‘We represent, here, the interests of the free world’:Accountability in Israeli leaders’ media talk on the Gaza Crisis (2008-2009)

he Palestinian-Israeli conflict turned into an armed crisis from the 27th of December 2008 to 22nd of January 2009. Instances of such armed conflict make issues of accountability highly pertinent. In this paper we analyse media news interviews conducted with then Israeli political leadership after the start of the Gaza Crisis. From the analyses we show that: a) accountability is an interactional concern that interviewers and interviewees orient to within the interactional setting of a media news interview; b) Israeli politicians manage Israel's accountability for events in Gaza crisis via employing particular narratives and descriptions of both Israel and other parties; c) in managing their accountability they are seen to make avowals to peace and moderation which are then used for justifying extant military practices

Restorative justice, refugees and criminal harm in places of asylum

People who have had to flee their homes and seek asylum are often vulnerable and experience harm and trauma. Restorative justice offers a way of addressing the criminal harm that people of a refugee background may experience in places of asylum, and yet there is very little literature or visible practice on this topic. This article presents an exploratory study to address this issue, reviewing existing literature and presenting an analysis of interviews with restorative justice practitioners, representatives from organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and people of a refugee background. Findings suggest restorative justice is a potentially beneficial response to address harms experienced by people of a refugee background, as it can be responsive to trauma, facilitate understanding and connection, and address racism and antagonism. Barriers and challenges for restorative justice in this context include language, communication, interpretation, mistrust, insecure immigration status, the impact of trauma, and access to basic resources. Cultural difference ought to be taken into consideration, but was not considered to be a barrier to engagement in restorative justice. The potential for restorative justice to address the structural issues that impact on people of a refugee background requires further exploration