Antisemitism in Australia: a 'pathology in our society'
Henry Reynolds

Antisemitism in Australia: a 'pathology in our society'

There was much to read in the papers last Monday, the 7th of July. Three stories caught my attention.

NYT report says Netanyahu prolonged war on Gaza to stay in power
Brad Reed

NYT report says Netanyahu prolonged war on Gaza to stay in power

He pressed ahead with the war in April and July 2024, even as top generals told him that there was no further military advantage to continuing, reports The New York Times.

The politics of a police criminal organisation
Jack Waterford

The politics of a police criminal organisation

In 1972, police at an Aboriginal settlement at Papunya, several hundred kilometres west of Alice Springs, closed down a travelling Slim Dusty concert after some of the young men somehow got access to alcohol and became drunk.


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Australian parliamentarians urgently need lessons in international law
Margaret Reynolds

Australian parliamentarians urgently need lessons in international law

As the new Parliament returns this month, it is timely to ask just how many Australian parliamentarians need urgent instruction in international law and how it impacts on government decision-making which complies with the United Nations rules-based order developed by the efforts of so many nations since 1945.

'No' to Jillian Segal's antisemitism action plan
Jepke Goudsmit

'No' to Jillian Segal's antisemitism action plan

Representing Jews Against the Occupation ’48 (JAO48), I would like to share our response to Jillian Segal’s “antisemitism action plan”. In short: we reject it.

Usman Khawaja: grace under pressure, faith underpinning it all
Ivana Knezevic

Usman Khawaja: grace under pressure, faith underpinning it all

In Australian sport, few stories echo as deeply as that of Usman Khawaja. He is known for his calm presence at the crease, his graceful technique, and the quiet way he has built a legacy in a game that was not always welcoming.

Why any strategy to combat antisemitism must also address Islamophobia
Meg Schwarz

Why any strategy to combat antisemitism must also address Islamophobia

Australia’s newly released Plan to Combat Antisemitism has sparked strong debate and rightly so.

Karmel, Gonski and the private school ascendancy
Barbara Preston

Karmel, Gonski and the private school ascendancy

The 1973 Karmel report and the 2011 Gonski report helped drive Australia’s internationally exceptional private school ascendency.

A warning from the past about the United States of today
Alex Lo

A warning from the past about the United States of today

The Trump administration’s actions at home and support for horrors abroad raise the question: is America becoming a fascist police state?

Why the world needs renewable food
Julian Cribb

Why the world needs renewable food

The future well-being and survival of civilisation rests upon a single, fragile assumption: that there will always be enough food.

Message from the editor
Catriona Jackson

Message from the editor

Anthony Albanese left for China two days ago. If you relied solely on some parts of the Australian media, you’d think he was handing over the silverware and snuggling up with the People’s Liberation Army.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

NYT report says Netanyahu prolonged war on Gaza to stay in power
Brad Reed

NYT report says Netanyahu prolonged war on Gaza to stay in power

He pressed ahead with the war in April and July 2024, even as top generals told him that there was no further military advantage to continuing, reports The New York Times.

Australian parliamentarians urgently need lessons in international law
Margaret Reynolds

Australian parliamentarians urgently need lessons in international law

As the new Parliament returns this month, it is timely to ask just how many Australian parliamentarians need urgent instruction in international law and how it impacts on government decision-making which complies with the United Nations rules-based order developed by the efforts of so many nations since 1945.

'No' to Jillian Segal's antisemitism action plan
Jepke Goudsmit

'No' to Jillian Segal's antisemitism action plan

Representing Jews Against the Occupation ’48 (JAO48), I would like to share our response to Jillian Segal’s “antisemitism action plan”. In short: we reject it.

Antisemitism Plan sparks fierce debate over free speech, racism, and political agendas
Zia Ahmad

Antisemitism Plan sparks fierce debate over free speech, racism, and political agendas

At a press conference in Sydney on Wednesday 10 July 2025, the Special Envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, together with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke launched the National Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism in order to address antisemitic hate, especially in the wake of intensified community tensions following the war in Gaza.

Kostakidis to go before court, after judiciary recognises anti-Zionism is not antisemitism
Paul Gregoire

Kostakidis to go before court, after judiciary recognises anti-Zionism is not antisemitism

Mary Kostakidis should hold her head up high right now, because of all the Australian journalists who are honestly calling out the holocaust that Israel is perpetrating against the Palestinians.

