WAR – ISRAEL

Almost half of Australians (49%) say the Australian Government should not take sides in the current crisis in Israel and Gaza

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Nov-23

Now 49% of Australians say the Australian Government should ‘not take sides’ in the current crisis in Israel and Gaza, according to a special Roy Morgan online survey conducted in conjunction with the Islamic Society of South Australia. This compares to 19% who say the Government ‘should do more to support Palestine’ and 17% who say the ‘Australian Government should do more to support Israel’; 15% of respondents don’t know. The survey also found that 39% of Australians say the Government is ‘favouring the Israelis’ compared to only 10% who say the Government is ‘favouring the Palestinians’. Meanwhile, 80% of Australians say Hamas should return the Israeli hostages unconditionally, while 40% of Australians say the Israeli army should withdraw their armed forces from Gaza immediately and 33% say they should not. This special Roy Morgan online survey was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,006 Australians aged 18+ from Thursday November 16 to Monday November 20.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Israel using a non-existing right, says UN

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Original article by Jess Malcolm, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Nov-23

The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, addressed the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday. She contended that Israel has no right to self-defence in retaliation for the 7 October terrorist attacks because Hamas is an "armed group" within Israeli-occupied territory rather than another state. Albanese also accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza and said that Western countries such as Australia are "almost completely paralysed" in response to the war.

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UNITED NATIONS, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Never have the survivors of the Holocaust felt the need to make a collective statement – until now

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Original article by Fiona Harari
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Nov-23

There is growing concern that anti-Semitism has increased in Australia in response to the Israeli-Hamas war. Some 102 of Australia’s remaining Holocaust survivors have used the 85th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom in Germany to publish a joint statement urging all Australians to denounce the anti-Semitism and hatred that is speading in Australia and around the world. Amongst other things, they have warned of the consequences of allowing history to repeat itself. Nina Bassat describes Australia as one of the last bastions of civility, but warns that its multicultural and tolerant reputation is now at risk. The 84-year-old adds that anti-Semitism is not only about Jewish people, as any group that is perceived to be different also becomes its victims.

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Pro-Palestine business boycott condemned

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-Nov-23

The Stand For Palestine group has been criticised for launching a social media campaign urging Australians to boycott local retailers that have tenuous links to Israel. The companies that have been targeted include Chemist Warehouse and Spotlight Group, which were both founded by the offspring of Jewish migrants. Australian entrepreneur Paul Bassat says these businesses are being boycotted simply because they are owned by Jews, while Arnold Bloch Leibler partner Mark Leibler has described the campaign as "pure unadulterated antisemitism".

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CHEMIST WAREHOUSE, SPOTLIGHT GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD

First foreign nationals evacuated from Gaza named

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Original article by Lucy Cormack
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Qatar has mediated a deal between Egypt, Israel and Hamas to allow up to 500 foreign passport holders in Gaza to enter Egypt via the Rafah crossing. Sources at the border have indicated that the first group of evacuees have reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah. The General Authority for Crossings and Borders had earlier published a spreadsheet listing the names and personal details of the people who had been cleared to leave Gaza; the list includes at least 34 Australians, and 23 of them are among the foreign nationals to have reached Egypt. Some 88 Australians were in Gaza when hostilities commenced after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October.

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Hamas leader vows to repeat Israel attacks again and again

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Original article by Natalie O’Brien, Tiffany Bakker
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad has used an interview on Lebanese television to warn Israel that it can expect more terrorist attacks similar to the one on 7 October that sparked the latest war in the Middle East. Hamad said that Hamas has the "determination, the resolve and the capabilities to fight"; he added that "Israel is a country that has no place on our land" and that it must be "finished". The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims that nearly 8,800 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the terrorist attack. Meanwhile, the United Nations has criticised Israel’s airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp on the Gaza strip. At least 47 people are believed to have been killed, including a Hamas commander; Hamas claims that seven of its hostages are among the dead.

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Israel enters second stage of war

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 14 : 30-Oct-23

Israeli Defence Forces troops have engaged in direct combat with Hamas militants in northern Gaza, supported by tanks and airstrikes on more than 450 locations. The IDF’s Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi says Israeli soldiers have killed "hundreds" of terrorists in the first major ground incursion of the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described it as his nation’s ”second independence war", and stated that Israel’s campaign to "abolish evil" is "only just beginning". Israel had previously only conducted small-scale incursions into Gaza, and Netanyahu says this stage of the war is aimed at destroying the governing and military capabilities of Hamas and to bring hostages home.

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ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCES

Albanese must talk with Netanyahu, send Wong to Israel: Opposition

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 25-Oct-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has spoken to Israel’s ambassador to Australia several times since the war against Hamas began. However, Albanese has confirmed that he has not spoken to Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and has no plans at present to visit Israel. Albanese reiterated Australia’s support for Israel at a press conference during his official visit to the US, stating that the nation has picked "a side against Hamas". Meanwhile, shadow home affairs minister James Paterson argues that Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong should visit Israel if Albanese’s schedule means that he cannot do so.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Israeli soldiers skirmish with Hamas inside Gaza amid air strikes

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Original article by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Dan Williams
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Oct-23

Israeli Defence Force soldiers have conducted raids on the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza, during which time they fought with Hamas militants. Israeli troops and tanks have massed near the southern end of Gaza for a possible ground invasion, while Israel struck hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air on Monday. Hamas stated it released two civilian female hostages, while it has fired more rockets into Israel. The Gaza health ministry claims at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in two weeks of air strikes, while the United Nations said people in Gaza are in desperate need of food, water and medicines, along with places to shelter. Meanwhile, Hamas has advised that it has released another two hostages, citing "humanitarian and poor health grounds".

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UNITED NATIONS

Teal MPs deeply polarised over Israel attack

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Original article by James Robertson
The New Daily – Page: Online : 18-Oct-23

The House of Representatives voted 107-7 on Tuesday to defeat the Greens’ proposed amendment to a motion condemning the attacks on Israel by Hamas on 7 October. Amongst other things, the Greens sought to amend the motion to refer to "war crimes perpetrated by the State of Israel" and remove a sentence stating that Australia “stands with Israel and recognises its inherent right to defend itself”. Teal MPs Kylea Tink and Sophie Scamps voted in favour of the Greens’ amendment, along with independent MP Andrew Wilkie. However, several other teal MPs distanced themselves from the vote.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS