This is the second part of the conversation with investigative journalists Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon who both have written extensively on the inner workings of the Israel lobbying organisations in Australia. Their writings can be found on Michael West Media.

A discussion on how deeply intrenched the global military industrial complex is in the Australian politics and academic institutions, and on the direct and indirect complicity of the Australian government in arming the genocide in Gaza.

Margie Pestorius is a long time activist a co-founders of “Wage Peace”. She has been involved in anti-military work since the first gulf war. In 2016 she walked into Pine Gap to oppose the use of Pine Gap as a military operation base for war crimes.

Lil Barto has been organising for eight years across climate, anti-militarist, First Nations justice and abolitionist movements.

Exploring the intricacies and inner workings of the Israel lobbying organisations in Australia and their influence on politics and media.

Discussion with renowned Australian journalist Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon. 

Wendy Bacon is an independent investigative journalist and lifelong radical activist. She has investigated miscarriages of justice, deaths in custody, News Corp’s coverage of climate change, urban developments, police corruption and most recently astroturfing in the 2025 Federal election.

Yaakov Aharon is new to journalism, having come from a background of activism. Yaakov brings unique perspectives to the Palestinian struggle, credited to his political journey away from the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish and pro-Israel education of his youth. His research concerns the Israel lobby, Jewish community, party politics, and the arms trade.

Co-founder of "Boycott from Within", "Anarchists Against the Wall" and current member of "Palestine Action"

Yara Hawari is a Palestinian political analyst and commentator, co-director of Al-Shabaka.

Yara completed her PhD in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, where she taught various undergraduate courses and continues to be an honorary research fellow.

In addition to her academic work, which focused on indigenous studies and oral history, she is a frequent political commentator writing for various media outlets including The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and Al Jazeera English.

Host of 'Rethinking Palestine' podcast.

Peter Slezak is a Jewish anti-Zionist, honorary associate professor of philosophy at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

He spoke about the ‘rise’ of anti-Semitism in Australia and the recent Universities Australia (UA) endorsement of the new controversial anti-Semitism definition.

During this interview Peter, he inadvertently misquoted Randa Abdel Fattah's words in an interview she conducted with Mondoweiss. The recording [https://youtu.be/LuA59Tu6yZk?si=AeLd05JcUbTWT6l8] from 5:00-5:34 shows the exact phrase she used was 'Zionist Jews', not 'Jews'. 

Randa has been consistent in using the words 'Zionist' or 'Jewish Zionists', and never referred to Jews alone.  In doing so she was making a clear distinction between those who subscribe to the political ideology of Zionism, and Jews as Jews. 

Peter wants to emphasize he is a member of the Jewish community, and uses the term Jew to ask his Jewish kin to reflect and feel discomfort about the crimes being done in their name.

Rabbani is Co-Editor of Jadaliyya, where he also hosts the Connections podcast, co- hosts the Long Form Conversations podcast, and edits its Quick Thoughts feature. He is also Contributing Editor of Middle East Report.

Former Principal Political Affairs Officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria

Abdaljawad Omar is a Palestinian academic from Al-Bireh, Palestine. He is a regular contributor to Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss. His work explores questions of colonialism, resistance, and ideology, with a focus on Palestine. 

Dr. Lana Tatour is a senior Lecturer in Global Development at the University of New South Wales. She works on Palestine, human rights, settler colonialism and race.

Her coedited book, Race and the Question of Palestine, is forthcoming with Stanford University Press in June 2025.

Dr. Lana spoke about the current state of affairs in Palestine and how it reflects on the local Australian political, academic and social atmosphere.

Nagham Abu Samra is a Palestinian karate champion from Gaza who had a dream of representing Palestine in sport international platforms. However, her life was cut short by the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

"Nagham of Gaza" is a documentary and a theatrical play written and directed by Palestinian award-winning filmmaker Ala'a Al Qaisi, that chronicles Nagham Abu Samra's life.

In this conversation, Ala'a engages with Marwan Abu Samra, Nagham's father, to talk about the life of Nagham, his loss, and why it is important to amplify her story through art and film.

Some parts of the conversation are in Arabic, translated by the interviewer.