Paul Heywood-Smith
Recent articles by Paul Heywood-Smith
2 April 2025
Australians for Humanity pushes for votes against Israeli genocide
Australians for Humanity is a coalition of interested parties seeking to have Australia and Australians respond to the genocidal slaughter of Palestinians and the declared Israeli intent to ethnically cleanse Palestine and proceed to the annexation of Gaza, the West Bank and parts of Lebanon and Syria.
28 January 2025
Antisemitism: a vehicle for engendering anti-Palestinian racism
The promotion of antisemitism as a diversion from what is happening in Palestine is a deliberate activity which must be understood by all Australians, particularly voting age Australians.
7 January 2025
Our media ignores the elephant in the room: Israel’s illegal occupation
It falls to someone to bring the discussion concerning what is happening in the Middle East, back to the elephant in the room. And what is the elephant? It is the fact of illegal occupation and what is not being done about it.
28 December 2024
Will Australia act on Israel team's participation in Tour Down Under?
Some readers may recall an earlier article Israel and the Tour Down Under, published on 4 January. The article addressed the then forthcoming Santos Tour Down Under due to take place from 12 - 21 January. The cycling event, established in South Australia in 1999, is an annual event and part of the UCI (Union Cycliste International) World Tour.
28 December 2024
How we got to Gaza: a compendium
The linked article “How we got to Gaza 2024”, is a compendium put together by retired Adelaide historian CL Parkes. The source material is the work of such writers as Ilan Pappe., Robert Fisk, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, Shlomo Sand and Edward Said. Of course, there are others, and behind them all is the Holy Bible.
18 December 2024
Israel’s relentless bombing leaves Syria defenceless against military aggression
This is just another example of the exceptionalism that we have come to expect with Israel. That exceptionalism is the Zionist belief that Arab peoples are inferior to themselves — as former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has described them — “human animals”.
11 December 2024
Settlements in Palestine
As we are potentially approaching a time when the world must address a Palestinian resolution, it is appropriate to consider possible obstacles. As Australians, our vote at the UN last week calling on Israel to end the occupation, is most unlikely to avoid the obstacle addressed here.
3 December 2024
Terminology: The trap that is being carefully set
Terminology, take care. Take care Pearls & Irritations that you don't fall into the trap - fall into the trap that is being carefully set.
26 November 2024
Is Israel above international law? Let’s put the ICC warrants into perspective
On 19 November, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, in response to the request by the Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan KC, back on 20 May.
23 November 2024
“Absolute savagery”: What is stopping Australia from holding Israel to account?
Why won’t you hold Israel to account? You don’t have to wait for the rest of the world. You can be the leaders, you can be the leaders to hold Israel to account, for the slaughter of tens of thousands of Palestinians, for the killing of Zoni Frankcom.” - Senator Mehreen Faruqi, addressing the Australian Foreign Minister, Senator Wong.
16 November 2024
Act now: The case for UN membership for Palestine is overwhelming
John Whitbeck's plea for sanity - UN Membership for Palestine Now, 14 November 2024, should not be put into the too hard basket. At present, of course, the State of Palestine has only non-member observer status, having failed in an application for full member status in 2011.
6 November 2024
The ICJ advisory opinion and the UNGA response
A position paper has been published by the organisation BADIL in October, suggesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision on the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory further fragments the Palestinian people and marginalises their rights.
19 October 2024
Israel's "Right to Defend Itself" against the Hezbollah resistance in Lebanon
Readers may recall my recent P&I post, Israel does not have a right to defend itself, as our PM keeps saying, 11 October. Since publication I have been questioned by some: does the argument made in respect of Palestinians resisting from the West Bank and Gaza, occupied by Israel, apply as well to resistance in the form of missiles fired at Israel from non-occupied territory, such as Lebanon, from which Hezbollah operates?
11 October 2024
Israel does not have a right to defend itself, as our PM keeps saying
Israel has no right of self-defence against resistance to the illegal occupation. Israel cannot both occupy Palestinian lands, and then launch an attack on those lands by citing ‘self-defence’ when occupied populations resist. Neither can Israel treat those resisting in occupied territories as enemy combatants.
19 September 2024
UN vote: Newspaper raises irrelevant questions about an ICJ decision
The exclusive 'US urges Australia over UN’s Israel vote’, published in Tuesday’s The Australian by Ben Packham, demands a response.
9 September 2024
We are avoiding the truths set out on Gaza by the International Court of Justice
Our World gets worse and worse, reflected in inhumane, racist, behaviour. And what for us – Australians – is really bad is that we, as represented by our political leaders, and our media, are totally complicit in genocide.
20 August 2024
The ICJ decision and the general assembly
Readers note that it is a month since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) handed down its advisory opinion on the Palestinian occupation (on 19 July). No doubt some are wondering what is happening. I am one of you.
30 July 2024
Apartheid Israel
“(I)f pressed on legality … our position is that it is for competent judicial bodies to determine whether crimes against humanity have been committed” – (DFAT, 2022, FOI release). What then are DFAT and Australia’s obligations following the finding by the International Court of Justice that Israel has established an apartheid system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories?
