Druze crisis tested Israel’s Syria strategy
July 31, 2025 | Ilan Evyatar
A week-long outbreak of violence in southern Syria in mid-July exposed the fault lines and shifting regional and global alignments shaping Syria’s post-Assad future – and the challenges these pose to Israel’s strategic goals.
Media Matters: Smoke and Ire over IHRA
July 30, 2025 | Allon Lee
Of course, the IHRA definition clearly states that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” But you wouldn’t necessarily know this if you relied on the bulk of the commentariat favoured by the ABC, Guardian Australia and Nine Newspapers.
Among Israelis, the view of the situation in Gaza is complex — rooted in a trust deficit
August 1, 2025 | Ran Porat
The international media has a responsibility to show what is happening in this war-ravaged area and to present the plight of the Palestinian people. However, the same media is often remiss when it comes to reporting on the situation in Israel. It fails to adequately convey the Israeli psyche: how Israelis perceive the war, its objectives and the people on the other side.
Hamas and its enablers
August 1, 2025 | Justin Amler
To Hamas, every civilian death is a strategic victory. Why? Because it knows – and tragically, it is right – that images of Gazan casualties will be weaponized to turn public opinion against Israel and smear its name on the world stage. And it’s working.
Why Labor risks making the wrong call on Palestine recognition
July 31, 2025 | Bren Carlill
Premature recognition is short-sighted and self-defeating, regardless of the motivations for doing it. The difficult but correct alternative is continuing to insist that the foundations for peace are properly established… Politically expedient shortcuts will make the situation worse.
Nine reasons premature recognition would be bad for Palestine
May 28, 2025 | Bren Carlill
France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting a UN conference this month about creating a Palestinian state. Before or during the conference, France will likely recognise Palestine as a state, and is urging other countries to join it. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong keeps indicating she is considering similar recognition.
Biblio File: Israel and the pathologies of the West
May 28, 2025 | Peter Berkowitz
In On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization, Douglas Murray excoriates the Western hypocrisy, mendacity and malignancy that fuel enthusiasm for Hamas’ butchery of Jewish civilians and antipathy toward Israel’s exercise of its right to self-defence.
Scribblings: Interpreting Hamas’ casualty numbers
May 28, 2025 | Tzvi Fleischer
The Hamas statistics show that combat-age men are far more likely to be killed, compared to their proportion of the population, than women, children or the elderly. Hamas data doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians, but the only sensible explanation for these numbers is that Israel is doing its best to target combatants.
