apologies for being correct about showing netanyahu being a genocidal maniac....

Australian Press Council caves into the Zionist lobby and abandons its mission to defend free speech by vilifying cartoonist Cathy Wilcox. Michael West and Kim Wingerei.

Yesterday, the APC, self-proclaimed defenders of free speech, decided to uphold a complaint against SMH/The Age cartoonist Cathy Wilcox’s depiction of how Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel lobby pressured the Government into holding a Royal Commission into antisemitism.

Vale the Press Council. Caves in to anonymous pressure campaign

by Kim Wingerei and Michael West

The Council found that the cartoon “encoded antisemitic tropes,” ruling “the publications failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing substantial offence, distress, and prejudice.”

Once again, it is the faceless men (mostly) behind the scenes who attack freedom of speech in the name of “social cohesion” while sowing division and fueling community anger at the behest of a foreign nation in the midst of a genocidal war.

Hung out to dry

MWM understands that the Press Council received scores of anonymous complaints. Cathy Wilcox was never allowed to know the identity of her accusers, nor invited to defend herself, while being vilified on social media as an antisemite.

Her publishers were invited to comment, having already caved in and apologised. Hung out to dry by her own management at Nine Entertainment, Wilcox was also subjected to a Murdoch press smear campaign throughout January.

In its apology, the SMH stated that “independence must never be compromised,” emphasising how cartoonists’ work “appears on the opinion pages because that is what a cartoon is: the artist’s opinion, a first impression of major news events.”

Yet here we are: they backed down, and the APC has abandoned one of our most celebrated cartoonists in favour of a powerful, secretive lobby group that barraged it with a campaign of mass complaints. They caved in to a secretive foreign lobby group which advocates for Israel’s genocide in Gaza – precisely the people lampooned by Wilcox in what ought to be an award-winning cartoon.

Can irony be more glittering?

The Murdoch media, whose cartoonists regularly skewer the powerless – indigenous Australians, migrants and strong women such as Grace Tame – leading the charge to ruin the reputation of a courageous cartoonist beloved by many.

They target their hateful images at the powerless, while Wilcox targeted the powerful.

Astroturfing laid bare

What Wilcox’s cartoon did so brilliantly was to highlight how astroturfing works. Hers was a classic political cartoon.

In the wake of the Bondi massacre in December, Netanyahu had gone so far as to blame our Prime Minister for the killings. In the cartoon, he was beating the drum above the grass, the astro, where the Israel-supporting celebs, sportspeople, and politicians were clamouring for a Royal Commission.

Below the turf, Murdoch, Segal, Howard, et al., holding up the charade.

At the time of writing, neither the independent members of the APC nor the MEAA have commented on the decision. The MEAA January article condemning the attacks has been removed from their website.

MWM has sent several questions to APC chair Bronte Adams and the council asking about their position on the Israel lobby pressure and if the APC made any effort to address the false narratives propounded by the Israel lobby in Australia (e.g. “40 babies beheaded”), which led to the genocide? We also asked what percentage of their funding comes from the Murdoch press.

We have yet to receive a response.

https://michaelwest.com.au/vale-the-press-council-caves-in-to-anonymous-pressure-campaign/

restrictions....

Israel denies entry to French reporter, broadcaster slams ‘obstacle to press freedom’

Israeli authorities on Thursday denied entry to French reporter Alice Froussard, who covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for FRANCE 24's sister station Radio France Internationale (RFI) and Radio France. Froussard was deported hours after landing at Tel Aviv airport, said Israeli officials. RFI has condemned the ban as "an obstacle to press freedom".

Israel on Thursday denied entry to French reporter Alice Froussard, who has been covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for public service broadcasters Radio France Internationale (RFI), FRANCE 24's sister radio station, and Radio France.

Froussard was refused entry after landing on Wednesday afternoon at Tel Aviv's international airport, where she was forced to spend the night before being sent back to Paris on a flight that took off Thursday morning.

Her deportation was announced by Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli.

Froussard "sought to return and work in Israel on a permanent basis" and was "deported this morning and put on a flight back to France" on the ministry's recommendation, Chikli said.

