Reb Halabi
Reb Halabi focuses on the intersection of religion and geopolitics.
Recent articles by Reb Halabi
26 March 2025
No such ceasefire
As the latest ceasefire has predictably ended, will the world start taking notice of the Palestinians again? There’s been a stark absence of coverage in mainstream media of the ongoing decimation of Gaza and the West Bank. I imagine the average citizen believes it’s all okay now, the onslaught has ended and there’s nothing more to worry about. Nothing to see here, folks. Phew, the Palestinians are safe.
17 January 2025
Western media believe 24 Californians matter more than 46,000 Palestinians
Last week, news headlines heralded the disaster of 24 lives lost in Californian wildfires. Yet the same media outlets petered out the news of thousands more being killed by deliberate man-made bombing, starvation and destruction of homes and hospitals by Israel in Gaza.
12 January 2025
A festering pile of power-seekers
A new year has rolled over and I, like many who care about peace, humanity and human rights, feel jaded and despondent. The world seems to be headed towards even more thuggery and greed than ever before.
2 December 2024
Australians are being corralled to take the side of a genocide
“Our [Western] media’s role is not to be a check on power, it’s to regurgitate their lies.” This system of reporting is “mood music to get their genocide done” says Journalist Matt Kennard from the Middle East Eye.
22 November 2024
Are 'dead' Palestinian children less important than 'murdered' Israeli hostages?
I audibly gasped when Andrew Podger referred to Israel’s response in Gaza as a “lack of care” in a recent P&I article. Hardly a balanced use of words.
15 November 2024
America is a war machine, feeding an Israeli government killing machine
True or False: No one is above the law.
3 November 2024
The alpha and omega of tyranny
The U.S. and Israel are the alpha and omega of tyranny and destabilisation throughout much of the Middle East – arguably, the world. Who will stop them?
3 October 2024
Who's next on Israel's destruction list?
If Israel invades and destroys Lebanon, which is already on its knees, what’s to stop it from moving into Syria or Jordan or any other country that does not bend to its will? Apparently nothing.
23 September 2024
A depraved new low for Israel
We are witnessing a depraved, rogue nation which perhaps believes that every act of violence and horror it perpetuates is justified in the name of… what?
17 September 2024
If Gaza carnage continues, then nobody is safe
The description of Armageddon may be (to some) a fictional drama of woe and horror, yet what we are witnessing in Gaza could surely fit the defining crescendo of anarchic violence as described in the book of Revelation. In the biblical story there is an unleashing of the beast who wreaks havoc on earth. The weak and vulnerable Palestinians and those unable to feed themselves, let alone defend themselves against weapons, bombing, cholera, polio and death, quite possibly feel a resemblance to the biblical hell on earth.
18 July 2024
The drums of war
The drums of war have been beating loudly from successive U.S. administrations for decades. They are getting louder and louder as the thin layer of power-hungry, greedy and heartless elite push and push in an attempt to get us all to the brink of war-minded madness, be it civil or foreign.
1 July 2024
USA - home of the brave?
Can you think of another country which has caused so much grief and violence throughout the world?
4 June 2024
US spends $320m on Gaza’s pier while its people burn
If this scenario had been written into a novel at the turn of 19th century it would have been too unthinkable to believe it could actually take place – assisting in the bombing of innocent civilians, then charging in to feed them, appearing like the saviour of your victims.
2 May 2024
We'll reward you for genocide
Israel: Hey Joe, just letting you know Hamas has retaliated to our decades long Occupation and repression and have broken through the prison gates and attacked Israelis. Go figure.
1 May 2024
The Wakeley church stabbing and the dreaded ‘other’
I remember watching a timid singer walk on stage and when he opened his mouth to introduce himself, out came a French accent. The audience mewed and cooed in awe. The next contestant tenuously stepped onto the stage and started to speak. Her accent was Chinese. The audience’s reaction was completely different. Racism manifests in strange ways. Halting English from one accent gets a thumbs up but another accent – not so much. I think it’s called selective racism.
22 April 2024
The word retaliation needs to be broken open to see what’s hidden inside
Some time back I watched SBS' ‘The Australian Wars’. It was, to many, a completely different viewpoint of settler colonialism, the impact of invasion, and the very legitimate defence of land by Australia’s indigenous native population.
7 April 2024
Witness to horror upon horror, I scream underwater
I recently heard the British-Palestinian Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah tell of the horrors of Israels total destruction of Gazas hospitals and healthcare system. Many children who have lost both parents and extended family in Israels inhumane and incomprehensible slaughter of Gazans, have also lost their limbs, eyes and certainly their futures. Dr. Abu-Sittah alerts the world that these children are destined for what can only be described as an appalling and destitute future. When one toddler drowns in a pool in Australia, we all mourn and sympathise with the family. Why are 13,000 children not mourn-worthy?
4 April 2024
For Albanese, one Australian life matters more than 32,000 dead Palestinians
How Albanese doesnt swallow his tongue as he vociferously demands full accountability from Israel for the killing of Zomi Frankcom yet remains silent on 32,000 other killings is anybodys guess. He waved his metaphorical fist at Netanyahu and told of Australias outrage at Zomis death. But Albanese left out the bit about many Australians outrage at the indiscriminate killing of 32,000 innocent Palestinians; not just one of our own.
31 March 2024
The pigeon and the socks
In February PETA sprang into action to rescue a pigeon held in India which had been accused of spying for China. They secured its release.
