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→ 23 November 2020
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Full Text: Ambassador’s Farewell Address Nov 12

H.E. Ambassador of Israel to New Zealand, Dr Yitzhak Gerberg

NZFOI: As many of our members and supporters were unable to attend the farewell gathering in Christchurch, here is the full text of the Ambassador’s address on November 12.

BEGINS

Dear Friends of Israel

Kia Ora and Shalom,

The highlight of the past few weeks was the peace agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain. This historic agreements named “Abraham Accord” represents a meaningful landmark and historic breakthrough combining forces and finding common ground in the Middle East has never been more urgent than now especially in the midst of a global pandemic.

The Abraham Accord is set to generate immediate results and is essential in order to create normalization as well as real peace and security in our chaotic region.

In fact this is a historic diplomatic breakthrough that will advance large scale collaboration while unlocking a great economic potential. For instance the Health Ministers of Israel and the UAE have already agreed to cooperate on healthcare issues, particularly covid19 and set up businesses and student exchange programs.

Emirati investment firms and Israeli Hi-tech companies already signed agreements on collaborations and joint research and development; together we all will gain from the expansion of trade and commercial ties in fields such as cyber security, clean energy, medicine, finance, communications, and agriculture.

I hope that the Abraham Accord will pave the way for more countries in the region to realize the vast potential that exists in peace. Unfortunately, the Palestinian do not support the Abraham Accord despite the fact that this could be a big opportunity for them and they continue refusing to recognize the state of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.

Additional key concern of the UAE and Bahrain, other Sunni countries and Israel is the common threat of Iran. Iran is a rogue country with nuclear ambition as well as hegemonic regional goal and therefore Israeli missile defence systems and Israeli cyber security are of interest to the Arab Sunni Gulf countries.

Make no mistakes Iran wants to wipe out the state of Israel and is deeply meddling in Lebanon Syria and Iraq with their proxy terror organizations. Israel is acting in self-defense and in compliance with international law against internationally recognized terror organizations.

Iran has lately exceeded the limits of 300 kg. enriched uranium, builds up advanced centrifuges, and is developing medium and long-range missiles that can strike Israel as well as other Arab Gulf states. Iran also continues to support the terrorist organizations of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza strip and lately ammunition nitrate that was stored by Hezbollah in Beirut caused two giant explosions killing hundreds of people.

The U.S. made a decision to enforce all previously ended sanctions on Iran (which is called snap-back sanctions). Israel supports those sanctions because we see it as a necessary tool against Iranian nuclear capability, aggression towards Israel as well as a threat they impose against peace in the Middle East, not to mention the human rights abuses that are regularly conducted in Iran.

Last year we saw further growth in anti-Semitism, anti-Israeli sentiment and de-legitimation of the State of Israel, which are all derived from antisemitism that was transformed into Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

Together we must fight antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and BDS against Israel.

On a more positive note I’m glad that the Arab Gulf countries have understood that Israel is not the problem in the Middle East but rather a prominent solution to the regional problems and we do expect other Arab countries like Oman, Kuwait, Morocco and Saudi Arabia to follow.
The challenges we – as well as the entire world – are facing today know no boundaries and it is essential that we combine our capabilities.

We call on all counties to voice their support for the “Abraham Accord”. Although New Zealand has not yet officially supported the “Abraham Accord”, has repeatedly failed to condemn terrorism against Israel and has not designated the military wings of Hezbollah and Hamas as a terrorist entities we certainly expect them to do so, not to mention the fact that the government has continued the pattern of imbalanced approach towards Israel in its voting record at the UN as it was demonstrated by New Zealand sponsorship of the anti-Israeli resolution 2334 and when N.Z. failed to take the opportunity to ensure that Hamas terrorism would be condemned at the UN.

On the other hand, there was a very positive development in our bilateral relationship when an agreement on technology and innovation was signed between New Zealand and Israel.

Israel and New Zealand enjoy friendly relations, these relations are based on common democratic values, friendship between people to people, the history of ANZAC in Israel during the first world war as well as mutual interests led by the idea that we need to transform our challenges into opportunities.

As you know, Israel is a hub of Hi-Tech and innovation with over one thousand one hundred and fifty start-ups based on artificial intelligence. I anticipate the collaboration between New Zealand and Israel in the fields of High-Tech, cyber security, advanced and precise agriculture, clean and renewed energy as well as adaptation to climate change, usage of drip irrigation, restoration of biodiversity, green houses with mitigation of gas emission, plant species with resistance to diseases, land rehabilitation, water management, reduction of water loss, food alternatives, storage and saving of agricultural products.

So the sky is the limit. I believe that this is the time that NZ opens an embassy in Israel and for that, we need your support.

