By James Moore  

I suppose it is an easy argument to make that anyone who sets themselves on fire has mental health issues. Aaron Bushnell, however, seemed beset with conflicts of political morality. When the young active-duty U.S. Air Force serviceman put himself to flame outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., he said, and wrote, in advance that he would not be complicit in a genocide. He suggested the suffering of Palestinians under Israeli assault and American support was far more than the brief pain he was about to endure, and he would not be complicit in a genocide.

“Free Palestine, free Palestine,” he screamed as the fire brought him down.

The video, even blurred in parts, is hard to watch. Bushnell calmly narrates his act as he walks toward the embassy. In another distinctly American moment, a cop or Secret Service officer runs up and unholsters his gun and points it with two hands at the man dying on the ground. Did he expect fire from within the fire? An extinguisher was quickly used but Bushnell was declared dead after emergency transport.

The U.S. media did not know how to handle the tragedy. Anchors and pundits were clearly uncomfortable discussing the act and too often implied it was the product of a troubled mind more than politics. The goal was to get on the record with the story and then move on quickly to the broader generalities afflicting the American scene. We are a parochial nation and tend to view foreign affairs as mostly irrelevant until we see flag draped caskets arriving on our shores. Even the use of billions of our tax dollars to affect what is increasingly looking like a genocide does not seem to be of significant political or cultural consequence. Each death of a Palestinian child is seemingly justified with the mundane and hackneyed catch phrase, “Israel has a right to defend itself.”

Establishment news sources immediately set about the business of diminishing Bushnell’s act. One publication ended its report by offering up suicide hotlines for anyone troubled and considering self-harm, as if Bushnell were lacking his full faculties when he decided to create the ultimate form of political protest. The religious convictions of his parents were being characterized as cultist and coverage frequently implied he was close to anarchist groups that supported Hamas, even though the Palestinian youth groups he liked on Facebook all denounced Hamas and its leader Mahmoud Abbas. Bushnell was raised by two loving parents in a compound of Christians known as “The Community of Jesus,” which former members have successfully sued and publicly criticized. All indications are that he was no longer a member after he left four years ago and joined the Air Force. Colleagues who knew him in the military as a software engineer-in-training, described him as kind, soft-hearted, and caring, the diametric opposite of the angry radical as he is being portrayed in widespread reporting.

Bushnell, who was scheduled to leave the military in less than three months at the end of a four-year hitch, was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base here in Texas. The Pentagon was slow to offer a response to his dramatic act but when it finally did, the thematic overtones were predictable. It was “tragic” but the U.S. military’s “support of Israel’s right to defend itself remains ironclad.” The spokesman also told a news conference that the U.S. continues to urge Israel to make careful considerations to reduce civilian casualties, advice which has clearly gone unheeded since the five-month invasion has now cost more than 30,000 lives. A potential cease fire for hostage exchanges will slow a death count in Gaza but Israel’s Netanyahu has promised to invade Rafah when the conflict resumes. About 1.5 million Palestinians are in refugee camps at that spot and cannot be relocated, which indicates bloodshed of innocents will be massive.

Given American media’s response to Bushnell’s dramatic act, expecting a political swing against Israel is a waste of intellectual energy. He is clearly being marginalized as a madman, but people frustrated with their ability to have an individual impact on horrible situations can sometimes be compelled to act irrationally, or, perhaps with more courage than can be comprehended by observers. Self-immolation is not a new form of political protest and has had some historic importance. The Arab Spring, in fact, which forced out many heads of state in the Mideast, began when a Tunisian street vendor self-immolated in 2010. A similar act occurred outside the Israeli Embassy in Atlanta last December by a woman carrying a Palestinian flag. A self-sacrificial form of complete defiance, which is, arguably, also a surrender to helplessness, first gained notoriety during the Vietnam War.

In the states, it began with an 82-year-old woman pouring lighter fluid over herself and touching it to flame to protest the War in Vietnam in 1965. A Quaker, Alice Herz, according to her daughter, did not suffer “from delusion or psychological compulsion but “had an idea about the need to do something to call attention to the gravity of the situation.” A few months later, another Quaker, pacifist Norman Morrison, drove from Baltimore to the Pentagon and burned himself alive outside the office window of the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara. Morrison was holding his child. Herz and Morrison appeared to be emulating another self-immolator, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk who burned himself alive in Saigon a few years earlier to protest the policies of his country’s president, which were increasingly favorable to the Catholic Church and not the Buddhist majority. Buddhists claimed discrimination and persecution under President Ngo Dinh Diem. Recurrent demonstrations and unrelenting public outrage in Vietnam followed the death of Quang Duc and Buddhist monks united with civilians to press for democratic reforms, religious freedom, and human rights.

