NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Fighting racial intolerance in New Zealand and beyond
We may never know the full truth about Huber’s four years in the service of the Nazi regime. But, while some secrets die hard, the truth sometimes has a way of coming to the surface.
In Autumn 1943, Soviet journalist Vasily Grossman saw mass graves in the areas of Eastern Europe where Huber served and where Nazi death squads murdered millions of Jews.
‘The earth is throwing out crushed bones, teeth, clothes, papers,’’ Grossman wrote.
“It does not want to keep secrets.”
You may have heard of the controversy surrounding the comments of Juliet Moses, the spokesperson for the NZ Jewish Council, at the recent anti-terrorism hui.
Here is the transcript of her address, so you can judge for yourself as to whether her remarks conflated terrorism with Islam as members of the Islamic community have asserted. Click this link to read the full transcript.
Furthermore, here is an opportunity to meet Juliet herself and ask your own questions, via a Zoom meeting. Thanks to our friends at the Israel Institute of NZ for organizing this event. Zoom meeting details follow:
Join Dr David Cumin and Juliet Moses for a Zoom Talk on Thursday 24 June, 7pm
Ms Moses is an Auckland based lawyer and spokesperson for the Jewish Council of New Zealand. She was invited to speak at the recent Hui on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism. In one session, there was open support for Hamas and Hezbollah, whose military wings are designated by NZ as terrorist groups. There was no challenge from the officials or leaders in the room. We will discuss this and more.
Please spread the word.
Topic: The Israel Report: David Cumin talks to Juliet Moses
Time: Jun 24, 2021 07:00 PM Auckland, Wellington
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86476677914
Meeting ID: 864 7667 7914
Yesterday, RNZ radio broadcaster Susie Ferguson interviewed Juliet Moses, spokesperson for the NZ Jewish Council, following the controversy at the Hui on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism in New Zealand on Tuesday, June 15.
How many need to be involved to create a terrorist risk?
When discussing the 2018 rally where attendees showed their support of Hezbollah, Susie Ferguson said (2m 30s):
“When we are talking about a rally, that makes it sound really big, I understand we are talking about 20 people, that sort of number, that’s correct isn’t it?”
Thus she implies that because such a small number of people were involved that the Jewish Community was making a mountain out of a mole hill.
To even think this way, suggests that she doesn’t understand the dynamics of a terrorist threat, despite the fact that the Mosque Massacres demonstrated that an act of terrorism can be perpetrated by a single individual, radicalised through their own personal journey, without any formal connection to an organised terrorist organisation.
If one single individual can cause so much harm, tragedy and loss of life, how much more harm, tragedy and loss of life, can twenty something individuals do, if they got together and got organised.
But wait, the fact that they were at a rally showing their support for Hezbollah, showed that they are already getting together, and getting organised…
Terrorism doesn’t respect geographic borders
When Moses cited a Hezbollah bombing that killed 85 in Buenos Aires in 1994, Ferguson cuts in, saying (3m:
“But we are talking about what’s happening in New Zealand here.”
She implies that terrorism acts and terrorism track records overseas don’t count.
But terrorism respects no geographic borders, as the Buenos Aires bombing shows, and as the Christchurch Mosque Massacre also demonstrates.
Calling out a organisation of Muslim terrorists doesn’t mean all terrorists are Muslims
In fact, in the Christchurch Mosque Massacre, not even the passage of time seemed to matter as the perpetrator cited Muslim invasions of Europe that occurred centuries ago, and they occurred overseas.
Strangely, Ferguson seemed to hold the idea that Moses’ comments conflated Islam with terrorism. She asked Moses if this was so. Moses responded by emphatically denying it.
In an interview the previous day with Andrew Little, the Minister responsible for the GCSB and NZSIS, Ferguson said Moses had declared that all Muslims were terrorists (1m50s).
When Little challenged her and said “I’m not sure that that was what was said,” she backtracked and restated her question as “the effects of her [Moses’] words, is that what was in effect what was being said here.”
A position which Andrew did not support in his reply. In fact he went on to say that later over a food, the two groups had a constructive conversation and the matter was smoothed over.
A well-meaning mistake?
It seems like she is trying to protect the Muslim community from some hideous tropes, but in doing so, she unwittingly undermined much of the good that the hui could have inspired. Instead, she has undermined the legitimacy of the Jewish community’s anxieties.
You can listen to the whole interview with Juliet Moses here:
And here is the interview with Andrew Little:
Here is an interview with Abdur Razzaq, the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ chairperson, who led the walkout. In it, he complains that Islam is being securitized, that is, terrorism is being conflated with the religion, and claims that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organisation, but a resistance movement:
NZFOI
We are deeply concerned at the response by audience members to statements made by Juliet Moses on behalf of the Jewish Council at the Hui on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism in New Zealand. We are also disappointed by the distortion of facts by mainstream media.