I would like to use this opportunity and thank each and every one of you for your support, true friendship and concern towards Israel, that helps us fulfill the prophecy of prophet Ezekiel (chapter 36 verse 24) ” For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your home land”.

Last but not least – soon I will be leaving NZ back home to the holy land and I would like to thank you all for the friendship you have showed me and my wife. We had a great time in New Zealand, mainly because of your friendship.

Toda Raba, Tena koutou-Katoa and Kia Kaha,

God bless New Zealand,

God bless Israel and

God bless you all.

ENDS

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→ 16 November 2020
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Full Text: Anglican Bishop’s farewell message to Ambassador of Israel

The Rt Rev Peter Carrell and his wife, Teresa Kundycki-Carrell

Last Thursday we held a farewell reception for H.E. Ambassador of Israel, Yitzhak Gerberg and his wife Shifra.

Many of our members were unable to attend, so here is the full text of the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch Peter Carrell’s speech.

BEGINS

Your Excellency, Ambassador Gerberg and Shifra, your wife , the rangatira of Ngai Tahuriri, Mr Grant Close of the Christchurch Hebrew Congregation, and NZ Friends of Israel, greetings!

I am glad to be here tonight. As Anglican Bishop of Christchurch I believe I should be available to be with the NZ Friends of Israel just as I am available to meet with those outside the building who are demonstrating tonight. To be Anglican is to be inclusive.

Many years ago, in 1983, I made my first and so far only visit to Israel. It took place while I lived in Egypt for a year. It was a very memorable visit. This year, 2020, Teresa and I had hoped to visit Jerusalem for what would have been Teresa’s first visit and my second visit. Unfortunately Covid-19 put paid to that. Perhaps we will make it in 2022.

One of my memories of the 1983 visit is that one moment I could look up and see a farmer making his way down the road driving a tractor – just as if I was back in Canterbury – and the next moment I could look up on a hillside and see shepherds as though I was back in the days of the Bible.

I visited Israel out of my interest as a Christian and because of my study of the Bible.

Israel’s story is a shared Jewish and Christian story. Together we share sacred scriptures, the writings which are known as The Tanakh. We have a shared commitment to the well-being of Jerusalem as the holy city of God and a shared commitment to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And we share a commitment to peace between nations and to justice between communities.

Nevertheless there are and have been testing moments in the shared history between Christians and Jews as well as tragedy and trauma through the Holocaust. A Christian commitment to Israel is a commitment to never again have such trauma and tragedy visited against the Jewish people.

Your Excellency, I wish you and your wife well as you leave these shores. As you know, there are two Promised Lands in the world, and New Zealand is one of them. You leave one Promised Land to go to the other. You are always welcome back.

ENDS

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→ 12 November 2020
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Maori-Israeli Ties Strengthened | Times of Israel

During the recent Covid 19 lockdown, a small hui (meeting) was held in Northland between members of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) and outgoing Israeli Ambassador, HE Dr Itzhak Gerberg and his wife Shifra. This was the culmination of a number of engagements with Ngāpuhi, in the time that Ambassador Gerberg has been in New Zealand.

The beginning of Gerberg’s appointment in New Zealand was marred by New Zealand’s role in co-sponsoring UNSC Resolution 2334. He was recalled to Israel in a diplomatic spat that lasted several months.

Upon the ambassador’s return, Ngāpuhi kaumatua (elder), Pat Ruka felt compelled to organise a special powhiri (welcome ceremony) for him. Joined by many Māori from around the nation, a moving ceremony of apology, called a whakapāha was held at Hoani Waititi Marae (meeting house) in West Auckland. Its purpose was to express regret for New Zealand’s actions in standing against Israel at the UN and to seek forgiveness.

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→ 10 November 2020
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Distorted picture of complex Palestine conflict | Stuff

Dr Sheree Trotter

John Minto has wasted no time in attempting to lecture the incoming Minister of Foreign Affairs, MP Nanaia Mahuta, on what he thinks she should be doing in the Middle East and in urging his followers to bombard her with emails.

He has no compunction in spouting a distorted picture of what is a complex conflict.

Minto fails to mention that the so-called ‘Great March of Return’ consisted of a series of violent riots, organised, coordinated and directed by Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist organisation that is in an armed conflict with Israel.

A case study undertaken by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights found that:

The mass violent events that took place in the area of the security barrier were “unusual in their scope and in the intensity of the threat that they posed”. Tens of thousands of people participated. Under the cover of the riots, grenade and explosive devices were hurled towards the Israel Defence Forces troops, live ammunition was fired at the soldiers and explosive devices were hurled towards Israeli territory, in addition to the flying of incendiary kites intended to harm towns and residents of Israel near the Gaza periphery.

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→ 5 November 2020
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The Detail: The life and times of Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta | Stuff

Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Foreign Affairs for New Zealand

NZFOI: Naturally we are interested in the background of the new Minister of Foreign Affairs for New Zealand.

