Another school is bombed. Another 15 Palestinians killed. Another market is targeted. Another 17 Palestinians killed. Electricity is gone. The death toll mounts.
It is again time for us to shout
NO MORE ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA
It is vital that Australians are seen to be on the streets week after week to indicate to our government that we, as people of conscience and morality, will stand against Israel's brutality.
Rally Sunday 3rd August
1pm Sydney Town Hall
End the blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt.
End the massacre in Gaza.
End Australia's Support for Israel - expel the Israeli Ambassador.
Bring placards, Palestinian flags, banners etc.
Please assist us in spreading the word about this important rally by forwarding this email to any individuals or community, religious or union groups you are a part of.
Invite friends and share the Facebook event. https://www.facebook.com/events/1446288648971608/
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Mike Carlton
Sydney Morning Herald columnist Mike Carlton resigns following furore over Gaza column
ABC
August 7, 2014, 12:17 am
Mike Carlton was suspended for responses to readers critical of a column about the Gaza conflict.
Former Sydney Morning Herald columnist Mike Carlton says he resigned from the paper because he was "sick of being stuffed around" over his angry response to critics of one of his articles.
Carlton's column, which was published more than a week ago, was critical of Israel's actions in the conflict with Gaza.
He resigned last night after being told by Fairfax's director of news and business media, Sean Aylmer, that he would be suspended because of inappropriate comments he made to critics of the column.
Carlton told 702 ABC Sydney the comments were "probably foolish" and said he was prepared to apologise after discussing the issue with editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir.
"I thought I'd come to an arrangement whereby I would apologise to offended readers and I would continue to write for the paper," he said.
"And then I got a call later at night from someone higher up the Fairfax food chain just stating quite blandly 'we are going to suspend you for four to six weeks to consider', [and] at that point I interrupted and said 'don't go to any trouble, I've resigned' and hung up."
Carlton said he believed the paper "buckled" to pressure from News Corporation newspapers and pro-Israel campaigners.
"There's the organised what I call Likud lobby which stands up for Israel right or wrong come hell or high water and is crushing in its campaigns to get people they don't agree with," he said.
"The other one of course was the News Limited thing. They hate me at News Limited for all the usual reasons and they wanted a scalp and I think the sad thing about this is the Herald just gave them mine on a plate."
But Carlton conceded he was "probably foolish" to respond to the criticisms in the manner he had.
"What hasn't come out in all of this is the torrent of filth I was exposed to myself," Carlton said.
"I got a fortnight of abuse, of threats of violence. 'You filthy piece of Jew-hating Nazi slime', 'people like you started World War II', 'Catholic Jew-baiter' and so on.
"And once or twice I snapped and hit back."
MrAylmer said the issue was not with the column itself but the way Carlton responded to readers in emails and on social media.
"[The column] attracted a lot of criticism. Many readers wrote to Mike - what got him into trouble was the way he responded to those readers," he said.
"It was totally inappropriate, using inappropriate language."
Mr Goodsir echoed those comments, saying: "This is an issue, not about the substance of Mike Carlton's columns, or the editorial independence of The Sydney Morning Herald, but in terms of the dealing of Mike Carlton over what I see as an HR issue, and his inappropriate dealings with some of the readers."
One of the tweets sent by Carlton read: "After a fortnight of being called Nazi, Jew-hating slime, I told a few people to f*** off. We do that in this country occasionally."
Mr Aylmer said Mr Goodsir rang Carlton on Tuesday and urged him to apologise.
"As the afternoon rolled on, and more of these emails emerged, we spoke to him last night," he said on Wednesday.
"In effect, we said we would suspend him and he resigned on the spot."
Zeddy Lawrence, the editor of Jewish News, is pleased Carlton has resigned.
"I am pleased as I think many readers of the SMH and The Age are, that somebody who is abusive, and uses vile language when readers try to engage with him in dialogue, has left his position," he said.
"I certainly think that his initial column was offensive and inappropriate, and bereft of certain facts. I thought it was unbalanced.
"Columnists, of course, are entitled to their opinions, and we're not saying that people shouldn't be allowed to express their opinions.
"But I think opinions have to be based on fact and should, and columns have to reflect a certain balance, they shouldn't be inflammatory."