It is imperative that terrorism is discussed openly and truthfully at a hui explicitly called for the purpose of countering terrorism and violent extremism in all New Zealand communities. Terrorist entities must be able to be named, whether they be far-right, Islamic, or any other groups.
Ms Moses referred to a rally in support of Hezbollah on Auckland’s Queen Street in 2018. The rally should be of concern to all New Zealanders. New Zealand has labelled the military wings of Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist groups. However, New Zealand’s position on Hezbollah is out of step with most of our allies who recognise that there is no distinction between the military and political wings of the organisation. In fact, in 2017, The Arab League, comprised of 22 Arabic-speaking countries, designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization for destabilizing the region and posing “a threat to Arab national security by raising sectarian … and ethnic tensions”.
We affirm the call made by Ms Moses:
“We need to hear leaders condemn all support for terrorism and all terrorism equally, whatever the source, target and circumstance – and even when it is not politically expedient to do so”.
On behalf of the thousands of constituents we represent, we support Juliet Moses’ effort to bring this matter to public attention and agree that this concern must be acknowledged in order to achieve social cohesion in New Zealand. We call on our leaders to speak out clearly and unequivocally to condemn all forms of terrorism. We also call on the government to take measures to ensure that those who openly support terrorists and terrorism are censured.
Ashley Church, Israel Institute of New Zealand
Rob Berg, Zionist Federation of New Zealand
Bryce Turner, Christians For Israel
Nigel Woodley, The Protection of Zion Trust, Flaxmere Christian Fellowship, Ebenezer Operation Exodus
Derek McDowell, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
Tony Kan, New Zealand Friends of Israel
Patrick Tupoto Manawakaiaia Ruka, Ngapuhi Kaumatua
Dr Sheree Trotter, Holocaust and Antisemitism Foundation, Aotearoa New Zealand
Simon Lawry, Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Stephanie Harawira, Pacific Pearls, Kia Ora Israel, Hikoi Aotearoa, Ezekiel 33 Trust, Kotahi Tatou Trust
In a grass clearing overlooking Wellington a memorial in the form of three steel chairs has been installed.
Unlike a typical memorial consisting of a park bench and a plaque with an idyllic view of the city, the chairs engage in simple object theatre, designer Matthijs Siljee said.
“If new visitors were to walk up the path and their eye level comes level with the grass, they will all of a sudden think ‘hey someone has left some chairs behind.’ It is in that unassuming way that the memorial will introduce itself to the visitors,” Siljee said.
Located in Ellice Park in Mt Victoria, the memorial is the first of its kind in New Zealand, commemorating Anne Frank and the 1.5 million children who were killed during the holocaust.
Lana Hart’s op-ed (“How long before we can forgive?” June 7) raised many important questions regarding the justice system and the attitude toward criminal offenders, among them the recently-deceased former Waffen-SS officer Willi Huber, who achieved hero status among local skiers for his contribution to the establishment of the skiing facilities on Mt. Hutt. Ms. Hart brings several examples of people punished for their behavior and a wide range of responses by the criminals to their punishments.
And while she notes the importance of the severity of the original wrongdoing in determining a person’s punishment, and the principle of proportionality, she fails to understand the significance of Huber’s crimes and fails to attribute sufficient importance to his lack of remorse and his obvious adulation for the leader of the most genocidal regime in human history.
Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff supplied a list of 50 suspected war criminals decades ago, but successive governments keep classified the immigration documents that could implicate them.
The widely reported death in New Zealand last year of former Waffen-SS soldier Willi Huber served to awaken the consciousness of New Zealanders to the reality that Nazi war criminals and sympathizers live, or have lived, among them.
Huber, who migrated to New Zealand in 1953, was a keen skier. Often referred to as “a heartland hero” and “the founding father” of the South Island’s Mt. Hutt ski field, he achieved near-legendary status in the skiing fraternity and was lauded by some media. He died never having publicly expressed any remorse for his wartime activities.
Since the end of World War II, New Zealand, like Australia, has served as a sanctuary for war refugees and other displaced persons (DPs), mainly from Europe. But not all, it seems, were honest about their background.
For Tanya Levy, the starting point of the Israel-Hamas conflict came at her daughters’ tennis lesson.
The siren indicating they had 90 seconds to find shelter before a possible missile hit sounded while they were in the middle of the courts.
Levy, a “born and bred Aucklander” who moved to Israel 20 years ago, compares her reaction to the siren to how residents of Wellington or Christchurch respond to the first signs of a quake.
“You just switch into business mode,” she said.
