Author: AJDS

Gideon Levy: Obama is Israel's True Friend

by AJDS on

Barack Obama: Israel’s true friend

Gideon Levy Open Democracy

Gideon Levy is a journalist with the Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz

The United States president’s meeting with Israel’s prime minister offers Israel a future it must grasp, says Gideon Levy. 25 – 05 – 2009 It’s already clear: the United States president is a great friend of Israel. If Barack Obama continues what he started in his meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu on 18 May 2009, he might prove to be the friendliest president to Israel ever. Richard M Nixon saved Israel from the Arab states in 1973, and Obama is about to save Israel from itself.

Nixon sent Israel arms and ammunition at a critical time, and Obama is sending – at a time no less critical – the substance of a complete peace plan, a plan that would save Israel. All that remains is whether Obama stays determined and decisive as he was in the White House summit. In one moment he changed Washington’s madness and the attitude toward the Israeli occupation. Now it will be seen if he succeeds in altering the same madness in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Desconstructing the debate over antisemitism

by AJDS on

The Hermeneutics of Antisemitism by Keith Kahn Harris

in the UK Jounal New Jewish Thought is well worth a read.

 

The title may sound obscure, but the analysis of the way that the debate over anitsemitism is played out is not.

 

http://newjewishthought.blogspot.com/2006/04/hermeneutics-of-anti-anti-semitism.html

This is no time to be silent during the Gaza Conflict! 20 July 2006

by AJDS on

The following statement has been issued by the Australian Jewish Democratic Society: We write as supporters of the State of Israel and align ourselves with those who seek a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Though the current hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon are but another round in this long-standing conflict, we have no hesitation in unreservedly condemning those, chiefly in Hamas and Hezbollah, who have triggered the current escalation of hostilities.

 

Decode Jerusalem

by AJDS on

Decode Jerusalem is a free independent alternative travel guide to East Jerusalem. It invites you to stroll around places that are hardly mentioned in conventional travel guides and aims at letting you discover some crucial aspects that the Israeli occupation, going on since 1967, brings with it.

 

Decode Jerusalem

by AJDS on

Decode Jerusalem is a free independent alternative travel guide to East Jerusalem. It invites you to stroll around places that are hardly mentioned in conventional travel guides and aims at letting you discover some crucial aspects that the Israeli occupation, going on since 1967, brings with it.

 

A Puzzling Report from the Anti-Defamation Commission

by AJDS on

This was published as an opinion piece in the Australian Jewish News (2 April 2009) The AJDS is puzzled that the Australian Jewish News (26 March 2009) regards as front-page news an Anti-Defamation Commission report by Dr Phillip Mendes about events that took place nearly a decade ago.

 

Debate within our community on Arab-Jewish dialogue is always important, but a particular person’s anecdotal experience with a now defunct academic organisation in which two out of three of his adversaries were Jewish, provides no basis to conclude that dialogue is worthless.

Undermining the Progressive Left

by AJDS on

This is  my personal take on Philip Mendes’ recent report for the Anti-Defamation Commission of Bnai Brith. Not only is it an attack on intercommunal dialogue, but a not-so-subtle attempt to discredit the AJDS and the Palestinian intellectual class (who should not be put into the same basket).  It is reflective of the type of argument used by many on the right to discredit all critics of Israeli policy

It is intellectually, a flawed and disingenous piece of writing.  The blog is my personal opinion.

 

Closed Zone: A new video about Gaza by Yoni Goodman

by AJDS on

Yoni Goodman, one of the creators of “Waltz with Bashir”, which won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award, today has launched a new animated short film entitled “Closed Zone”. He created the short for “Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement”. The 90-second film mixes animation with realistic shots to depict the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel for more than 1.5 years.