'This isn't me': Israeli war and healthcare collapse leave Gaza child unrecognisable
Maha Hussaini

'This isn't me': Israeli war and healthcare collapse leave Gaza child unrecognisable

israel-palestine politics

Under a tightening Israeli siege, Palestinian girl Rahaf Ayyad struggles with physical and emotional changes, as her mother fights for answers.

Dreyfus leaves little legacy
Greg Barns

Dreyfus leaves little legacy

In his term as attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus failed to address many big issues.

New pope faces limits on changes he can make to the Church
Dennis Doyle

New pope faces limits on changes he can make to the Church

Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been picked to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church; he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.


John Menadue's book on Israel's war against Gaza

Israel's war against Gaza

Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.

Download the PDF

'Escalation risks catastrophe': Restraint urged as Pakistan hits back after Indian strikes
Brett Wilkins

'Escalation risks catastrophe': Restraint urged as Pakistan hits back after Indian strikes

An armed conflict between India and Pakistan would be catastrophic for the world and must be avoided at all costs, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has warned.

China touts new law as foundation for private sector growth
Sylvia Ma,  Ji Siqi

China touts new law as foundation for private sector growth

A week after the passage of a law on China’s private economy, officials said the bill would unleash the potential of the non-state sector.

The Racial Discrimination Act at 50
David Lee

The Racial Discrimination Act at 50

The passage 50 years ago of the Racial Discrimination Act, Australia’s first substantial piece of human rights legislation, laid the basis for the recognition of native title in the common law in the 1990s.

The need for depressive realism and a forgotten type of truth-telling
Michael McKinley

The need for depressive realism and a forgotten type of truth-telling

Prolonged observation of domestic and global politics reveals a world that is continually being shaped by radical contingency and surrounded by absurdity. Other conditions can be seen, but the two just mentioned are the regnant operational conditions.

Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial
Roy Green

Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial

In his victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted social policy as a major factor in Labor’s electoral success, particularly Medicare, housing and cost-of-living relief. He was justified in doing so.

The climate won’t change for the Liberals without more women and fewer oldies
Ross Gittins

The climate won’t change for the Liberals without more women and fewer oldies

If the Liberals have any sense, they won’t waste too much time blaming their shocking election result on Peter Dutton, Donald Trump, Cyclone Alfred, the party secretariat, an unready shadow ministry or any other “proximate cause”, as economists say. Why not? Because none of these go to the heart of their party’s problem.

Aid to Gaza: Moral and political dilemmas for Australia
Bob Bowker

Aid to Gaza: Moral and political dilemmas for Australia

Amidst preparations for a renewed assault intended to allow permanent Israeli occupation of Gaza, Israel and the United States are also about to establish a mechanism through which humanitarian aid will henceforth be distributed exclusively by private firms protected by the Israeli military.

Exclusion of Ed Husic from the Albanese Ministry Statement
Paul Keating

Exclusion of Ed Husic from the Albanese Ministry Statement

A showing of poor judgment, unfairness and diminished respect for the contribution of others.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

'This isn't me': Israeli war and healthcare collapse leave Gaza child unrecognisable
Maha Hussaini

'This isn't me': Israeli war and healthcare collapse leave Gaza child unrecognisable

Under a tightening Israeli siege, Palestinian girl Rahaf Ayyad struggles with physical and emotional changes, as her mother fights for answers.

Aid to Gaza: Moral and political dilemmas for Australia
Bob Bowker

Aid to Gaza: Moral and political dilemmas for Australia

Amidst preparations for a renewed assault intended to allow permanent Israeli occupation of Gaza, Israel and the United States are also about to establish a mechanism through which humanitarian aid will henceforth be distributed exclusively by private firms protected by the Israeli military.

Re-elected Albanese Govt must condemn Israel's brutality and cut ties
Jewish Council of Australia

Re-elected Albanese Govt must condemn Israel's brutality and cut ties

On 5 May, the Israeli Parliament approved plans to annex and occupy Gaza. These plans have been discussed for months. This is a blatant mission to ethnically cleanse Gaza, advancing Israel’s colonial intentions to take over the territory and rid it of Palestinians.

Zionist lawfare comes for Australian journalist
Michelle Berkon

Zionist lawfare comes for Australian journalist

The Zionist federation of Australia  should be recognised as a duplicitous and malicious actor in Australian society and politics.

