| Pub. Date | : Apr, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of International Relations |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJIR10420 |
| Author Name | : Hriday Ch. Sarma |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 17 |
This paper provides a snapshot of the composition and function of pro-Israeli forces currently operating in Australia, specifically with regard to how its intellectuals working for self-professed Jewish organizations and the mainstream Australian news media, have gone about representing the Palestinian plight to audiences. It is revealed that the pro-Israeli Movement Intellectuals have sought to garner public support and help ensure the ongoing Australian government support for the occupation by utilizing linguistic techniques that challenge the characterization of Palestinians as refugees, cast doubt about the existence of Palestine as a place, claim Palestinians want to emigrate and represent the right of return as fantasy.
Learning some important lessons from the international coordinated effort to help end the apartheid in South Africa, many political actors from around the world have been motivated by the idea that Israel's assuming of an ethical and moral pariah status would help catalyze some kind of change to the brutal status-quo in the occupied territories. This effort has attracted support from many average Australians despite its government continuing to remain unwavering in its support for Israel. Pushing back against these grassroots efforts within the Oceanic and Asian nation is a very influential and moneyed force comprising entities who have instead chosen to identify with and support the colonizing and imperialistic Israeli regime. In representing and advocating for the Israeli State project with little to no concern for those whose freedoms it is violating, many of these political actors have assumed the roles of Movement Intellectuals-a position reprised in great detail by writers like Ron Eyerman, Antonio Gramsci and others belonging to the sociology of intellectuals tradition.1