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→ 27 June 2020
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Over 40% of Jewish community now considers antisemitism a big problem in New Zealand | J-Wire

There’s been a significant increase in the amount of Jewish New Zealanders who think antisemitism is a “very big” or a “fairly big” problem, according to a new survey of New Zealand’s Jewish community.

Back in 2008 when the last such survey – Changing Jewry (Gen08) – was conducted, more than four out of five respondents (84%) thought that antisemitism was not a serious issue in New Zealand.

But in the Shifting Jewry 2019 (Gen19) survey, which was launched last weekend, 44% of respondents indicated that they thought antisemitism was either a “very big” or a “fairly big” problem.

While 50% still do not think antisemitism is a serious issue in New Zealand, the growth in the number of respondents that do is considerable.

For report co-author Jim Salinger, the change in perceptions of antisemitism is one of the big changes in this survey, as compared to three earlier community surveys.

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→ 25 June 2020
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Israel could annex parts of the West Bank on July 1. Here’s what you need to know. | JTA

Israeli PM Netanyahu and Speaker of the Knesset, Gantz

While the world has had its attention fixed on the George Floyd protests and the ongoing threat of COVID-19, a political development with monumental implications has been brewing in the Middle East: Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised his supporters during multiple election campaigns last year that he would make areas outside of the country’s borders part of the state.

Now his chance is fast approaching. The terms of a government coalition deal he struck with political rival Benny Gantz allow Netanyahu to put annexation to a government vote as early as July 1. The pair reportedly differ over details, but the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is trying to broker an agreement.

What happens with annexation has potentially steep stakes for Israel’s relationship with the United States, with its allies in Europe and beyond, and with American Jews. Some of the country’s fiercest supporters oppose Netanyahu’s annexation push.

The opposition and other factors complicate the chances of annexation happening on July 1, but the possibility remains on the table. So here’s what you need to know before that important date.

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→ 25 June 2020
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Netanyahu vows all settlements will be annexed July 1, but other lands may wait | Times of Israel

US President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told settler leaders on Sunday that he still intends to annex all West Bank settlements on the July 1 date that is the earliest allowed by his coalition deals, but he acknowledged that annexing other lands allocated to Israel under the Trump peace plan will likely take more time, several participants in the meeting told The Times of Israel.

The remarks reaffirmed Netanyahu’s self-declared July 1 target date for extending Israeli sovereignty to all West Bank settlements but also appeared to mark the first time he has admitted to long-reported delays by the joint US-Israeli team tasked with mapping out the further territories to be annexed, mainly in the Jordan Valley.

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→ 25 June 2020
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Progressive Jews hail NZ censure of Israeli annexation | J-Link

NZFOI: Hmmm….

PRESS RELEASE

THURSDAY, 25 JUNE 2020

J-LINK AOTEAROA, a group of New Zealand Jews, welcomed Aotearoa-New Zealand’s condemnation of Israel’s illegal plan to annex up to one third of the occupied West Bank in flagrant breach of international law.

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“The Aotearoa-New Zealand government has courageously followed its sponsorship of the 2016 UN Security Council resolution declaring Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal with a powerful statement condemning the planned annexation,” J-LINK spokeswoman Dr. Margalit Toledano.

“Israel is attempting to do this in breach of the Geneva Convention and United Nations international rights while the world’s attention is diverted by Covid19 and Black Lives Matter.

“Jews around the world know this is wrong, illegal and a prescription for bloodshed.”

“The world condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea and it should damn this equally aggressive action.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Winston Peters today called on Israel to reconsider its illegal plan. He said annexation would gravely undermine the two-state solution, breach international law, and pose significant risks to regional security.

J-LINK, an international network of Jewish organisations committed to democracy and peace, says annexation plans would lead to permanent Israeli military control over millions of Palestinians while denying them basic civil and political rights. It would put an end to Israel’s democracy and kill any hope for a Two state solution and peace in the Middle East.

