The Twenty-Percenter – Beyond Jewish stereotypes –

A column dedicated to the centrality of “marginal” Jews to the Diaspora experience….

Trying to get upstairs to a session on social justice at Limmud Oz this year was like being a homing salmon swimming upstream…against a torrent of angry bears all rushing headlong towards the latest visiting overseas luminary  holding court on “The Situation” in Israel. Read more

British analyst briefs Sydney’s Inner West community

British Israel analyst,  Alan Johnson has presented to Sydney’s Inner West Jewish community a cutting-edge update on the latest developments in post-election Israel. Read more

Friends of Israel v Friends of Palestine

A second member of the NSW Parliament has joined Labor MP Shaoquet Moselmane in supporting a student move to disassociate the University of Sydney from the Technion in Haifa…and Sydney University itself has expressed its thoughts on the affair. Read more

Petition demands university breaks ties with Technion

An online petition has been created demanding that the University of Sydney cuts ties with the Technion in Israel. Read more

Protesting for Gaza

Demonstrations supporting Gaza took place in Australian cities yesterday. Read more

Two ALP issues

Labor stalwart Michael Danby updates J-Wire on the Government support for World Vision which in turn is supporting an an alleged an anti-Israel NGO and the motion against BDS in Parliament last week…. Read more

BDS motion sparks strong reaction

A motion in parliament condemning boycotts divestment and sanctions put forward by Liberal MP Arthur Sinodnos, created problems for the Government when they sided with Greens to oppose it. Read more

Greens Punished for their support of fringe issues including BDS

NSW voters “thumped and punished” the Greens in the weekend NSW local government elections for their support for their support of fringe issues like the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) which attempted to de-legitimise the State of Israel. Read more

Big Weekend for JCA

Sydney’s JCA held two successful fundraisers over the weekend featuring keynote speakers Olympic champion Alisa Camplin and London suicide bombing survivor Gill Hicks. Read more

Hoenig commits to Friends of Israel

Ron Hoenig,  the Labor candidate for the NSW State seat Heffron,  has announced that he will join the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel, if  elected to the NSW Parliament in this month’s by-election. Read more

The Silence of the Greens

Melissa Parke, the Federal Labor Member for Fremantle moved a motion  in Parliament last night on the subject of Human Rights in Iran. The Liberal Member for Higgins Kelly O’Dwyer, brought into play President Ahmadinejad’s views on Israel, the Holocaust and questioned the silence of the Greens. Read more

Four journos report on trip to Israel

More than 300 people in Sydney have heard four senior journalists report to the community on their impressions after participating in the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ Journalists Mission to Israel. Read more

Open letter to Akiva Eldar

Akiva Eldar wrote an article in Haaretz.com headlined “Israel is shaming Australian Jews. Danny Rod writes him an open letter…. Read more

That was the year that was….in Israel

It has been a really big year of highs and lows for Israel, so I thought I would take this time to reflect on the year that was in Israel…writes Emily Gian. Read more

Nemesh – support in Parliament

Luke Foley, the LEader of the Opposition in the NSW Parliament has added his voice to the posters affair in which members of the Greens registered a complaint to the police that a printer’s name had been omitted from posters organised by Dr John Nemesh…a complaint which led to yesterday’s court appearance by Dr Nemesh and the dismissal of charges against him. Read more

Greens case against doctor dismissed

Charges against Dr John Nemesh for failing to print the name of the printer on poster he put up dissuading Marrickville residents from voting for the Greens. have been dropped. Read more

No Israel Guidelines for NSW Trade office in the Emirates

The NSW State Government has been forced to admit that it has no guidelines in place on the Arab boycott of Israel for its newly opened United Arab Emirates trade and investment office. Read more

BDS hammered in NSW Legislative Council

Only one voice  in the NSW Legislative Council was heard following the debate on a motion condemning BDS…the same voice that declared to the Council  during debate “as an Australian Jew…” Read more

Abetz on the ACCC

Senator Eric Abetz, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, has addressed the Senate on the respone of the ACCC to the Senate’s motion against the anti-Israel BDS campaign directed at the Max Brenner Chocolate shops. Read more

Danby on Durban III

Federal Labor M.P. Michael Danby addressed Parliament yesterday on the Durban III Review conference to be held in New York later this month. Australia will not participate in this conference which instead of combating racism has historically promoted it. Read more

Why Australia should not support a Palestinian bid to unilaterally declare a State at the UN

SEPTEMBER 20. That’s the date that now looms like a dark cloud on the Middle East horizon after the decision by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to request formal recognition of the state of Palestine by the UN….writes Albert Dadon. Read more

Austen asks the question Q&A cannot answer

Jewish comedian Austen Tayshus, aka Sandy Gutman, was on the front foot against Greens senator-elect Lee Rhiannon on ABC’s Q&A program on Monday night. Read more

Plenum at Newtown

Newtown Synagogue is to be the venue of a NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ monthly plenum for the second time in the 66-year history of the Board. Read more

Bishop questioning of Labor’s support for Israel answered

J-Wire published a statement by Shadow Foreign Minister Julie Bishop questioning Labor’s support for Israel following a Labor blocking of a Coalition motion condemning Marrickville Council. A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd responds… Read more

Coalition questions Labor’s Israel Support

Shadow Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has slammed the Federal Government for failing to support a motion condemning Marrickville Council’s December decision to support boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Read more

Slezak and Limmud-Oz

Limmud-Oz organizers have sought to explain their actions in banning presenters from their festival. Read more

BDS Slammed by the Senate

Liberal Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz has issued a statement on behalf of the Senate condemning Labor, the Greens and the unions over their Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] against Israel. Read more

Ron Weiser and the New Israel Fund

“The New Israel Fund through its grantees has contributed to the betterment of society within Israel” says Ron Weiser, Honorary Life President of the Zionist Council of NSW. But wait there’s more…. Read more

Israel – A Boycott Without A Buoy

The recent attempt by the Marrickville Council in Sydney to impose a boycott on its purchase of Israeli goods and products spectacularly collapsed after the Council was advised by its Chief Officer that enforcing the boycott would cost its ratepayers four million dollars. Read more

Thank you, Fiona

Sir,

As we celebrate the Passover festival, I along with no doubt, many fellow members of the Jewish community would like to give thanks to Fiona Byrne. Every year as we re-visit the story of the Exodus of the Jews from years of victimisation at the hands of the Egyptian pharaohs, we are instructed to feel as though we ourselves are coming out of slavery. Living in Australia, where we as a community thrive and enjoy the greatest freedom and acceptance, finding contemporary analogies has often entailed drawing a pretty long bow.

Enter Marrickville Council and their attempted myopic boycott of the Jewish State and parallels of victimisation abound. Fiona Byrne has every right to support the Palestinian’s entitlement to greater freedom but this needs to be coupled to the principle of mutual recognition, something lacking on the part of extremists on both sides as well as the Boycott movement.

David Faktor

Bondi

 

 

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