25 July 2024
The ICJ decision – where to from here?
The ICJ delivered its advisory opinion on 19 July regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. Readers are by now familiar with the basic rulings of the Court, not from mainstream media, I might add. The ICJ’s judgment has been reported, but its consequences, and particularly for Australia, have barely raised a comment.
13 July 2024
Failure of the International Courts: when will we hear their determinations?
Readers of P&I may recall my earlier papers on the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and their recent forays into the Middle East quagmire. Some may have thought that this is a positive development, perhaps humanity is enlisting international law which will finally bring some common sense to the issue. Some might now be querying whether this optimism was misplaced, and asking, “When am I going to hear something of the Courts’ determinations?”.
25 June 2024
Israel’s Moshe Feiglin repeats Hitler quote at AJA event
“I said on one of the Israeli channels… that he, Hitler, cannot live in the same world as long as one Jew still lives. This Islamo Nazism and the Jews cannot live together. Definitely, not in the same world, he [Hitler] said. But definitely not in the same country. That’s what I said. … And I said, from the river to the sea… it’s either you or me” - Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin at the Australian Jewish Association, June 19, 2024.
21 June 2024
The Jewish community raise their voice to call out extremists
The Jewish Council of Australia, according to reports by Al Jazeera, is deeply concerned that the Australian Jewish Association is promoting the far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin as a speaker at an Australian Zoom event, apparently held on 19 June, notwithstanding that Feiglin has recently quoted Adolf Hitler in reference to the wiping out of Gaza’s population.
31 May 2024
Student protesters have done honour to themselves, and their University
For weeks encampment protests in universities have been occurring throughout Australia. Media coverage has to a significant extent been adverse, and undeservedly so. The public record suggests the protestors have been overwhelmingly well-behaved. And yet, Vice-Chancellors are said to have been pressed to stop the protests. There has even been conjecture that offending students might be disciplined in some way. Can we be assisted by history in this instance?
25 May 2024
What would James Crawford “Australia’s greatest international lawyer” say about Palestine today?
James Crawford has been described as “Probably Australia’s greatest international lawyer of all time” (SMH, 16 June 2021). James Crawford died on 31 May 2021. But perhaps he still has something to contribute to the major controversy facing today’s world: Palestine.
14 May 2024
“From the river to the sea”
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant being used frequently today in rallies around the country in support of the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza. More relevantly, for the purposes of this paper, the chant is being used in university campuses, where protestors are active, to the point of erecting tents, encampments, to accommodate themselves during the course of their protest.
11 May 2024
“Antisemitic hate crime”: US and Israel desperate to avoid ICC justice
Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has labelled prospective action by the International Criminal Court to hold him accountable for the murder of 14,500 children in Gaza as “an unprecedented antisemitic hate crime”.
3 May 2024
Australian aid to Ukraine: False narratives and US hegemony
On Sunday 28 April, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced $100 million in military aid to Ukraine. It was said to raise Australia’s support to $1 billion in support of Ukraine’s attempt to counter “Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion”.
28 April 2024
“Considering” recognition of the State of Palestine
The recognition of the State of Palestine has been an issue for the current Labor government since it came to office. Readers are reminded of these articles: The ALP and the Israeli occupation of Palestine, 9 August 2022; Why did Australia oppose the ICJ advisory opinion on Israeli settlements?, 15 February 2023; Recognise Palestine Now!, 3 October 2023; and The 2025 Federal Election – what are we to do?, 30 January, 2024.
20 April 2024
A state of Palestine? Outrage as US backs perpetual occupation and oppression
Readers will recall my article of 16 April, The end of occupation: A state of Palestine at the UN. It advised of an anticipated vote in the Security Council on April 18. The Security Council was sitting in New York. Because of the time difference, that was early in the morning of 19 April in Australia. So, what happened?
16 April 2024
The end of occupation: A state of Palestine at the UN
UNSC approval of the application for Palestine to become a full UN member state this week would necessarily lead to the end of the occupation. One UN member state cannot occupy the land of another. In the present circumstances, a US veto of Palestinian statehood would make America look ridiculous. It would be seen as a puppet of the State of Israel, incapable of thinking for itself and doing considerable injury to US standing in world affairs.
28 March 2024
Dunstan by-election: Voters abandon Labor over stance on Gaza
The Federal governments reaction to Israels conduct of the war in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is a likely reason for the significant increase in the Greens vote.
27 March 2024
A revolution in American Foreign Policy
Such is the title of a recently published FOREIGN AFFAIRS article by Bernie Sanders, the sub-title of which is Replacing Greed, Militarism and Hypocrisy With Solidarity, Diplomacy, and Human Rights.
6 March 2024
International law and Israels occupation: Understanding the ICJ advisory opinion case
Between Monday 19 February and Monday 26 February the ICJ heard oral submissions on the request for an advisory opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Make no mistake. This case is about as important as it gets. It raises the question of what does humanity mean, and where is the human race heading.
