Next month it will be twenty five years since Oslo and that famous handshake on the White House lawn by Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat under the patronage of President Bill Clinton. And a lot will be written about this anniversary. The one undeniable truth over this period has …

On the annual indexes across the globe conducted by survey agencies, Israeli’s consistently rate amongst the highest of nations whose citizens have the most number of complaints about life. Simultaneously they also poll just as highly on the happiness index. To some wags this simply means that Israelis are most happy when they …

Once again, it is quite surreal being in Israel. And on many levels. But why should this trip be any different? In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv the biggest challenge is finding a seat in overcrowded cafés or restaurants, whilst the residents of the south are still dealing with those “peaceful …

If I hear the phrase “peaceful demonstration” just one more time, I will have no hair left on my head to tear out. One wonders how it can be that otherwise seemingly intelligent people like Labor’s Anthony Albanese can look at the Hamas violence and say: “International law requires a …

Nations Bless Israel. Blessed are you O Lord our G-d, ruler of the universe, who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to reach this day. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לזְּמַן הַזֶּה. My parents – both survivors – came to this great country …

Israel is 70 years young. Her existence is a miracle, her growth and development have defied any reasonable predictions, and her achievements are amazing. The vibrancy and diversity of Israeli life are a marvel. Israel’s democracy and rule of law, morality and ethical principles, remain her compass through troubled waters. …

Last Wednesday I was invited to a Jewish Day School to spend an hour with their Year 12 students to talk about issues related to Israel.  One aspect we discussed were the Land Day protests planned by Hamas that would be coming out of Gaza two days later. It was …

The conversation has changed. Almost counter-intuitively, barring an actual indictment or some unexpected event, Prime Minister Netanyahu is so dominant in terms of personality and policy that no other Israeli leader or politician is all that relevant on almost any matter. In some ways Netanyahu has never been stronger and …

The calm before the storm, or the storm before the calm? Three broad areas fall into the things might get better, or on the other hand rapidly much worse, framework. The month began with numerous examples of the Trump effect on the Israeli leadership – and the ongoing effort to …

Quite a chain of events have been crystallising over the past few weeks indeed. For over 3000 years Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people.  And once again in the third Jewish Commonwealth re-established on the very same Jewish homeland, Jerusalem is of course yet again the capital …

President Trump’s declaration and recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is undeniably a major symbolic milestone and one that is to be welcomed and applauded. It is also a courageous move that changes 70 years of Unites States policy. We should savour the moment. Symbolism, particularly in that …

The anniversaries continue. And more than a few involve Australia, and in a significant way. Just having come off the high of the centenary of Be’ersheva in Israel, this week we celebrated 70 years since the historic United Nations vote on partition known as Resolution 181. In particular, at a …

It is hard to describe the feelings of being in Israel at this very special moment. Particularly, that of being an Australian in Israel and more specifically, spending yesterday in Be’er Sheva. Overlay that with being a Jewish Australian and words fail to capture the incredible symbiotic and deep connections …

President Trump continues to surprise his critics when it comes to the Middle East. He behaves in a more measured way, carrying out most of his administration’s activities behind the scenes and by maintaining different levels of pressure upon parties on all sides. And it should be noted – not …

As we leave the Jewish calendar year of 5777 behind it is worth remembering that the three large external issues facing Israel remain unchanged and their resolution no clearer than they were at the beginning of 2017. Moreover, to greater and lesser degrees, these depend on President Trump’s positive sentiments, …

Notwithstanding the constant polarisation that especially his domestic words and deeds seem to generate, on some foreign policy matters President Trump seems to have very wide American support. A case in point is his recently announced Afghanistan policy. Candidate Trump campaigned against increasing America’s military role there and was very …

Fifty years ago, after recapturing the Temple Mount which also houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque, Israel established the so called “status quo” which has remained more or less unchanged since 1967. Effectively, Israel claimed sovereignty over the Temple Mount but handed day to day …

It’s pretty hard to beat walking around the streets of Jerusalem with crowds everywhere, restaurants full and a clear mixing once again of Jews and Arabs in places like the Mamilla Mall and other common seam lines as positive signs of the political temperature cooling, if not the hot summer …

On the 14th of July 1997, 20 years ago, a bridge commissioned by Maccabi World Union (MWU) collapsed during the opening ceremony of the 15th Maccabiah Games in Ramat Gan, Israel. Four Australians – Yetty Bennett, Elizabeth Sawicki, Greg Small & Warren Zines died. Over 60 Australians including Sasha Elterman …

LOVE IS IN THE AIR (with apologies to John Paul Young) Love is in the air everywhere I look around Love is in the air every sight and every sound And I don’t know if I’m being foolish Don’t know if I’m being wise……. So things are getting a little …