:14)
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The Zionist Federation of Australia annual plenary took place in Sydney at the weekend. The community was given the opportunity to watch a perceptive discussion featuring Rabbi Dr Donniel Hartman, a distinguished scholar and thought leader, in conversation with ZFA President Jeremy Leibler. (0:47-35:55)
Shaya is an Israeli-Moroccan Singer-Songwriter who has been performing around the world for the past 6 years, documenting her journey with her original songs.
Throughout her songwriting journey, she writes, composes and passes on her points of view, in an honest, moving and real way where everyone finds themselves connected to her and themselves through her music. (36:00-57:40)
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After six years of serving on The Abraham Initiatives’ international board, Dr. Thabet Abu Rass joined as co-CEO in 2014. Dr. Abu Rass has significantly strengthened The Abraham Initiatives’ practical and strategic partnerships with key public and political leaders in Arab society, and advocated programs and directives at the highest levels of government.
His expert knowledge, strategic positioning, and experience in the field have directly impacted the breadth, programmatic impact, and direction of the organization’s work, transforming the landscape of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. (0:39-38:09)
A committed unionist and former ACTU assistant secretary Michael Borowick is co-national convenor of the Australia Israel Labour Dialogue. We review the outcome of discussion about 'Palestine' at Labor's national conference last week.(40:34-58:14)
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Stephen M. Flatow is a father of five whose then 20-year-old daughter, Alisa, died in April 1995 following an Iranian terrorist attack while she was a student in Israel.
Stephen has written an article 'Should Israel refer to Australia as occupied Aboriginal territory?', in which he suggests Australia’s Labor government ought to take a look in the mirror before hurling false and insulting accusations at Israel. (1:06-23:08)
Senator David Fawcett is a Liberal Senator for South Australia and the Deputy Chair of the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
Senator David Fawcett stood up in the parliament last week and asked Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong whether the Albanese Labor government would be changing its position on the legality of Israeli settlements and the language it uses to describe the occupied territories. (23:15-41:59)
Ilana Kaplan serves as Boys Town Jerusalem’s Australian development coordinator and she tells us about a very special school. (42:06-58:16)
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Dr Ran Porat is an affiliate research associate at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University and a research associate with the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
Ran has written an article 'Israeli army moves to centre-stage in judicial reform controversy' and we discuss the effect of the Israeli government's judicial overhaul program on Israelis serving in the IDF. (00:52-28:57)
Zoe Daniel MP, the independent federal representative for the seat of Goldstein in Melbourne, caused some controversy by signing an open letter 'Do Better on Palestine' in 2021. She recently returned from a short trip to Israel, her first, as part of a bi-partisan parliamentary delegation. (29:03-42:41)
The UK Counter BDS Bill - Jonathan D.C. Turner, UKLFI Chief Executive, and Natasha Hausdorff, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, examine some criticisms that have been made of it. (43:26-58:26)
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The speech by Gilad Erdan, the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations delivered to yet another UN Security Council briefing on the Middle East on July 27th 2023. (1:05-22:48)
Michael Shamir is a former major in the Israeli Air Force who was involved behind the scenes in Operation Opera, which involved the attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981.
Michael has used his broad political knowledge and experience to produce a lecture series : Iran - Arch "Octopus" of International Nuclear Terrorism.
We will discuss the imminent nuclear threat that Iran poses in the MENA region and beyond. (22:53-58:19)
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Professor Ned Lazarus is a conflict resolution scholar, practitioner and evaluator, who has conducted evaluative studies of peacebuilding initiatives on behalf of USAID, USIP, the European Union and the US Department of State.
We considered the impact of President Isaac Herzog's rapturous reception by the US Congress and the moves afoot for the US to introduce a VISA waiver for Israelis with a quid pro quo for Palestinian-Americans to come to Israel. (0:31-29:44)
Yotam Polizer is CEO of IsraAID, a humanitarian aid NGO based in Israel, that partners with local communities around the world to provide urgent aid, assist in recovery, and reduce the risk of future disasters.
Founded in 2001, their volunteer teams have worked in emergency and long-term development settings in more than 60 countries around the world. (29:49-58:21)
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My first guest today is Professor Kobi Michael - senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel and the editor in chief of "Strategic Assessment", a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal on topics related to Israel’s national security and Middle East strategic issues, which is published in Hebrew and English by the Institute for National Security Studies.
Kobi Michael signalled the need for Israel to address the ever-present terrorist threat in Jenin before Israel's recent major assault that aimed at eliminating the terrorist infrastructure in the area also targeting Iranian proxies operating there. (0:45-28:34)
As the FIFA Women's World Cup is about to kick off I invited Barry Shaw to join me in a live conversation in which we will discuss the state of play with women's soccer in Israel, but also consider the amazing successes that Israel has recently had in the men's game.(28:40-56:30)
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I discuss an article by Dr Izzat Abdulhadi - Palestinian envoy to Australia, NZ and the Pacific that was published in The Canberra Times titled ‘Anthony Albanese has chance to stand up for Palestine and change history’ and consider whether it would be appropriate at this time for Australia to recognise a Palestinian state. (0:52-33:31)
With Jerusalem Post Health and Science Reporter Judy Siegel-Itzkovich we examine what is going on with artificial intelligence in advancing research and development in medicine in Israel in particular. (33:31-57:56)
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Avi Melamed is a fourth-generation Arabic-speaking Jerusalemite Jew, former intelligence official, senior advisor on Arab Affairs, and Middle East expert.
Avi provides apolitical, non-partisan education about the Middle East to a wide variety of Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, from high school students to community and global leaders across the political and ideological spectrum.
His newest book, "Inside The Middle East: Entering a New Era", has received high acclaim across the Arab world. "The Seam Line", a five-part documentary series about Jerusalem, is his newest project. (0:28-44:41)
This week I play a short excerpt from the interview with Dr Izzat Abdulhadi that I will play in full on next week’s show. Tune in next week to catch the full episode with Dr Abdulhadi, who is the official Palestinian representative to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. (50:21 -57:51)
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Dr. Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu teaches about EU relations with Israel at the European Forum and the School of Public Policy at the Hebrew University and at the European Union Studies Program at Tel Aviv University.
Her areas of expertise include, among others, European Union and European integration, EU – Israel relations, the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and differentiated integration. (0:33-32:49)
Mike Wagenheim is a political reporter, currently serving as senior U.S. correspondent for the i24NEWS television network, covering American government, diplomacy, religion, business and culture, all through the lens of the Middle East. He is also a correspondent for the 'Jewish News Syndicate', writing about American affairs in the Middle East.
He survived a long career as an award-winning sportscaster. (32:55-54:25)
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Dr Nissan N. Perez, Photography Historian, Curator, Director of the Moï Ver Archive tells us about an extraordinary artist Moï Ver (Moshe Raviv), who was born in 1904 in Vilnius, Lithuania as Moses Vorobeichic. He initially studied painting. In his early twenties he matriculated at the Bauhaus, taking courses with Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Josef Albers, and left from there to attend the Ecole Photo One in Paris.
In 1932 Raviv was sent by the weekly La Vie Parisienne to Mandatory Palestine as photo-reporter, immigrating two years later and founding the Artists' Colony in Safed. He designed many posters like the one shown here that were used to promote Zionism.
After 1950 he focused more on painting than photography and lived in Safed until his death in 1995.
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Daniela Traub is the co-author of a paper with Prof. Ronen A Cohen and Dr. Chen Kertcher that argues that a dual foreign policy strategy of Azerbaijan towards Israel explains the strengthening of ties between the two states from 2011 to 2022, following Azerbaijan's decision to move to a knowledge-based economy.
This innovative hypothesis may help to illuminate a new perspective on the growing development of ties between the Muslim world and Israel. (0:31-24:40)
Juhuri music segment with Ayan Babakishiyeva, who is an Azerbaijani singer and actress, who was born in a family of Mountain Jews. (24:40-27:41)
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Daniela Traub is the co-author of a paper with Prof. Ronen A Cohen and Dr. Chen Kertcher that argues that a dual foreign policy strategy of Azerbaijan towards Israel explains the strengthening of ties between the two states from 2011 to 2022, following Azerbaijan's decision to move to a knowledge-based economy.
This innovative hypothesis may help to illuminate a new perspective on the growing development of ties between the Muslim world and Israel. (0:31-24:40)
Juhuri music segment with Ayan Babakishiyeva, who is an Azerbaijani singer and actress, who was born in a family of Mountain Jews. (24:40-27:41)
Dr Nissan N. Perez, Photography Historian, Curator Director, Moï Ver Archive tells us about an extraordinary artist Moï Ver (Moshe Raviv), who was born in 1904 in Vilnius, Lithuania as Moses Vorobeichic. He initially studied painting. In his early twenties he matriculated at the Bauhaus, taking courses with Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Josef Albers, and left from there to attend the Ecole Photo One in Paris.
In 1932 Raviv was sent by the weekly La Vie Parisienne to Mandatory Palestine as photo-reporter, immigrating two years later and founding the Artists' Colony in Safed. He designed many posters like the one shown here that were used to promote Zionism.
After 1950 he focused more on painting than photography and lived in Safed until his death in 1995. (27:42-54:55)
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Morton Klein is national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest pro-Israel group in the U.S., founded in 1897. He is a member of the National Council of AIPAC. He is widely regarded as one of the leading Jewish activists in the United States. The ZOA has criticised what it feels are some alarming, harmful aspects of the Biden administration’s just-released “National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism” and Morton Klein explains.
