NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Fighting racial intolerance in New Zealand and beyond
OPINION: Truth can be elusive. Consider the recent furore over the Polish government’s introduction of a law that, according to some critics, will greatly restrict public discussion of Poland’s involvement in the Holocaust during World War II.
The new law prohibits mention of “Polish death camps” – on the face of it, an interference in the right of free speech. Yet it’s hard not to feel sympathy for Poland’s lawmakers.
…the Polish government is correct, as du Fresne points out, that the extermination camps were built and administered by Nazi Germany and, thus, using the term “Polish camps” is misleading. Yad Vashem – the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem – also agrees with this point. As does Alex Ryvchin, the Israeli government, and the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand.
Every rational person also agrees that thousands of Poles risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust. This is evidenced by the fact that more Poles are recognised as Righteous Among the Nations than citizens of any other country in Europe (there are 6,706 Polish names recorded, compared with 601 Germans). So, too, reasonable people agree that the recent claim of the Polish Prime Minister that there were “Jewish perpetrators” of the Holocaust is objectionable, yet would also agree that that making such claims should not be outlawed.
All these points lead to the conclusion that this is not a black and white matter. Poles, like every other nationality, were and are a heterogeneous people. Some lost their lives saving Jews; others locked Jews in a barn and set them alight. It is that very complexity, the inability to divide a people neatly into a category of evil or saintly, that necessitates research and debate, and that renders the proposed law such a bad idea.
While Holocaust expert, Deborah Lipstadt, has labelled the law a form of Holocaust denial, the core reason for condemnation is that it legislates against making a claim that is objectionable to a certain government, regardless of historical accuracy.
Karam al-Hilu
In a November 25, 2017 article marking the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, published in the London-based daily Al-Hayat, Lebanese journalist Karam Al-Hilu compared the meager accomplishments of the Arab world in the past century with those of the rest of the countries of the world, particularly Israel. He noted that Israel’s supremacy in the areas of science, economy, society, and politics is the source of its strength as well as the source of the Arabs’ failure in confronting it.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s founding fathers, who etched a commitment to encouraging Jewish immigration into the declaration of independence, might be surprised to find that, seven decades later, the state is relying on Christians to fulfill that promise.
What was once a strictly Jewish-funded mission is increasingly being bankrolled by evangelical Christians. Israel’s Christian allies now fund about a third of all immigrants moving to the country, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Emmanuel Macron
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Wednesday to fight firmly against anti-Semitism wherever it surfaces, whether in the street or online, and to protect the nation’s Jews amid growing concerns about intolerance.
In a speech to France’s leading Jewish group, he insisted there is no reason for Jews to flee the country, which is home to the world’s largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.
Professor Alan Dershowitz needs little introduction in legal circles. A preeminent civil-liberties and constitutional lawyer and recently-retired Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, he has also been described as “the best-known criminal lawyer in the world” after taking on…
A Bosnian living in Auckland is disgusted over a Holocaust victim costume worn by a student to his high school athletics day.
The clothing worn to athletics day at Liston College on Wednesday was spotted by the Aucklander on social media later that morning.
The student was dressed in blue striped pyjamas and roman sandals, with a yellow Star of David pinned to his chest.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Thousands of African asylum seekers and their local supporters are protesting against an Israeli plan to deport them.
The Israeli government has given the migrants until April 1 to leave the country for an unnamed African destination in exchange for $3,500 and a plane ticket, or they will be incarcerated indefinitely.
Peter Dutton
Four men were arrested in late July over the conspiracy, which the Australian Federal Police allege involved smuggling a bomb hidden inside a meat grinder onto an Etihad flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed overnight reports that the country’s Unit 8200, attached to the Israeli Intelligence Corps, provided “exclusive intelligence” that thwarted the attack.
“I can tell you that this is one of many, many such actions that we did preventing terrorism around the world,” he said during a speech in Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton confirmed Australia’s spy agency ASIO was assisted by Israeli counterparts.
“We are very grateful because it did lead directly to dealing with this issue,” he told Sydney Radio 2GB on Thursday.
Benjamin Netanyahu
JERUSALEM — Now that one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants has turned state witness, according to Israeli media reports Wednesday, it may mark a turning point for the beleaguered prime minister facing a slew of corruption allegations that could topple him from power.
The testimony by Shlomo Filber, a long-time Netanyahu aide, is the latest in a dizzying series of developments and scandals that have engulfed the prime minister, his family and his inner circle.
