Tag Archives: Iran

The media here in recent days has been full of observations about the growing rift between Israel and the US, or, more accurately, between the Netanyahu and Obama administrations. There have been, incredibly, some Israeli politicians and commentators centrist-left who point a finger at Netanyahu, saying that he is provoking …

My critique of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech at the UN stands.  In particular, I was distressed that he spoke about a readiness to make territorial concessions for an agreement with “rock solid security.” This seems to me a very poor time to talk about such a thing – when Abbas …

President Obama’s failed policies in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and the West Bank do not bode well for the success of the President’s current plans to end the threat to world peace posed by the meteoric rise of both the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) and …

“Kalb Yehud! [Jewish dog!] That, Allahu akbar, and “something about Gaza in Arabic” is what two young  men screamed as they jumped on and punched a former IDF soldier wearing an identifying T-shirt in a Jewish district of Melbourne last Thursday night, leaving him with cuts and a swollen face: …

Israel can no longer enable its citizens to “live normal lives” without retaking Gaza. “Restraint” and “proportionality” have so degraded its deterrence that it can no longer dissuade enemies from attacking almost at will. The ultimate test of this agreement will be a test of blood. If it becomes clear …

June 23, 2014: The Middle East, with the singular exception of a stable, prosperous, democratic Israel, is in a state of turmoil and transition – with enormous violence and instability the norm.  We are seeing Sunni-Shia tensions, increasing radicalism, and the break down of borders. And the situation is only …

  In my last posting I wrote about “rays of light,” and indeed they do exist.  But I would be remiss indeed if I were to convey a simple-mindedly optimistic message.  The somber truth is that we are facing down some exceedingly tough situations. For starters, there is Hezbollah.  I’ve …

    He should know. Bob Carr famously complained to the ALP caucus while in government about what was he expected to say about Israel the next time he was speaking from the steps of the Lakemba Mosque. After all, where else would you make a major policy statement affecting …

Written and submitted by Arlene Kushner. When it comes to the “peace negotiations” with the Palestinian Arabs (to which I will return below), I’m able to sigh, and shake my head in exasperation. But the negotiations between P5+1 and Iran?  This leaves me breathless because of the dangers implicit and …

Weekly Israel Advocacy Update. 7th. March 2014 – Written by Gabrielle ‘Gabsy’ Debinski. Media and Advocacy Director . This week we have to say shalom to ‘Gabsy’ as she leaves us to further her university studies and to welcome back Emil Gian from maternity leave. It has been an absolute …

Written and submitted by Arlene Kushner. Truth be told, I had expected Prime Minister Netanyahu to focus on Iran in his AIPAC talk yesterday.  I had been planning to use his speech as a kick-off point for a discussion about Iran.  Instead, yesterday, I went in various other directions.  And …

  Written and submitted by Arlene Kushner. Threats Don’t Scare Israelis. As a matter of fact, when we are threatened, our spines are stiffened. In this instance, I am referring to threats implied by Obama in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg for Bloomberg View.  It had made news a couple of …

An Iranian political analyst claimed last week that if a deal between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear program had not been reached in Geneva, Iran would have annihilated Israel. The comments by Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini, a former political advisor to Iranian President Khatami, aired on Syrian News TV …

Friends of Israel Initiative: DISPATCH December 13th. 2013. The interim agreement signed in Geneva last November 24, is a victory for Iran and consequently it does not stop the nuclear program at all. On the contrary, the agreement allows Iran to keep its ability to produce enriched uranium and opens …

The end of the year approaches and many issues will of course continue into 2014 and beyond but here are two areas to watch and then a personal reflection on Nelson Mandela. Iran – it is too late to now bemoan the deal that world leaders have made with Iran. What …

Before we get to Obama, who makes me (as most of you) terribly tired, I would like to address other topics.I have been wanting for some time to write about the issue of Bedouin settlement in the Negev, which has sparked enormous controversy and been used as a weapon against …

The tidbit below was written by Ron Ben-Yishai and published at Y-Net: The way things look from Israel now, the assumption is that Obama has fortified himself behind a small and closed ideological circle. This circle believes in partial non-interventionism and has an aversion to international conflicts – not only in the …

  Hon Julia Gillard 27th Prime Minister of Australia Receipt of the Jerusalem Prize Conferred by the Zionist Council of Victoria Melbourne, Australia 26 November 2013 [acknowledgments omitted] I am deeply honoured to accept the Jerusalem Prize tonight and proud to do so in the presence of so many friends. …

Weekly Israel Advocacy Update. 28th. October 2013 – Written by Gabrielle ‘Gabsy’ Debinski. Media and Advocacy Director, Zionist Federation of Australia.. Coverage of the Iranian nuclear deal has abounded. It has also been dense and for the lay man or woman awfully confusing. For many the technical jargon of physics …

In a March, 2012 article by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg we have this tidbit: In the most extensive interview he has given about the looming Iran crisis, Obama told me earlier this week that both Iran and Israel should take seriously the possibility of American action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “I think …