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Professor Ned Lazarus is a conflict resolution scholar, practitioner and evaluator, who has conducted evaluative studies of peacebuilding initiatives on behalf of USAID, USIP, the European Union and the US Department of State. His doctoral dissertation traces the long-term impact of peace education participation among more than 800 Israeli and Palestinian Seeds of Peace participants from adolescence through adulthood. Before entering the academic field, Ned served from 1996-2004 as the Middle East Program Director for Seeds of Peace.
We spoke about peace building and conflict resolution.
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Morton Klein is national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest pro-Israel group in the U.S., founded in 1897. He is a member of the National Council of AIPAC. He is widely regarded as one of the leading Jewish activists in the United States. The ZOA has criticised what it feels are some alarming, harmful aspects of the Biden administration’s just-released “National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism” and Mort Klein explains. (0:49-27:31)
Professor Ned Lazarus is a conflict resolution scholar, practitioner and evaluator, who has conducted evaluative studies of peacebuilding initiatives on behalf of USAID, USIP, the European Union and the US Department of State. His doctoral dissertation traces the long-term impact of peace education participation among more than 800 Israeli and Palestinian Seeds of Peace participants from adolescence through adulthood. Before entering the academic field, Ned served from 1996-2004 as the Middle East Program Director for Seeds of Peace. (27:37-54:55)
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Hannah Brown covers culture and has been the movie critic for The Jerusalem Post since 2001. Born and raised in New York City, she was a movie critic at The New York Post, as well as a columnist and an editor in the business section there. We take a look at what's on offer at the moment in the way of Israeli movies and TV series. (0:31-40:16)
Professor Robbie Sabel is a professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law, Hebrew University Jerusalem and visiting professor at Tel Aviv University. He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. He spoke at a webinar last weekend on the topic 'International Law - Tailor Made for Israel', where he explained how Israel often seems to be treated differently to other States under international law.(40:23-54:52)
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Freya Leach is a student at the University of Sydney who was physically obstructed whilst attempting to display an Israeli flag at a meeting of the Student Representative Council at the University of Sydney, which is a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment.
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In the short term Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Palestininian Islamic Jihad. Toward the end of the last round of violence emanating from Gaza Professor Uzi Rabi gave his assessment of the situation to the media. Professor. Rabi is the Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University. Among other topics, Prof. Rabi's research focuses on Radical Islamic movements, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas. (0:32-9:39)
Mordechai Nisan, a former Israeli professor and scholar of Middle East Studies at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whose latest book is 'The Crack-up of the Israeli Left', tells us how Israel has been dealing with terror assaults against it from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He explains why it has served Israel to eliminate some of the commanders of this terrorist organisation. He also says that in Israel, we are witnessing the post-Zionist left trying to unravel the Jewish state. (9:44-40:02)
Freya Leach is a student at the University of Sydney who was physically obstructed whilst attempting to display an Israeli flag at a meeting of the Student Representative Council at the University of Sydney, which is a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment. (40:08-54:55)
[I expressly thank Media Central for providing me with a recording of the media briefing at which Professor Uzi Rabi spoke.]
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At a time when Israel, like the United States, is fraught with internal conflicts and political strife, Rick Richman’s new book, And None Shall Make Them Afraid offers a bright ray of hope through the prism of history.
While it’s the story of how Zionism supported by Americanism created a modern miracle—what’s most significant is that it’s told through the little-known but exemplary stories of eight historic figures who collectively transformed history and moulded Israel nationally. (0:31-29:42)
Regavim petitions the High Court of Justice: Tomorrow’s “Day of Disruption” isn’t a protest, it’s sanctioned anarchy. The High Court rejected the petition outright without holding any hearings or addressing its claims.
I speak with Naomi Kahn, the Director of the International Division at Regavim, a research-based think tank and lobbying group dedicated to the protection and preservation of Israel’s sovereignty.
Regavim responds to the High Court’s rejection of the 6th petition about the illegal Palestinian outpost Khan al Ahmar. In similar petitions the High Court has refused to accept arguments involving political consideration, but not now. (29:49-54:44)
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On this week's show I spoke with a very special guest with whom I spoke way back in 2015 just after I had started presenting ‘The Israel Connexion’.
Daniel Seaman is a consummate media professional who served the Israeli Government in various roles over 30 years, including Director of the Government Press Office and as the Deputy Director General for Information at the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, sometimes ruffling a few feathers.
Danny served as an adviser and spokesperson to the Governments of six Prime Ministers and he was never shy of controversy.
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Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz is an American lawyer and former law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law School, where he was appointed the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law back in 1993. Professor Dershowitz is a regular media contributor, political commentator, and legal analyst. An ardent Zionist and supporter of Israel, Professor has written several books on the Arab–Israeli conflict. I could say so much more about your very distinguished legal career Professor Dershowitz.
Professor Eugene Kontorovich was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and moved to the US with his parents at the age of three. He immigrated to Israel in 2013 with his wife and four children. Kontorovich is a proponent of using anti-BDS laws to combat the BDS movement. He has helped many US states draft such legislation. Kontorovich is a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and heads the international law department at the Kohelet Policy Forum.
I felt extremely honoured to have the opportunity to bring these distinguished lawyers together to deal with the topic of the perceived threats to Israel’s democracy that are associated with Netanyahu’s governing coalition moves to introduce what are widely viewed as judicial reforms that will seriously impact on the checks and balances between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of Israel’s parliamentary democracy.
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Josh Burns MP is a co-chair of the the federal Parliamentary Friends of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which has been writing to universities, urging them to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
Melbourne’s Monash University has become the latest Australian university to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. This is a result of a wider anti-racism policy formulated by the Monash University Council. The Australasian Union of Jewish Students worked with the council to achieve the result.
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Josh Burns MP is a co-chair of the the federal Parliamentary Friends of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which has been writing to universities, urging them to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
Melbourne’s Monash University has become the latest Australian university to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. This is a result of a wider anti-racism policy formulated by the Monash University Council. The Australasian Union of Jewish Students worked with the council to achieve the result. (2:06-22:01)
Shifka Seigel is a strategic advisor and project manager with the Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce (IACC), who works with the agricultural sector of society. She leads all agriculture activities for the Chamber, connecting people in the agritech and food tech space. (22:08-40:52)
In anticiplation of the zoom discussion event with Professor Emeritus Dershowitz and Professor Kontorovich I played a couple of short clips, one taken from an interview I did with Professor Dershowitz in a previous program and the other taken from an interview Professor Kontorovich did LevinTV. (40:59 - 50:57)
To finish I played Noa Kirel's entry for this year's Eurovision song contest (51:54-54:34)
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Asher Fredman is the director for Israel of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute that is an international, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the implementation and expansion of the historic peace agreements known as the Abraham Accords. The mission of the Institute is to strengthen and solidify the new bonds created through the Abraham Accords, ensure that these relationships achieve their fullest potential, and counter the propaganda and misperceptions that have allowed the Arab-Israeli conflict to persist. (00:31-36:17)
Labor, Coalition and Teal Independent MPs spoke in the Australian parliament in support of adoption by universities and other civil society bodies of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism. Includes some remarks about the Adelaide Writers Festival. (36:25-52:31)
COMING UP a very significant event that ‘The Israel Connexion’ is organising for J-AIR. This will be a live discussion that will take place next Wednesday March 15th at 11 pm AEST between Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz and Professor Eugene Kontorovich, two esteemed legal experts who will be considered the topic of the perceived threats to Israel’s democracy as a consequence of the proposed judicial reforms to Israel’s judicial system and the impact of the power of the supreme court in particular. (52:31-53:33)
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A demonstration took place at Caulfield Park in Melbourne last weekend where around 200 members of Melbourne’s Israeli and Jewish community gathered to voice solidarity for a “democratic Israel” in protest at the actions of the right-wing coalition government in Israel.
Such rallies, in which Jews are gathering to express concern, fear, sadness and even anger about the current government they see as threatening to make a sudden and complete break with the basic values of the State of Israel as it was founded, have taken place in many Jewish communities around the globe. (0:31-21:32)
Eitan Drori attended the rally in Caulfield Park and as chairman of the Global Israeli Leadership group he empathises with the principles that are driving ten of thousands of passionate Israelis into the streets every week. (21:32-31:55)
I spoke with Joel Herzog, the current president of Yad Vashem Switzerland, honorary president of the Switzerland-Israel Association in Geneva, and the organiser of Yom Hashoah. Joel is the elder brother of Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, who has been endeavouring to play a pivotal role in keeping Israel from tearing itself apart over the judicial reforms that have started filtering through the Knesset plenum. (31:55-54:53)
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Founder and president of the Centre for Peace Communications is Joseph Braude, an expert on the nexus of culture and politics in Arab societies and an active presence in the region’s media and policy debates.
Braude’s most recent book, Reclamation: A Cultural Policy for Arab-Israeli Partnership presents a strategy on how to roll back generations of antisemitic and rejectionist messaging in Arab media, mosques, and schools.
In 'Whispered in Gaza', a major initiative of the Centre for Peace Communications, Gazans from all walks of life share their stories, struggles, and hopes for the future. To protect their identities, testimony is shown using video animation in lieu of the speakers’ actual visages. (0:31-31:05)
A slightly abbreviated version of the full interview with Danielle Nagler, who reports on the subject of real estate in Israel for Times of Israel. (Available complete as a separate podcast).
Aside from examining the high cost of accommodation in Israel and government policies to address the dire need for new housing construction we also discussed concerns over the fact that a large number of buildings in Israel are earthquake prone. (31:05-54:21)
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I spoke to Danielle Nagler, who reports on the subject of real estate in Israel for Times of Israel.
