UNGA vote on Jerusalem

New Zealand has further entrenched UN discrimination against the only Jewish state by voting with the mob, against sovereign nations being allowed to declare their own capitals.

There are 193 member states of the United Nations. Of these, 125 – the Non-aligned movement, which includes the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – are inherently anti-Israel and anti-democratic. It is little wonder that there are disproportionately more resolutions passed against Israel than any other country (by a ratio of 20:1) when countries like Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela dictate the agenda.

And New Zealand “joined the bullies” in voting for the resolution, as Israel Institute of New Zealand director, Dr David Cumin, told RadioNZ.

Australia and Canada, our traditional allies, abstained from voting along with 35 other nations, including five EU nations that broke EU consensus. Nine countries voted against the resolution and a further 21 did not vote at all. The vast majority of the 128 positive votes were from the 125 Non-aligned movement countries.

Read more

The spokesperson for a Palestinian human rights group is pleased Lorde has acknowleged the concerns around playing a concert in Israel next year, she says.

New Zealand pop star Ella Yelich-O’Connor, known by the stage name Lorde, is set to play in Tel Aviv in June as part of her Melodrama tour.

However, she has been criticised over the move and urged to reconsider.
On Twitter, Lorde acknowledged criticism of the Tel Aviv concert, and said she was considering all her options and learning all the time.

New Zealand Palestinian Human Rights Campaign said Lorde’s concert would be seen as an endorsement of the Israel government and its treatment of Palestinians.

Spokesperson Janfrie Wakim said the show would be in breach of a cultural boycott supported by 170 Palestinian groups.

“Playing there, performing there, would be seen to be breaking the boycott and so she will be seen to be supporting Israeli policy and that is something that we abhor.

Ms Wakim said very few Palestinians would be able to attend Lorde’s concert.

“They can’t even get to their religious sites from the West Bank or Gaza. Gaza is blocked off and the restrictions to enter Israel are extremely tight for West Bank Palestinians.
“Arabs who live in Israel may be able to go if they can afford it but they are discriminated in that country too.”

Ms Wakim said a sporting and cultural boycott had been very effective in South Africa and Palestinians faced a similar regime in Israel.

New Zealand Friends of Israel Association spokesman Tony Kan, however, said the concert provided an opportunity for disparate communities to come together.

“I think the concert should go ahead because what you’ll have is Lorde fans there and there will be Arab Lorde fans and there’ll be Jewish Lorde fans and they’ll be non-Jewish and non-Arab fans.

“It’s an opportunity for them to get together and celebrate something in common, which is the love of music, and well isn’t that a great thing.

“It helps to breakdown the distrust and it demonstrates to people that ‘hey, we can actually interact with one another and we don’t have to be at each other’s throats’.”

Mr Kan said discouraging Lorde from playing in Israel trampled on her freedom of expression as an artist.

New Zealand was one of the countries to vote in favour of a non-binding resolution at an UN General Assembly emergency session that calls on the United States to rescind its decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Read more

Three Israeli men have been sentenced for trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of the drug MDMA, or ecstasy, into New Zealand at the start of the year.

They arrived at Auckland International Airport from Singapore on January 3, where X-ray machines discovered packs of MDMA crystals hidden under wooden false bottoms of their suitcases.

Victor Borisenko, Vladislav Pischako and Guy Shalom, all aged in their mid-twenties, were convicted for importing a Class B controlled drug and each sentenced to eight years and three months in prison (Get to Know Yourself and Avoid Relapse to avoid jail).

Read more

Lorde says she is “considering all options” after backlash against her decision to perform in Israel.

Activists against Israel’s control of Palestine have been trying to stop musicians from touring Israel.

Lorde announced on Tuesday that she would perform in Tel Aviv mid-2018. She was immediately met with a backlash online.

Read more.

Kiwi pop star Lorde is being criticised for scheduling a concert in Israel, with some fans calling on her to boycott the country while others are applauding the move.

The ‘Green Light’ hitmaker announcing her Tel Aviv gig is confirmation she won’t be joining other artists in the controversial Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which “works to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians”.

Read more.

New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde will be hitting the stage in Tel Aviv next summer, bringing her unique brand of pop to thousands of Israeli fans.

