Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council

The Nigerian Government this month declared the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) a security threat. The Nigerian network is similar to other welfare systems established by Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups. It boasts more than 300 schools, Islamic centres, a newspaper, gua

"This is the Hamsa. This is the Hand of Fatima. This is (hesitation) a star". In a typical Moroccan jewelry shop, the proprietor was discussing the recurring motifs in his necklaces, rings and decorations. The "star" was a Magen David, the well-known Jewish symbol. The jewellery, religious ritual

In June, the Israeli journalist Amir Tibon wrote an article for Politico detailing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's long-standing and bitter fights with Israel's defence leaders. Former IDF chiefs of staff and spymasters described Netanyahu as messianic, driven by personal calculations, a

Israel, in short, had always had at any given time at least two friends within the Turkish-Iranian-Egyptian triangle. In 2012, however, all three were at odds with the Jewish state. Four years on, the tables have turned.

In February Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced, "Israel is coming back to Africa." In July, he followed through on this commitment by visiting Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda... Interestingly, each country Netanyahu visited has a unique connection with Israel: Uganda and Ethiopi

Today's Update looks at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's historic trip to Africa, which is about to conclude. Whilst there, he visited, and met with the leaders of, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. His first stop was Uganda, where he commemorated the famous 1976 Israeli rescue of the h

The first stop of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's widely anticipated trip to Africa was Uganda, where he commemorated the fortieth anniversary of Operation Yonatan.

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigners and their supporters like to claim that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated internationally. Israel's supporters also sometimes express concern that the relentless campaign of misinformation and false blame may be having a detrimental effect o

In Nigeria, on July 19, the Boko Haram terror group reportedly took the town of Damboa, gunned down everyone they saw and burned most of the town to the ground. At least 100 people were killed - but the death toll may actually be considerably higher. Know about that one? Further, more than 15,000 p

This Update discusses the apparent resurgence of al-Qaeda after 22 US diplomatic missions across the Middle East were forced to close due to intelligence of a serious al-Qaeda plot allegedly originating in Yemen and ordered by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. It goes on

UN agencies dedicated to the promotion of human rights, mandated with the protection of the world's most vulnerable and marginalised populations, have long been subject to widespread criticism for their politicization, hypocrisy, and anti-Israel bias. Over and over again, the UNHRC has proven to be

Compared to the revolutionary upheavals in the Arab states, the Jewish state is a haven of political stability, domestic quiet and economic prosperity. And while it involves a hazardous, overland desert journey fraught with Bedouin marauders and human traffickers, Israel's largely unfenced Negev bor

The UN has often suffered from a ‘credibility' issue because of its choice of appointments, and the latest appointment of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe by the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as 'Leader for Tourism' illustrates once again why.

The conviction of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia and once powerful warlord, was a landmark ruling by an international tribunal - the Special Court for Sierra Leone. It was the first guilty verdict for a head of state in the history of UN war crimes courts. Taylor's verdict could os

Stop Kony 2012, a video by US-based NGO 'Invisible Children', has become a viral sensation overnight and has seemingly coopted thousands if not millions to the cause of hunting-down Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. While the organisation behind the video is questionable, there is no doubt that

In a story that has been largely ignored by the Western press, the African Union (AU) is flexing every international legal muscle it can find in order to protect Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir from his indictment on charges of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Bash

It is not often that "ignore the problem and hope it goes away" is a particularly effective strategy in international affairs. Amazingly, however, the international community seems to have successfully employed this tactic in Somalia to drive the terrorist group al-Shabab from the capital Moghadishu

As explained in a previous post, the drought that is currently besetting East Africa has become a full-scale humanitarian disaster in Somalia, mostly because of the rejection of foreign aid by Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab, who have rejected claims that there is a famine whilst waging a violent c

Throughout its history, Israel has been at odds with the various leaders of Sudan. This enmity was demonstrated recently when Israel allegedly destroyed an arms convoy in Sudan that was headed for Gaza and when, also allegedly, Israel subsequently assassinated a key Hamas weapons smuggler in Sudan,

The catastrophic drought in East Africa has created an all-but unprecedented humanitarian disaster. Commendably, many world leaders - including Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd - have called for the international community to provide immediate aid relief to the millions who are suffering. Whe