Mahmoud Khalil to sue Trump admin for US$20m over 'unconstitutional' detention
Jessica Corbett

Mahmoud Khalil to sue Trump admin for US$20m over 'unconstitutional' detention

There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power, said Khalil. And I won't stop here.

Netanyahu leaves Washington without a Gaza ceasefire, just like he wanted
Amir Tibon

Netanyahu leaves Washington without a Gaza ceasefire, just like he wanted

Benjamin Netanyahu is sabotaging talks, hoping Donald Trump will blame Hamas if negotiations fail.

The greatest irony in our contemporary history
John-Janusz Ebel

The greatest irony in our contemporary history

I just read the Sunday Age articles by Chip Le Grand. The writer and The Age have been engaged in a vicious propaganda campaign against the increasing mass protests in Australia that have also involved large numbers of artists, writers, academics and students opposed to the Gazan genocide.


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

Latest on China

Albanese’s visit to China is a moment for statesmanship
Geoff Raby

Albanese’s visit to China is a moment for statesmanship

Membership of the Chinese Communist Party has just exceeded 100 million. It has long been the largest political party in world history.

Albanese’s China mission – managing a complex relationship in a world of shifting alliances
James Laurenceson

Albanese’s China mission – managing a complex relationship in a world of shifting alliances

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for China on Saturday, confident most Australians back the government’s handling of relations with our most important economic partner and the leading strategic power in Asia.

US, China and Australia – an open letter to the PM
Bob Elliston

US, China and Australia – an open letter to the PM

Dear PM Albanese, on Monday 30 June, the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, had a letter published in The Australian entitled China and Australia are friends, not foes. This should never have been in question.  It’s best to read the full version on China’s Embassy website.


John Menadue

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Latest letters to the editor

End the democracy-capitalism link

BoB Pearce — Adelaide SA

“The days of the world letting America live beyond its means are rapidly coming to an end.” What needs to come to an end is the close ties with the market and government. To think that running a business and running a country are the same thing is absolutely ridiculous. A business has an obligation to make a profit and a government has social obligations. That countries have excessive debt is due to excessive spending with private companies who can only be trusted to make a profit. They will not pay any more than they have to, and disregard...
Unis should focus on societal needs, not enrolments

Peter Sainsbury — Darling Point

One would hope that universities would include consideration of society’s needs in decisions about which disciplines they wanted to house, not a simple examination of enrolment numbers. If enrolments for mathematics and English courses declined at Macquarie University, Downton, Parkinson et al. would probably conclude that society no longer needs people who know the square root of zero or when it is legitimate to happily split an infinitive. An appropriate response to declining enrolment numbers (assuming that is what Macquarie University has experienced in sociology) would be to ask whether the knowledge and skills taught by that discipline...
Less authoritarianism needed on vaccines

Murray May — Canberra

John Dwyer’s 9 July article on the epidemic of misinformation about the safety of vaccines omits in his bio his previous connections with Friends of Science in Medicine, an ultra-conservative organisation characterised by a narrow scientism. Dr Kerryn Phelps, formerly president of the Australian Medical Association, has been a strong critic of Dwyer’s approach. Phelps herself and her partner were both damaged by the COVID vaccines, and other highly qualified medical experts have questioned the mainstream story on COVID vaccines. For example, Wendy Hoy AO, Professor of Medicine at UQ, states in her foreword to a detailed 2022...
The Voice against antisemitism

Alan Wilson — Adelaide

I seem to recall that one of the purported arguments against the Voice proposal was that one segment of Australian society would receive special treatment and that this inequality should therefore not be supported. I wonder how our Indigenous community are feeling right now. I wait with breathless anticipation for the Opposition to run the same argument this time around.



Latest from Al Jazeera

Former Nigerian President Buhari to be buried in hometown on Tuesday
Muhammadu Buhari, who was the country's democratic leader between 2015 and 2023, died aged 82 in London on Sunday.
Zelenskyy nominates Yulia Svyrydenko as new Ukraine PM in cabinet shake-up
President Zelenskyy taps economy minister to lead gov't in most significant reshuffle since Russian full-scale invasion.
What is the US’s Crypto Week? Why has Bitcoin hit a record high?
A number of important digital asset laws are set to be voted on in the US this week.
In Belgium, a mother fears for her children under Israel’s bombs in Gaza
Belgium has approved visas for Rawan Alkatari's husband and three children, but they remain stuck in the Strip.
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Team of forensic archaeologists and crime scene experts begins excavating to identify remains of about 800 children.
‘No basis’: Pilot groups reject claims of human error in Air India crash
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