Mainstream media and distorted Palestine reporting
Pearls and Irritations

Mainstream media and distorted Palestine reporting

Australia’s  mainstream media have ignored and distorted the genocide in Palestine. A recent Australians for Humanity forum, chaired by former SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis, and featuring Margaret Reynolds, Stuart Rees and Peter Slezak, tackled the issues and discussed what needs to be done.

Judaism and Zionism are not the same
Sara Dowse

Judaism and Zionism are not the same

No doubt about it. We live in a topsy-turvy world. How Kafkaesque can it get, when some of Zionism’s most fervent supporters have been politicians like Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton or — God help us — the Mad King of Mar-a-Lago?

'Genocide in action' as 60-day blockade plunges Gaza into mass starvation
Julia Conley

'Genocide in action' as 60-day blockade plunges Gaza into mass starvation

The two-month-long siege is a clear and calculated effort to collectively punish over two million civilians and to make Gaza unliveable.

UN chief 'alarmed' by Israel's Gaza conquest plan – but minister says no concerns from Trump
Brett Wilkins

UN chief 'alarmed' by Israel's Gaza conquest plan – but minister says no concerns from Trump

I don't feel that there is pressure on us from Trump and his administration, said Ze'ev Eklin. They understand exactly what is happening here.


John Menadue

Support our independent media with your donation

Pearls and Irritations leads the way in raising and analysing vital issues often neglected in mainstream media. Your contribution supports our independence and quality commentary on matters importance to Australia and our region.

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Latest on China

China touts new law as foundation for private sector growth
Sylvia Ma,  Ji Siqi

China touts new law as foundation for private sector growth

china economy

A week after the passage of a law on China’s private economy, officials said the bill would unleash the potential of the non-state sector.

Four World War II myths: Ignoring China, downplaying Russia’s role
Wang Wen

Four World War II myths: Ignoring China, downplaying Russia’s role

As the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches in 2025, the vital contributions of China and Russia remain largely overlooked by the West, just as they have always been.

Trump shoves Indonesia into China's hands
Duncan Graham

Trump shoves Indonesia into China's hands

Jakarta is not a charmer, but her assets are attractive. Beijing and Washington have long been wooing the Indonesian capital for her strategic power and influence.


More from Pearls and Irritations


Latest letters to the editor

Very helpful interpretation of the steady-state economy

Len Puglisi — 1 Balmoral Court Burwood East

Thank you to Mark Diesendorf for this very helpful piece. It stands as a clarification of many of the misunderstandings and poor interpretations of SSE in Daniel Susskind's recent (2024) book advocating economic growth, Growth- A History and A Reckoning.
The leopard can’t change its spots

Fiona Colin — Melbourne

As Ross Gittens colourfully describes, the Coalition “is like that person driving a Holden Commodore”. Gender, age and the small matter of climate change should be crucial concerns for any party. Yet Liberal values remain the same: the party “limits its intrusion into people’s lives”, is for lower taxes and keeps the nation “secure and safe” (Christopher Pyne, The Age, 7 May). And therein lies a problem: faced with the existential crisis of climate change, governments need to be at the centre of both our energy transformation and the mitigation strategies when disasters inevitably arrive. Pyne suggested that “For...
Essential clarity from Sara Dowse

Stephanie Dowrick — Darwin 0800, NT

Sara Dowse's article is to be treasured. Please read and absorb it (and the writer's courage as well as clarity). Don't stop there, though. If each of us makes it our business to send it on, either through social media or via email, to at least 10 other people, we will have contributed something toward pushing back the relentless propaganda that is suffocating debate, silencing dissent, and excusing the grotesque elimination of the Palestinian people. Zionism is not Judaism, nor vice versa. Refuting Zionism and its supremacist claims is not antisemitic. It is an assertion of...
Tim Beal's articles in need of corrections

Craig Thomas — North Sydney

Tim Beal has had a number of articles republished here, wherein he attempts to propagate pro-Kremlin disinformation regarding the North Korean troops who have been fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine. Given that Russia recently admitted the North Korean involvement is true, should Beal not be asked to issue an apology and should his articles not be corrected to reflect the fact that his rhetoric appears to not be guided by the facts? Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, has said. I want to point out the participation of servicemen from...



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