Tag: New Zealand

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) expresses its deep dismay at the horrific terrorist attacks on Muslims in Christchurch New Zealand, in an act of appalling right-wing racist terrorism.

Issues with the content aside, what was most disturbing about Sachs’ words were that they are presented as being representative of a large part of New Zealand’s Jewish community.

New Zealand’s UN voting record on Israel has been highly problematic in recent years. Over the course of his term, former foreign minister Murray McCully consistently refused to condemn Palestinian terrorism.

National Party MP Alfred Ngaro – chairman of the recently launched New Zealand-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group – is a man on a mission. That mission is to tackle the flood of biased information about Israel and to redress the resulting imbalance of perceptions.

Wellington has yet to condemn Hamas’ rocket attacks or other actions. This has the New Zealand Jewish community and supporters of Israel worried. 

This year it has seemed that New Zealand has seen a noticeable ramping up of anti-Israel, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)-related activity. 

When talking to community representatives, the continuing importance of Israel to Jewish New Zealanders is inescapable. They cite deep-rooted religious and historic links, family connections, and growing business and academic interests as evidence of this. But they also see Israel as being an intrinsic part of the community's Jewish identity...

After announcing that she would be performing a concert in Israel as part of her upcoming world tour, Lorde ran smack bang into a BDS-driven backlash. She immediately attracted harsh criticism and protest, largely driven by the New Zealand Palestine Solidarity Network.

The [Jerusalem] announcement has been greeted with enthusiasm from Israel and the Jewish diaspora, but by opposition and protest in many other quarters. In New Zealand, both official and public response followed a similar pattern.

Ardern's views on Israel are simply unknown. While she spent time in Israel as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, she hasn't yet made any public comment about Israel-related issues.

Balancing out these uncertainties is Peters who will become both Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Peters publicly opposed 2334 and has long been a vocal supporter of Israel.