Culture and Religion
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Defying settler colonialism
Far from the killing grounds of Gaza, an incredible display of defiance to settler colonialism has broken out in, of all places, New Zealand. The two projects – Israel and New Zealand’s – are linked more than many would like to think. Palestinian leaders raise their voices in support of New Zealand’s Māori people at Continue reading »
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Does race influence Western support in international conflicts?
The ongoing genocide in Gaza forces us to confront an uncomfortable reality: why does the West seem to prioritise some conflicts while others, particularly in Africa, go unnoticed? It raises a critical question: does race…does colour influence how Western nations choose where to focus their attention and resources? Continue reading »
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Fake news, Melbourne 1966: migrant German priest was a U-boat commander who defied Hitler
A few years ago Ken Haddock, a retired social worker, discovered that a legendary folk tale of Melbourne Catholicism was false. For decades Father Wally Silvester (1919-2005), a charismatic Pallottine priest, has been treated with awe as a former U-boat commander, and hailed as a war hero who defied Hitler by saving enemy Russian sailors. Continue reading »
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Be wary of “foreign crocodiles”, Pope Francis warns Timorese in Dili visit
The papal messages will likely shape the country’s spiritual and cultural landscape for years to come. Pope Francis’ Sept. 9-11 visit to Timor-Leste was a landmark event for the nation and a moment of immense significance for the Catholic community there. Continue reading »
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Gender equality? – Not our culture
Half the 280 million people in Indonesia are women, though not in the 48-member ministry; just five were drafted this week by the fresh president Prabowo Subianto. It’s a Cabinet fuelled more by testosterone than talent. Continue reading »
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Dialogue for Australia’s three voices
There is no doubt that the war in Gaza has placed Australia’s multiculturalism and social cohesion under strain. Continue reading »
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Symbolic politics and ‘terrorist’ symbols
Until recent events, many Australians would not have realised that it could be a criminal offence to display the symbol of a terrorist organisation in public. Continue reading »
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Pope Francis’ latest ‘creations’
Pope Francis has just ‘created’ (appointed) twenty-one new cardinals, twenty of whom under the age of 80 will elect his successor. Among them is a bishop in Australia. Continue reading »
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Indigenous cultures show other worlds are possible
‘I think the natives held privately that in taking such pains to make things grow where already things grew of their own accord I was maybe a little mad…. As for myself, there were times when…. it came to me with considerable force that perhaps in this private opinion there was a deal of truth…’ Continue reading »
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Why I can’t celebrate the Jewish new year
I am a cultural Jew because I am an atheist. I cannot celebrate the Jewish New Year because of the continuing horror in Gaza, and now in Lebanon. Continue reading »
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Israel and the culture of denial
There will be no peace and security for Israelis until Palestinians enjoy freedom, justice and equality from the river to the sea. Continue reading »
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Gazing at the Gorgon in Gaza
The daily witness of horrors in Gaza has provoked moral dilemmas for us all. How do we face these monstrous events, and not turn our hearts to stone? An Australian historian showed us how in 1998. Continue reading »
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Can this year’s UN International Day of Peace make any difference in a conflict-obsessed world?
That question above is both meaningful – and meaningless. A paltry “Day of Peace” — this year, Saturday 21 September — insults the efforts of those who work year-round for something approximating “peace”. Or, at least, who work in multiple ways to promote more intelligent evidence-based possibilities to contain, if not resolve, conflict, and to Continue reading »
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The Pope’s visit? The Sydney Morning Herald had more important stories to cover
Why didn’t the Sydney Morning Herald mention the Pope’s visit to the region? Continue reading »
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Some things we can never rebuild
On the night of 6 October 2023, I was sitting in my home in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tel al-Hawa, engrossed in a book on Greek mythology. Continue reading »
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Chinese culture helps advance modernisation
China’s traditional culture has contributed greatly to the country’s modernisation. Yet it is not the only factor that has advanced Chinese modernisation. The process of modernisation has been driven by factors such as industrialisation and greater equality brought about by socialism, which have been provided by the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Continue reading »
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Zionism, Zionists and Jews
Understanding the complex relationship between Zionism, Zionists and Jews seems to defeat many of Israel’s critics in articles and opinion pieces. This article explores Zion and its connection to land and to Judaism and its more modern day forms. Continue reading »
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What is Zionism? Who is responsible for Israel’s crimes, Jews or Zionists?
