Prof Melanie O'Brien

Prof Melanie O'Brien

@drmelob.bsky.social

Prof Int Law & AssocDean (Research) UWA. Visiting Scholar @umnlawschool.bsky.social. Aust Red Cross volunteer. Int crim law; genocide studies; IHL; human rights. All posts my opinion. ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3571

3.3K followers926 following21.1K posts

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Having lived in the Somali neighbourhood in MPLS, I can definitively say that they do NOT 'all have a Mercedes Benz'.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "Somalia -- 98% of the people here now from Somalia don't work. They don't have to work because they steal so much. They all have a Mercedes Benz. Low IQ and they live better than you do."

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Just a reminder that, in addition to the decades-long conflict, #DRC is also in the midst of a fast-spreading #Ebola outbreak, which has so far killed >4500 people. Conflict is one of the reasons for the spread of the disease. #health apnews.com/article/cong...

apnews.comCongo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak spreads to eighth provinceThe Ebola outbreak in Congo has spread to an eighth province. The Health Ministry has recorded two cases, including one death, in Nord-Ubangi province.
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

'While there has been plenty of community pushback to data centres and much focus on government regulation, there hasn’t been enough scrutiny at the level of purportedly clean higher education institutions doing dirty deals with methane-slurping chatslop peddlers.' www.crikey.com.au/2026/10/22/u...

crikey.com.auTop universities are embracing bloated, ravenous AI energy guzzlers. It's a betrayalDespite declaring itself a "global leader" in alternative energy sources, institutions like UNSW are teaming up with energy gluttons. You wouldn't know from its emissions.
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

The film looks at the different tech & surveillance methods: Lavender, Daddy's Home, & 'Bibi's Dept'. Daddy's Home allows them to hack a child's phone & monitor for any comms indicating their father is home, so they can bomb the house, even with the child/ren in the home.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

'Bibi's Dept' (intel) targets the Palestinians trying to get int'l help, who are seen as a 'security threat', & works to maintain #Israel's 'international credibility'. The other team in the Dept seeks to thwart peace, which is Bibi's key goal- keep the war going. Intel officers are 'Israel's elite'

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Multiple interviewees stated that nobody ever raised an issue, that nobody had a problem with what they were doing. One said that the issue of a psych being provided was raised, but it wasn't needed because they were all so into their work.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

One said that he thought the Germans were evil, 'but now I understand them', how they 'can kill and go home to study their clinical psychology degree'. He then said 'I still see Nazis as evil, what does say about me?' So this Israeli soldiers is finding an affinity with Nazis, which is mind boggling

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Soldiers admitted killing whole families & not killing the operative, i.e. the operative wasn't even there when the building was bombed. They bomb areas that an operative 'might' pass through just in hope to hit him: whole neighbourhoods. But this is also in the context of seeking to destroy #Gaza.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Early in the film, one soldier said 'annihilating them sounded like an amazing idea'. It is clear from the film that the narratives spouted by Bibi & other politicians, & the media, created the military culture in which destruction of #Gaza & killing of #Palestinians are completely acceptable.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

They also spoke about snipers killing people running for food at food distribution points (they didn't mention GHF, but assuming that's what they were referring to). Described how the people would fall on their face because of the momentum from running.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

I found this part highly disturbing & so awful: One soldier talked about how they would just leave the sniped bodies there to be eaten by dogs. He said that he didn't like watching the dogs eat bodies, but others would watch the dogs eating the bodies of Palestinians they had murdered (via drones).

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

And they know there are civilians in the buildings because they track every phone, & listen to what is happening in the apartments. They have no qualms at killing up to 300 civilians for 1 Hamas target.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

They call the collateral damage NAZA, so 1 NAZA is 1 person killed in an attack. It helps to dehumanise the people they are killing. 20 NAZA became standard for a low level Hamas operative, but it could be anywhere from 1 to 300 (the latter for a high level target).

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

They also specifically target #Palestinians who are trying to get international support; by spying on them & trying to find scandals like affairs or gay relationships to humiliate, discredit, ostracise these activists.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

The soldiers admitted that the goal was to destroy #Gaza & to kill Palestinians. And nobody had an issue with this, because this was the acceptable narrative, that there were no innocent people. They had no issues with bombing buildings full of women & children (civilians).

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

It was also disturbing just how much #Israel is spying on Palestinians. They access all their phones, not just tracking, but also listening, accessing photos. They literally listen to families while they are bombing them, listening to the cries & screams of the people they have just attacked.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

View full thread
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

One soldier openly admitted they were committing #genocide & that he participated in genocide. Another described the work as ‘insanely fun… really enjoyable… strikes that were successful were the most fun’. A lot of material for perpetrator studies.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

There’s also a lot of material for #IHL studies, w/blatant violations of IHL. One soldier admitted that after she bombed a target, if she could see they were injured but still alive, she would bomb then again to kill then.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Went to see #NAZA last night, & it’s quite a dark film visually so the cinema was really dark, so I was taking notes in near pitch black & it turns out this is not good conditions for taking notes 🤔😆. Hoping I can decipher some of my writing so I can write a review of is important documentary.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

