NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Fighting racial intolerance in New Zealand and beyond
At the funeral of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, one of the few non-family members to deliver a eulogy was the Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh—a reminder that the elite Quds Force, which Suleimani commanded for over two decades, invested much in coordinating terrorist attacks against Israel. And not only against Israel, writes Yehudit Barsky, but against Jews wherever they might be found
US President Donald Trump is not a strategy man. He has made clear he doesn’t like to think too far down the road; he likes to govern by instinct.
In short, he is a tactical leader, a Twitter president. Tactical leaders tend to make mistakes, largely because they cannot see the long-term implications of their decisions.
On Iran, however, President Donald Trump has not made a mistake.
His tactical game has worked, at least for the moment. He has called Iran’s bluff, taken out one of its most valuable leaders and, so far, made the correct calculation that Tehran will not risk a wider war with the United States.
The Islamic Jihad, one of the terror organisations responsible for the recent wave of attacks against Israel, admitted that the baby was killed in Gaza during the latest escalation died as a result of a misfired rocket, TPS reported on Monday.
“A leak from the heroes of the [Islamic Jihad’s] Sarayat al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigades) on the circumstances of the death of the baby Saba Abu ‘Arar indicates that a rocket of the resistance exploded inside the family’s home due to a technical failure, and prematurely exploded,” a news item by Hamas’ al-Risala News said.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza militants fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel on Sunday, killing at least four Israelis and bringing life to a standstill across the region in the bloodiest fighting since a 2014 war. As Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes, the Palestinian death toll rose to 23, including two pregnant women and two babies.
The bloodshed marked the first Israeli fatalities from rocket fire since the 2014 war. With Palestinian militants threatening to send rockets deeper into Israel and Israeli reinforcements massing near the Gaza frontier, the fighting showed no signs of slowing down.
NZFOI: Strange Associated Press hasn’t picked up on this…
Violent riots protesting Hamas’ use of funds gathered for aid to the Gaza Strip took place on Thursday, with protesters beaten by the ruling terror group’s security forces and live rounds used.
In response to the protests, Ofir Gendelman, the Israeli prime minister’s Arabic media spokesman, tweeted, “Today it became clear for the umpteenth time Hamas is a terrorist gang that kidnapped 2 million Palestinians & oppresses them. Thousands of Gazans protested today against it.”
“Hamas leaders have everything while Gazans have nothing. And only Hamas is to blame for that,” he added.
In the past 24 hours, Israel has been attacked by the terrorist organization Hamas. More than 400 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip. This number is the highest recorded on any day since Hamas began firing rockets into Israel more than 10 years ago. The previous record was 192 which fell in one day during Operation Protective Margin.
A kite with an incendiary device is readied for its launch
JERUSALEM (AP) — A group of Israeli farmers is filing a war crimes complaint at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Monday against Hamas over the torching of thousands of acres of farmland in recent months.
A kite with an incendiary device is readied for its launch. Another day of peaceful protest at the Gaza border.
NZFOI: This article is a response to Rob Berg’s article. How would you rebut her arguments?
OPINION: Forget the kibbutz-building Zionists of the past; the new Zionism is not about “doing” and forging a vision for the future; it is about focusing on “hasbara” (Hebrew: explaining) and preserving the status quo.
This is why Benjamin Netanyahu has made no effort toward making peace with the Palestinians even though it has become clear to the world that the subjection and collective punishment of Palestinians are against any notion of human integrity and decency.
And if there was ever any proof needed that Netanyahu’s global PR project (the hasbara project) is failing miserably, it can be found in a recent Stuff opinion piece by the president of the Zionist Federation of New Zealand, Robert Berg.
Berg argues that New Zealand’s co-sponsorship of a Security Council resolution declaring Israeli settlements “a flagrant violation of international law” was “anti-Israel”.
What Berg fails to mention is that resolution 2234 passed in a 14-0 vote by all members of the UN Security Council including those with a veto power – that is: France, UK, Russia and China.
