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NZFOI welcomes US announcement on Israeli Settlements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

22 November 2019 CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND — NZ Friends of Israel welcomes the US announcement on Monday November 18, that acknowledges that Israel’s settlements in Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank) are not illegal.

Most international law opinions that suggest otherwise are based on a misapplication of the Fourth Geneva Convention which was never written with the Middle Eastern situation in mind.  The original convention expected that the land of a sovereign state was being occupied by another sovereign state. 

This is not the case with the lands of the Middle East.  Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the end of the Second World War, there was no legitimate sovereign over the disputed lands. 

The US announcement affirms the fact that Jews have always been indigenous to the region and are not foreign colonizers. 

With the resurgence of anti-Semitism in many countries of the world, the foresight and wisdom of the League of Nations in mandating the establishment of a Jewish homeland, is unfortunately being vindicated. 

NZ Friends of Israel (www.nzfoi.org, contact@nzfoi.org, ph 027 433 9745) is a registered charity that fights racial prejudice and intolerance by raising awareness of Jewish history and culture.

ENDS

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→ 19 November 2019
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Trump administration says Israel’s West Bank settlements do not violate international law | Washington Post

Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Monday that Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law.

Pompeo said the Trump administration, as it did with recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, had simply “recognized the reality on the ground.”

In remarks to reporters at the State Department, he said the administration was overturning actions taken late in the Obama administration, which for the first time declined to veto a United Nations resolution calling for the dismantlement of West Bank settlements.

Instead, Pompeo said, the administration said it was returning to policy under the administration of Ronald Reagan, who declined to characterize settlements as illegal but called them “ill-advised” and an obstacle to peace.

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→ 14 November 2019
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Israel kills top Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza | BBC

An Israeli air strike has killed a senior commander of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Baha Abu al-Ata died along with his wife when a missile hit their home, the group said. Four of their children and a neighbour were reportedly injured.

Israel’s prime minister said Abu al-Ata was a “ticking bomb” who was planning to carry out attacks on the country.

At least 150 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the killing, which PIJ has vowed to avenge.

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→ 14 November 2019
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The Myth of the Thirsty Palestinian | The Tower

The latest line of anti-Israel attack claims the Jewish state withholds water from the Palestinians. As usual, the haters have their facts wrong.

The issue of water rights in the West Bank is constantly raised in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, appearing again and again in public discourse around the world. According to critics of Israel, the Jewish state selfishly exploits the area’s water supplies and denies access to the local population. In doing so, the critics say, Israel is not only abandoning its responsibilities to the West Bank Palestinians, but ruthlessly and illegally abusing the natural resources of the occupied territory. This idea has become extremely widespread in the international media, and was recently voiced from the Knesset plenum by the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, causing a minor scandal in Israel and abroad.

As with all attacks on Israel, the truth is much more complicated and, to a great extent, precisely the opposite of what the critics claim. When one examines the relevant data, it becomes clear that, under Israeli rule, the Palestinian water supply has become larger, more technologically sophisticated, of higher quality, and much easier to access; almost entirely due to Israeli efforts.

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→ 14 November 2019
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Medical Escort | NZFOI

Yesterday, NZFOI was asked by a Rabbi based in Chicago, to take part in urgently finding a medical professional who could accompany a gravely-ill patient from Auckland to Israel.

The Rabbi advises that a suitable medical escort has been found.

Thanks to all those who response.  It has been heartwarming to see everyone’s eagerness to help.

He asks for everyone’s prayers as there are further hurdles to overcome before the trip is successful.

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→ 14 November 2019
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Neo-Nazi website hack reveals far-right users in New Zealand as young as 15 | TVNZ

Juliet Moses

Several New Zealanders were active users of a now-defunct neo-Nazi message board which had its data leaked last week – including one who says they were aged 15.

Another user, from Auckland, described themselves as “a firm believer in Italian Fascism”, and displayed extreme anti-Semitism in their posts, writing that “Israel’s control of Jerusalem is one of humanity’s greatest tragedies”.

“We can’t just nuke Israel because then we lose God’s City, instead we need to take it back with gunpowder and steel.”

Juliet Moses, spokesperson for the New Zealand Jewish Council, said the comments were abhorrent and revolting.

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→ 7 November 2019
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Jojo Rabbit star Thomasin McKenzie speaks to Jack Tame | Newstalk ZB

Jack Tame

The plight of Jews in World War Two isn’t your typical comedy fodder.

But if there’s a man who could make it work, it’s Taika Waititi.

His new dark comedy Jojo Rabbit is about a Hitler Youth member’s discovery of a hidden Jewish girl, played by Kiwi actress Thomasin McKenzie, who joined Jack on the show.

Listen to the Audio here

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→ 7 November 2019
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The survivors of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting still ache a year later: ‘All my friends are dead’ | NZ Herald

The Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh, PA.

A Pittsburgh police commander was driving past the red-brick home his grandfather had lived in for decades when the first radio call came through: Shots fired at Tree of Life synagogue.

Jason Lando stopped his city-issued Ford Explorer, the damp October leaves clinging to the tires as he radioed a dispatcher. “How many 911 calls did you get on this?” he asked.

Active shooters were rare in Squirrel Hill, but Lando had learned during his decades on the force that an isolated report often meant a false alarm, reports The Washington Post.

Lando floored it, speeding toward Tree of Life.

“My grandfather is inside,” he thought.

As he pulled up, loud cracks of gunfire pierced through the stained-glass entryway.

“We’re under fire,” he shouted into the receiver while shoving the extra magazines he stored in his glove compartment into a pocket.

Shattered shards battered the ground.

Then more shots.

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→ 7 November 2019
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Anne Frank exhibition in Foxton highlights region’s Dutch heritage roots | Stuff

Arjan van der Boon is passionate about shining a light on people he calls the invisible immigrants.  

It’s a cultural group he says is missing from the pages of New Zealand history.

Forgotten. Ignored. Denied. 

“We’re an untold story. We thought we’d tell that story,” he says.

“We put ourselves back on the pages of history. We were missing.”

There are lots of stories that involve the Dutch, but one key one involving a teen girl – Anne Frank – is hard to go past given it defines a tragic period within a country’s history. 

Her story, as part of an exhibition, has now found a new temporary home in the place van der Boon helped create, the home of Dutch culture and heritage in New Zealand. 

Van der Boon arrived in New Zealand more than 30 years ago and for more than 10 years he has been involved with the creation of New Zealand’s national Dutch museum, Oranjehof Dutch Connection Centre in Foxton. 

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→ 7 November 2019
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Anniversary of Kristallnacht shows why hateful words matter | Stuff

When 18th-century Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke said that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”, he could not have imagined what the future would hold, and how his words would resonate for the world we live in today.

History is inexorably defined by the actions of those who live in the world, and the impact they have on generations that follow.

The Holocaust is one of these historical events. The murder of six million Jews and more than five million others who were seen as enemies of the Nazi ideology did not start with the plan of mass murder, but with words.

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