Aside from examining the high cost of accommodation in Israel and government policies to address the dire need for new housing construction we also discussed concerns over the fact that a large number of buildings in Israel are earthquake prone.
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Yoseph Haddad is a staunch defender of Israel – from his time defending Israel as a member of the Israel Defense Forces or more recently as the CEO of Together – Vouch For Each Other, an organization bridging the gap between the Arab sector of Israeli society with Israeli society as a whole. As a guest of ZDVO Beit Halochem he is on a visit to Australia with his fiancée Emily Schrader, herself also a prominent Israel activist.
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United Hatzalah is an Israeli free, volunteer-based emergency medical services organization operating throughout the whole of Israel with its headquarters based in Jerusalem. I caught up with a spokesperson for this magnificent organisation Raphael Poch, in order to find out about their recent rescue effort in earthquake ravaged Turkiye.
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Yoseph Haddad is a staunch defender of Israel – from his time defending Israel as a member of the Israel Defense Forces or more recently as the CEO of Together – Vouch For Each Other, an organization bridging the gap between the Arab sector of Israeli society with Israeli society as a whole. He is on a visit to Australia with his fiancée Emily Schrader, herself also a prominent Israel activist. (0:31-30:27)
United Hatzalah is an Israeli free, volunteer-based emergency medical services organization operating throughout the whole of Israel with its headquarters based in Jerusalem. I caught up with a spokesperson for this magnificent organisation Raphael Poch in order to find out about their recent rescue effort in earthquake ravaged Turkiye. (30:34-51:40)
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Orly Erez-Likhovski from the Israel Religious Action Center has been running a campaign to put a stop to Israel's imminent judicial reforms believing it to be dangerous legislation that will harm Israeli democracy.
According to Orly these reform initiatives, should they come to pass, will impact Jews around the world, particularly when it comes to issues relating to the recognition of Judaism, conversion, and immigration.
She states that Israel should live up to its founding principles of democracy, equality, and pluralism. Israel’s government has always been keenly attuned to the opinions of world Jewry, and as it currently prepares to move forward with measures that will have an impact on Jews in the diaspora, Orly believes the Israeli government needs to heed their concerns.
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In early 2017 Amit Shteinhart was appointed the military security coordinator of the settlement, Har-Adar situated on the outskirts of Jerusalem. In September 2017, Amit was severely injured in a gunshot terror attack. He was hit on his left shoulder and on the left side of his abdomen. Amit lost three friends during the exchange of fire and since then he suffers from PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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Last week I spoke with Dr Martin Sherman, who supports the newly elected Israeli government's plans to enact a far-reaching reform of the Israel Supreme Court. This week I speak with Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who believes a judicial overhaul will make Israel much harder to defend on the global stage. He warns the reforms are a threat to civil liberties and minorities. You can watch the intro to the interview here.
(Full version to be made available on video shortly)
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The newly elected Israeli government's plans to enact a far-reaching reform of the Israel Supreme Court are imminent. I spoke with Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who believes a judicial overhaul will make Israel much harder to defend on the global stage. He warns the reforms are a threat to civil liberties and minorities. (0:31-31:24)
In early 2017 Amit Shteinhart was appointed the military security coordinator of the settlement, Har-Adar situated on the outskirts of Jerusalem. In September 2017, Amit was severely injured in a gunshot terror attack. He was hit on his left shoulder and on the left side of his abdomen. Amit lost three friends during the exchange of fire and since then he suffers from PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (31:31-54:55)
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Professor Yanay Ofran is founder and CEO of Biolojic Design. A computational biophysicist and biotech entrepreneur, his scientific work focuses on the application of artificial intelligence and computational biology to the study of genomes, diseases and drugs. We hear how cancer patients in Australia are testing the world’s first ‘computer-designed’ antibodies made in Israel.
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I speak with Dr Martin Sherman, the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), who believes that the initiative by the newly elected government to enact a far-reaching reform of the legal system is an inevitable result of the ongoing process of erosion of public trust in Israel's judicial system. (0:31-26:30)
Professor Yanay Ofran is founder and CEO of Biolojic Design. A computational biophysicist and biotech entrepreneur, his scientific work focuses on the application of artificial intelligence and computational biology to the study of genomes, diseases and drugs. We hear how cancer patients in Australia are testing the world’s first ‘computer-designed’ antibodies made in Israel. (26:27-54:55)
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The big LIE is that Gaza's water contamination is all because of Israel.
This disgusting propaganda masquerades behind the illusion of being fair criticism but it is not.
It is tantamount to antisemitism - using deception to support a false narrative that is wilfully propagated by APAN, ostensibly the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network that has been funded by the City of Melbourne which seems to have no idea what it is supporting - or maybe it does.
Listen to Seth Siegel, lawyer, activist, writer, and successful serial entrepreneur. His essays on water and other policy issues have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and in leading publications in Europe and Asia. He is a highly sought-after speaker on a range of topics including water policy, Middle East politics, and national security.
Back in 2016 I spoke with Seth Siegel about his book ‘Let There Be Water’ which tells the powerful story of how the people of Israel came together to overcome their water problems, telling us how the rest of the world can learn from their example and avoid a looming crisis over water.
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The Israel Connexion is in summer recess which is giving me the opportunity to play repeats of previous programs. Zionism Victoria has teamed up with ZDVO Beit Halochem Australia to host an inspirational evening with two incredible Israel advocates - Israeli-Arab Christian Yoseph Haddad and award-winning social media strategist Emily Schrader. They’ll also be joined by Amit Shteinhart, one of the 50,000 Israelis injured on the battlefield or in an act of terror who ZDVO Beit Halochem help rehabilitate. So today in honour of the extraordinary work of Beit Halochem I will be playing some interviews with some of those Israeli victims who ZDVO Beit Halochem have been assisting to get their lives back on track, namely Anat Yahalom, Dana Pinhasov and Hanoch Budin.
To begin with I play a short audio clip produced by Yoseph Haddad and Emily Schrader to entice you to attend a special event at which they will be speaking on Wednesday Feb 15th at Beth Weizmann.
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In this extensive interview with a major conservative figure in contemporary Jewish life I reflect back on Ruth Wisse's remarkable book 'Jews and Power', which celebrates the Jewish return to sovereign power, in all its promise and complexity. We consider whether the large number of Jews in the Biden administration is significant. We examine the issue of cultural power in the US. We consider the dichotomy between the Gush Emunim and Peace Now in their approach to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We cover the Tikvah leadership conference which took place last month. We consider Ruth's important essay 'The Dark Side of Holocaust Education', which controversially critcises how Jews memorialise the Holocaust.
All in all an interview not to be missed!
What I recommend is to go to this program’s YouTube channel where the full interview as a video is available for viewing.
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Dr Yossef Ben-Meir is a sociologist and president of the High Atlas Foundation in Morocco. He will talk about advancing decentralised development in Palestine in order to foster self-reliance. He believes this could serve as a strong basis for reconciliation among Palestinians and Israelis. We will also discuss Israel-Morocco relations. (0:32-35:35)
Bassem Eid is a Jerusalem-based political analyst, human rights campaigner and expert commentator in Arab and Palestinian affairs. I was meant to be speaking to him abou how He blames the Palestinian people for Israel’s political move to the right at the last Israeli elections..
I was scheduled to interview Bassem Eid last night but he didn’t appear at the Zoom session that I had organised preceded by a short audio clip taken from the Jerusalem Post’s annual conference in 2018 when Tzipi Hotovely, the then deputy minister for foreign affairs extolled Bassem Eid. (39:36-54:07)
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Israel is a tiny but mighty country that thrives on disruption. Roger Spitz is co-author of the compendium 'The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption'. Volume II has a chapter dedicated to Israel and is about to be released. Roger Spitz collaborated with David Solomon on this chapter.
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For the past twenty-two years, French filmmaker Pierre Rehov has travelled the conflict zones of the Middle East and produced more than twenty documentaries. His new documentary 'Lies and Tears' examines the death in May 2022 of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, for which the Israeli army was automatically blamed before any investigation was conducted. The elements Rehov uncovered are disturbing, to say the least, and suggest a completely different conclusion. (0:32-23:05)
Israel is a tiny but mighty country that thrives on disruption. Roger Spitz is co-author of the compendium 'The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption'. Volume II has a chapter dedicated to Israel and is about to be released. Roger Spitz collaborated with David Solomon on this chapter. (23:11-52:54)
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'International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People' was a cue for many of our politicians to make statements empathising with the Palestinian cause. The South Australian Legislative Council even passed a motion endorsing the extraordinary principles stated in the Sydney Statement on Anti-Palestinianism. Jamie Hyams (AIJAC) joined me to discuss this development.
I spoke once again about the City of Melbourne having given a grant to APAN, the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network and how I have got the distinct impression that our principal Zionist advocacy organisations and community leaders have given up any idea of doing anything about it.
Greens leader Adam Bandt jumped on the bandwagon with a statement on Twitter that was strongly criticised in the Australian Jewish News last week for totally overlooking the recent twin bus bombings in Jerusalem. I play a mythbuster about Bandt that focuses on when he spoke last year on the occasion of International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.
End music - Kuku Riku
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The City of Melbourne has sponsored the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) to the tune of $11K for Palestine National Day with a further grant of $10K having been given to APAN for 2023.
APAN is a radical political anti-Zionist organization whose raison d’etre is the elimination of the state of Israel. Zionism Victoria, the organisation that should be taking this appalling travesty up to the City of Melbourne has done nothing to date with their CEO Zeddy Lawrence keeping his cards very close to his chest.