The singer, whose real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, is best known for her international hits, including “Royals,” “Team” and “Yellow Flicker Beat.”

Read more.

Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the UN, gave this speech to the UN yesterday:

Thank you, Mr. President. In this meeting, I will not use Council’s time to address where a sovereign nation might decide to put its embassy, and why we have every right to do so. I will address a more appropriate and urgent concern.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the passage of Resolution 2334.

On that day, in this Council, in December 2016, the United States elected to abstain, allowing the measure to pass. Now it’s one year and a new administration later. Given the chance to vote again on Resolution 2334, I can say with complete confidence that the United States would vote “no.” We would exercise our veto power. The reasons why are very relevant to the cause of peace in the Middle East.

On the surface, Resolution 2334 described Israeli settlements as impediments to peace. Reasonable people can disagree about that, and in fact, over the years the United States has expressed criticism of Israeli settlement policies many times.

But in truth, it was Resolution 2334 itself that was an impediment to peace. This Security Council put the negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians further out of reach by injecting itself, yet again, in between the two parties to the conflict. By misplacing the blame for the failure of peace efforts squarely on the Israeli settlements, the resolution gave a pass to Palestinian leaders who for many years rejected one peace proposal after another. It also gave them encouragement to avoid negotiations in the future. It refused to acknowledge the legacy of failed negotiations unrelated to settlements. And the Council passed judgment on issues that must be decided in direct negotiations between the parties.

If the United Nations’ history in the peace efforts proves anything, it is that talking in New York cannot take the place of face-to-face negotiations between the regional parties. It only sets back the cause of peace, not advance it.

As if to make this very point, Resolution 2334 demanded a halt to all Israeli settlement activity in East Jerusalem – even in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This is something that no responsible person or country would ever expect Israel would do. And in this way, Resolution 2334 did what President Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem as the capital of Israel did not do: It prejudged issues that should be left in final status negotiations.

Given the chance today, the United States would veto Resolution 2334 for another reason. It gave new life to an ugly creation of the Human Rights Council: the database of companies operating in Jewish communities. This is an effort to create a blacklist, plain and simple. It is yet another obstacle to a negotiated peace. It is a stain on America’s conscience that we gave the so-called BDS movement momentum by allowing the passage of Resolution 2334.

To the United Nations’ shame, this has been a disproportionately hostile place for the Middle East’s most enduring democracy.

The United States refuses to accept the double standard that says we are not impartial when we stand by the will of the American people by moving our U.S. embassy, but somehow the United Nations is a neutral party when it consistently singles out Israel for condemnation.

For decades, Israel has withstood wave after wave of bias in the UN and its agencies. The United States has often stood beside Israel. We did not on December 23, 2016. We will not make that mistake again.

This week marks the one year anniversary of a significant setback for Middle East peace. But the United States has an undiminished commitment to helping bring about final status negotiations that will lead to lasting peace.

Our hand remains extended to both parties. We call on all countries that share this commitment to learn the hard lessons of the past and work to bring Israel and the Palestinian people in good faith to the peace table.

Thank you, very much.

End

JERUSALEM, Israel – A Hanukkah miracle and a Christmas present. That’s what Jews and Christians called the 1917 British conquest of Jerusalem.
 
Just a week after President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, thousands of Israelis and others gathered at the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City and outside the nearby Tower of David Museum to mark the 100th anniversary of that historic day. 
 
“Two weeks before Christmas and on the first day of Hanukkah the British Imperial Army entered Jerusalem under the command of General Edmund Allenby. A new chapter was beginning in the history of Jerusalem,” Israeli linguist and TV show host Avshalom Kor told the crowd. 

Read more.

There’s been a Jewish History in New Zealand since the very beginning of the 19th Century – so it should come as no surprise that some of our population identify as Māori Jews. This is a segment population however, that most of us know very little about. Dr. Hadas Ore from the University of Auckland is here to enlighten us though – she’s recently completed a post-doctoral project on Māori-Jews living in NZ.

Relatives of Iraq’s Miss Universe contestant have gone into hiding after a picture of the beauty queen with Miss Israel led to death threats.

During a Miss Universe event in November, Sarah Idan, representing Iraq, snapped a photo with her friend Adar Gandelsman, who was competing as Miss Israel. The photo was later posted to the women’s Instagram accounts.

Read more.