NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Fighting racial intolerance in New Zealand and beyond
[NZFOI: Really?!]
Suggesting Palestinians use their children as human shields and that Arabs hate Jews more than they love their own children is appalling and deplorable racism. Dr Cumin’s remarks are a particularly vile statement of anti-Palestinian racism and a repugnant slur on all Arabs.
Massey University has awarded a Master of Arts in Politics for a thesis that reads more like propaganda than academic literature. The thesis, supervised by Dr Nigel Parsons, essentially legitimises Hamas and its terrorism.
Dr Ran Porat of Monash University told The Israel Institute of New Zealand that the 2018 MA thesis by Nicholas Robert Brough “advances Hamas’ narrative about Israel” and
“[Mr Brough] quickly relinquishes any pretence of academic neutrality, and openly expresses positive views of Hamas… In a sense, the thesis can be understood as a tool to present Hamas as legitimate actor, completely ignoring the destructive and oppressive Hamas regime vis-à-vis civilian populations in both Israel and in Gaza and the spread of hatred and antisemitic messages on Hamas sanctioned media.”.Dr Ran Porat
The thesis was supervised by Dr Nigel Parsons, who has shown clear anti-Israel bias in the past. Dr Parsons signed an open letter that called for sanctions on Israel; has demonised Israel and ignored facts when interviewed by Radio NZ; spoke on a “Palestinian Solidarity” panel organised by a hate group; and has strong links to BerZeit University, where Hamas is praised and Jews are not allowed to speak.
NZFOI: John Le Carre was one of the most successful spy novelists of the 20th and 21st Centuries. He arguably created the genre of the spy as the anti-hero in stark contrast to the glamorous spies created by Ian Fleming. In this interview, Le Carre reveals himself to be a staunch supporter of Israel.
In a rare interview 22 years ago, the peerless thriller writer talked about Israel and Jews; Smiley could have been Jewish, he said of his most famous character. ‘Perhaps he was’
John le Carre, the master spy novelist who died Sunday aged 89, had a long fascination and sympathy for the Jewish people and a deep admiration for Israel.
Jewish characters were interwoven in his many novels, and his research into the 1983 novel “The Little Drummer Girl” gave him his first real exposure to Israel with a visit that “rocked” him, he said in a rare 1998 interview with Douglas Davis of the Jewish World Review.
“Israel,” he told Davis, “rocked me to my boots. I had arrived expecting whatever European sentimentalists expect — a re-creation of the better quarters of Hampstead [in London]. Or old Danzig, or Vienna or Berlin. The strains of Mendelssohn issuing from open windows of a summer’s evening. Happy kids in seamen’s hats clattering to school with violin cases in their hands.”
Instead, what he recalled finding was “the most extraordinary carnival of human variety that I have ever set eyes on, a nation in the process of re-assembling itself from the shards of its past, now Oriental, now Western, now secular, now religious, but always anxiously moralizing about itself, criticizing itself with Maoist ferocity, a nation crackling with debate, rediscovering its past while it fought for its future.”
“No nation on earth,” he said, “was more deserving of peace — or more condemned to fight for it.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.
It joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in beginning to forge deals with Israel, driven in part by U.S.-led efforts to present a united front against Iran and roll back Tehran’s regional influence.
In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, a desert region where a decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state.
President-elect Joe Biden, due to succeed Trump on Jan. 20, will face a decision whether to accept the U.S. deal on the Western Sahara, which no other Western nation has done. A Biden spokesman declined to comment.
While Biden is expected to move U.S. foreign policy away from Trump’s “America First” posture, the Democrat has indicated he will continue the pursuit of what Trump calls “the Abraham Accords” between Israel and Arab and Muslim nations.
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
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.
The first flight carrying Israeli tourists to the United Arab Emirates landed Sunday in the city-state of Dubai, the latest sign of the normalisation deal reached between the two nations.
FlyDubai flight No. FZ8194 landed at Dubai International Airport just after 5.40pm (local time), bringing the tourists to the skyscraper-studded city after a nearly three-hour trip. The low-cost carrier had sent one of its Boeing 737s to Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv earlier Sunday morning to pick up the passengers.
The flight flew across Saudi Arabia and then over the waters of the Persian Gulf to reach the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms also home to Abu Dhabi.
Referring to previous Islamic religious rulings that “obligate” Muslims to “fight against the thieving Jews,” a host on official PA TV interviewed the PA Grand Mufti on the aspects of Sharia’h law in connection with the UAE and Bahrain’s recent peace agreements with Israel.
The PA Mufti stressed that “if an inch of the Muslims’ lands is stolen, Jihad becomes a personal religious commandment for everyone.” The PA defines all of the State of Israel as stolen Islamic land – a waqf – which is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. Therefore, according to the PA Mufti, Shari’ah law prohibits Palestinians from recognizing Israel in any borders and commands that every Muslim has a personal duty to wage war against Israel until the “Muslim” land is freed. He further stated that the UAE and Bahrain are “twisting” these religious rulings, noting that this is “forbidden” and that they will have to answer to Allah for this.
The Australian government has followed in U.S. footsteps and cut financial aid to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade budget papers.
While the aid reduction was not officially announced by the Australian government, according to a report published on the website of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) on Friday, it was listed in the 2020-21 budget papers, released on Oct. 6.
According to the budget estimate, Australia will give $10 million to UNRWA in 2020-21, compared to $20 million in 2019-20.
Separately, UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview published on Monday in The Guardian, “We are constantly in crisis mode when it comes to the cash flow. UNRWA is constantly running after the cash.”
[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.
