Tag Archives: Israel

For many American Jews it is a source of profound discomfort and embarrassment that Jews actually carry weapons and fight. In a deliciously ironic move, the same folks who loathe the president of the United States are beseeching him to restrain his best friend in the Middle East, Israeli Prime …

Consumers of the media in Australia were adequately informed of the events of the last few days in Israel and the Palestinian territories – whereby a large rocket fired from Gaza into central Israel on March 25, injuring seven people, triggered a round of violence. Israeli retaliated with air-raids against …

I am a child of the Diaspora, the son of Holocaust survivors.  I grew up in the sheltered Jewish community of Sydney Australia.  As a teen and during my student years in Australia I was active in the Jewish community, Jewish youth movements and Jewish and general student politics. The …

Israel and Samoa Agreement Strengthens Ties.​ Israel was pleased to host Prime Minister of Samoa, H.E. Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi for his first trip to Israel. Prime Minister Malielegaoi, accompanied by Ambassador to Samoa H.E. Itzhak Gerberg, highlighted the strong friendship between the two countries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu​ held a successful meeting …

25 February 2019 The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the elected peak representative body of the Australian Jewish community, situated at the apex of more than 200 Jewish organisations across Australia, has expressed its deep dismay at the announcement that two mainstream Jewish political parties in Israel, Jewish Home …

The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) has welcomed the speeches by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten which were delivered in Parliament marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and Israel. President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler said, “The words spoken in Federal Parliament …

It would seem futile to conduct yet another indecisive round of fighting, only to return to yet another tense and sporadically violent interbellum for several years—until the next major flare-up of fighting…  Military assessment warns of high risk of war with Gaza – The Times of Israel, Feb. 13. 2019. …

My Facebook feed is full of Ori’s photo. She looks different in the different images but in each, her radiant smile is the same. Ori, “my light” in Hebrew, was obviously a fitting name for this sunny girl. The more we hear about Ori from friends, family and the people …

Benny Gantz’s election campaign videos are being used by Electronic Intifada to tar and feather Israel. When this is your starting point: . . . Gantz, like Netanyahu, is accurately reflecting the desires and fantasies of an Israeli public that views the willingness to shed the blood of defenseless Palestinians …

“But why does he have to make provocations with these declarations of his?!” I was shocked to hear this sentence come out of the mouths of my Jewish American relatives. Yes, they were referring to Trump (who they hate) and to the Jerusalem Declaration. I love my relatives but they …

Zionist Federation of New Zealand working with the community to sustain Jewish identity, reinforcing relationships with Israel, and to foster a positive understanding of Israel and Zionism. 30 January 2019 Media Statement. It is with great disappointment that a mere two days after the world commemorated the International Holocaust Remembrance …

It is election season in Israel with all the attendant empty promises, scandals, and political jockeying. Bayit Yehudi head and Education Minister Naftali Bennett took his deputy, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, and left the party, forming a new party simply called “The New Right”. I have not been able to …

Zionist Federation of Australia Response to Australian Labor Party National Conference. For Immediate Release The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) believes that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state is counterproductive to bringing about a two state solution and peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Therefore, the adopted resolution at the …

Shira and Amichai Ish-ran are a beautiful young couple.  Twenty-one years old, they got married this year. Looking at them, most people would see radiant youth, loving eyes and warm smiles. How many would realize that these are people made from steel? On the last day of Chanukah, Amichai and …

Last I wrote, I began with good news, which set an optimistic tone, and then followed with a catalogue of worrisome issues. The good news is real, and there is yet more of it. But the bad news?  It is ominous and weighs heavily on the soul: Antisemitism is up …

Given the emerging realities in Israel’s political landscape, the danger to Right-wing incumbency entailed in early elections might well be considerably less than those entailed in postponing them.  The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry – Robert Burns (1759 – 1796). The “received wisdom”, as reflected in …

Indigenous solidarity reached a crescendo in Northland over the weekend as the Northland Ngapuhi hosted Israeli Ambassador, HE Dr Itzhak Gerberg, for a powerful Powhiri and Hakari Banquet. Held at the Kohewhata Marae (a) in Kaikohe, Northland, the “Heart to Heart Powhiri” held in Māori tradition included a ceremony, songs …

Election fever raged briefly in Israel as a result of the resignation of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman earlier this month, taking his party with him and leaving the current coalition with just a razor slim majority of 61 seats in a 120 seat parliament. The trigger for Lieberman’s resignation threw …

Ryan Ashley is like a long cold drink on a hot summer day.  Cool, confident and extraordinarily talented, she made history as the first woman to win Ink Master after eight seasons of the tattooing reality TV show competition.  That led to her participation in the spin-off show Ink Master: Angels …

Our government’s premature willingness to stop the attack on Hamas yesterday was distressing and infuriating. Several people confessed to me that they found it nauseating. And I understood. Over the course of many months, we have tolerated too much aggression emanating from Gaza: the fires started in the south, in …