As APAN and its supporters consider Zionists to be personae non gratae, who are to be denigrated and vilified, the City of Melbourne has endorsed an organisation that does not meet their very own community grants guidelines of equity and inclusion.
Furthermore, the council has also deliberately refused to enter into any public discussion by not responding to overtures to directly and openly engage on this very troubling issue.
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November 29th, 2022 is the 75th anniversary of the 1947 UN Partition Resolution, a day indeed to be celebrated. However it is also a day which has been proclaimed by the pro-Palestinian vanguard as 'International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People'. (00:32-8:27)
David Shoebridge, a NSW Greens parliamentarian, who professes to be "a recognised voice for social justice and public accountability" was invited by me on FaceBook to speak on my program following a short speech he made yesterday on the occasion of the commemoration of a day that highlights Palestinian intransigence. His response was to block me on FaceBook - the action of a pigheaded individual whose mind has obviously been addled by pro-Palestinian propaganda.(8:27-10:32)
In the South Australia Legislative Council a motion highly critical of Israel is being debated. ALP Member of the Legislative Council, Hon Irene Pnevmatikos, moved it earlier this month. Australian Friends of Palestine, a pro-Palestinian lobby group based in South Australia has exhorted its supporters to pack the gallery of South Australia’s Upper House to show parliamentarians that there is strong public support for Palestine. (10:39-13:19)
Col. (res.) Dr. Michael Milshtein, former COGAT Advisor on Palestinian Affairs, considers whether the Palestinian Authority is about to collapse and what might be the consequences for Israel’s security situation. (13:26-49:23)
More about the City of Melbourne's controversial sponsorship of APAN, the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network, ostensibly the Australian Palestinian Anti-Zionist Network. (49:29-53:36)
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Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch, has written the book The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process, which is a history of what was attempted, why those failures were inevitable, and what must be done instead concerning the Israel-Palestine dispute.
APAN, the Australian Palestinian Advocacy (Anti-Zionist) Network, received a grant for $11K from the City of Melbourne, supposedly to celebrate Palestine National Day. On the surface a celebration of Palestinian culture and history might seem perfectly reasonable. However, the rationale for the very existence of APAN, is radical political activism. Jamie Hyams (AIJAC) joined me live to discuss this travesty.
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A bumper show!
I tackle a virulent speech made last week in our parliament by Andrew Wilkie MP (0:32-5:32), we hear remarks made by Prof. Gerald Steinberg and Adv. Yifal Segal about the decision of a UNGA committee to ask the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on Israel's activities in the West Bank (5:32-26:37), I play an excerpt from a stunning talk made by Charlotte Korchak from StandWithUs (26:37-37:13), I interview Yuval Laster, Senior Deputy Director Strategy and Policy for Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection about COP27 (37:19-52:23) and to finish a condemnation of the Melbourne City Council for using ratepayers' money to sponsor Palestine National Day, supporting Palestinian advocacy groups that have in their credo the elimination of the state of Israel (52:23-54:54).
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Sharren Haskel has been returned to a seat in the Knesset as a member of Gantz's National Unity Party. In an interview I recorded with her yesterday we discussed the Israeli election results and what role she sees herself playing as part of the opposition. Sharren also spoke about supporting the protest movement in Iran.
If you like you can go the Israel Connexion's YouTube channel and watch the last part of my interview with Sharren Haskel there. (0:32-26:55)
COP27 kicked off last week in Sharm-El Sheikh and I hope to speak with Yuval Laster, the head of Israel's Environment Protection Ministry's Policy and Strategy about COP27. In the mean time I played an interview recorded 12 months ago with Ambassador Gideon Behar, the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. (27:02-54:45)
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Dr Ran Porat, Affiliate Research Associate at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University elaborates on his Israeli election explainer: Everything you need to know and shares his thoughts on the latest Israeli Foreign Policy Index survey produced by Mitvim, a prominent centre-left think tank in Israel. (0:29-34:21)
Yair Qedar, director of 'The Last Chapter of A.B. Yehoshua' which will be screening at the Jewish International Film Festival in Sydney and Melbourne, talks about the making of his film, the 16th in the Hebrews Project. (34:27-54:39)
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The ludicrous decision by the Labor government under Albanese’s tutelage to reverse the previous Liberal party’s decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has reverberated through the media with much criticism of the decision and the way in which it was carried out. (0:32-9:49)
I unearth a program I made back in 2017 with Nasri Barghouti, a Palestinian businessman from Ramallah, who is a spokesperson for Two States One Homeland, a group of Israelis and Palestinians, conceiving a model for reconciliation to happen between the two peoples, based on the establishment of two sovereign states in one, open land. We talked about this movement and then the topic moved to a broader consideration of current issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (9:50-54:49)
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Editorial on the National Tertiary Education Union council adopting a virulently antisemitic anti-Israel resolution egged on by Fahad Ali, who works as a Research Assistant at The University of Sydney. Fahad Ali was one of the main instigators of the boycott of the Sydney Festival because the organisers of the festival had accepted money from the Israeli Embassy. (0:32-4:39)
David Matas, legal counsel for B'nai Brith Canada, which is a major supporter of Israel. We examine the fallout from the Valentina Azarova affair, whereby the University of Toronto came under huge pressure to accept Azarova's candidature for the position of director of the law school’s International Human Rights Program. (4:40-26:55)
Simon Plosker, Managing Editor for UN Watch, an organisation dedicated to holding the United Nations accountable to its founding principles. There have been 20 UNGA resolutions this year, 14, which is 70%, targeting Israel for admonition. We discuss what UN Watch is doing to stem the tide of anti-Israel bigotry at the United Nations. (27:04-54:04)
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At a media briefing Col. (res.) Shlomo Mofaz and Col. (res.) Dr. Moshe Elad discussed the rising tensions, the possible connection to the weakening of the Palestinian Authority, the growing threat as the Jewish high holidays approach, and the possibility of further escalation.
Colonel (res.) Shlomo Mofaz serves as the director of the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. He is the former head of the Counter Terrorism Analysis Department in the Military Intelligence Directorate of the IDF.
Col. (res.) Dr. Moshe Elad previously served as Head of Security Coordination to the Palestinian Authority in the IDF, as well as Head of Civil Administration in Bethlehem and Jenin. Dr. Elad also served as Arab Affairs Advisor at the Ministry of Defense. He specializes in Israel’s National Security Policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (00:29-41:07)
I take a different look at the West Bank by way of a low-budget short comedy that was made in 2005 titled 'West Bank Story The Musical' which is all of 21 minutes and 20 seconds long and available on YouTube. At the 79th Academy Awards, it won the Oscar in the category Best Live Action Short Film. (41:48-50:06)
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Social media influencers Hallel Silverman, Emily Schrader and Blake Flayton joined AIPAC's Director of Leadership Development Karli Krasnipol to discuss what it's like behind the screens as they lead the pro-Israel fight on social media. (00:31-45:38)
For a local perspective I spoke to Josh Feldman, who is an arts student at Monash University and active in the media. (45:38-54:53)
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Limmud Oz takes place this coming weekend September 3-4 at twin venues in Melbourne - the King David School campus and The Herzl Club with a packed line-up of thought-leaders from around the globe and also an array of speakers from Australia.
We hear from four speakers in the vein of ‘Everything Israel’ -
- Anshel Pfeffer, senior correspondent and columnist for Haaretz and the Israel correspondent for The Economist,
- Anat Dror, researcher, PhD candidate at Haifa University, who is dedicated to education about climate change.
- Simon Starr, a Melbourne musician who is passionate about Jewish music
- Noah Efron, who founded, and is a professor in, the program on science, technology and society at Bar Ilan University. Noah is a founder and leader of Israel’s Green Party and served on the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council.
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The United States is moving resolutely toward cementing a nuclear deal with Iran. Biden promised to restore the nuclear deal when he was elected and he is pursuing his promise like a dog chasing a bone. Iran establishing a nuclear capability represents a significant existential threat to Israel. Does the rest of the world care?
Courtesy of an app produced by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the AIPAC app, I am playing a conversation that was held last week with AIPAC's Steven Beckerman, who provided an historical analysis of Iran's nuclear program, an overview of the details (and flaws) of the JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and an assessment of where we are in the P5+1 nuclear negotiations, the P5 nations being the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States with the +1 referring to Germany.
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The University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) has just passed a disgraceful, antisemitic motion titled “UMSU stands with Palestine – BDS and Solidarity Policy”. It condemned Zionism as a “racist, colonial ideology” and called for the university to cut ties with Israel and divest from companies associated with Israel. Consequently I have decided to replay an extensive conversation I recorded at the end of 2020 on the subject of on-campus antisemitism.
Blake Flayton, now a senior at George Washington University, Ilan Sinelnikov, president and founder of Students Supporting Israel and Daniel Elberg, former public affairs co-ordinator for AUJS joined me for a conversation. Blake wrote an article "The Hate That Can’t Be Contained" that was published in Tablet Magazine and that provided the basis for our conversation.
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The first part of this episode is a replay of an interview I did in Israel in October 2019 with Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at the prestigious think-tank 'The Institute for National Security Studies' (INSS) . It provides some perennial insights as to why the conflict with Gaza is proving so difficult to solve.
Among his primary research interests are peace and war studies; strategy; national security; civil-military relations; socio-military relations; peace maintenance; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dr. Michael served as the deputy director general and head of the Palestinian desk at the Ministry for Strategic Affairs. He was a senior faculty member at Ariel University from 2013-2015 and a visiting professor at Peking University in 2017.