Nanaia Mahuta’s appointment as the Foreign Minister in the new cabinet stunned even the political insiders but a closer look at her 24 years in parliament reveal her to be a person of depth and ambition with a record of quiet achievement.

Today, The Detail’s Sharon Brettkelly looks at the political career of Mahuta and how it was shaped by her early years spent with her father, Sir Robert Mahuta, the key negotiator in the Tainui treaty deal.

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→ 14 October 2020
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The War of Return — A review | Quillet

[NZFOI has recently acquired this book for the members’ library.]

In a story that may be apocryphal, the late Christopher Hitchens claimed that he had once seen legendary Israeli diplomat Abba Eban comment that the most striking aspect of the Israeli-Arab conflict is how easily it can be solved: It is simply a matter of dividing the land of Israel into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The only thing standing in the way of this solution is the intense religious or nationalist attachment of both sides to the idea of an undivided nation between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, this assumption that partition alone can bring peace has been the foundation of all of the international community’s peace efforts since the 1967 Six Day War. The only difficulty, it is believed, is persuading the two sides to agree to it.

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→ 12 October 2020
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Tens of thousands protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu |Stuff

Tens of thousands of Israelis calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign demonstrated across the country Saturday evening, saying he is unfit to rule while on trial for corruption charges and accusing him of mismanaging the nation’s coronavirus crisis.

Protesters gathered at hundreds of locations across the country due to a nationwide lockdown that has barred them from protesting at the usual site outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem. The current lockdown regulations allow people only to gather within one kilometre of their home.

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→ 9 October 2020
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YOUNG ISRAELIS STUCK IN NZ DURING COVID, NOW LIVING AND WORKING IN WHANGANUI | River City Press

Shani and Daniel

By Doug Davidson

Daniel and Shani are two Israelis caught out by Covid-19 and are currently living and working in Whanganui. The RCP caught up with them to discuss their backgrounds; life as young people in Israel and their future plans and hopes. In many respects, they are representative of young Israelis today.

Daniel’s grandparents came to Israel from Morocco and Shani’s family on her mother’s side came from Uzbekistan while her father is from the Czech Republic. Both speak fluent English.

Both were raised in the Orthodox Jewish community in Be’er Sheva to the south of Israel. At Daniel’s secondary school, called ‘Yeshiva,’ he studied only ‘Jewish Studies’ for three years – “no Maths or English.” In his last year, “I had to catch up on four years of study to pass the Ministry of Education’s school diploma,” he says.

Yeshiva belongs to a sub-stream between Ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox Judaism. If you don’t know much about Orthodox Judaism, watch the series ‘Unorthodox’ on Netflix.

Daniel, as an Orthodox Jewish male, wore a ‘peot’ – long curls of hair frequently wrapped around the ears because of a Biblical injunction against shaving the sides of one’s head. “After school, you are expected to go into the army for three years, although the Orthodox can choose to continue studying Jewish Studies.”

Daniel joined the army for five years, becoming an officer. He says, “I enjoyed it very much. As a commander, you test yourself, your abilities, and your character.” Orthodox girls don’t’ go into the army, however. “They object to working alongside boys and having to wear trousers.”

Instead, they can opt to do National Service, which is not compulsory. Shani says, “It is seen as a parallel service to being in the army. You work in education, health, supporting the Community.” Shani worked for the Government for two years as a tour guide for students.

“Once you have completed your army service, many young Israelis want to travel,” says Daniel. “Most will choose Asia or South America as they are not so expensive. As I was an officer, I had saved up for us to come to New Zealand and Australia. We were attracted by the different cultures and also Shani’s brother had been here in 2017. He recommended New Zealand very much.”

They arrived on January 10, bought a car and were travelling in the South Island before Covid-19 struck. “We tried selling it but couldn’t. Fortunately, a family offered to host us for the lockdown period.” Their hosts are part of H.I.T. – Host Israeli Travellers, who will host travelling Israelis either for free or minimal cost. “It was great to be part of a family again,” Shani says.

Once level 4, then 3, was over, they moved to the North Island and are being hosted in Whangaehu by the Rev David Berberfield, who also hosts visitors through the ‘Couch Surfing’ connection. Shani describes him as “the most nicest person.”

They applied and received New Zealand work visas and soon found evening work – Shani at Stella and Daniel at The Red and they are planting kiwifruit at Mangamahu during the day. Working hard is part of their way of life. As they say, “We are taught to know what you want out of life, to be competitive, work hard and reach targets.”

Neither of them is orthodox or even religious in their approach. “But,” as Daniel explains, “We feel Jewish. We are connected to our religion and culture.” He gives the example of commemorating the destruction by the Romans of the second temple in 70CE. Religious Jews will see it as a punishment from God because the Jew were fighting between themselves. He and Shani will see it as “a need to love each other.”

