“I’ve been in the US for the last month speaking to a range of individuals about the shifting relationship between Israel and Washington (see Tony Judt’s piece this week in the New York Times). Something is afoot and it’s worrying the establishment.”

As for Haaretz, well, maybe (as you say) the tag was supplied by AL. Or maybe they were faxing proofs to him in NY & he explained that he was currently working in NY. Or maybe … well how the hell do I know!!??

I do know that Haaretz has published him in the past, so they might have a file, if that isn’t too old fashioned.

OK, so next time he writes a piece for them, he should say he’s a “Mars based writer” and see if that flies straight through to the print edition.

So how long, in the judgement of an Elder of Zion, would you have to be blogging from NY to be able to say you are New York based? A week? Would 6 months do it? How about 6 years?

And finally, last but not least, what makes you think NY is such a big deal? Its so passe really. Not to mention the infrastructure is crumbling away something shocking and they’ve got no money to fix it.

Nowadays, if you want to make it, you gotta make it in Shanghai, where all the money is.

Still, the mere fact that being New York based is no longer any kind of big deal shouldn’t get in the way of a major Sensible Jew sponsored expedition to ferret out all the sordid details.

I propose that SJ sends Elder on a 1st class flight to Tel Aviv to personally inform the publisher that he has been played for fool of by a blogger who is … well, how to put this as tactfully as possible? OK Mr publisher, you better sit down before I tell you this. OK, now take an aspirin or maybe three would be better. Right, well, you see, this blogger is usually, you see, well, most of the time, at least up till now, he’s been … oh God its tough to deliver this sort of news, but I’ll just come straight out with it: HE’S FROM SYDNEY !!! I know, I know, the horror! Not from New York and NOT EVEN FROM MELBOURNE!!

I think we can all agree that it’s the least that should be done in these difficult circumstances.

As to the tag line in the Haaretz article, that would have been supplied by Loewenstein, and not by Haaretz. Do you think Haaretz would have Googled Loewenstein, to find out that he’s a “journalist,” that he’s published My Israel Question and that he’s based in New York? For a start, they wouldn’t have, they’d have asked him for his own bio. And secondly, if they had have, they’d have realised, as you keep pointing out, his blog says he’s an Australian based “journalist.”

I asked in my original post if Loewenstein has actually moved to New York, or whether he was misleading his readers. The only answer I have is yours, NSDO, that his blog still claims he’s based in Australia.

And to preempt any claim that Loewenstein is considered ‘based’ in New York because he wrote the article there, puh-leease!

Do you have any actual evidence? Forgive me if I disregard the evidence of the dead singer/gangster who is advising you.

For that matter, what does it take to be “New York based?”. Has he moved to NY? If so, that would constitute, you know, evidence.

BTW, I second Luna’s point that AL’s site is full of references to Iran & he travelled there extensively for his “Blogging Revolution” book. He placed particular emphasis on the role of new media technologies on the work of democracy activists there.

If Goy cares to actually take a look at that material, he might even admit that AL was rather prescient in that emphasis, in view of recent events in Iran.

Oh wait, don’t tell me. Elder will allege that AL didn’t actually go there. It’s all fake! I await the latest from Protocol-guy.

I’d also add that calling into question Loewenstein’s character in describing himself a) as a journalist when he’s not and b) as being based in New York when he’s not is central to the whole thing. Loewenstein bignotes himself to appear more credible. If we were to let that go through to the keeper, others might actually start believing what he writes. It’s not enough to simply debunk his words – though that’s easy enough – we must put on record all his lies, to weaken his credibility.

And why am I so fixated on his claim (and, NSDO, it’s not a “mistake”) that he’s based in New York? Because, as ol’ Blues Eyes told us so many years ago, if you can make it there…

We accept that it would be relevant to the topic to talk about Israel, as long as any discussion relates back to a direct comparison to China. In other words, why aren’t you asking Australian politicians not to visit China?

For what it’s worth, most of Antony’s “news” from Iran comes from John Pilger. Pilger is an affront to good journalism in many respects. His writing about Iran is particularly egregious in its complete ignorance of the people and politics, and in Pilger’s reliance on regurgitating the obvious and already-written. That Antony seeks out a like mind, sticks to it, and investigates very little further makes his credentials as a journalist of the old-school quite dubious. Of course, modern media makes everyone a journalist. Even so, Antony’s still not a very good one.

This, however, is not the thread for discussing Pilger. I’ll be writing a post in a couple of days which will touch on this subject.

And of course you’re right that it’s difficult to negotiate a thread topic touching on comparisons between Israel and other countries without delving into the minutiae of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Most of our readers, however, understand how to tread that fine line, and why that line is so important to this blog.

Step outside the square a little? There are so many different forms of journalism. Fairfax doesn’t hold a monopoly on the profession, so IF they did fire Antony for not fitting their mould, that doesn’t prove much. He has published articles with various outlets, so yes, he’s a journo.

If you’re going to get all bent out of shape over the man, at least attempt to challenge his arguments, instead of slinging cheap shots at his career.

The Goy Husband, are we looking at the same site? There are countless entries on his blog RE: Tehran.

I get that SJ doesn’t want to get bogged down in the crap that comes with debating Israel (there are multiple spaces for that already, yup, noted).

But I don’t see how anyone can adequately support or condemn the petition without discussing Israel in detail. It doesn’t make sense to steer the focus towards China, without allowing people to compare it to Israel and the human rights abuses there. If you’re going to have threads that discuss Israel, but don’t REALLY discuss Israel – why bother?

You don’t have to explain, it’s your blog to run how you like. I’m just saying…

Elder of Zion, #36 is a cheap shot & not worthy of your Protocols. Loewenstein’s website still announces him as “a Sydney based journalist, author and blogger”.

Haaretz described him as NY based. Journalists make mistakes all the time. This could be one of them.
As for the title “journalist” that you seem to think too lofty. I would instead question AL’s judgment in wanting to be lumped in with such a motley crew.

Nice shooting: clear , concise and thought-provoking.

I’m stil trying to understand where AL is coming from – a big ask maybe – he is supposedly a big time blog champion. His site has very little (to this observer) support for the Tehran based activists right now … but a lot about the IDF, Israel and the other things that are prety important to him (a Beach in New York?)

I might just consign him to the delete bin and read my Guardian Weekly in silence.

* A short stint as a cadet in Fairfax’s online department (which ends in one’s firing) does not make one a journalist…