The decision comes after intense international pressure, in the face of humanitarian crisis, diminishing hope of ceasefire and new intelligence reports that Hamas is far from vanquished. Israel has promised to “flood” Gaza with humanitarian aid, in a dramatic move which responds to international pressure to alleviate the crisis in the war-torn region. Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari told media on Wednesday evening that the IDF is working on opening up multiple routes to Gaza by land, sea and air. The decision comes after intense international pressure on the Netan ..read more

Efforts for Ramadan to mark an end to hostilities were in vain, but fears that the holy month would be an instant powder keg in Jerusalem and Gaza have not materialised – so far. In the lead-up to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, everyone talked about it as a deadline. US President Joe Biden said Israel and Hamas were on the verge of a ceasefire deal. War Cabinet member Benny Gantz said a ground invasion of Rafah would begin in Ramadan if hostages were not released. Israeli right-wing extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bar Muslims from Al Aksa/Temple Moun ..read more

For Israel’s rising jingoistic, messianic religious right, the war in Gaza is about recovering pride. Desperate hostages don’t fit their narrative, writes ISHAY ROSEN-ZVI. A fundamental ideology is at work, according to which the war in Gaza is the ultimate national drama, a rare opportunity to recover national pride and a sense of invincibility. In this narrative, the hostages are a source of collective weakness. Supporting their cause means elevating the cause of the individual above that of the state. This is not just a matter of immediate priorities but of a whole value ..read more

Australia’s Jewish representative bodies do not speak for all Jews. Those who are critical of Israel are struggling to make their voices heard. We all know the saying, “two Jews, three opinions”. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Jews in Australia have a multitude of views on Israel. Yet, any member of the wider public listening to the voices of our Jewish representative organisations would hardly know that Jews opposing Israel’s conduct even exist.  Back in November, almost one thousand Jews in Australia signed a letter call for a ceasefire saying that Israel’s actions in Gaza don’t alig ..read more

Saudi officials told Rabbi Abraham Cooper, co-chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, to remove his kippah while in public. (JTA) — A U.S. government delegation tasked with monitoring religious freedom around the world cut a visit to Saudi Arabia short after Saudi officials demanded that a prominent rabbi on the trip remove his kippah. Saudi officials told Rabbi Abraham Cooper, co-chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, to remove his kippah while in public, the commission said in a statement on Monday. Cooper, an Orthodox rabb ..read more

SIDRA KRANZ MOSHINSKY travels to southern Chile and finds a story that feels remarkably familiar to Australian Jews. Wherever we go, we take ourselves with us. So it was that I found myself at a town that felt very much like, if the earth were flat, here is where you would drop off. Punta Arenas is located at the end of a highway called Ruta del Fin del Mundo (“end of the world” in Spanish), in the far south of Chile, pretty much the last stop before heading off to Antarctica. Amid the bracing icy winds, the sea birds  and the grand but dilapidated buildings of what was once a thriving po ..read more

A maritime corridor, a temporary pier, resuming aid through UNRWA: all avenues are being explored as Israel seeks to dismantle the UN aid agency because of Hamas infiltration. US President Joe Biden is launching an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on the Gaza coast to deliver humanitarian aid. The plan, announced in the State of the Union address, is one of several avenues being explored as the international community becomes increasingly concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The United Nations Human Rights Office says 1.9 million people have been displaced out of ..read more

In accepting an Oscar for his Holocaust film ‘The Zone of Interest’, JONATHAN GLAZER denounced Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. (JTA) – As widely predicted, “Oppenheimer,” the biopic of Jewish nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, swept a number of categories at Sunday’s Oscars, including best picture, in a year unusually heavy with Jewish nominees. But the most talked-about Jewish moment of the night came courtesy of Jonathan Glazer, writer-director of the cerebral Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, who used his acceptance speech to comment on the Israel-Hamas war. Standing ..read more

A new SBS podcast that explores grief, death care and how to deal with what happens ‘at the end of the road’. When Anthony Levin’s mother became terminally ill in 2014, he reached out to his friend Nadine Cohen, whose parents had died years earlier. “Because Nadine had already been through it, she was immensely supportive when I was going through it,” says Levin. “No one else really could hold space for what I was going through among my friends.” “I lost my parents when I was in my early twenties and I wasn’t necessarily emotionally equipped to deal with that,” says Cohen. “I realised how Jewi ..read more

How do you reconcile absolute and non-absolute human rights? VIC ALHADEFF asks former Human Rights Commissioner ED SANTOW. The youngest son of a giant of the law – NSW Supreme Court Justice Kim Santow and social worker Lee – Ed Santow blended key aspects of both parents’ careers. “A judge who is 6ft 4 is pretty imposing, but Dad didn’t wear his height in an overbearing way,” he points out laconically. “The distance between law and social work isn’t that far. As a lawyer, a client often comes to you at a time of crisis. If you respond in a legalistic way, answering the legal question only, perh ..read more