No account was ever made of the number of Buddhists who duplicated Quang Duc’s final decision but it became a frequent occurrence as the war ramped up and oppression increased against their religion. Eight Americans chose it as a form of protest on their home country’s soil during the Vietnam Era. Although these acts are profound forms of protest to war and other injustices, there tends to always be a religious subtext. In Vietnam, Cardinal Frances Spellman of the New York City Archdiocese, saw the U.S. presence in Vietnam as a chance to expand the church, and worked closely with the Diem regime. Policies became increasingly repressive for the Buddhist majority as the war wagged on and Catholics worked to increase baptisms. The only difference between the plight of Vietnam Buddhists in the sixties and that of the Palestinians is the worship of a different god. The IDF, meanwhile, acts as America’s proxy army instead of the Pentagon sending in our troops, which emotionally disconnects the dying from Americans determined to avert their eyes.

We hardly seem to care anymore, even when the blood flows in our own streets.

This article was originally published on Texas to the world.

Homelessness Australia Media Release

Homelessness Australia has strongly endorsed the Federal Government’s decision to plug a $73 million funding shortfall for homelessness services.

Funding for the Equal Remuneration Order (ERO) supplementation for homelessness services to cover the wages of the workforce was due to expire in July 2024.

Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin congratulated the Government for listening to front-line homelessness workers.

“This decision, communicated in the Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council meeting communique released today, will give certainty to hundreds of homelessness workers who are on the front lines of the housing crisis,” she said.

“The Federal Government has listened to a broad coalition of leading homelessness advocates and unions which fought for this funding to be locked in.

“It’s clear from this decision the government recognises the depth of the housing crisis and committed to working with homelessness services to tackle it.

“The reality on the ground is heartbreaking. Every day, families and children are left without a roof over their heads, sleeping in cars or worse.

“Workers in this sector face enough challenges without worrying about their job security.

“The Federal Government’s move will be a huge relief for not only the workers affected but the people who they help every single day.”

By Bert Hetebry  

The term Genocide was first used in 1945 to describe the deliberate, targeted killing of Jews by the German Nazi regime. It was a very specific term coined to describe the Nazi policies of systematic murder during the Holocaust combining the Greek word for race or tribe (geno) with the Latin word for killing (cide).

The word was first used in a legal setting during the Nuremberg Trials by a young lawyer, Benjamin Ferencz who was a chief prosecutor at those trials. A fresh faced young lawyer, just 27 years old, a small man, 5ft 2inches or just short of 1.6metres tall had to stand on a pile of books when he addressed the court so he could look over the lectern. Apart from using the word genocide, the phrase ‘crimes against humanity’ was used to place the actions of 22 men who oversaw and commandeered the Holocaust were seen to be tried not just as war criminals but criminals in a far deeper sense. War crimes happen in war, soldiers kill soldiers and bomb places where there may be ‘collateral damage’, but the Holocaust was an action aimed at eliminating people based on their race, their religion and their ideologies.

The German military, including the SS under the control of the Nazis were thorough in documenting their activities and reporting to the various government agencies including the ‘elimination of Jews, Gypsies and enemies of the Reich’, and these records were carefully archived and then used as evidence in prosecuting the case against those senior figures who were still alive and able to face the court.

As a result of the Second World War and the exposure of the inhumanity, the organised slaughter of about 13million people who were not soldiers fighting a war, as evidenced in the aftermath of the war, the opening of the death camps, the written records of those who reported their work to their superiors and the conducting of the Nuremberg Trial, a criminal trial, not a war crimes trial before impartial judges, the newly formed United Nations Organisation commissioned the Declaration of Human Rights  which was presented to the General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948.

A further flow on from the Nuremberg Trials and the work of Ben Ferencz was the International Criminal Court in The Hague which recently heard charges against the State of Israel from South Africa over the devastation of Gaza and the treatment of the Palestinians who live in that enclave.