He has published widely in his field - including 18 books and monographs and over 80 articles and chapters in books - and has been awarded several academic prizes, among them, the Yariv Prize, the Tshetshik Prize, the Yitzhak Sadeh Prize, and the Israeli Association for Political Science Prize. Some of his most recent books: ‘Special Operations Forces in the 21st Century – Perspectives from the Social Sciences’ and ‘The Arab World on the Road to State Failure‘ were published in 2017. (0:28-42:14)
Ali Abunimah is the co-founder and executive director of Electronic Intifada (EI), a major online media outlet active in promoting the Palestinian agenda with news articles and commentary that frequently feature antisemitic content.
Following this latest round of violence between Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Israel I decided to play an interview that Abunimah did on Al Jazeera to demonstrate the lies and propaganda that are his staple diet.
Every time something is said that needs to be challenged you will hear a loud buzzer and I provide a rejoinder. (42:14-54:22)
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In the global superpower competition between the United States and China, Israel is stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, Beijing is interested in increasing its cooperation with Israel, especially in the infrastructure and technology sectors; on the other, Israel is under increasing pressure from Washington to limit its engagement with China.
I spoke with Howard Shatz and Shira Efron who have been involved in the creation of two significant reports on behalf of the RAND Corporation, a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. Howard Shatz and Shira Efron have researched the growing Israel-China relationship and offer some valuable insights.
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The United Nations Relief Works Organisation UNRWA has been in the news of late following the Biden administration’s willingness to cough up another $200 million in order to continue delivering critical services to so-called Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
These new funds bring the total United States assistance to UNRWA during the Biden Administration to more than $618 million, which is more than any other country. This was announced concurrent with Biden’s trip last week to Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The caveat is that UNRWA’s work must be done fully respecting the UN principles of neutrality, tolerance, human rights, equity, and non-discrimination.
My eye!
Marcus Sheff, CEO for the watchdog organisation Impact-SE reveals how disingenuous and deceptive UNRWA is.
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The US President Joe Biden is on the verge of visiting Israel and Saudi Arabia so it is worthwhile to consider the purpose of his trip and what might be the political impact of it.
In this vein I have brought together two conversations concerning the Biden trip, one webinar organised by the Mitvim Institute in Israel that was held in the lead up to US President Joe Biden's visit to Israel. Subjects covered included President Biden's role regarding normalization with the Arab world, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the state of Israel's democracy, and US-Israel Relations.
Tal Schnieder, Political Correspondent at the Times of Israel, Dr. Lior Lehrs, Director of the Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking Program at Mitvim, Michael Koplow, Chief Policy Officer at Israel Policy Forum and Dr. Gil Murciano, CEO at Mitvim participated. (0:29-28:58)
The other event covered in this podcast was a panel of two speakers organised by MediaCentral, that from time to time invites journalists in the media to hear from experts on current issues that are of interest. The speakers were Aaron David Miller and Abdelaziz al-Khamis who analysed the possible implications of Biden's visit for the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the region from their own perspectives. (28:59-54:31)
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This program examines in depth the way the Australian Greens go about condemning Israel whenever they can with speeches and statements replete with buzzwords and slogans that ring very hollow indeed, and highlights how their misguided policy aligns with their Israelophobic agenda rather than dealing with reality.
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Doug Altabef, chairman of the board of directors of Im Tirzu whose motto is ‘Building the Zionist Dream’ and Sam Tatarka, former Zionism Victoria president and chairman of Beth Weizmann community centre to ‘The Israel Connexion’.
We will be discussing an interview the CEO of the New Israel Fund did on the ABC World Today program on Wednesday 24th June and a ZOOM event with Martin Indyk that it hosted on Tuesday 23rd June, 2020.
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Aviv Bushinsky is a political analyst for leading media outlets. He previously served as a media advisor to former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Gil Hoffman served as the chief political correspondent and analyst for The Jerusalem Post. He has interviewed every major figure across the Israeli political spectrum. They spoke at a media briefing on the subject 'Fifth Election in Two Years: Israeli Parliament to Be Dissolved Next Week'.
I will also replay an insightful interview I recorded in 2019 with Prof Gideon Rahat, senior fellow at The Israel Democracy Institute, prior to the elections that were held in September of that year. We spoke about the election process in Israel and why Israel is prone to having so many elections.
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On May 25th the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) joined forces with Amnesty International Australia to conduct a webinar titled ‘Understanding Israel’s Apartheid’ which was loaded with antisemitic lies and propaganda. The nefarious character of this event was plainly evident and at times I could hardly contain myself as speaker after speaker proceeded to slander Israel with their anti-Zionist poison.
This episode has been produced in order to address those who are not honest enough to engage with their opponents, avoiding being challenged for the nasty libels they keep uttering with impunity. The entire episode is devoted to excoriating the motley crew who spoke at the webinar that damned Israel for its alleged apartheid policies against the Palestinians.
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This week I dig into the archives of this program to present a couple of interviews with those who support the Palestinian cause. You will hear first from Izzat Abdulhadi, who has been the head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific since 2006. (1:28-23:48)
After that I will play an interview I did four years ago with pro-Palestinian activist Greg Barns, a senior counsel, Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesperson and a senior journalist for The Mercury newspaper. (23:49-45:00)
Includes commentary on the UMSU anti-Israel motion that has now been rescinded. (45:09-52:20)
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I tackle the subject of ABC anti-Israel media bias, which has been a long running sore with the national broadcaster. For perspective I play an interview I recorded almost 5 years ago with Gaven Morris who was the then ABC News chief.
Even though the interview is a little dated it does depict how the ABC operates when it comes to its reportage on Israel. The interview starts off with remarks about ads that former MP Michael Danby placed in the press about the ABC’s Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill, who has since taken over the role of Australian researcher for Human Rights Watch, an Israeli bashing organisation that accuses Israel of being an apartheid state.
On May 28th Sophie McNeill will be a guest speaker at the Australian Friends of Palestine’s Gala Dinner. Her anti-Israel activism has continued in the same vein as when she reported for the ABC, where at least she needed to show a modicum of restraint. Working now for the disreputable NGO Human Rights Watch her anti-Israel animus is unbridled.
Conclusion: Only a fully external complaints body can truly address the need for genuine independent oversight of the ABC and provide assured procedural fairness to plaintiffs and their complaints.
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Repeats of interviews with Josh Burns, the Labor member for the seat of Macnamara and Senator James Paterson, Liberal senator for the Victoria since 2016. On the eve of a federal election it is worth listening to what these candidates have had to say in the past.
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Following the disgraceful antisemitic motion passed by the University of Melbourne Student Union I caught up with Melb Uni student Noa Abrahams, who is the chairperson for Netzer in Melbourne, to hear about the disquiet over the motion and find out what measures are being considered to counter it.
I will also refer to the B'nai Brith speakers forum on the topic 'BDS: What Can We Do?' that was held on Sunday night at Beth Weizmann. You can watch a recording of the event on my YouTube channel. (0:30-34:44)
With the launch of season 2 of the the spy thriller Tehran I was granted the opportunity by Apple TV+ to do an interview with Daniel Syrkin, co-creator, writer, an executive producer and director of the series and you can watch the vodcast of that interview on my YouTube channel. (34:51-51:40)
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This week I return to the studio to do a special live program from the J-AIR studio with schlichim from the local community, who will be sharing their perspectives on Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut.
Sefi Shalam works as the Shaliach (Israel Emissary) to the Australian Progressive Community on behalf of the Jewish Agency. Motty Goodman is his counterpart involved with Bnei Akiva. Orit Elkayam-Cohen is the Jewish Agency Representative to Australia and NZ .
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Michael Harari marked 30 years’ service in the Foreign Ministry in July 2017. His final position abroad was as Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus (2010-2015), whilst his domestic positions have included Head of the International Division in the Foreign Ministry’s Centre for Political Research; Deputy Head of the Political Planning Division; and Director of the department responsible for the Centre’s work on the Palestinian arena and Jordan.
Today, he serves as a consultant in the fields of strategy, policy and energy, lectures in the Political Science Department at the Jezreel Valley College, and is a Policy Fellow at Mitvim, The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies. (0:42-40:49)
I have tried in vain to get the Greens to elaborate on their policy platform relating to Israel/Palestine, which has not been updated since 2010. Invitations to their candidate in Macnamara (my local electorate) Steph Hodgins-May and their foreign affairs spokesperson SenatorJanet Rice have been ignored. I will elaborate on why our community needs to be very wary of supporting candidates at the coming Federal election, who would willingly sell out on Israel. (40:57-50:41)
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On April 8, 2022, Eytan Stibbe is scheduled to take off on the historic Rakia mission to the International Space Station. This mission is an opportunity for breakthroughs in dozens of Israeli technologies and scientific experiments in space, a chance to advance education and the arts in Israel.
I speak with payload specialist Eliran Homa who gives me the lowdown on this exciting mission. (22:40-47:12)
Adi Gefen Adler is the UIA's regional director responsible for the schlichim serving in Australia. We sat together in the J-AIR studio for the full show with my conversartion with Adi coming before and after the Rakia space mission segment.
Adi explained his role, visiting Australia 3-4 times a year to liaise with the resident shlichim. We discussed the affect on the mood in Israel from the flurry of fatal terrorist attacks in the past week and how the UIA is handling the Ukraine refugee crisis.
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David Bedein serves as Director of The Center for Near East Policy Research and he follows the UNRWA trail, exposing their malfeasances. We will discuss a short video titled 'UNRWA ignites Jerusalem' that can be found on his website and consider how UNRWA is managing its affairs, given that it is experiencing a large shortfall in funding.
