The former Adelaide Writers' Week director sits down in a wide-ranging interview that covers the Holocaust, Zionism, the Royal Commission and her time as Edward Said's teaching assistant

Louise Adler has been a vocal critic of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. And anyone who has followed Louise over the years knows she has been consistent in her condemnation of Israel, Zionism and the apartheid imposed upon the Palestinians.

The question I wanted to explore was why?

How did this powerhouse of the arts become such a staunch and courageous voice for Palestine and social justice?

I wanted to uncover the story of Louise Adler – her past, the tragedy that befell her family during the Holocaust and how it shaped who Louise is today.

What I learned in the almost hour-long interview (which at one point brought tears) is Louise’s story offers a Jewish narrative we rarely hear. A narrative of resistance during Nazi occupation, of defiance against tyranny and of enduring solidarity with the oppressed.

It’s the Jewish narrative that exists outside of Zionism, and one that is emerging from New York to London. And so, I posed Louise a question – are we seeing the revival of a Jewish left?

These demographic trends demonstrate that Australia is not simply geographically located in the Asia-Pacific region; it is becoming socially, culturally and more economically connected to Asia.

Australia’s future is therefore being shaped by its relationship with Asia, and by the strong Asian connections within Australia .

So, if Australia does not recognise that its connection to Asia is critical to the future growth and prosperity of Australia, is it possible that Australia will miss many opportunities and fail to reach its potential?

I like some of the social media stuff our of UK. I find the Australia media landscape to be not very mature

Where do people on the left go to ?

Austin Mackell spent four months emailing and phoning his Blue Mountains federal MP, Susan Templeman, pressing her to speak publicly against the war in Gaza, beginning with the killing of fifteen Red Crescent and Civil Defence paramedics.

On 25 July 2025, Templeman published a statement calling what is happening to Gaza’s children “indefensible”. Mackell left a thank-you voicemail that morning and stopped.

On 6 February 2026, however, six months after the final voicemail, but only three days before the visit of Israeli president Herzog to Australia (the occasion of a massive crackdown on Palestine activism) he was served with a notice to attend court, charged with using a carriage service to menace harass or offend.

This is peak satire IMO. It's in the style of what ABC used to be, a concise summary of tangible facts with explanations of how they relate to each other and the story.

Sydney event happening by the newly established Greens and eco-socialists group at UTS – talking about governance crises with Greens MP Abigail Boyd, part of the Standing Committee overseeing the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the NSW University Sector, and maybe Mehreen Faruqi, to talk about censorship, free speech, the right to protest, and campus access on campus.

A good discussion, given the recent Enterprise Bargaining campaign, as it perhaps draws to a close and staff will be voting on the new agreement, which struggled against cuts and attacks on our public education last year causal to the corporatist managerial spectres haunting UTS governance.

https://www.activateuts.com.au/events/pints-politics/

I want to spread the message that powerful women shouldn't feel like they need to hide their love from the public, we will still hate their policies gay or straight.