Unfortunately, crimes against humanity have continued despite the Declaration of Human Rights that all nations have signed up to. We witnessed the horrors of the Vietnam war with indiscriminate poisoning using Agent Orange, a defoliant and poison that caused birth defects spina bifida, cleft palate, limb deformities, structural heart disease and hypothyroidism, the murderous Pol Pot regime in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, the Cultural Revolution in China with its re-education camps, Biafra, and so many more post-colonial wars, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. and on and on goes the list.

And most recently, the ongoing conflict in Israel.

The catalyst for the devastation being wrought on Gaza and the Palestinian people was a brutal attack on a Kibbutz and Music Festival which saw about 1200 Israelis killed and 240 taken as hostages by the armed militia, Hamas. An unspeakable act of terrorism.

Rarely however is there mention of the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government, the virtual imprisonment of two and a half million people in the most densely populated area in the world, the Gaza Strip, an area of 365 square kilometres. (The Perth Metropolitan area of over 6,300 square kilometres has a similar population.) Nor of the treatment of Palestinians who live on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem and the intimidation they are subjected to from settler communities who are building  new settlements as the Palestinians are forced or bullied off their lands. Nor the intimidation of multiple security checks, sometimes a matter of a few metres apart, the constant sense of surveillance with soldiers, fully armed in battle fatigues patrolling the streets of positioned on rooftops. The buildup of frustration in both areas have since the Nakbah, or ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 which saw over 700,000 people displaced, and the taking of the West Bank in 1967’s Six day War led to various skirmishes and attacks on Israel people, like the suicide bombers who were active in 1989 and from 2002 to 2005, the First and Second Intifada.

Both attacks, the Hamas attack that was the catalyst for the current conflict and the suicide bombings which targeted Israeli civilians are illegal under international law and are rightly condemned. That said, the frustration of living in such oppressive conditions as in Gaza where all services, water, food, sewerage, electricity are imported from Israel and can be cut off at the drop of a hat, or the frustration of the constant harassment the people on the West Bank and East Jerusalem are subjected to leads to retaliatory actions.

As we get the news flow from Israel and Gaza we are told that it is mainly women and children who are dying. Supplies of food and drinking water are in short supply and apart from people dying because the building they lived in are being blown to smithereens, they are dying of starvation and diseases that come from unsanitary living as over a million people are camping out in a cramped area without sanitation.

Women and children featured in the evidence and defence of the Nuremberg criminals. where the justification for killing children was that they would grow up to be enemies. And women give birth to children.

The Declaration of Human Rights was written as a response to the inhumanity of the Holocaust which saw the killing of 13 million people because of their race, their religion, their ideologies were not acceptable to the Nazi regime in Germany. The races targeted were Jews and Gypsies, two marginalised groups, marginalised not just in Germany, but in much of Europe, and marginalised for centuries, Jews for their religious beliefs, Gypsies were ‘the wandering spirits of the earth’. On ideologies, these included homosexuals and people with disabilities.

Palestinians are marginalised in Israel, but not just in Israel, also in Lebanon, in Jordan, in Egypt where they are placed in Refugee camps, denied employment, treated as second class people and have really nowhere to go.

It seems those who ignore history are likely to repeat it while those who know history can only look on in wondrous amazement.

Australia for UNHCR Media Release

Donations welcome at Ukraine Crisis Appeal.

United Nations Media Release

UN experts* today expressed alarm over credible allegations of egregious human rights violations to which Palestinian women and girls continue to be subjected in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Palestinian women and girls have reportedly been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often together with family members, including their children, according to information received. “We are shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while fleeing. Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces,” the experts said.

The experts expressed serious concern about the arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinian women and girls, including human rights defenders, journalists and humanitarian workers, in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October. Many have reportedly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, denied menstruation pads, food and medicine, and severely beaten. On at least one occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were allegedly kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food.

“We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual violence,” the experts said. They also noted that photos of female detainees in degrading circumstances were also reportedly taken by the Israeli army and uploaded online.

The experts expressed concern that an unknown number of Palestinian women and children, including girls, have reportedly gone missing after contact with the Israeli army in Gaza. “There are disturbing reports of at least one female infant forcibly transferred by the Israeli army into Israel, and of children being separated from their parents, whose whereabouts remain unknown,” they said.

“We remind the Government of Israel of its obligation to uphold the right to life, safety, health, and dignity of Palestinian women and girls and to ensure that no one is subjected to violence, torture, ill-treatment or degrading treatment, including sexual violence,” the experts said.