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His Excellency Mr. Amir Maimon is the recently appointed Ambassador of the State of Israel to Australia, following an extensive career in the Israel Defense Force and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After a 14-year military career in the paratroopers unit of the IDF, (Ret) Lt. Colonel Maimon joined the Foreign Service. He has held diplomatic posts in London, Canada, Turkey, Ethiopia, and Washington.
Mr. Maimon served as the first Ambassador of the State of Israel to Lithuania, along with other notable appointments within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli National Defense College. (0:51-28:48)
David Bedein serves as Director of The Center for Near East Policy Research and he follows the UNRWA trail, exposing their malfeasances. We will discuss a short video titled 'UNRWA ignites Jerusalem' that can be found on his website and consider how UNRWA is managing its affairs, given that it is experiencing a large shortfall in funding. (28:53-51:02)
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Samer Sinijlawi is the chairman of the Jerusalem Development Fund and a member of Fatah. He featured in a debate last year on this program with Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a deputy mayor of Jerusalem, about the legitimacy of the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and home demolitions.
Samer was head of Diplomatic and International relations for the Fatah Shadow Leadership and Reform Stream. He was the President of the Palestinian Council of Young Political Leaders 2000-2006, and Head of Israeli and International File for Fatah Supreme committee 1994-2000. He was detained by the Israeli authorities at the age of 15 for 4 years during the first Intifada in 1988-1992.
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Samer Sinijlawi is the chairman of the Jerusalem Development Fund and a member of Fatah. He featured in a debate last year on this program with Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a deputy mayor of Jerusalem, about the legitimacy of the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and home demolitions.
Samer was head of Diplomatic and International relations for the Fatah Shadow Leadership and Reform Stream. He was the President of the Palestinian Council of Young Political Leaders 2000-2006, and Head of Israeli and International File for Fatah Supreme committee 1994-2000. He was detained by the Israeli authorities at the age of 15 for 4 years during the first Intifada in 1988-1992. (0:31-40:23)
Johnny Weiss was the first Executive Director of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce and also the inaugural National Executive Director for 15 years. Along with a dedicated team he built the Chamber as a major business organisation with regular trade missions to Israel and an active business networking programme.
In 1993, he established the Trans – Tasman Business Circle to provide a forum for Australian and New Zealand business and government leaders. This body is planning an historic inaugural Business Mission to Morocco - Israel - UAE later this year and Johnny Weiss told us a bit about it. (40:32-51:53)
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Dr. Martin Sherman is founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies. He served in operational capacities in the Israeli Defense establishment. for seven years, and was a ministerial adviser to Yitzhak Shamir's government.
In his 'Into the Fray' column Martin reveals that something is awry with Israeli law enforcement. For example, the decision of the court not to dismiss the indictments against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, overriding the legal principle of “abuse of process“. (0:31-27:40)
Rachel Ben-Dor is the chair person and founder of 'Four Mothers' (Leave Lebanon in Peace) the most successful grass-roots movements in Israeli history that shaped the Lebanon pullout in 2000, the story of which has been made into a film that is showing at JIFF. (30:48-51:48)
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Rachel Ben-Dor is the chair person and founder of 'Four Mothers' (Leave Lebanon in Peace) the most successful grass-roots movements in Israeli history that shaped the Lebanon pullout in 2000, the story of which has been made into a film that is showing at JIFF.
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Dr. Martin Sherman is founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies. He served in operational capacities in the Israeli Defense establishment. for seven years, and was a ministerial adviser to Yitzhak Shamir's government.
In his 'Into the Fray' column Martin reveals that something is awry with Israeli law enforcement. For example, the decision of the court not to dismiss the indictments against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, overriding the legal principle of “abuse of process“.
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Karim Hakimi fled Afghanistan following the capitulation by the United States to the Taliban. He is currently languishing in the Emirates Humanitarian Camp facility in Abu Dhabi. Hakimi is the human face behind the Afghanistan-Israel Friendship Association. (0:31-23:37)
Idan Goldberger is the executive director of Australian Friends of Sheba Medical Center, which is the largest hospital in Israel and has been ranked among the world's top ten hospitals worldwide by Newsweek magazine. (23:37-49:48)
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I came across Karim Hakimi on FaceBook early last year. He was the person behind a FaceBook group (Afghanistan-Israel Friendship Association) obviously supportive of Israel. I was keen to learn what Karim was trying to achieve by doing this in a country where you would get into very serious trouble if you were found out.
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Idan Goldberger is the executive director of Australian Friends of Sheba Medical Center, which is the largest hospital in Israel and has been ranked among the world's top ten hospitals worldwide by Newsweek magazine.
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The son of Yitzhak Shamir will speak about the film 'Shamir: War, Peace and a Dream', a riveting documentary which brings together a veritable roll call of Israeli politicians and generals to talk about the extraordinary life and legacy of Yair's father Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. (1:18-17:32)
Writer, director and producer of the film 'The Narrow Bridge' psychologist Esther Takac speaks about her film, which is a searching journey into the souls of four people who, after searing pain, develop strengths they never had before. We watch as Bushra, Rami, Meytal and Bassam, Palestinian and Israeli women and men who lost a child or parent in the conflict, transform their grief into a bridge for reconciliation. (17:38-33:24)
Behind the international success story of Amos Oz, a symbol of the Israeli conscience and a writer translated into 45 languages, lurked a double tragedy. When he was 12-years-old his mother committed suicide, and a few years before his death his daughter accused him of being physically and mentally violent, ending all communication with him. A series of conversations with his latest biographer is presented in the film 'The Fourth Window', weaving biographical passages, literature and conversations with the main people in Amos Oz's life. (33:24-51:22)
[all part interviews with podcasts available of each full interview]
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Behind the international success story of Amos Oz, a symbol of the Israeli conscience and a writer translated into 45 languages, lurked a double tragedy. When he was 12-years-old his mother committed suicide, and a few years before his death his daughter accused him of being physically and mentally violent, ending all communication with him. A series of conversations with his latest biographer is presented in the film 'The Fourth Window', weaving biographical passages, literature and conversations with the main people in Amos Oz's life.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Writer, director and producer of the film 'The Narrow Bridge' psychologist Esther Takac speaks about her film, which is a searching journey into the souls of four people who, after searing pain, develop strengths they never had before. We watch as Bushra, Rami, Meytal and Bassam, Palestinian and Israeli women and men who lost a child or parent in the conflict, transform their grief into a bridge for reconciliation.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The son of Yitzhak Shamir will speak about the film 'Shamir: War, Peace and a Dream', a riveting documentary which brings together a veritable roll call of Israeli politicians and generals to talk about the extraordinary life and legacy of Yair's father Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
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The first part of an interview with Naftali Moses whose sixteen-year-old son was murdered in a 2008 Palestinian terrorist attack in Jerusalem. The interview is an appraisal of Colum McCann's book Apeirogon. (0:20-24:13)
Rambam Health Care Campus is a 1,000-bed academic hospital serving the over 2 million residents of Northern Israel. It is ranked as one of the most recommended hospitals in Israel. Providing comprehensive medical services in all medical specialties, Rambam is the tertiary referral center for 12 district hospitals. Its commitment is to the entire spectrum of patient care, ranging from the best treatments and therapies, to the support of clinical research.
I will be speaking with Dr. Avi Weissman, a senior anesthesiologist at Rambam Health Care Campus and Director of Anesthesia of Rambam’s Ambulatory Surgery Center. Avi has been the Director of Medical Operations at Rambam since 2014. (24:20-47:15)
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Naftali Moses' sixteen-year-old son was murdered in a 2008 Palestinian terrorist attack in Jerusalem. After reading Colum McCann's book Apeirogon Naftali wrote an article for Mosaic magazine in which he expressed some serious reservations about the tenor of this book.
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Jonathan Turner is the CEO for UK Lawyers for Israel which is an association of lawyers who support Israel and seek to ensure that the rights of Israel and Israelis are respected. I will speak with him on the steps being taking in Britain to legislate against BDS and how his organisation is working to counter the widespread campaign to delegitimise the state of Israel by weaponizing international law.
[full interview]
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Filmmaker Michal Weits turns the camera back on her family and herself as she grapples with the legacy left by her great-grandfather Joseph Weits in her film BlueBox, screening at this year's Jewish International Film Festival next month.
The Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) ubiquitous Blue Box campaign was internationally successful in raising support for the purchase and forestation of land in early 20th century Palestine. Joseph Weits, filmmaker Michal Weits’ great-grandfather, was a key figure in the organisation.
[full interview]
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Filmmaker Michal Weits turns the camera back on her family and herself as she grapples with the legacy left by her great-grandfather Joseph Weits in her film BlueBox, screening at the Jewish International Film Festival next month.
The Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) ubiquitous Blue Box campaign was internationally successful in raising support for the purchase and forestation of land in early 20th century Palestine. Joseph Weits, filmmaker Michal Weits’ great-grandfather, was a key figure in the organisation. (0:40-27:09)
Jonathan Turner is the CEO for UK Lawyers for Israel which is an association of lawyers who support Israel and seek to ensure that the rights of Israel and Israelis are respected. I will speak with him on the steps being taking in Britain to legislate against BDS and how his organisation is working to counter the widespread campaign to delegitimise the state of Israel by weaponizing international law. (27:16-51:48)
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The Amnesty report accusing Israel of being an apartheid state is a libel that will no doubt increase the amount of antisemitism that the Jewish community is confronting. I tackle a post and remarks put up by the vice-president of APAN on the radio program 'Palestine Remembered' on 3CR that, besides being utterly false, contributes significantly to the pile of antisemitic abuse we are facing.