I will say that I did not find the film as shocking as I expected to, but I guess that’s because I already know what they are doing. But the details of the testimonies are interesting & will be a strong source for #genocide scholarship analysis of what’s happening in #Gaza.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

I am excited to announce publication of the Palgrave Handbook of Australia and the Holocaust. A lengthy publication process, helmed by Avril Alba & Jan Lanicek, w/mammoth effort to edit 33 chapters. My chapter is on Australia's Response to Contemporary Genocides. link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

link.springer.comThe Palgrave Handbook of Australia and the HolocaustThis Palgrave Handbook offers the first comprehensive survey of the history and memory of the Holocaust in Australia.
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

There are so many interesting chapters in the book & it really brings home the fact that the Holocaust is not just something that had impact in Europe, but also on the other side of the world. Also NB: my chapter was last updated in early 2023, which positions the included & absent case studies.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Here's a promotional image of the book, with a nice bright purple that hopefully will stick in people's minds so they remember about this great new Handbook of #Australia and the #Holocaust!

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Send your postcard to Jason Clare. There's also the option to add your own text, so you can tell him that 'you can't eat an elephant all at once' is a load of baloney. This Labor govt has really let #higherEd down.

NTEU@nteunion.bsky.social

It’s time to fix university funding. Read the report and send a message to Minister for Education Jason Clare: betterunis.nteu.au/postcards @alisonbarnes.bsky.social

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

So, a block of apartments a few blocks from my house, on a major road, has been renamed. After a war criminal. (Oh, sorry, alleged, although definitely is according to sources with insider info🙄) I can’t even fathom this. The glorification of military in this country is at a disturbing level.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Want to read an article that will make you angry? Try this one! Racist British government pursuing policies that will once again lead to job losses in #UK #universities.

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

Death by a thousand cuts as universities revoke international offers "en masse" of prospective students from Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan to avoid losing ability to recruit international students. More job losses and course closures predicted in consequence. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

giftarticle.ft.comUK universities withdraw offers from international students to avoid blanket banPullback comes in response to doubling in number of study visas being refused by the Home Office in the first six months of 2026
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Pillay will have been the target of attacks from the pro-Israel right (as that govt has already done since she won the prize); this is such important vindication of the work of those speaking out against the atrocities committed by Israel. ✊✊

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Navi Pillay has had an amazing career; from the first woman of colour on the bench in post-apartheid #SouthAfrica to HCHR, amd the benches of the #ICTR, #ICC & #ICJ. #CareerGoals for many of us! #womanInLaw www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/w...

nytimes.comNavi Pillay, South African Jurist, Is Awarded the Nobel Peace PrizeThe choice drew condemnation from Israel over Ms. Pillay’s role leading a U.N. commission that said the country had committed genocide against Palestinians.
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

The meaningfulness of this prize being awarded to Pillay cannot be underestimated, generally for #intLaw & for those of us in this field that is a challenge every day. The public acknowledgement that this work remains important & valued is a welcome boost.

Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Fucking Trump & Rubio. Their obsession w/a court that has never done anything to any American is authoritarian & bizarre. Just another man who doesn’t want to be held accountable for his crimes. #ICC #intLaw www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/u...

nytimes.comTrump Administration Hits International Criminal Court With Severe SanctionsU.S. officials announced the new, sweeping punishments just hours after the Nobel Peace Prize committee gave its annual honor to a former court judge.
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

'15,095 Palestinian-owned structures have been demolished on the #WestBank since 2009, resulting in 23,683 displaced people'. #Israel #Palestine #IHRL #IHL www.jurist.org/news/2026/10...

jurist.orgIsrael’s demolition of residential buildings in East Jerusalem leaves 69 Palestinians displaced, OCHA saysThe UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday condemned new building demolitions in the West Bank that have displaced 69 Palestinians, calling it the largest single-demo...
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

Greed & corruption are destroying this planet and our society.

Kasey Gifford@kaseygifford.bsky.social

To put this in perspective chestnut trees used to be dominant species in the United States. Billions of trees were killed by fungal blight and now fully grown America chestnuts are functionally extinct. There is no getting them back. Ever. All for a data center. www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...

gadgetreview.comOne of America’s Last Chestnut Groves Is About to Be Destroyed for a Data CenterA rare 200-tree American chestnut grove in West Virginia may be cleared for data-center development, but the project denies the site is on its land.
Prof Melanie O'Brien
@drmelob.bsky.social

My neighbour brutally beat & strangled his partner in front of witnesses (until my husband intervened), & got a slap-on-the-wrist fine. The disproportionate sentences meted out for white collar crimes vs DV crimes is absurd & appalling. #crimLaw #AusLaw

ABC News Australia@news.abc.net.au

Bookkeeper Michelle Lawson sentenced to 12 years for defrauding Tully farming family of $2.8m

abc.net.auFarming family's trusted bookkeeper jailed for $2.8m fraudA sentencing judge says Michelle Kathleen Lawson lived the high life, spending a quarter of a million dollars on clothing and shoes, while her employers battled natural disasters and a plant disease.