They called for an independent, impartial, prompt, thorough and effective investigation into the allegations and for Israel to cooperate with such investigations.

“Taken together, these alleged acts may constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and amount to serious crimes under international criminal law that could be prosecuted under the Rome Statute,” the experts said. “Those responsible for these apparent crimes must be held accountable and victims and their families are entitled to full redress and justice,” they added.

* The experts: Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Claudia Flores, Ivana Krstić, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working group on discrimination against women and girls.

The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.

Public Health Association of Australia Media Release

Public health experts are calling for the Federal Government to urgently implement and properly resource the proposed Australian Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) to ensure COVID-19 advice is consistent across Australia.

The call from the Public Health Association of Australia comes as public health experts await further details of the ACDC promised by the Albanese Government during the 2022 federal election. The ACDC was set up as a $90m interim body on 1 January 2024, but is yet to be formally established or receive ongoing funds.

Professor Simone Pettigrew, health communication expert from the George Institute for Global Health, says the current situation could be negatively impacting public health outcomes as COVID-19 continues to spread across the country.  

“The current COVID-19 messaging differs in complexity, priority and content between the states and territories,” Prof Pettigrew said. “That makes it harder for Australians to interpret health advice.

“Residents of some states may be receiving more or less effective guidance compared to others.

“A single, clear and consistent source of truth would undoubtedly improve public health outcomes.”

Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, CEO, Public Health Association Australia, says that the current situation points to the pressing need for quick action to get the ACDC up and running and well resourced.

“We appreciate the excellent work of the states and territories to provide thorough and reliable guidance on COVID-19, and acknowledge the efforts of each health department,” he said.

“We learned during the peak of the pandemic that clear, consistent and accessible information was paramount.

“But the simple truth is that people around Australia are receiving varying advice on how to best protect themselves when it comes to COVID-19.

“Inconsistencies around emphasis, priority and language used underscore the urgent need for the full and proper establishment of the ACDC. This is exactly why this body was promised by the Australian Government.

“Australians deserve a consistent, credible, carefully researched and framed nationwide set of public health information.

“The time is now for the Government to enact its commitment, to fund the ACDC to the level necessary to fulfil its entire remit – including Chronic Disease Prevention – to ensure that all people in Australia have the best possible information at hand to protect their health.

“To continue our ACDC rock band references, we’ve only a few metres worth of funding for a Highway to Health. We can’t accept Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.”

New research by the e61 Institute presents five facts on the use of non-competes and other post-employment restraints in Australia based on new ABS survey data.

New research by the e61 Institute presents five facts on the use of non-competes and other post-employment restraints in Australia. These facts highlight the economic relevance of restraint clauses, detail how firms deploy them and present preliminary evidence on the consequences of their proliferation.

“For the first time we have data from the employer side on the prevalence of non-competes and other post-employment restraint clauses. This is important because employers likely have a better awareness about the prevalence of these clauses than workers. It also allows us to better understand how firms of different sizes and in different industries deploy these restraints.” e61 Institute Senior Policy Fellow Dan Andrews said.

The e61 Institute research used data from a new ABS survey of firms, developed in collaboration with e61, to examine the use of restraint clauses. Combining this data with employment data, the e61 research found that a large share of Australian workers are subject to restraint clauses.

“Roughly one-fifth of the Australian workforce are currently subject to a non-compete. No-poach agreements are even more widespread, with almost a third of workers subject to a clause that restricts their ability to ‘poach’ former clients and almost a quarter subject to no-poach of co-workers agreement.” e61 Institute Senior Research Economist Jack Buckley said.

“Firms are also planning to increase their use of these restraints. Roughly 1-in-5 firms who do not currently use non-competes say that they will likely do so in the future.” Mr Buckley said.

There are large differences in the use of employment restraints between industries. The use of non-competes and other restraint clauses is particularly prevalent in knowledge-based service industries, where high-skilled labour is a key determinant of firm success.

“Restraint clauses likely provide a lot of private value to individual firms in these industries, but their use may be hurting the efficient allocation of talent and the diffusion of knowledge.” e61 Institute CEO Michael Brennan said.

Many firms appear to be deploying restraint clauses indiscriminately. Of firms who use non-competes and no-poach clauses, almost 80% are applying them to more than three-quarters of their workforce.

