Australia & NZ.

Latest Opinion piece by Dr. Ron Weiser AM. Immediate Past President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Honorary Life President of the Zionist Council of New South Wales and Committee Member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency (The Sochnut) In an unprecedented move, all of the living …

ZFA Israel Advocacy Update. 29 August 2013. Submitted and written by Gabsy Debinski. Media and Advocacy Director of the Zionist Federation of Australia…. Over the past few months, tempers have flared and debates have gotten feisty between various Zionist organizations within our own community. In the short time since I …

Community leaders abandoning ruling Labor Party in backlash against PM Rudd’s Middle East policies. Tony Abbott, Australia’s opposition leader and a friend of Israel, is attracting the Jewish vote. Jewish community leaders in Australia have virtually abandoned support for the governing Labor Party, with most privately hoping the conservative Liberal …

On Wednesday 11th September and Thursday 12th September, our National University in Canberra is hosting a conference for “Human rights in Palestine”. “This conference/hate fest is associated with a project on ‘Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories’ funded by the British Academy and the Australian National …

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Bob Carr have gone underground since Carr announced on 8 August at the  Lakemba Mosque in Sydney that Rudd personally as well as the Labor Party had adopted as policy that Jews had no right to legally live in the …

Written by Adam Kamien.  Australian Jewish News. Aug 23rd 2013.. Michael Danby is the Federal Member of Parliament for Melbourne Ports, which has a large Jewish population.    Michael Danby has accused Bob Carr of accepting the “narrow view” of a department within his ministry on the legality of Israeli …

The author, Andrew Hamilton, is an Australian solicitor working for Shurat HaDin – The Israel Law Center in Tel Aviv. He recently brought a complaint under Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act against one of the leaders of the BDS movement in Australia, Prof. Jake Lynch of Sydney University. Link: Shurat HaDin …

Leslie Cannold’s decision to stand for Julian Assange’s Wikileaks Party was always questionable, given her feminist ideals; after all, he’s been accused of raping two women. Moreover, his link with anti-Semites and alleged anti-Semitic pronouncements were an unlikely pairing for a secular Jew like Cannold. See: http://jewsdownunder.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/does-wikileaks-have-a-problem-with-jews-2/ She vigorously defended …

By Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen The electorate of Melbourne Ports, which houses several strong traditional religious populations – Jewish, Catholic and Greek Orthodox, amongst others – is in this election year in an unprecedented situation. The candidates of both major parties have emerged explicitly supporting same sex marriage. Kevin Ekendahl, …

“All [Jews]*on “Palestinian land” are illegal under international law … that is the position, of Kevin Rudd, the position of the Federal Labor Government, and we don’t make apologies for it.” [*offensive weasel word deleted] Make no mistake he wants this argument. He seriously can not expect the Government to …

Australia has a large and diverse community that offers much choice when it comes to synagogues and Jewish education. From Orthodox to Reform and most things in between; there is something for everyone. With a significant proportion of Holocaust survivors and their progeny, a very strong Chabad presence which spurred …

Muslim protestors marched through our fair City of Sydney at the weekend. AND we were stopped having a peaceful rally during Operation Pillar of Smoke. We had to hide like frightened rabbits on the Mizrachi synagogue………… Video originally posted at Daphne Anson: Here

Written by David Singer who is an Australian Lawyer, Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International .………….. Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr’s announcement in the heat of an election campaign that Labor Party policy does not recognize the legal right of Jews to …

From the Facebook page of Palestine Action Group Sydney “As part of the ongoing campaign for solidarity with Palestine, Palestine Action Group will be holding a peaceful protest against Max Brenner at Parramatta Westfield on Saturday, 17 August to show solidarity with Palestine and boycott Israeli apartheid. Max Brenner is …

Who doesn’t love going to Max Brenner, with their delicious hot chocolate and yummy ice cream confections. There’s a wonderful ambience in their cafes: the city venues are fun places to go, constantly packed with people, whereas the suburban ones are quieter, the perfect place to relax and drink chocolate …

I thought is was an April Fools Joke. Our own JCCV, which is funded by the Jewish Community is using their resources their know all, to work with the Islamic Community to complete an Islamic Museum. I’m not sure that’s how I would like my donations to a Jewish organisation …

On Friday, August 9 , AIJAC put out a statement responding to controversial remarks on Israeli settlements by Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr at Lakemba the previous day. Video on the SBS website shows Carr saying the following: We in our government, and the members of the government behind me, …

Written by Julie Nathan, Research Officer, Executive Council of Australian Jewry………. Melbourne held its first Al-Quds Day rally this year. The short video of the rally and march shows about fifty people gathered on the steps of the State Library, with speakers giving speeches, and protestors waving anti-Israel banners. The …

Written by Julie Nathan, Research Officer, Executive Council of Australian Jewry………… Around 150 people attended, plus a police contingent of over a dozen officers. An Israeli flag at the rally had the words “Delete Zionists” painted on the blue stripes, and the Star of David was circled and crossed out. …

The Union for Progressive Judaism (UPJ)’s Australian website is very professional and is regularly updated. There is a special organisation devoted to social justice, called ‘The Jewish Religious Action & Advocacy Centre‘ (JRAAC) whose mission is: …to pursue the principles of justice, equality and integrity as outlined in Jewish texts …