Even Israel’s own closet ally, the United States, did not vote against the resolution – it abstained. So, it is ludicrous to suggest the resolution was “anti-Israel” and New Zealand is “out of step” with its Western allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: His project of keeping Palestinians on the edge and maintaining the status quo is not only failing the Palestinians, it is denying Israel a peaceful future, says Donna Miles-Mojab.
But Israel does not see itself accountable to the international community.
When our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, expressed her concern at the “one-sided loss of life” during the Gaza protests, she was not complaining, as Berg suggests, about “lack of Jewish deaths”.
Of course, to any fair-minded person, it is clear that the prime minister’s remarks referred to Israel’s disproportionate response to Gaza’s protests – but “hasbara” is not about fairness, it is about propaganda to ward off the critics of Israel, which is why Berg’s attacks did not stop there.
In his piece, Berg names some of New Zealand’s bravest defenders of human rights, MPs Marama Davidson and Golriz Ghahraman, and accuses them of siding with those “advocating the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state” and “resurfacing modern-day blood libels”. This is beyond outrageous!
Where is the evidence for Berg’s accusations? He offers no evidence because there is no evidence.
What Berg is doing is what the main pillar of hasbara project is based on: to conflate anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel’s policies.
But the world is waking up to the true realities of a state that calls itself democratic but is happy to cage almost two million people in a small strip of land called Gaza under horrendous conditions.
Almost half of the besieged Palestinians in Gaza are children younger than my 15-year-old son.
Mr Berg, no amount of “explaining” can ever convince me or the rest of the world that those children who never had anything to do with any decisions made in the past, deserve to be collectively and cruelly punished by Israel.
Netanyahu’s project of keeping Palestinians on the edge and maintaining the status quo is not only failing the Palestinians, it is denying Israel a peaceful future and a respectful place among the international community.
If Mr Berg is committed to peace in the Middle East, he will do better to criticise Israeli politicians for its actions than to blame brave Kiwis for their response.
Freelance writer Donna Miles-Mojab is a Scottish-born Iranian New Zealander.
David Cumin, NZ Israel Institute
1. It is incorrect to refer to the blockade as “illegal” and BSA has ruled it is irresponsible for NZ media to do so.
2. Violation of a lawful blockade constitutes unlawful activity and an interception in international waters is entirely correct if the vessel is attempting to breach a blockade, according to International Law. The detention of Mr Treen was inevitable, given his attempt to breach a legal blockade.
3. This group, like the last, has admitted their cargo is not nearly as important as the publicity – “There is also some medical aid on board, although the amount of medical aid is merely a gesture,” said Richard Sudan of Iran’s Press TV UK. “We’re talking just a few boxes.”
4. Thousands of truckloads of goods enter Gaza from Israel, even now as Hamas and other militant groups continue to indiscriminately send flaming kites, mortars, and missiles over the border. If this group truly cared about delivering aid, they could easily do so via Israel.
5. The shipmates of Mr Treen are known to support terror groups, including Hamas as PFLP.
6. There has not been violence on boats when this stunt has previously been attempted as long as the activists followed instructions and did not resist arrest. Mr Treen has admitted to resisting arrest.
7. According to the UN Palmer Report (paragraph viii), “…Where a State becomes aware that its citizens or flag vessels intend to breach a naval blockade, it has a responsibility to take proactive steps compatible with democratic rights and freedoms to warn them of the risks involved and to endeavour to dissuade them from doing so.”.
8. Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and removed all Jews in hopes it would become the “Singapore of the Middle East”. Hamas violently took control of Gaza in 2006 and has continued its conflict with Israel at the expense of the welfare of the Gazan people. Instead of building infrastructure, Hamas has invested in terror.
– David Cumin
A kite with an incendiary device is readied for its launch
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military says it has struck Gaza after Palestinians tried to launch flaming kites into its territory.
It said aircraft targeted “infrastructure” there Thursday, without elaborating. It said the strike came after Palestinians attempted to launch “arson kites” into Israel.
Israel has been battling large fires caused by kites and balloons rigged with incendiary devices or burning rags launched from Gaza that have destroyed forests, burned crops and killed wildlife and livestock.
