Antony Loewenstein is a Jewish Australian political activist, journalist, author and commentator. He is the author of “My Israel Question”(Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2006) and co-founder of the anti-racist, humanitarian and pro-peace Independent Australian Jewish Voices (see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Loewenstein ).
Antony Loewenstein on his book “My Israel Question”: “Over two years of writing, researching and spending time in the Middle East and the US--as well as being slammed by simply defending the rights of Palestinian human rights campaigner Hanan Ashrawi after she won the 2003 Sydney Peace Prize--I soon realised that I wasn't being silenced but the issues of Israeli occupation and the Zionist lobby were routinely avoided by the mainstream media. I wanted my book to readdress that imbalance. Honest debate about Israel and Palestine is sadly lacking in Australia and much of the Western world. It's invariably overly emotive, factually challenged, partisan and counter-productive …Discussing Israel and Palestine is therefore vital in an age of rising fundamentalisms. Labelling critics of Israel as anti-Semitic or anti-Israel merely attempts to silence individuals who passionately believe the current political path of the Jewish state is destined to lead to its disappearance. I share this fear. The simple truth is that Israel's long-term security lies with the Arab world, not a superpower thousands of miles away. A superpower, it should be noted, that has suffered an inglorious and welcome defeat in Iraq and whose reputation in the Arab and Muslim world has never been worse.” [1].
[1]. Antony Loewenstein “My Israel Question”, Counterpunch, 13 September 2006: http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein09132006.html .