16 March 2024
The remnants of war lessons unlearnt
Im walking around the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Ive looked at the military aircraft in the front courtyard which looms large but doesnt yet give too much away of what the Vietnam War was all about. It feels very American with each piece of used equipment stamped with U.S. Army and U.S. Airforce. But then comes the hammer blow.
24 February 2024
In God we trust
The following words are from Canadian Dr. Yasser Khan (Eye-Facial Plastic Trauma Surgeon) who returned from a humanitarian surgical mission at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.
15 February 2024
Dont just mow the grass burn down the entire forest
You know there is a shocking decimation taking place when news footage shows only two colours - grey and red. Images of the persecution and murder of Gazans are utterly heartbreaking. Israel is asking the world to allow it to commit genocide. The US, and the West, are saying Yes, go ahead.
11 February 2024
Deflect, distort, deny
In what world does a dominant state claim they have a right to defend themselves against those they have unethically, immorally and illegally imprisoned for decades, killed and persecuted without trial?
12 January 2024
A slow genocide and the joy of eradicating a people
Israel is relying on world sympathy fatigue and amnesia. They are biding their time for the world to look away so that they can finish the job they started back in 1948. That is, the elimination of the Palestinian people. With luck, they hope, the world will stop their bleeding-heart moaning about Gaza and the plight of the Palestinians. The joy of the eradication of the Palestinian Problem will, God willing, be complete in 2024.
27 December 2023
Gloves fall from the blood soaked hands
If the gloves are off from the blood-soaked hands of Israel and the United States, then the gloves should come off for the rest of the world to tell them what they think of their genocidal actions and brutality.
16 December 2023
Onward Christian soldiers
Hymn # 7,000 - Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War
16 November 2023
US and Israeli exceptionalism and the exception of humanity
Both The US and Israel have turned out to be exceptionally brutal, exceptionally authoritarian and exceptionally unjust. The zeitgeist is peace, and Israel and the U.S. will be left behind when the world moves towards humanity and cooperation. Meanwhile they are going to dig in, stand firm on their use of blood curdling violence against their prisoners and send us all to hell unless the general public resist with every ounce and fibre of their humanity.
9 November 2023
Scott Morrisons heartless yearning for Armageddon
I was wondering what was taking prominent Christian Zionists so long to visit Israel. And then I saw himScott Morrison landing with the arrogance of someone totally convinced hes betting on the winning horse.
16 October 2023
Palestinian genocide: History whispers until it shouts
There is a genocide happening on our watch. Can we rally from the brink of despair?
13 October 2023
The one word Israel is desperate you not define - terrorism
Terrorism: (adjective) unlawfully using violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in pursuit of political aims. Has any term more fully captured what the state of Israel inflicts on Palestinians?
11 October 2023
Jailbreak from prison Gaza
Since when do we praise Occupiers for brutal oppression? Words are used to confuse, obfuscate and detract from the truth of Palestine-Israel. Words such as terrorist, enemy, militants and murderous are often used to describe Palestinians who are, in essence, victims, freedom fighters, oppressed, occupied and ignored.
24 August 2023
The branding
The alleged branding of the Star of David on the face of a Palestinian man by Israeli police has left many around the world aghast at the barbaric cruelty and violence of such an act. It has been reported in numerous media outlets yet is, so far, glaringly left out of others. This kind of humiliation and violence seems to come from another era in a time when racial violence and the attacking of the underdog whilst authorities turned a blind eye was de rigueur. But it's 2023.
23 July 2023
Kindergarten mentality: a higher standard required from those who govern us
Some politicians have decided to do what is better for them and their re-election and position rather than whats good for Australia. They think the smart thing to do is trash the whole idea of the Voice. Ego, power, position and privilege have nothing to do with the Voice. It has to do with Australian citizens and how best we can be inclusive and move forward.
4 July 2023
Silence and the horror of Jenin
Why hasnt the devastation of almost an entire people been called out for what it is?
30 June 2023
Unsettling
What does the word settler mean to you? We read it often in reference to Palestine-Israel. The recent horror of murder and violence in the Occupied areas of the West Bank (Palestinian Territory) needs to be explained; and not with vague and rhetorical reporting which too often suggests that the illegal Jewish settlers are once again targeted by Arab madmen.
19 June 2023
Ugandas version of Christianity
There are no genuine homosexuals in Uganda. They dont exist. And if it they do, its the fault of foreign (read Western) influence. If straight men are recruited into being homosexual, then it must be eradicated before it infects all Ugandan men. Stephen Fry went out of his way in 2022 to dispel such nonsense; even travelling to Uganda to confront those who held such unenlightened views.
8 June 2023
Israeli Defence Force shoots and kills a 3-year-old
Most people can focus to see if theyre looking at a bird, a car or a person. Throw in a military scope and the sharp eyes of youth and ask yourself if you would spot the difference before you pulled the trigger.
28 May 2023
Dont forget the Nakba
With the passing of the 75th remembrance of the Nakba this May, Palestine and its Occupation can often be forgotten from one May to another.
9 May 2023
An open letter to Benjamin Netanyahu
At what point did you lose your empathy and compassion towards those outside your circle? Why are you able to feel for those around you yet not for other human beings who live close by and who have exactly the same wants and desires from life as you and your family?
19 April 2023
Its armageddon, but not as we know it
Why are tens of millions of Christians supporting the expansion of Israel and the oppression of the Palestinians? Its an important question because the answer has serious consequences for the stability of the Middle East.