Australia’s changing votes on annual Israel-related resolutions at the UN General Assembly

The following article was penned by the current co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim, in April 2018. Read more

An explanation of ICC’s role in calling for arrest warrants issued to Israeli leaders

Many people may be wondering how the International Criminal Court (ICC) can have jurisdiction over Israeli political leaders when Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty under which the ICC is constituted…writes Peter Wertheim. Read more

The Victorian ALP conference

The Victorian ALP Branch resolution over the weekend was all about politics, not principle…writes Peter Wertheim. Read more

Peter Wertheim: Nazi symbols ban a step in the right direction

Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus will shortly introduce to the parliament The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill. Read more

Australian Jewish community looks to the future

For the last three years the Australian Jewish community has enjoyed unprecedented support and understanding from the Australian government, led by Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison, on matters concerning Israel and domestic policy. Read more

Jewish voters face stark choices

As reported on J-Wire, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) last month sent out questionnaires to the major parties and to individual candidates in the Federal seats of Wentworth, Macnamara, Goldstein and Kingsford Smith, with high percentages of Jewish voters, to gauge their policies and attitudes on issues of particular concern to the Jewish community, ahead of the May 21 election. Read more

In memory of Yitzak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin was one of the giants of the cause of Zionism and the State of Israel…writes Peter Wertheim. Read more

Leifer extradition delay

The ongoing significant delay in extraditing accused pedophile, Malka Leifer, from Israel to Australia to face 74 charges involving allegations that she sexually abused at least eight pupils during her time as principal of the Adass Israel school in Melbourne between 2003 and 2008, is causing growing dismay across the Australian Jewish community. Read more

Bob Hawke

Bob Hawke was one of the giants of Australian public life. Read more

Australians do support recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

The brouhaha that followed the federal government’s announcement that Australia will consider moving Australia’s Israeli embassy to Jerusalem continues to sputter along…writes Peter Wertheimer. Read more

Orchestrated chaos: Palestinian rejectionism again proves its futility

Events at the Israel-Gaza security barrier on May 15 followed what has become an all too predictable pattern…Hamas starts a confrontation with Israel; Israel defends itself; the world condemns Israel…writes Peter Wertheim. Read more

Why the ABC should apologise for its Good Friday interview of Rev Dr Stephen Sizer

For centuries, Easter Holy Week was an occasion for incendiary sermons and outbreaks of mob violence against Jewish communities throughout Europe…writes Peter Wertheim. Read more

Should the US cut aid to the Palestinians?…asks Peter Wertheim

The US government recently announced that it will reduce its funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides aid to Palestinians, to $125 million per annum, down by $60 million.  It accuses UNRWA of having close connections to Hamas and its racist, rejectionist ideology towards Jews and Israel, and of perpetuating rather than resolving the problem of Palestinian statelessness.[1] Read more

Resolution 242 remains basis for peace

November 22 marked the 50^th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 242, unanimously adopted after much negotiation, which laid down principles for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. The resolution was born out of the Arab-Israel war of June 1967 and can only be understood in that context. Read more

Bob Carr, Theodor Meron: settlements and recognition

Former Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, has on several occasions cited the well-known opinion of Theodor Meron to Israel’s Prime Minister Levi Eshkol in September 1967, when Mr Meron (now Judge Meron) was Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which he concluded that “civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention”. Read more

A politically-guided tour

An article featuring Israel and the West Bank entitled “Hope in a Divided Country” by Sandra Hall appeared in the “Traveller” section of Sydney’s Weekend Herald  and Melbourne’s The Saturday Age (October 17-18):  http://www.traveller.com.au/on-tour-in-israel-and-palestine-beyond-the-borders-gk49lk. Read more

Lynch’s Supporters Dig Him into a Deeper Hole

Nick Riemer’s apologia for the conduct of his colleague, Jake Lynch, during the disruption by protesters of a lecture by Colonel Richard Kemp at the University of Sydney on March 11 (Why Jake Lynch was waving money around at an anti-Israel protest, March 25) only digs Lynch into a deeper hole. Read more

Wertheim responds to Adelaide article

“Peter Goers’ column in last week’s Sunday Mail titled “Why I weep: the 720km wall, a symbol of apartheid” appeals to the emotions, and to outdated anti-Jewish religious motifs, but ignores the facts” wrote ECAJ executive director Peter Wertheim. Read more

Law against racial vilification steeped in Australian history…writes Peter Wertheim

Those who would dismiss Australia’s laws prohibiting racial vilification as a mere concession to latter-day political correctness and ‘the culture of complaint’ should remember that such laws were called for by a distinguished Supreme Court judge as far back as 1949. Read more

Carr in Error on Settlements…writes Peter Wertheim

It was disappointing to hear Foreign Minister Bob Carr repeat an erroneous assertion he has made once before. Speaking on August 8 at Eid celebrations in Sydney to end the Muslim festival of Ramadan, Carr told a crowd outside Lakemba mosque in western Sydney that “all Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are illegal under international law and should cease. Read more

Good news and Bad from Joint Australian and UK Ministers’ Meeting…writes Peter Wertheim

For those unfamiliar with diplomatic-speak, AUKMIN (Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations) is the annual day-long summit between the Foreign and Defence Ministers of Australia and the UK.  This year’s summit was held in Perth on Friday, January 18. Read more

Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha-azmaut – an Australian memoir

Israel has long been my preferred destination for overseas travel, and not merely because of the large number of my family members who live in different parts of the country.  I just enjoy being there…writes Peter Wertheim. Read more

Is Cyber Racism an Untameable Beast?

‘Cyber racism’ refers to material published on the internet which is freely accessible and vilifies or harasses a person or group of persons because of their actual or presumed colour, nationality, descent or ethnic, ethno-religious or national origin. Read more