23 February 2024
Misrepresenting the ICJ and muzzling our press - the Empire strikes back
On 26 January, the World spoke to Israel and its supporters on the issue of Gaza. The World spoke through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). There can be no doubt about that. A number of provisional orders were made. Israel, and its primary accomplice, the United States hereinafter the Empire did not like what the World said. The Empire has struck back. Let us consider what it has done.
18 February 2024
Israel and the weaponisation of antisemitism
As someone who has written in the past on the topic of antisemitism in this Journal South Australia and antisemitism, July 12 2022, and Antisemitism and the IHRA definition, April 26 2023, I was moved to do so again following the piece published by the newly formed Jewish Council of Australia (the Council) on February 8, 2024: Jewish Council of Australia launches to provide expert voice on antisemitism and racism in Australia.
14 February 2024
South Africa seeks ICJ emergency order to halt genocide in Rafah
South Africa has made an urgent request for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue emergency orders to prevent large-scale killing, harm and destruction from Israels imminent assault on Rafah. The ICJ, which is preparing to commence separate hearings on the legal status of Israeli occupation next week, has yet to respond. The world awaits the Hagues response.
1 February 2024
The decision of the International Court of Justice
By way of introduction let me quote Richard Falk, noted international law professor and former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Falk: the decision by the ICJ marks the greatest moment in the history of the [Court].
29 January 2024
The 2025 Federal Election - what are we to do?
For many of us a burning issue in our lives at this time is clearly what is happening in the Middle East or more particularly Palestine.
8 January 2024
Ending Genocide: a mechanism for change
These last three months have made it apparent that there has to be a major change to what we know of as Israel/Palestine. But it has been coming for some time perhaps since the enactment of Israels Basic Law of 2018 which conferred a right of self-determination exclusively on the Jewish people thereby asserting supremacy at the expense of the Palestinian people, they making up some 50% of the inhabitants of the land controlled by Israel. The offensiveness of the concept is beyond belief. It has led, directly, to an apartheid state.
3 January 2024
Israel and the Tour Down Under
The Israel-Premier Tech (PRT) team is clearly a vehicle for advancing Israels image, and, indeed, advancing favourable propaganda.
28 December 2023
Palestine The name the Australian Jewish Association wants expunged
The AJA is seeking to suppress Palestinian identification with the country for political purposes from an exhibition entitled Ramses and the Gold of the Pharoahs.
21 December 2023
Gaza cannot be a mere holding pen. A new ghetto
Gaza can only succeed as an entity as part of a genuine Palestinian state. It cannot be allowed to be a mere holding pen, a new ghetto. The whole of the West Bank must be combined with Gaza as the Palestinian state. It must be a state with real sovereignty, with free and open borders with all neighbouring states, and with real security. Real security means freedom from incursions by Israel, whether by land, sea or air. - Paul Heywood-Smith, 2004.
20 December 2023
Embracing Palestinian statehood
R. David Harden, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obamas special envoy for Middle East peace, and Larry Garber, who served as the USAID mission director to the West Bank and Gaza have recently penned an article in the New York Times arguing that, to achieve peace and end the war on Gaza, The U.S. Must Embrace Palestinian Statehood Now.
7 December 2023
Australia has abandoned international law
Two months have passed since the events of October 7. Publicly, Australia has done nothing except perhaps indicate that it desires a two-state solution, and expects Israel to only take action which has regard to the need to protect civilians. Is this enough? The answer is no.
2 December 2023
As genocide unfolds, what can you do? Boycott. Divest. Sanction.
Israeli children sing, We will annihilate everyone in Gaza. The song was played on Israels national broadcaster Kan. This fact was exposed by the Electronic Intifada Ali Abunimah on 19 November. It pretty well says it all. So, what can you do about it? Well, one thing you might do is support BDS.
28 November 2023
Blood: The bitter harvest of breaching Resolution 2334
I have been troubled by the Wests media treatment of the October 7th military raid on Israel by the Palestinian people. Who is really responsible for the fact that the October 7 raid occurred?
17 November 2023
Gaza - What is the end game?
In recent weeks some frightening possibilities have come to the worlds attention. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has noted plans, by some, for high density Jewish cities in the Gaza Strip. Such plans call for total destruction and mass expulsion in Gaza.
16 November 2023
Does Israel have a right to exist?
Israels membership of the United Nations was approved in 1949. Unlike other states, it was approved conditionally upon Israel complying with Partition Resolution 181 as to the limits of the Israeli State, and UN Resolution 194, allowing the return of refugees. Israel has complied with neither condition. It refuses to define its borders and is today governed by an Apartheid regime that has murdered over 4,500 children in Gaza in the space of one month. Israels membership of the UN must be illegal. It should be expelled from the community of nations.
15 November 2023
Ending Jewish Israels domination a re-humanising act: UN Special Rapporteur
Invoking a shared humanity, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called for a rehumanisation discourse in the Israel/Palestine conflict, in which ending Jewish Israels domination would be a re-humanising act for Jewish Israelis as well.