Inside the Middle East

Inside the Middle East

Avi Melamed is the founder and CEO of Inside The Middle East | Intelligence Perspectives [ITME] [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/ty/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTIzNzc3NzU0NzgyNzc3NjMsXCJyXCI6MTkyMzc3Nzg2MjEyNTUwNDk5fSIsInMiOiI5MGFiZGFkZDEwYWZhMTEzIn0] and he says to understand Israel, we must understand the whole Middle East. Avi brings to the table apolitical Middle East education, intelligence-based frameworks for critical thinking and media literacy engaging with Middle East experts absent from Western discourse. Avi is an Israeli author, educator, and independent Middle East strategic intelligence analyst. He is a former senior official on Arab affairs and an Israeli intelligence official. He is an expert on current affairs in the Muslim and Arab society and their effect on the Middle East and Israel. [Full interview] Support the show: https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/ [https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Across the Middle East, NGOs lacking accountability

Avi Melamed is the founder and CEO of Inside The Middle East | Intelligence Perspectives [ITME] [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/ty/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTIzNzc3NzU0NzgyNzc3NjMsXCJyXCI6MTkyMzc3Nzg2MjEyNTUwNDk5fSIsInMiOiI5MGFiZGFkZDEwYWZhMTEzIn0] and he says to understand Israel, we must understand the whole Middle East. Avi brings to the table apolitical Middle East education, intelligence-based frameworks for critical thinking and media literacy engaging with Middle East experts absent from Western discourse. Avi is an Israeli author, educator, and independent Middle East strategic intelligence analyst. He is a former senior official on Arab affairs and an Israeli intelligence official. He is an expert on current affairs in the Muslim and Arab society and their effect on the Middle East and Israel. (0:31-26:10) ---------------------------------------- Major humanitarian and human rights organisations with Australian links have been accused of failing Jewish staff, mishandling antisemitism complaints and allowing contested claims on Israel and Gaza to influence Australian media, education, Parliament and public debate according to Danielle Haas, one of EiGHT’s lead organizers. A 63-page report by EiGHT [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/ty/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTIzNzc3NzU0ODk4MTIxMDYsXCJyXCI6MTkyMzc3Nzg2MjEyNTUwNDk5fSIsInMiOiJjMDIxNmIwMTUyOWJkNGNkIn0], a group founded by current and former NGO professionals, says major international NGOs have minimised, reframed or dismissed antisemitism complaints despite presenting themselves as defenders of human rights, equality and accountability. (26:15-57:44) Support the show: https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/ [https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Butcher's Stain, Royal Commission, Jewish-Arab Party

I spoke with Meyer Levinson-Blount, who directed the film Butcher's Stain, which won a Silver Medal in the Narrative category at the 2025 Student Academy Awards. Additionally, the short film earned a nomination for Best Live Action Short at the 2026 Academy Awards [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/tb/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTE3NDYxMTQ1MjE2NjMyMDksXCJyXCI6MTkxNzQ2MTI2NDc3NTI2ODU5fSIsInMiOiI5NTNjM2Y3MzM2Y2EzODc1In0]. The 26-minute film was created by Levinson-Blount while at Tel Aviv University's Steve Tish School of Film and Television. The story follows Samir, an Arab Israeli butcher working at a Tel Aviv supermarket, who must fight to prove his innocence after being wrongfully accused of tearing down hostage posters in the break room at his workplace. (0:38-14:54) ---------------------------------------- Ben Adler, director of SHIR [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/tb/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTE3NDYxMTQ1NDE1ODYxNTgsXCJyXCI6MTkxNzQ2MTI2NDc3NTI2ODU5fSIsInMiOiIyMDQzZWRhN2JjZmVhZjVmIn0] has testified at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion and this is his submission [https://www.shir.com.au/rc].. SHIR is Australia’s only national Jewish performing arts organisation and CHUTNEY [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/tb/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTE3NDYxMTQ1NTEwMjMzNDMsXCJyXCI6MTkxNzQ2MTI2NDc3NTI2ODU5fSIsInMiOiI0OTc5MDNmY2ZkM2QyNzQ2In0], his music band, is one of Australia’s most established Jewish ensembles. Taking both of these projects ‘outside of the shtetl’ has consistently brought him against the very coalface of antizionism and antisemitism in Australia - especially since October 7. (15:00-30:46) ---------------------------------------- A new Jewish-Arab political party has been established in Israel ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections later this year. 'A Place For Us All' (in Hebrew מקום לכולנו) was launched  by its new co-leaders, Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green. The party will be made up of activists from the Standing Together [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/tb/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTE3NDYxMTQ1NzA5NDYyOTEsXCJyXCI6MTkxNzQ2MTI2NDc3NTI2ODU5fSIsInMiOiI4MTYxMjg2YjJlZmIyMDQ2In0] movement, a grassroots group established in 2015, which aims to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives and harmony between Arab and Jewish Israelis. I will be speaking about this new party with former Israeli ambassador to South Africa Alon Liel and Jonathan Zeigin (the son of late Vivian Silver from Kibbutz Be'eri), who is number 6 on the new party's list (30:52-56:52) Support the show: https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/ [https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Israeli Real Estate Information Event

Gidon Katz, an expert in marketing Israeli real estate to the global Jewish community for close to three decades, and I met up with him at an informational event that took place at Caulfield Shule in Melbourne earlier this year. Support the show: https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/ [https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

ABC and SBS under the spotlight

I spoke with Kate Mannix and Julie Szego  about how our public broadcasters have caused much angst for our Jewish community and discussed how the ABC and SBS must bear some responsibility for fuelling antisemitism in Australia by their slanted coverage from Israel-Palestine in particular. Kate Mannix is a former senior researcher for ABC Television, including on the Compass program. She has made a submission to the Royal Commission on antisemitism and social cohesion with details of how “the ABC’s consistently biased reporting of the Israel-Hamas War has caused antisemitism in Australia to grow”. She talks about the special role of the ABC and its audience’s trust being let down by entrenched bias.  Julie Szego, a Melbourne-based writer, wrote an article for The Australian titled 'Blaming and vilifying Jews – it’s as easy as ABC [https://zpdryj.clicks.mlsend.com/ty/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjc4NDY5OSxcImxcIjoxOTExMTI3NTM0OTUxNDc5ODEsXCJyXCI6MTkxMTEyNzY1MDY4MjgxMDcwfSIsInMiOiI3YmQyZjVmNmMyNWVmZjU0In0]', where she refers to a very strange cultural moment featuring Penny Wong, Mehreen Faruqi, Grace Tame, Charlie Pickering, Avi Yemini and a vast supporting cast in what is about racism and hypocrisy, rape and lies, truth and propaganda. [Full interview] Support the show: https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/ [https://www.j-air.com.au/get-involved/membership/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.