Israel and Zionists try to confuse the public by conflating Judaism with Zionism; they commit their crimes and hide behind the Jewish people. Palestinians, on the other hand, distinguish between Jews, Judaism and Zionism and hold the Zionists responsible for the crimes they commit against them, not the Jews. Continue reading »
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Zionist bullying distorts politics, media and education
In addition to physical or psychological abuse, bullies use power in relationships to pressure others to adopt their world views. The bullying may appear in letters, lobbying, radio and television interviews, secret meetings with politicians and business leaders and even in legal action against those who criticise the bullies’ points of view. Continue reading »
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Gambling Alliance is spot-on about disappointing ad ban
The Albanese Government’s apparent unwillingness to properly implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary inquiry into online gambling is, as the Alliance for Gambling Reform puts it, ‘bitterly disappointing’ in the view of St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia. Continue reading »
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A call to all Christians in Australia to strive for a just peace in the holy land
In the Name of Christ, Our Peace – The time has come for people of faith to hear the cries of the people of Palestine, Gaza and Lebanon and to do everything in our power towards the ending of the death and destruction they are suffering. Continue reading »
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Pedalling for Israel is peddling genocide
Unfortunately the Australian Friends of Palestine Association’s campaign to ensure that an Israeli team is not registered for any events in the International Cycling World Tour 2025 and especially in the South Australian Santos Tour Down Under has not met with success. Continue reading »
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Updates from Jerusalem, then and now
From the Committee to Protect Journalists: “The Israel-Gaza war has taken an unprecedented toll on Gazan journalists since Israel declared war on Hamas following its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. As of November 26, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 137 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Continue reading »
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Zionism: An existential threat to Judaism
When recently sacked by Netanyahu, Gallant, in an emotional speech said: “Israel has fallen into moral darkness”. This is what Zionism has internally inflicted on Judaism – moral decay. The security threat suffered by good Jewish people globally is what Zionism has inflicted externally. Continue reading »
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A blessed synchronicity: How even memories of war can give hope for peace
Remembrance Day, 11 November: our little Monday afternoon music group. After the morning’s mournful recollections of war, cheerfully we’re comparing notes about our lives, friends, upcoming events in town. Then we settle back in our armchairs, ready for the music. Our hostess, Gretel Kempster, presses the button. Continue reading »
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Leslie landscape prize attracts superb pictures
It’s astonishing enough that 403 landscapes by Australian artists were entered in this year’s John Leslie Art Prize. Even more surprising is the superb quality and diversity of the 52 shortlisted, which are exhibited in Sale’s Gippsland Art Gallery until 24 November. Continue reading »
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At UNCOP29, improper dealings and safety concerns promise disaster
The chief executive of UNCop29 has been filmed apparently agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at the climate summit. Continue reading »
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BBC goes full Goebbels in support of Israeli soccer hooligans
“IDF will fuck the Arabs!”, “Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left there!” Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans chanting on 8 November, as reported by The Times of Israel. Yet the BBC just compared them to Jewish victims of the Nazi pogroms. Why this story matters is because of the outsized Continue reading »
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Political void: The end of the Wharf
Forty (40) years ago, the ALP ran its national conference at what was then called Noah’s Lakeside Hotel, with uranium, Timor, taxation, David Combe and south-west Tasmania prominent in discussions. But, who is this meeting up on the dancefloor after the day’s debates and double-crossings? Continue reading »
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A controversial graduation address
On Monday, October 21st, Joe de Bruyn, trade union heavyweight, former National President of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, former member of the National Executive of the Australian Labor Party, committed Catholic, was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Australian Catholic University. As is customary, he was also invited to deliver the occasional Continue reading »
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To Jews and Christians of faith: you can’t sit out a genocide
This week I read an article in Al Jazeera describing the killing in one day of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. The same day I read a piece in CNN, “Israeli soldiers returning from war struggle with trauma and suicide”. The article tried to elicit sympathy for soldiers who were traumatised from bulldozing Palestinians. Continue reading »
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“The possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral”: Will US Bishops heed Pope’s pronouncement?
Nihon Hidankyo, Japan’s nationwide organisation of atomic bomb survivors, was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. Continue reading »
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Country town showcases world-standard young pianists
Every two years, a musical feat of world standard is achieved by a young Australian in an unlikely Victorian country town. Shepparton, home of irrigation and stone fruit, population almost 70,600, or an average AFL crowd, hosts it. Continue reading »
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Jack Iverson was, my father often told me, the finest bowler to whom he ever kept
Playing against England, in the home Ashes series of 1950–51, Iverson led the Australian bowling averages with 21 wickets at 15.24 runs per wicket. Bamboozling the Poms, in one Test he got 6 for 27. A little known fact is that Jack Iverson’s highest score in all five Tests was 1 not out. Continue reading »
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Pope Francis and practising what one preaches
Pope Francis has called upon Church authorities to cooperate with civil authorities in relation to child sexual abuse by Church personnel. When it comes to the Vatican cooperating, it is a different story. Continue reading »
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How Zionism proselytises
In her recent acceptance speech as recipient of British PEN’s Pinter Peace Prize, writer Arundhati Roy made special note of President Biden’s words on his visit to Israel shortly after 7 October 2023. Continue reading »
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Anxious Democrat voters find new ways to self-medicate as election looms
Standing in the tiny foyer of a small theatre that had seen better days on a residential street in inner-city Philadelphia, I asked a fellow theatre-goer standing next to me, “Are you looking forward to some comic relief?” Continue reading »
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John Olsen’s gift to the nation
My dear friend, the great Australian painter John Olsen was, at 77, the oldest artist to win the Archibald Prize. Continue reading »
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Jayson Gillham files legal action against MSO, launches crowdfunding campaign
Melbourne, October 2024 – Acclaimed Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham has filed legal proceedings against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in the Federal Court of Australia, following the controversial cancellation of his performance in August. Gillham has also initiated a crowdfunding campaign to support his legal costs in this fight for artistic freedom and free speech. Continue reading »
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The ‘Haredisation’ of Israel and its demographic future: Is there a case for ringing alarm bells?
“Haredim, not Arabs or Iran, are the biggest threat to Israel’, Dan Perry, 2021 Continue reading »