“This new land grab will intensify the undemocratic and inhumane reality of Israeli’s 53-year occupation of whatever is left of the Palestinian territory. It is prescription for a violent conflict and bloodshed.” Dr Toledano said

Fifty Jewish organisations from all over the world signed J-LINK’s appeal to the Israeli government to take the annexation plan off the Israeli government agenda.

J-Link Aotearoa calls on all democratic countries to follow Aotearoa-New Zealand’s lead against Israel’s illegal plan.

J-LINK Aotearoa is part of J-LINK, an international network of Jewish organisations committed to democracy and peace.

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→ 24 June 2020
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NZ expresses concerns over proposed Israeli annexation plans | Winston Peters

Winston Peters, NZ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the serious concern of the New Zealand Government about the proposed annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank. The comments are in advance of the 1 July date set by Israel for a vote on annexation.

“New Zealand is a long-standing supporter of Israel’s right to live in peace and security.  However, successive New Zealand governments have also been clear that Israeli settlements are in violation of international law and have negative implications for the peace process,” Mr Peters said.

“The New Zealand Government’s view is that annexation would gravely undermine the two-state solution, breach international law, and pose significant risks to regional security.  We call on Israel to reconsider these plans.

“New Zealand has consistently pursued a principled and balanced approach to the Middle East Peace Process and continues to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“This Government stands ready to assist in any constructive way we can to support this process,” Mr Peters said.

“It is critical now for Israel and Palestine to work towards a negotiated, two-state solution. Both sides have legitimate issues and grievances and these have to be addressed through direct negotiations, with the aim of seeing Israel and a Palestinian state existing side by side, in peace and security,” Mr Peters said.

Source: Peters, W (23 Jun 2020). NZ expresses concerns over proposed Israeli annexation plans. NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs. www.beehive.govt.nz. Accessed 24 Jun 2020.

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→ 12 June 2020
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In the eyes of the Palestinians: What do the annexes think about the annexation? | News 13

Netanyahu explains Annexation Plan

The Authority makes a lot of threats towards the application of sovereignty. However, in many cases the street level thinks differently – and some would rather want to get rid of its rule.

“It is better than a million times for Israel to be responsible for the whole area”

When the question of what the Palestinians think is, there is a gap between the will of the people and the statements made by its leaders. It could be seen for two decades – during Arafat, what he also wanted the people to want, but for the current PA chairman, Abu Mazen, is something else. He says one thing and the people want something else and are not afraid to say it.

When the Palestinian Authority wanted to burn the area, citizens wanted work permits in Israel, and when the United States moved the embassy to Jerusalem, the Palestinians promised a wave of violence and the public chose not to take to the streets.

One of the Palestinians who wrote News 13 met with him said: “I am from the village of Jeba. I want the villagers to be happy. They are subject to the authority today and they want Netanyahu and no one else, they want an Israeli identity card.” The realization that there is an opportunity to get another life out of the gut brings out talk they once heard only inside the houses.

According to another resident of the Occupied Territories, “It is better than a million times for Israel to be responsible for the entire territory. We are prepared to be under Israeli military shoes and not under Abu Mazen’s head.”

A meeting with a Palestinian businessman explained the will of the people from another angle: “I do not want a state – I want money. Money is better than a state. All the Palestinian people want it. The authority has looted us and destroyed us.”

Again, this gaping chasm between the PA and its leaders and the people who, after 25 years, understand that Palestinian sovereignty has not really improved their lives. The dream on the way to the country is also stuck in the middle. The question is what will be heard in a month, the voice of the PA leaders or the voice of the people who totally think otherwise?

Source: Zvi Yehezkeli (9 June 2020). In the Eyes of the Palestinians. Channel 13 News. https://13news.co.il/item/news/politics/state-policy/in-the-eyes-of-the-palestinians-1075194/. Accessed 11 June 2020. Translated.

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→ 9 June 2020
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The Holy Six day War | Arutz Sheva

NZFOI: June 2020 marks the 53rd anniversary of the Six Day War when for the second time, Israel’s Arab neighbours illegally invaded the country in order to destroy it.