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Senator James Paterson, a member of the Senate in the Australian Parliament since 2016, was elected last year to be the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. I spoke with him about BDS, IHRA and the Amnesty International travesty. (1:55-28:43)
From last week's show second part of the interview with Professor Eliezer Tauber, whose recent book 'The Massacre That Never Was' proves that no massacre of Palestinians took place in the village of Deir Yassin in 1948, exploding a myth that has been the cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative for seven decades. (34:00-51:26)
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What really happened at Deir Yassin? In The Massacre That Never Was, an extraordinary work of engrossing narrative and exhaustive research, Professor Eliezer Tauber proves that no massacre of Palestinians took place in the village of Deir Yassin in 1948, exploding a myth that has been the cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative for seven decades.
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Richard Landes coined the term Pallywood ("Palestinian Hollywood"), which refers to "productions staged by the Palestinians, in front of (and often with cooperation from) Western camera crews, for the purpose of promoting anti-Israel propaganda by disguising it as news." Richard is an American historian and author who specializes in medieval millennial thinking. Until 2015 he taught at Boston University, and then began working at Bar-Ilan University, where his current interests include defending the politics of Israel in the light of what he calls media manipulation by Palestinians.
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Richard Landes coined the term Pallywood ("Palestinian Hollywood"), which refers to "productions staged by the Palestinians, in front of (and often with cooperation from) Western camera crews, for the purpose of promoting anti-Israel propaganda by disguising it as news." Richard is an American historian and author who specializes in medieval millennial thinking. Until 2015 he taught at Boston University, and then began working at Bar-Ilan University, where his current interests include defending the politics of Israel in the light of what he calls media manipulation by Palestinians. (3:40-29:49) [Listen to part 2 of this interview in the next program.]
What really happened at Deir Yassin? In The Massacre That Never Was, an extraordinary work of engrossing narrative and exhaustive research, Professor Eliezer Tauber proves that no massacre of Palestinians took place in the village of Deir Yassin in 1948, exploding a myth that has been the cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative for seven decades. (29:54-51:49) [Listen to part 2 of this interview in the next program.]
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You have been listening to Labor MP Josh Burns telling us that his party won't sell Israel down the river if Labor manages to gain power.
Following the Gaza conflagration last May a full page ad appeared in the Australian Jewish News for a number of weeks, no doubt making a huge dent in Josh's pro-Israel budget. In that ad Labor senator Kimberley Kitching joined Josh in stating, "Labor stood proudly with Israel when we pushed for its membership at the United Nations in 1949. Labor freinds of Israel include, famously Bob Hawke, Julia Gillard, the Victroian Premier Daniel Andrews and many, many others. We stand proudly with Israel today and will always defend its right to live in peace and security".
It seems that Josh's pro-Israel budget has run dry without a word coming from him or any of any his Labor colleagues to criticise the BDS bullying campaign that has been running against the Sydney Festival, because of the funding support that came its way from the Israeli embassy in Canberra.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese and opposition arts spokesman Tony Burke have refused to take a stance on the anti-Israel boycott disrupting the Sydney Festival, despite some nameless ALP colleagues privately voicing opposition to the campaign.
NSW opposition arts spokesman Walt Secord has been the only Labor member at either a state or federal level to publicly discuss the boycott. Jewish MP Mark Dreyfus, shadow attorney general, elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Isaacs, knows that if he expresses any public support for Israel that the large constituency of anti-Israel voices in his electorate will start screaming their opposition. Consequently Mark stays silent on a matter of serious concern to our community, preferring instead to ensure his seat remains securely Labor. The legality of BDS is being questioned, it is incumbent on Mark to tell us where he stands on it and not to be cowered by political expediencies.
Labor's silence is particular troubling because of what their allies have been saying. NSW Young Labor Left formerly headed by Anthony Albanese himself has backed the anti-Jewish boycott. Also coming out in support of the boycott have been the Maritime Union and the Media Union.
Despite longstanding party tensions concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr Albanese makes out that he is a trenchant opponent of the BDS movement. Last July, in an address to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Opposition Leader said he considered the BDS campaign as one “based upon a racial targeting of a group, in this case Israel”, and vowed to continue to oppose the movement. However in this case Albanese was addressing a captive Jewish audience; he has not demonstrated his willingness to echo his concerns to the wider community.
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Given how the Sydney Festival boycott has achieved such prominence for the BDS bullies I believe we need to get more active in denouncing their israelophobic bigotry. I recorded this segment to be included with this week's replay of a highlight from my program in 2021.
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Ruth Eshel, former dancer/choreographer and critic at Haaretz for 27 years, unfolds a wealth of dance going back to before Israel was even a country. She has spent the last 20 years honing her book 'Dance Spreads Its Wings' and we speak about how dance has developed in Israel and about those who have contributed to its popularity. (0:37-33:19)
Jamie Hyams, senior policy analyst at AIJAC, joins me to discuss an intriguing discovery that James Carleton speaks about in an episode 'Disagreeing Well' that appeared on the ABC's God Forbid program. I am alluding to a unique interview that James's father Richard Carleton did in 1970 with PFLP leader Ghassan Kanafani, who soon after was assassinated by the Mossad. (33:29-51:27)
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Simon Plosker is the Managing Editor for UN Watch, an organisation dedicated to holding the United Nations accountable to its founding principles. There have been 20 UNGA resolutions this year, 14, which is 70%, targeting Israel for admonition.
Three resolutions have been passed recently. including one on Jerusalem, and another on the Golan Heights. Many of these are sponsored by Arab and Muslim states. Some are co-sponsored by the worst human rights abusers in the world, such as Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea.
[This is the 'full' version of the interview with Simon Plosker.]
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David Matas is legal counsel for B'nai Brith Canada, which is a major supporter of Israel. We examine the fallout from the Valentina Azarova affair, whereby the University of Toronto came under huge pressure to accept Azarova's candidature for the position of director of the law school’s International Human Rights Program.
David has written an article 'Antisemitism at Canadian Universities' in which he contends that there is a problem of antisemitism at Canadian universities. He says that one obvious indicator is that the number of Canadian universities, which have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance endorsed working definition of antisemitism, is zero. (00:37-24:46)
Simon Plosker is the Managing Editor for UN Watch, an organisation dedicated to holding the United Nations accountable to its founding principles. There have been 20 UNGA resolutions this year, 14, which is 70%, targeting Israel for admonition.
Three resolutions have been passed recently. including one on Jerusalem, and another on the Golan Heights. Many of these are sponsored by Arab and Muslim states. Some are co-sponsored by the worst human rights abusers in the world, such as Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea. (24:56-51:48)
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The Leadership Dialogue Institute is a private diplomatic channel fostering closer cultural ties between Australia, the UK, and Israel.
Musician, businessman and philanthropist Albert Dadon AM launched the Australia Israel Leadership Forum in 2009, quickly broadening its scope to include the U.K.
The ‘Institute’ is a think tank comprising political, academic, and business leaders and personalities who are willing and eager to exchange on crucial, meaningful, delicate, and sometimes taboo topics.
The annual Leadership Dialogue run by the 'Institute' will take place December 13-16 and Albert Dadon will tell us what is in store. (00:52-23:28)
American political commentator and author Thomas L. Friedman just wrote an article for the NYT titled Trump's Iran Policy Has Become a Disaster for the U.S. and Israel. I will speak with Barry Shaw, a spokesperson for the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies, who will eviscerate Friedman's claim that the decision to scrap the Iran nuclear deal, urged on by secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was one of the dumbest, most poorly thought out and counterproductive U.S. national security decisions of the post-Cold War era. (23:38-46:16)
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Malaysia was refusing to grant visas for Israeli players to participate in the squash world championship in early December - the tournament has now been cancelled. This has been the latest instance of the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, attempting to bar Israeli athletes from the country. I spoke with chairman of the Israel Squash Assocation, Aviv Bushinsky about this episode. (00:59-43:18)
Following my program last week about the BDS protest that took place at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, an article appeared in the Fairfax-Nine media reinforcing a view that the Israeli Film Fund requires grantees to sign a loyalty pledge to receive funding. (43:28-51:25)
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At the Jam Factory screening of the Israeli film 'The Swimmer' at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) there was a protest of about 50 people appearing under the banner of the anti-Zionist group the Tzedek Collective.
There had been pressure put on to the MQFF committee to have the film removed from the program, because the protesters oppose what they call Israeli apartheid and pinkwashing of alleged oppression of Palestinians. (0:37-27:23)
I got two reactions to this opportunistic BDS initiative:
spokesperson for Aleph Melbourne Michael Barnett (1:04-7:55)
Jerusalem Post film critic Hannah Brown (7:55-26:10)
Daniel Seaman, seasoned media observer, has served the Israeli Government in various roles over the past 30 years, including Director of the Government Press Office and most recently as the Deputy Director General for Information at the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. He has served as an adviser and spokesperson to the governments of six Prime Ministers. These days he serves periodically as a political analyst and commentator on Israel channel 20. (27:23-51:01)
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Gideon Behar is the Ambassador at Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Previously he occupied the post of Head of Bureau for Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the post of Special Envoy for African Affairs. Between 2011-2016 he was Director of the Department for Combating Antisemitism and Holocaust Remembrance. He served as Israel’s Ambassador to Senegal 2006-2011. He currently teaches a course on “The impacts of Climate Change on International Relations” at Hebrew University. (00:48-32:10)
Hear part 2 of an extensive interview with Ofer Cassif MK who belongs to the Hadash party and is the sole Jewish member of the Joint List. (32:25-51:19)
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During the first intifada Ofer Cassif MK was the first person to refuse to serve in Judea and Samaria, for which he was imprisoned four times. At the same time, he joined the Communist Party and the Hadash movement, in which he held—and still holds—leadership positions. He was elected to the Knesset in September 2019, 2020 and 2021 as part of the Joint List. (0:32-29:50)
Jerusalem Post diplomatic correspondent Lahav Harkov has just returned from her trip to Glasgow, where she took part in the international COP26 climate conference, alongside Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. She will tell us a little about what Israel is doing to deal with climate change.(29:51-49:12)
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AIJAC research associate Dr Ran Porat explains that there is ample evidence to substantiate that the 6 Palestinian NGOs banned by Israel are PFLP-affiliated. He suggests why donor nations and Palestinian civil society is so outraged at Gantz's order declaring these NGOS in the West Bank as terrorist organizations. (0:42-25:04)
Sefi Shalam works as the Shaliach (Israel Emissary) to the Australian Progressive Community on behalf of the Jewish Agency. Motty Goodman is his counterpart working with Bnei Akiva. Coming from opposing backgrounds in Israel, Sefi a left-wing secular-Reform city-boy and Motty a Modern-Orthodox settler they often don't agree. They re-visiting key events in Israeli modern history - 2005 disengagement from Gaza and the 1994 peace prize given to Arafat, Rabin and Peres.
