Today’s morning session of the conference was something of a revelation.
One of the highlights of this conference was meeting a young woman who is part of the Muslim roof body.
Did you know the Muslim community has been having many similar debates to us regarding roof bodies and representation?
Did you know that they had their own [...]
Nov
17
2009
17
2009
Interfaith Conference 2: Answers… Some to Questions I Hadn’t Thought to Ask
Oct
5
2009
5
2009
A Brief History of The Sensible Jew
This piece was originally published in The AJN in September.
In February, I received an email that had gone viral in Melbourne’s Jewish community. It claimed that owners of a Caulfield-area restaurant were anti-Semites and urged readers to boycott it. On the one hand, something in the email’s tone aroused my suspicion. On the other, I [...]
Sep
29
2009
29
2009
In The New Year 2: Thoughts After Yom Kippur
One of my grandparents never set foot in a concentration camp.
All four went through the Holocaust and all four lost most of the people they ever knew; but one – my paternal grandmother – managed to spend the war in Poland without being captured by the Nazis.
All such stories are intricate, complicated tales of foresight, [...]
Sep
21
2009
21
2009
In The New Year: Glimpses of the Future at Auburn Rd Shul
I have written previously about the crises facing our community – assimilation, disaffection, substance abuse, among many others.
But I had another fear: that generations X and Y are either not inclined or incapable of taking the reins from the baby boomer generation. I have worried that our community is becoming so atomised, and our young [...]
Sep
14
2009
14
2009
An Interfaith Adventure: Evangelicals, Alcohol, and a Very Strange Night
Every so often, someone comes up with an idea so bizarre, it must have merit.
I have written before about my belief in the importance of grass roots inter-communal dialogue – the sort of interactions that do not take place in formal settings, in which difficult questions can be asked, and even occasionally answered.
So when a [...]
Sep
10
2009
10
2009
Aug
30
2009
30
2009
Dvir Abramovich in The Age: No Laughing!
Although Dvir Abramovich’s opinion column in today’s Sunday Age grossly misstates facts and makes various bizarre assertions, I would still like to thank him for the free publicity he has so generously given this blog, through his opinion piece.
Nevertheless, it is only right that [...]
Aug
19
2009
19
2009
Bren Carlill of AIJAC Responds to Part Two – Axis of Honour
Bren Carlill, responding in comments, to the second in the The Axis series, makes some very interesting points – not least of which, is that his piece in The Australian was edited so that key information was omitted.
After reading his comment, I think it’s appropriate to retract my implication that he views all Muslims/Arabs as [...]
Aug
18
2009
18
2009
Part Three – The Axis of Honour: Honour and Shame
Honour and Shame
Parts one and two of this series have focused on how both right- and left-wing ideologies prevent us from understanding terrorism. I’ve mentioned that if we remove ideology from our analyses, we have a much better chance at tackling the issue, both theoretically and practically.
I’ve also suggested, “honour” as one framework that [...]
Jun
3
2009
3
2009
The Sensible Jew Salutes Antony Loewenstein.
Sometimes, we all need a bit of light relief. The Sensible Jew therefore salutes Antony Loewenstein for providing us with a very silly blog piece about Israel.
Mr. Loewenstein begins with a horrifying description of some bad amateur theatrics in which Israeli leaders at a Birthright programme play the part of Palestinians and then try to [...]
Part Six – Axis of Honour Final: Palestinian Suicide Terrorism
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six – Axis of Honour Final: Palestinian Suicide Terrorism
The aim of this series has been to demonstrate a universal framework for understanding suicide terrorism, dismantling the notion that such tactics could only emerge from Islam. At the same time, I have been extremely critical of those wanting to downplay [...]