“This blanket application of non-competes and other restraints has the potential to adversely affect low wage workers who lack the bargaining power to negotiate over these terms.” Mr Andrews said.

The widespread use of post-employment restraints could be having a negative effect on job mobility and competition. Preliminary analysis conducted as part of the e61 research found that job mobility and firm entry rates were lower in industries with a higher prevalence of employment restraints.

However, Mr Buckey added that “this analysis comes with some important caveats, including the fact that it does not account for a range of omitted variables that could affect the relationship between restraint clause use, job mobility and firm entry rates.”

“More research is needed to understand the extent to which the use of restraint clauses has contributed to the decline in job mobility and competition. But our analysis adds support to the hypothesis that non-compete clauses and no-poach agreements act as a barrier to labour mobility and competition.” Mr Brennan said.

Key findings:

This note presents five new facts based on a new, high-quality firm-side survey to help policy makers better understand the prevalence, use and economic consequences of non-competes and other post-employment constraints in the Australian economy.

Fact1: A large share of Australian workers are subject to restraint clauses.

• Non-disclosure clauses cover between one-half and two-thirds of the Australian workforce with a central estimate of 58%.
• Between one-quarter and one-third of workers have clauses restricting their ability to poach former clients with a central estimate of 29%.
•  Roughly one-fifth to one-quarter of the Australian workforce are subject to non-compete and no-poach of co-workers agreements with a central estimate of 21% and 23% respectively.

Fact 2: Firms’ use of restraint clauses has increased over the past 5 years and is expected to increase further absent policy intervention.

Fact 3: Restraints are highly prevalent in knowledge-based service industries, potentially jeopardising the allocation of talent.

Fact 4: Many firms are deploying restraint clauses indiscriminately, potentially adversely affecting low wage workers who lack bargaining power.

Fact 5: Firm entry and job mobility rates appear to be lower in industries where restraint clauses are more prevalent.

By Antony Loewenstein

Israel’s war on Gaza since 7 October has caused the biggest number of Palestinian deaths and largest displacement since the 1948 Nakba.

Nearly five months after the brutal Hamas attacks on 7 October and Israel’s unrelenting response against the people and societal fabric of Gaza, there’s no end in sight. Every day I see images and videos of dead Palestinian children, Israeli soldiers desecrating Palestinian lives and homes in Gaza and failure of the so-called international community, namely the US, Europe and Australia, to apply any pressure on the Jewish state to cease its unrelenting war crimes in Gaza.

Why? Because Palestinian lives don’t matter the way that Israeli Jews do. In just one example, US President Joe Biden released a statement on 100 days after 7 October and while mentioning the kidnapped Israelis in Gaza, who should be released immediately, he couldn’t bring himself to even acknowledge the more than 30,000 dead Palestinians in Gaza.

They. Don’t. Really. Matter.

The scale of Israeli killing of civilians is unprecedented in the 21st century. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case, brought by South Africa against Israel, has many interesting historical echoes. Not least the fact, as I document in my book, The Palestine Laboratory, that Israel was one of the last remaining nations in the world to support the apartheid regime in South Africa until its very end in 1994:

For Jews who oppose the carnage in Gaza, we’re accused by some of siding with the enemy. Apparently, our responsibility is to uncritically back the Israeli government despite it being filled with far-right fanatics. The Jerusalem Post recently editorialised that there was only a ‘“shocking sliver of Jews” who condemned Israel and accused it of human rights abuses and war crimes.

Perish the thought.

Tribalism and jingoism are ascendant in parts of the global Jewish community despite Israeli actions (including its endless colonisation of the West Bank) making all Jews far less safe in Israel and around the world.

Enough.

Since my last newsletter in early December, it’s been an incredibly hectic and intense time. I remain in constant contact with friends from Gaza, some still trapped there and others who have escaped, and the sentiment is always the same; we’re scared and fear that we’ll die any moment. There are no adequate words when responding, beyond what feels like empty platitudes of support and care.

I think of Gaza often and my various trips there since 2009. Here are a few photos from that first visit in mid-2009 (six months after Israel’s devastating Operation Cast Lead):

Now onto my recent work.