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Dr Dana Barnett has written an article for the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies with the controversial title 'The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism Is Itself Antisemitic'. The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) was created to replace the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which so far has been adopted by some 36 countries including Australia a week ago. Dana explains why writers of the Jerusalem Declaration want to steer away from the adoption of IHRA.
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir and Major General (Res) Gershon Hacohen continue their debate in part 2 on Alon's proposition 'The Occupation Severely Endangers, Not Enhances, Israel’s National Security'
Dr Dana Barnett specializes in the nexus between post-Zionism and the Israeli academy. Following the announcement by PM Scott Morrison to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism there has been a hue and cry from so-called progressive elements in the community to drop IHRA in favour of the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, which Dr Barnett contends is in itself antisemitic.
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute. Ben-Meir is an expert on Middle East and West Balkan affairs, international negotiations, and conflict resolution.
Major General (Res) Gershon Hacohen, a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, was responsible for the Israeli pullout from Gaza, which he believes was a grave mistake. He has written a comprehensive report 'The West Bank’s Area C: Israel’s Eastern Line of Defense', highlighting the need for Israel to maintain its national security.
This week Alon and Gershon locked horns in the first part of an extensive debate/discussion on the premise 'The Occupation Severely Endangers, Not Enhances, Israel’s National Security'
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Hadar Sela works for CAMERA-UK (formerly UK Media Watch and BBC Watch), dedicated to promoting fair, accurate and balanced coverage of Israel in the British media – challenging inaccurate, skewed and often inflammatory characterisations of Israel that mislead news consumers and policy makers – and often fuels anti-Jewish racism.
This is the full interview.
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Yona Schiffmiller, Director of Research at NGO Monitor, explaining the case of Mohammed El-Halabi, the manager of operations in Gaza of the international humanitarian NGO World Vision, accused of funnelling 60% of World Vision’s Gaza budget to the terrorist group Hamas. (0:41-27:02)
Hadar Sela works for CAMERA-UK (formerly UK Media Watch and BBC Watch), an organisation dedicated to promoting fair, accurate and balanced coverage of Israel in the British media – challenging inaccurate, skewed and often inflammatory characterisations of Israel that mislead news consumers and policy makers – and often fuels anti-Jewish racism
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Major General (Res) Gershon Hacohen, a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, was responsible for the Israeli pullout from Gaza, which he believes was a grave mistake. We discuss his article Israeli Arabs’ Violent Lawlessness: An Existential Threat. (0:53-34:55)
Tsadok Yecheskeli is team Israel Start-Up Nation media director, who spoke about the achievements of this cycling initiative with its multi-pronged vision. Watch the video documentary Racing for Change to be really inspired. (36:05-59:15)
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Major General (Reserves) Gershon Hacohen, who served in the IDF for 42 years, commanding troops in battle on the Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian fronts. He was a Corps commander, and commander of the IDF. Today Gershon is a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
David Collier is an investigative journalist, fighting antisemitism and the delegitimisation of Israel. He attended the 2021 conference of the British Labour Party where a resolution was passed condemning Israel for allegedly perpetrating an “ongoing Nakba in Palestine.”
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Josh Feldman caught my eye when he wrote a piece titled 'We Need to Start Teaching Jewish Youth About the Nakba' that appeared in the Australian Jewish News at the end of August. (0:40-28:40)
Ron Finkel has been at the helm of Hadassah Australia for many years doing what he calls Impact Philanthropy in Israel and Australia, playing an ongoing, constructive role in building Israeli civil society. (29:05-48:52)
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Comments about an AFOPA online event 'Medical Apartheid. Unequal impact of COVID 19 on Israel & Palestine', a segment from the 3CR radio program 'Palestine Remembered' and the EcoPeace online event 'A Climate Ripe for Change: Can the Middle East Survive the Climate Crisis Without an Overhaul of the Geopolitical Climate?'
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Sharren Haskel is a member of the Knesset for the New Hope party. She formerly served as a member of the Knesset for Likud. She was the youngest member of Likud and the second youngest member of the 20th Knesset. Joining the interview was Alex Goodman, Friends of Likud Australia president.
The conversation covered a range of topics: the Sheikh Jarrah evictions case (0:51) the message of 'New Hope' - the party Sharren Haskel represents in the Knesset (6:45) the stability of the Israeli government coalition (13:25) bill to decriminalise marijhuana use put by Sharren to the Knesset (27:04) Sharren's involvement with the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (30:05) prospects for the meeting between Israeli PM Naftali Bennett and US President Joe Biden (38:07) the Mohammed el-Halabi fraud trial (46:47) Sharren's Knesset aspirations (53:07)
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Before the Acting Israeli Ambassador to Australia Jonathan Peled returns to Israel to see what the Israeli Foreign Ministry under the guidance of Israel's new government will decide what to do vis-a-vis the position of Israeli Ambassador to Australia I caught up with Jonathan to consider a few curly questions and to reflect on the short time he has spent in Australia working on the Israel-Australia relationship.
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Ran is Deputy Director of the Kohelet Policy Forum, a very influential organisation in Israel that strives to secure Israel's future as the nation-state of the Jewish people, to strengthen representative democracy, and to broaden individual liberty and free-market principles in Israel. Ran's fields of interest include constitutional law, international law, and public diplomacy. Ran is a former Mixed Martial Arts national champion of Israel, a prodigious author, and an international public speaker who has reached an audience of 100,000+.
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In part 3 of my interview with Raphael Cohen-Almagor we talk about his monthly newsletter about Israel, that focuses particularly on democracy, human rights, politics and society. We hear Raphael's analysis of the outcome of Israel's latest elections and then Raphael tells us about how he has been involved in instigating motions and campaigns on a multitude of issues throughout his academic career, the latest being his fight against Holocaust denial.
I also allude to the news that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a letter to the Conservative Friends of Israel announced that the UK opposes the International Criminal Court investigation into war crimes by Israel.
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In part 2 of my interview with Raphael Cohen-Almagor we talk about the difficulties he has encountered at the University of Hull establishing a forum at the university, where issues concerning Israel and its role in the Middle East can be discussed.
Raphael via the Middle East Study Group at Hull University provides a platform for a range of speakers and subject-matter experts, the last in the series being Noam Chomsky on the topic 'A Moment of Peril and Challenge'.
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In part 1 of my interview (in 3 parts) with Raphael Cohen-Almagor we discuss his being at the University of Hull in the UK, remember an Oxford union debate in which Raphael spoke against the motion: 'This House Believes a Two-State Solution in the Middle East is Unattainable' and then hear about a book he is working on, aiming to provide a detailed analysis of three decades of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), from the start of the Oslo process in 1993until now. His book will analyse the reasons for the failed peace process, the role of third-party mediation and facilitation, and the keys for successful negotiations.
Raphael's aim ostensibly is not to provide a comprehensive historical account of the peace forces from 1993 until present time. Rather he strives to understand why despite the abundant efforts of so many people, including very powerful people such as president of the United States, still the people of Israel and Palestine are so far from peace.
(Music: Ishay Ribo - Lashuv Habaita)
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Labor MP Josh Burnsspeaks about the recent moves by the ALP to give prominence to its support for the formation of a Palestinian state. He explains where he stands on the subject of Israel-Palestine and how he demonstrates his support for Israel. (0:45-24:38)
Barry Shawis the Senior Associate for Public Diplomacy at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies. He will discuss the forthcoming Israeli elections and what might be the outcome. (27:49-50:43)
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Times of Israel senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur will discuss the outfall from the recent ruling by Israel's High Court of Justice on non-Orthodox conversions. (0:29-18:43)
David Collier is a pro-Israel activist, who has infiltrated the British Labour Party and pro-Palestinian groups to expose the virulent anti-semitism existing there. (18:43-50:14)
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David Collier is a British pro-Israel activist, who has infiltrated the British Labour Party and pro-Palestinian groups to expose the virulent anti-semitism existing there.
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(Full interview)
In Ami Ayalon's memoir 'Friendly Fire' he delivers his basic message that according to him one of the main reasons Israel has failed to make peace with the Palestinians is that Israelis don't acknowledge the essential humanity of the Palestinians and are too driven by fear.
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In Ami Ayalon's memoir 'Friendly Fire' he delivers his basic message that according to him one of the main reasons Israel has failed to make peace with the Palestinians is that Israelis don't acknowledge the essential humanity of the Palestinians and are too driven by fear.
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