Betrayal, lies, politics and grief
Seven years have passed since criminal charges were brought in Washington, D.C., against the woman who murdered my sunny, lovely, empathetic 15-year-old daughter Malki. The anniversary of the charges being made public was on March 14…writes Arnold Roth. Read more
Reader’s letter: “Where’s the Jews?”
“Police find no evidence of anti-Semitic chant at pro-Palestine rally”. Read more
New Zealand must stop funding hate
Like-minded democracies have said they will freeze funding to the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) after evidence that UNRWA employees participated in the October 07 Hamas-led massacre of Israelis. Read more
POSITION VACANT – SYDNEY
The Sydney Jewish Museum seeks a full-time experienced Fundraising Manager Read more
Weaponising the crime of genocide
All too often, the murder of people begins with the murder of language… writes Daniel Taub. Read more
A partially religious assessment of the Hamas-Israel conflict
In an op-ed in The Australian, foreign editor Greg Sheridan gave a partially religious assessment of the Hamas-Israel conflict in a column headlined “Israel has acted with morality in Hamas war”.
In part, he wrote, “There’s a lot of wishful thinking that Arab nations, Egypt, Jordan etc, might provide security.” He failed to mention the history of those two Arab nations with respect to their Palestinian cousins. On 17 September 1970, the Jordanian Army surrounded Jordanian cities with a significant Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) presence and shelled fedayeen posts that were operating from Palestinian refugee camps.
The conflict only ended in July 1971, when the fedayeen were expelled to Lebanon, which led to the creation of the terrorist Black September movement. When, in 1978, Israel’s Menachem Begin and Egypt’s Anwar Sadat signed their historic peace treaty, Israel returned all formerly Egyptian territory, except the Gaza Strip, which Egypt refused to take back. Could that be the reason that Arab nations have not offered to take in any displaced Gazan Arabs in the current conflict? Our Australian government has issued visas to 860 Palestinians. Arab nations refuse to follow suit. Perhaps they fear history repeating. Despite the ugly Australian anti-Jewish incidents to date, we hope that history will not repeat here.
Alan Slade
Dover Heights, Sydney
Send a letter to the J-Wire by emailing letters@jwire.com.au
The loss of life in Israel and Gaza is heartbreaking
As a woman, I am sickened by the abduction and murder of babies and the use of rape and kidnapping of women and girls in the brutal attack by Hamas on the 7th of October – a heartbreaking and unfathomable day on which Hamas violently took 240 innocent hostages, a condemned terrorist organisation, and a devastating day on which the Jewish people experienced the greatest loss of life since the Holocaust. Read more
Why the referendum holds special meaning for Australia’s Jewish community
Collective Jewish memory is the essence of our faith. It is the intimate knowledge that exists deep within each of us and belongs to all of us…writes Dr Aharon Friedland. Read more
The story of the Ulmas’ martyrdom should be known worldwide
As Poles, we are proud that on 10 September 2023, the Ulma family, our compatriots, will be added to the ranks of the Blessed of the Catholic Church…writes Andrzej Duda. Read more
Nazi salute ban is just part of ridding our society of hate symbols
With welcome news that legislation in Victoria has now banned the “Nazi Salute” a new standard has been set for Victorian and Australian society…writes Perry Q. Wood. Read more
Chabad of RARA travels 20,000km to provide connection to every Jew in regional Australia
Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia, famously known as “RARA”, has had a record-setting past two months. During this time, eight bochurim have travelled thousands of kilometres around Australia in search of Jewish people in far-flung places. Read more
London exhibit explores the ‘triumphant’ Jewish history of cricket
Crickets may not be kosher, but the sport played with a bat and ball certainly is … and has a long Jewish history. Read more
Netanyahu gets an invitation to the White House
U.S. President Joe Biden this week hosts Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The purpose of the visit and speech to Congress is to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary. However, the absence of a formal invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until just before the trip added policy dimensions… writes David Wurmser. Read more
The Tales of Hoffmann
An opera review by Murray Dahm Read more
Napoleon was right about the Jews
With the barrage of untruths emanating from Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and his underlings, it is always a welcome and refreshing phenomenon when world leaders recognise and speak the truth about Israel and the Jews…writes Joseph Frager. Read more
CNN promotes anti-Israel propaganda for children
Children’s author Ibtisam Barakat wants to use kids’ books “to keep the Palestinian dream of a homeland alive”…writes Marjorie Gann. Read more
A Sydneysider joins the demonstrations in Israel
With his camera at the ready, Sydney photography enthusiast David Itzkowic hit the streets in Israel to capture the mood of the ongoing Saturday night protests in Israel. Read more
CNN’s antisemitic disgrace
When CNN came under new leadership last year, its message to the public was that the network wanted to “rebuild trust as a non-partisan news brand”… writes David M. Litman. Read more
‘Operation Shield and Arrow’ seeks to reestablish Israeli deterrence
The Israeli Air Force surprised Palestinian Islamic Jihad early on Tuesday with a series of strikes and targeted assassinations in the Gaza Strip. Read more
Wesley Edward BROWNE OAM
On the eve of ANZAC Day, J-Wire publishes his obituary of late father Wesley Browne written by his Garry. Wesley Brown was a highly-respected member of Sydney’s Jewish community involved in preserving the memories of those Jewish Australians who served in their country’s military. Read more
We are custodians of this memory: 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In April 1943, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Germans occupying the Polish capital surrounded the Warsaw Ghetto – the Jewish quarter they had created – in preparation for its final liquidation…writes Prof. Piotr Gliński. Read more
A cavalier approach?
On 13 February 2023, J-Wire published an opinion piece by Ruthie Blum entitled: “Three Jewish Funerals and an Israeli Hate-Fest”. Read more
There are no two sides here
No, there are no “two sides”. And no, it’s not the “occupation”. And no, it’s not that “they don’t have a political outlook”…writes Ben-Dror Yemini. Read more
South Africans expose the ‘Israeli apartheid’ fallacy
More and more these days, people are calling Israel an apartheid state…writes Paul Schneider. Read more
Netanyahu: Blinken visit sign of ‘unbreakable’ US-Israel bond
The U.S.-Israel relationship is one of modern history’s great alliances, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Read more
Israeli army boosts forces in West Bank
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged a “strong, swift and precise” response to a deadly Palestinian shooting attack near a synagogue on Jerusalem’s outskirts as its military sends more troops into the occupied West Bank. Read more
Majority of Dutch adults don’t know the Holocaust occurred in the Netherlands, study finds
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) on Wednesday released a new study which exposed a disturbing lack of awareness of key historical facts about the Holocaust and the Netherlands’ own connection to Holocaust history. Read more
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich: Israel’s power couple
Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the outgoing chief of the Israel Defence Forces general staff, probably never thought he would need to call the incoming prime minister over a political matter in his last month of service…writes Ksenia Svetlova. Read more
Everyone knows ‘Ma’oz Tzur,’ except they don’t
The lights are kindled, the shamash is returned to its place, and the family breaks into song: It is a rousing, march-like melody that is the aural equivalent of the menorah’s light—energy, joy and hope in the depth of winter, a promise of rebirth…writes Sarah Ogince. Read more
The Iranian regime is intensifying its violence against protesters
The wave of protests and social upheaval that erupted in Iran following 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands of Iran’s morality police, who had detained her for “improperly” wearing her hijab, has not died down…writes Ioannis E. Kotoulas. Read more