DANGER MAN

Outspoken anti-Zion (but pro-Israel; exactly how that works is unclear) journalist, best-selling author and not-so-successful blogger Antony Loewenstein was a featured guest on yesterday's ABC Radio National Breakfast. Host Paul Barry starts things off with this decidedly strange introduction:

This morning's guest blogger is no stranger to danger...

Antony Loewenstein, is author of the book My Israel Question, released earlier this year. It's a tome that's sparked a kind-of furious debate in the Australian press, and amongst leaders in the Jewish and Muslim communities.

The danger confronting the brave author was only made clear at the end of the segment.

Loewenstein then read an edited version of his blog post, The honest truth is lost in Zionist spin, for some reason omitting his dig at the Australian Jewish News:

The paper seems content to continue describing me as a “rookie author”. They hate the fact that my book has broken through their editorial grasp and no longer relies on whatever coverage the paper deems to provide. I shouldn’t be surprised that being critical of Israel means I’m “anti-Israel.” Again, the Zionist talking points are hardly sophisticated. Perhaps the writer of the article or the editor would like to let me know how many books they’ve written and how successful they’ve become. One colleague said such descriptions are common in student newspapers or community rags. Let’s not forget that the AJN is very good at providing space for marriage notices.

At the end of the reading Paul Barry says, "I can hear the phones out back ringing already." This is a prelude to the subtle Jew bashing ahead. Barry comments on how Loewenstein's book and blog have made him very unpopular with mainstream Jews in Australia and possibly abroad. Loewenstein justifies his position by calling Israel an apartheid state citing Jimmy Carter's book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid as evidence.

After Loewenstein finishes his predictable apartheid shtick Barry says that amongst his many Jewish friends one is staunchly pro-Israel. This friend is "absolutely passionate and vitriolic" in believing the MSM, and the ABC in particular, are pro-Palestine and anti-Jew. In response Loewenstein argues that the MSM is actually consistently pro-Israel.

Barry then asks this very leading question: "Do you find anyone in this country with whom... who doesn't agree with you, with whom you can have a sensible discussion?" Zionists, of course, being incapable of sensible discussion. Barry should have asked if any sensible person in this country agrees with Loewenstein.

At the end of the interview Barry alludes to the danger facing the fearless Loewenstein by suggesting he might want to leave through the back door. What, no armed guard?


Loewenstein's radio spot news comes via the always-worth-reading Opinion Dominion.