The following are the major TV interviews I’ve conducted in the last while on CNN, Al Jazeera English, The Real News Network, Breaking Points and TRT World:

In October, I spoke at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali, Indonesia, one of the leading literary festivals in Asia, and one of my sessions is now online, a timely conversation about Israel/Palestine:

My interview with Pakistani outlet Dawn:

See more

Naomi Klein has endorsed the book:

‘Nothing will change until we are capable of imagining a radically different future. By bringing together many of the clearest and most ethical thinkers about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, this book gives us the intellectual tools we need to do just that. Courageous and exciting.’

I was interviewed about the book on global broadcaster TRT World’s The Newsmakers program (starting at 17:06):

Buy your copy here.

My book, The Palestine Laboratory, is being translated into a range of languages across the globe. Some have been released but many more are coming this year and next.

Here’s the latest releases.

The South Korean edition:

It’s received solid media coverage in South Korea including this positive review.

The South African edition:

The Spanish edition:

There’s been a huge amount of interest from the Spanish media and here’s my interviews with El Pais (Spanish and English), El Diario and El Confidencial.

In late December, the legendary journalist and old friend, John Pilger, died. His work was often a beacon for me, on Palestine, challenging power and going against the mainstream journalism grain, so his passing is a loss.

Back in 2017, I was asked to write and film a piece when the Melbourne Press Club inducted him into its Hall of Fame.

Here are my reflections about John and his legacy:

The following is the work and interviews I’ve been doing over the last months:

• Interview with journalist Jeremy Scahill on the Intercepted podcast.
• Interview with Middle East Eye on India building drones for Israeli use in Gaza.
• Two American teachers talk about books that interest and inspire them and they recently featured The Palestine Laboratory.
• The Victorian government in Australia is increasingly close to the Israeli defence sector and I ask questions on ABC News Australia.
• Interview with the Carnegie Middle East Centre on my book.
• Interview with a leading Norwegian newspaper on Israel’s use/abuse of AI in Gaza.
• News Beat is a New York-based investigative podcast.
• Interview with Al Jazeera English on the dangers of Israel’s use of AI.
• Interview with French activist and author Frank Barat on the “allure” of the Israeli arms industry:

• Rupert Murdoch’s Australian newspaper seemingly exists to love Israel 24/7. One of its former editors isn’t happy with me talking about a one-state solution in the Middle East.
• A comprehensive review of my book in the Sydney Review of Books.
• The former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has invested huge amounts of $ into Israeli military tech. My comments about it to the Canadian outlet, The Breach.
• Interesting review of my book in the pan-Arab outlet, Daraj Media.
• An extract of my book, with a few new words post 7 October, in the great publication, The Markaz Review.
• How the Palestinian laboratory has deeply influenced Africa.
• My book and its reporting has been extensively covered across the Turkish media.
• A strong review of my book in Middle East Monitor.
• Advice for young writers who want to cause trouble.
• Interview alongside the former Attorney General of Australia on ABC Australia where we discuss Israel, Gaza, the death of war criminal Henry Kissinger and Wikileaks.
• How should newsrooms report on Israel/Palestine. I recently spoke about this at a university forum in Sydney and ABC Australia broadcast the comments.
• I was honoured to join a wonderful forum late last year about how Big Tech routinely works with Israel:

See more

See more

See more

Declassified Australia, the news website that I co-founded and co-edit with journalist Peter Cronau, continues to publish important work.

Our latest story is about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and fears of his extradition to the US to potentially face the death penalty.

A timely story on the new President of Indonesia, a man with a shocking record of war crimes, a final essay by the late, great journalist John Pilger, questions around Australia’s relative silence on the ICJ case against Israel and the extraordinary number of Palestinian journalists murdered by Israel since 7 October.

As an independent website, we rely on public support for our work. Please donate if you can.

This is my first book, My Israel Question, published in 2006. It attracted a massive response, became a best-seller, was condemned in the Australian parliament and the pro-Israel lobby tried to get it banned + pulped. In many ways, it set the path for a lot of my life and work ever since.

Now, 18 years after its initial release, the publisher has re-printed it once again due to public interest. You can order it here.

It hasn’t really dated at all.

You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter for constantly updated content. My website has information about all my work, books and documentary films stretching back to 2003.

I’m an independent journalist without any institutional backing. If you’re able to support me financially, by donating money to continue this work, I’d hugely appreciate it. You can find donating options in the menu bar at the top of my website.

Stay strong in these dark times.

Thanks for reading.

Antony.

This article was originally published on Antony Loewenstein