Latest news with #ZionistFederationofAustralia
Sky News AU
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘March against Israel': Sydney protestors used Harbour Bridge as a ‘symbol of hate'
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto says the Jewish community is 'shaken up' after seeing the 'glorification of terrorism' from the pro-Palestine protest on Sydney's Harbour Bridge. 'This so-called march for humanity, which was promoted as a peaceful demonstration, was anything but,' Mr Cassuto told Sky News host Steve Price. 'These images are not about peace. 'If these people wanted peace, then they'd stand side by side with Jews and Palestinians. 'This was a march against Israel… this was not a march for peace.'
Sky News AU
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Reality check' comes in as Australian protest call for Israel and Australia's destruction
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto discusses the scenes in Sydney and Melbourne where pro-Palestine protestors held marches. 'There is a unique hatred that manifests when it comes to Israel that doesn't manifest in any other conflict around the world,' Mr Cassuto told Sky News host Steve Price. 'Israel is fighting for some very specific values … against a psychotic Islamist terrorist organisation, bent on its destruction. 'A reality check came when we saw that the same people who protest Israel and call for Israel's destruction … and worse, they call for Australia's destruction.'
Sydney Morning Herald
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Moral obligation': Top Jewish group calls for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza
One of the country's top Jewish organisations has argued Israel has a moral obligation to ensure the flow of sufficient aid into Gaza, saying it is deeply troubled by the suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians. The statement by the Zionist Federation of Australia – the peak body for Zionist organisations and activity in Australia – contrasts with the Israeli embassy in Canberra's claim on Monday that there is no starvation in Gaza. It also represents the most direct call from the nation's main pro-Israel groups for more to be done to ensure that enough food and other essential supplies are delivered to Gazan civilians. Zionist Federation President Jeremy Leibler said the organisation continues to stand 'shoulder to shoulder with the state of Israel, as its people fight a just war to secure the removal of Hamas from power and the return of the hostages.' 'Our humanity also compels us to recognise the pain and suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza,' Leibler said. 'We are deeply troubled by the reports of hunger in parts of Gaza.' In a statement intended to convey the growing distress in much of the nation's Jewish community about images of starving Palestinian children and lengthy food queues in Gaza, he continued: 'We call upon Israel, the United Nations and their counterparts to do everything within their power to ensure that sufficient humanitarian aid flows to Palestinian civilians without delay. 'That is their collective moral obligation.'
The Age
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
‘Moral obligation': Top Jewish group calls for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza
One of the country's top Jewish organisations has argued Israel has a moral obligation to ensure the flow of sufficient aid into Gaza, saying it is deeply troubled by the suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians. The statement by the Zionist Federation of Australia – the peak body for Zionist organisations and activity in Australia – contrasts with the Israeli embassy in Canberra's claim on Monday that there is no starvation in Gaza. It also represents the most direct call from the nation's main pro-Israel groups for more to be done to ensure that enough food and other essential supplies are delivered to Gazan civilians. Zionist Federation President Jeremy Leibler said the organisation continues to stand 'shoulder to shoulder with the state of Israel, as its people fight a just war to secure the removal of Hamas from power and the return of the hostages.' 'Our humanity also compels us to recognise the pain and suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza,' Leibler said. 'We are deeply troubled by the reports of hunger in parts of Gaza.' In a statement intended to convey the growing distress in much of the nation's Jewish community about images of starving Palestinian children and lengthy food queues in Gaza, he continued: 'We call upon Israel, the United Nations and their counterparts to do everything within their power to ensure that sufficient humanitarian aid flows to Palestinian civilians without delay. 'That is their collective moral obligation.'
Sydney Morning Herald
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Universities react to anti-semitism envoy report; PM says Australia must not be ‘subservient' to allies
Latest posts Latest posts 7.04am Antisemitism: Jewish groups welcome special envoy report while universities mull response The release of recommendations from the federal government-appointed antisemitism special envoy, Jillian Segal, has prompted a mixed reaction. While organisations such as the Zionist Federation of Australia have welcomed Segal's proposals to curb hate against Jewish people, some have warned the changes presented a threat to free speech and freedom of expression. The most contentious proposals included a call to strip funding from universities, charities and cultural institutions that fail to combat hatred against Jewish people, calls for editorial standards within the media and the screening of visa applicants for antisemitic views. Barrister Greg Barns, SC, spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said the recommendations represented a threat to freedom of speech and the right to protest and could result in draconian penalties. He pointed out Australia has international human rights obligations to free speech and freedom of expression. 'The temptation will be for universities, cultural institutions and others, including NGOs, to suppress alternative views in relation to Israel,' Barns said. 'Overall there's a chilling aspect to the envoy's recommendations and that is to essentially adopt a Trumpian tool of cajoling and threatening in order to curtail fundamental human rights.' Loading Universities have stopped short of endorsing the plan but said they would consider its recommendations and awaited the federal government's response. Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy welcomed the plan's publication and said he was awaiting details of the government's response. 'This is a significant body of work, and we'll work closely with our members as we consider the recommendations …We look forward to further detail on the government's response,' Sheehy said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not say on Thursday whether his government would adopt all the report's recommendations, but he welcomed the report and said that some of its proposals were already under way or could be rolled out quickly. 6.42am Mushroom cook Erin Patterson's life behind bars Mushroom cook and convicted triple murderer Erin Patterson has struggled to adjust to life in prison. This piece, from Chris Vedelago, lifts the curtain on Patterson's new life in prison after being convicted of three counts of murder and one for attempted murderer. The introverted, bright mother of two has consistently struggled to accept exactly where she had ended up, according to sources familiar with her conditions. She doesn't curse or spit at the guards or bash anyone. But she has put inmates and guards off with her constant complaints, which are often taken as showing her complete lack of awareness of where she is. 'Her cell is too hot or too cold: 'What are you going to do about it?' she'd say. It was complaint after complaint after complaint,' says a guard who formerly worked in her unit. 'It's not a hotel; it's a prison. Yes, she wasn't convicted yet. But it's still a prison. It's not meant to be customised for your comfort.' 6.30am 'I lost my tears'; the Australian taking on a controversial role in East Jerusalem Like many buildings East Jerusalem's Silwan district, Najah al-Rajabi's home is covered in brightly coloured murals of flowers and eyes painted by pro-Palestinian artists as part of a project called 'I witness Silwan'. Her late husband Awad bought the house from a Palestinian owner in 1975, and she has the documents to prove it. Yet in the eyes of the Israeli legal system, they count for nothing. On June 22, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected her family's final appeal against an eviction process that began a decade ago. 'I've cried so much I lost all my tears,' the widow, 69, says, her weary face framed by a purple hijab. 'I'm dying inside. I'm an elderly woman and I have nowhere else to go.' Israel seized East Jerusalem in the six-day war of 1967 and considers it a part of its undivided capital city. By contrast, almost all the world's countries, including the Australian government, regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory and the prospective capital of a future Palestinian state. Today it is home to around 362,000 Palestinians and 234,000 Israelis. Among those pushing Palestinians out of their homes is Daniel Luria, 65, who grew up in Melbourne but moved to Israel 30 years ago and works as the executive director of Ateret Cohanim, a group that says it 'stands at the forefront of Jewish land reclamation in Jerusalem'. The organisation has been accused by groups such as Amnesty International of using bribery, straw companies and the exploitation of legal technicalities to gain ownership of Palestinian homes. Recordings published in 2018 showed the organisation's chairman and attorney offering Palestinian property owners prostitutes and Viagra, and threatening to destroy their reputations unless they agreed to sell their homes.