During the annual Yom HaAzmaut celebration at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem, some three weeks before the Six Day War, the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, gave a powerful and prophetic speech to the students and gathered guests, describing his initial anguished reaction when he had heard the news, some twenty years previously, that the United Nations had voted to partition the Land of Israel in approving the creation of a truncating Jewish State. While joyous Israelis danced outside on the streets, he sat at home, stunned by the announcement that the Inheritance of Hashem and Jerusalem had been cut into pieces and divided. Raising his voice, he shouted, “THEY DIVIDED OUR LAND!” Everyone in the hall was silent. “AND WHERE IS OUR HEVRON? AND OUR SHECHEM? WHERE IS EVERY METER OF THE LAND WHICH HASHEM BEQUEATHED TO US ALONE?! HAVE WE FORGOTTEN THAT ALL OF THE LAND IS OURS?!”

One of the yeshiva’s students, the late HaRav Yehuda Hazani wrote down his teacher’s words. “Yehuda had a phenomenal memory,” his wife, Hannah, told the Jewish Press. “After he made a neat copy of his scribbled writing, he showed it to HaRav Tzvi Yehuda for final editing and then arranged for its publication in the HaTzofet newspaper. At the time, no one in the country spoke about our returning to Judea and Samaria, nor about capturing the Temple Mount. The idea was like science fiction. Then, three weeks later, it came true.”

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→ 9 June 2020
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Israel hits “emergency brake” on reopening as coronavirus cases rise | CNN

Israel will “hit the emergency brake” on its reopening plans as the number of coronavirus cases rises sharply, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday during a meeting of the coronavirus cabinet.

“There has been a very steep increase in morbidity. It could be that we are already seeing the doubling of the rate of infection within ten days. I very much hope not, ” Netanyahu said during the meeting.

For the past eight days, Israel has seen approximately 100 new infections a day, up from approximately 20 new infections a day a week earlier.

According to the Ministry of Health, 298 people have now died as a result of coronavirus in Israel.

Netanyahu said that Israel would freeze further reopening measures that were supposed to take place in the coming days, reevaluating the situation in one week.

Though schools, malls, and restaurants reopened under certain health restrictions, the resumption of train service and the reopening of theaters, music halls, and other cultural venues will now be delayed.

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→ 8 June 2020
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Black Lives Matter Must Rescind its Anti-Israel Declaration | Algemeiner

Protesters take to the streets to bring attention to the push for justice in the Trayvon Martin case as they take over Rodeo Drive on July 17, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jose Lopez)

It is a real tragedy that Black Lives Matter — which has done so much good in raising awareness of police abuses — has now moved away from its central mission and has declared war against the nation state of the Jewish people.

In a recently issued “platform,” more than 60 groups that form the core of the Black Lives Matter movement went out of their way to single out one foreign nation to accuse of genocide and apartheid.

No, it wasn’t the Syrian government, which has killed tens of thousands of innocent people with barrel bombs, chemicals and gas.

Nor was it Saudi Arabia, which openly practices gender and religious apartheid.

It wasn’t Iran, which hangs gays and murders dissidents.

It wasn’t China, which has occupied Tibet for more than half a century.

And it wasn’t Turkey, which has imprisoned journalists, judges and academics.

Finally, it wasn’t any of the many countries, such as Venezuela or Mexico, where police abuses against innocent people run rampant and largely unchecked.

Nor was it the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where the police are a law unto themselves who act as judge, jury and executioner of those whose politics or religious practices they disapprove.

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→ 8 June 2020
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Why Did Women Vote for Hitler? Long-Forgotten Essays Hold Some Answers | Conversation

A trove of essays in the archives of the Hoover Institution provide some insight as to what attracted everyday women to extremist ideology.

The rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party in the 1930s came on the back of votes from millions of ordinary Germans – both men and women.

But aside from a few high-profile figures, such as concentration camp guard Irma Grese and “concentration camp murderess” Ilse Koch, little is known about the everyday women who embraced the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, known more commonly as the Nazi Party. What little data we do have on ordinary Nazi women has been largely underused, forgotten or ignored. It has left us with a half-formed understanding of the rise of the Nazi movement, one that is almost exclusively focused on male party members.

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