The minister accused the reporter of supporting Palestinian militant group Hamas.

'Troubling trend of increasing restrictions' on journalists

RFI, part of France's public broadcasting corporation France Médias Monde (FMM), condemned the ban as "an obstacle to press freedom" and expressed support for the journalist.

"RFI journalist Alice Froussard was denied entry into Israeli territory... even though she had the required travel authorisation and had duly applied for a press visa to work in the West Bank," RFI wrote in a statement.

"Israeli authorities have not provided RFI with any justification for this decision," the statement added.

"RFI's management fully supports Alice Froussard and protests against this expulsion, which constitutes an obstruction of press freedom and comes at a time when journalists are facing increasing difficulties in covering current events in the region."

The FRANCE 24’s Société de Journalistes (SDJ) journalists’ association also condemned Israel’s decision “in the strongest terms” and noted that Froussard was traveling to the occupied West Bank “with all the necessary credentials to carry out her assignment”.

In a statement released Thursday, the SDJ noted that the latest incident “comes amid a troubling trend of increasing restrictions imposed on journalists seeking to cover news in the region”.

The deportation comes two days after France announced an entry ban against Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

French authorities have accused Smotrich of promoting the annexation of the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260611-israel-denies-entry-to-french-reporter-broadcaster-slams-obstacle-to-press-freedom

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By Gus Leonisky at 12 Jun 2026 - 11:21am
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investigation.....

The Australian Federal Police have launched an investigation into distressing allegations by pro-Palestine activists that they were sexually abused and brutalised by Israeli forces after trying to deliver aid to Gaza.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with four Global Sumud flotilla participants in Canberra on Monday afternoon alongside senior AFP officers, Department of Foreign Affairs officials and Minister for International Development Anne Aly.

The activists presented a dossier of their alleged mistreatment while detained by Israel last month, including claims of rape, kidnapping and torture.

Wong told Senate estimates hearings this month that she believed the women’s allegations, which Israel has denied.

“They have committed to an independent investigation into our allegations of kidnapping, abuse, rape, torture,” Juliet Lamont, one of the activists, said after the meeting.

“It was harrowing, it was acutely emotional.”

Asked how Wong reacted to their allegations, Lamont replied: “She said she believed us.”

Acting AFP Commissioner Lesa Gale attended the meeting, as did Hilda Sirec, deputy commissioner for national security investigations.

A federal police spokeswoman said: “The AFP has begun inquiries into allegations made by a representative of the group.

“The AFP engages with a victim-centric, trauma-informed approach.

“The AFP will provide an update at an appropriate time.”

Lamont has alleged that she was sexually assaulted and beaten, cable-tied, and had so much water thrown in her face that she thought she was going to drown during her detention in Israel.

She has alleged one of the soldiers raped her after wrenching her trousers and underwear down, and that other activists had guns inserted into them.

Patrick Keyzer, father of one of the activists, said of the AFP: “They made it abundantly clear they would have an investigation.”

Keyzer, who attended the meeting, noted federal police have experience investigating crimes committed outside Australia.

A spokesperson for Wong said: “Minister Wong has raised these allegations multiple times and made clear directly to Israel that Australia expects an independent, transparent investigation.”

The Israeli embassy has dismissed the activists as “professional agitators” seeking to damage Israel’s reputation.

“Currently, no credible evidence has been submitted to the Embassy of Israel to suggest that any flotilla participants were sexually assaulted,” the embassy said in a statement this month.

“Such claims are unsubstantiated and appear intended to advance the provocateurs’ broader smear campaign against Israel.

“As with any serious allegation, determination of guilt requires a formal complaint, a full investigation and be backed by credible evidence, not media interviews and hearsay.”

The activists said they were disappointed that Wong had indicated the government would not meet their other demands, including expelling the Israeli ambassador and ending the supply of Australian-made military components to the Israeli military.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/afp-launches-investigation-into-flotilla-activists-rape-abuse-claims-against-israel-20260615-p606xf.html

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

Gus Leonisky

POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

RABID ATHEIST.

WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

By Gus Leonisky at 16 Jun 2026 - 5:27am
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