They are enjoying life in Whanganui and recently explored the possibility of studying at Massey – Shani in biology and Daniel in history. But they would need to be New Zealand residents as it would cost them approximately $28,000 each as International Students – a figure they can’t afford. In Israel, University study is much cheaper for them.

You can’t discuss life in Israel without bringing up the Palestinian question. Shani says, “I would be concerned about future plans for “Samaria.” (The Israeli term for the West Bank). She lived there while doing her national service, learning the history and feeling connected to the place. She would be “very sad if she could not go there in the future.”

Daniel explained that why he wants to study history is to focus on the history of the Middle East and Islam to understand better the conflict. He says, “I have no specific opinions but I recognize that the Palestinians have had a very bad time and something has to happen.”

Source: Davidson, D (20 August 2020). Young Israelis stuck in NZ during COVID, now living and working in Whanganui. River City Press. Pages 1-2.

[NZFOI: Thanks to Elizabeth Green for sharing the article with us.]

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→ 1 October 2020
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When it comes to Israel it doesn’t matter that much which major party forms the government | NZFOI

In many minds, Anti-Semitism has disguised itself as advocacy for Palestinian Arabs and opposition to Israel’s existence.  Unsurprisingly therefore, NZFOI is keenly interested in NZ’s policies toward Israel in its fight against Anti-Semitism.  Those following the many articles setting out the policies, the statements and the track records of the various NZ political parties in relation to Israel, will have noticed something: 

Over the last few years, no matter what they have said prior to entering government all have become subordinated to the “long-standing” and “even-handed” foreign policy set out by previous administrations and closely guarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Each administration has parroted these two catch-phrases, “long-standing” and “even-handed” policy (or their synonyms) over and over whenever the Middle East Conflict has arisen.   

These two phrases or variations of them are being recited by each administration because this is the advice given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).  We know this because of the good work of the Israel Institute of New Zealand who obtained the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s advice on NZ’s UN voting between 2015-2018 through the Official Information Act.  In those documents, the Ministry says: 

“New Zealand has for many years endeavoured to take a balanced and even-handed approach to Middle East issues in the UN, with the primary objective of supporting a sustainable two-state solution, best achieved through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.”

In defending Resolution 2334, Bill English said it “expressed long-standing international policy.”

Based on his 2017 pre-election statements, Winston Peters looked like an opportunity to reset NZ’s relations with Israel in the aftermath of NZ’s unwise sponsorship of Resolution 2334.  Yet in 2020, he too repeated that NZ’s policy was a “consistent” one and it was “balanced” when questioned as to why his government supported anti-semitic bias at the UN.

During a casual conversation with Gerard van Bohemen, a previous NZ Representative to the UN and now High Court judge, he too re-affirmed that NZ’s stance on the Middle East was “long-standing” and “even-handed.”  It’s been crafted over many decades and transcends individual administrations.  He then said, we shouldn’t have a go at the Ministry as they are just a civil service, there to implement the policies of the current administration.  NZFOI needed to get to the academic experts who helped shape the policy in the first place.

It’s almost as if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has frightened each incoming administration with disastrous consequences if it dared to touch the “long-standing” and “even-handed” policy which embodies the collective wisdom of previous governments, that in their eyes, has performed so well in protecting New Zealand’s interests.

Without focusing on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the “experts” it uses to form its views on international issues, NZ’s interests, and therefore how it advises each incoming administration, NZ’s stance on the Middle East Conflict will not be diverted from its current course. 

Because of this, when it comes to Israel it doesn’t matter that much which major party forms the government.

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→ 1 October 2020
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Palestinians Can’t Stand In the Way of Israel’s Regional Integration | FP

Mahmoud Abbas

More and more Gulf Arab state officials recognize that the Palestinian people, the Arab states, and the United States (not to mention Israel) would all be better off if new, more constructive Palestinian leaders came to power. At the same time, there is less and less adherence to the conventional view that Israel must make peace with the Palestinians before it can make peace with the Arab states.

By noting that greater strategic cooperation between Israel and the Arab states against Iran would “set the stage for diplomatic breakthroughs,” the Trump peace plan anticipated the UAE-Israel and Bahrain-Israel accords. It implied that such deals could usefully increase pressure on the Palestinians to reform their politics, which is the key to a breakthrough on the issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The message to the Palestinians from yesterday’s White House signing ceremony is that they need a political upheaval—new leaders, new institutions, new ideas—or they are going to become utterly irrelevant in the eyes of the world, including the broader Arab world. As they lose attention, they will lose diplomatic support and economic aid. If they cannot make war and they will not make peace, their hopes to shape their own future will diminish to nothing.

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