Wellington Phoenix have asked fans to refrain from bringing national flags into their two New Zealand home games due to the growing tensions in the Middle East.
The move comes after the club was issued with a “please explain” from the A-League following Israeli striker Tomer Hemed’s controversial goal celebrations against Melbourne City last weekend.
The former Israeli international was cautioned with a yellow card for unveiling a kippah – a cloth cap traditionally worn by Jewish men – and placing it on his head following his 88th minute equaliser, while he also draped himself in the Star of David after scoring a penalty in the 37th minute.
NZ Friends of Israel has been observing the responses to the latest wave of violence between Arabs and Jews with concern.
The conflict has been narrowly portrayed as a David versus Goliath conflict supported by snapshots of “disproportionate” death tolls, “home-made” rockets contrasted with sophisticated state of the art military technologies, and forced evictions.
Just relying on this information alone to decide what stance to take on the Middle East conflict between Jews and Arabs is risky.
In nearly all modern conflicts, displaced peoples are resettled, so that they can rebuild, and get on with their lives.
Not so in the Middle East, where neighbouring countries, in order to keep the dispute with Israel alive, refused to allow refugees to resettle, but instead have refused them citizenship and turned temporary refugee camps into institutionalized ghettos.
Some 750,000 Jews have also been displaced through the Middle East conflicts. They are unheard of today, because they have resettled in other countries, a vast number in Israel. They have gone on to live their lives.
For the Palestinian Arab refugee, they are stuck in a twilight zone, unable to get on with their lives, dependent on foreign aid, because Arab political leaders, including their own, will not accept a Jewish state in their midst. In so doing, creating a long-running humanitarian crisis.
Ironic, as the establishment of Israel, as a homeland and refuge for Jews, under international law, was, in itself, a humanitarian response to the Holocaust and a recognition of how widespread and deadly Anti-Semitism was in the world.
As long as the world continues to fund this institutionalized victimhood, the Middle East conflict will persist.
The will to continue funding is heavily shaped by how media cover the Middle East Conflict.
In the West, we value ethical journalism. We expect factual and balanced reporting. But commercialization and the human need to be “relevant” means that many journalists have abandoned these ideals and have taken sides when it comes to Israel.
By doing so, they have become unwitting instruments of propaganda.
Hamas’ tactics are clear.
On the TVNZ news, a woman rants at the camera, saying no one would accept being evicted from their homes. Well, yes we do. If we can’t pay our bills, debt collectors come. If we don’t pay our rent, then we are evicted. Even in New Zealand.
Headlines are powerful. They not only determine how many people will read an article, but a headline changes the way people read an article and the way they remember it.
To illustrate how bias comes through in headlines, here is a sequence of headlines on the Gaza conflict run by Stuff. Every effort has been taken to make this collection exhaustive but one or two may have slipped through:
24 April: Worst round of cross-border violence between Israel and Gaza Strip in months
11 May: Jerusalem protests: The violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police explained
11 May: Nine children killed in Gaza as violence intensifies with air strikes, rocket attacks
12 May: Israel, Hamas trade deadly rocket fire as confrontation escalates
13 May: New Zealand raises international law violations with Israel, expresses ‘grave concern’ over escalating violence
13 May: How Hamas pierced Israel’s famous Iron Dome shield
13 May: The three biggest US airlines are suspending flights to Israel.
13 May: Dozens killed in Mideast conflict that recalls 2014 Gaza war
14 May: Gaza hospitals were already struggling with Covid-19. Then the bombs fell
14 May: Israeli tanks pound Gaza ahead of possible ground incursion
14 May: Israel-Palestine conflict: Gaza ceasefire ‘not enough’ – Palestinian minister
14 May: Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Ongoing attack on Gaza Strip
14 May: Fighting between Hamas, Israel escalates as efforts to secure truce begin
15 May: US joins international effort to de-escalate the intensifying conflict in Gaza
15 May: Ending injustice is the only path to assuring Israel’s security
16 May: The moments before the bombing: Inside the Gaza media building destroyed by an airstrike
16 May: Media outlets demand Israel explain its bombing of news offices in Gaza
16 May: Israel airstrike in Gaza destroys building housing international media
16 May: Islamic nations hold emergency summit on Israel-Gaza attacks
17 May: The toughest tourism gig right now? Selling Israel to Muslim visitors in Dubai
17 May: Israel-Palestine conflict: 10 minutes of heavy airstrikes hit Gaza City as Hamas rocket attacks continue
17 May: Calls mount for Gaza-Israel ceasefire, greater US efforts
17 May: Associated Press’ top editor calls for probe into Israeli airstrike
18 May: Why is accountability for alleged war crimes so hard to achieve in the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
18 May: Green Party puts forward parliamentary motion to declare Palestine a state
18 May: Israeli strikes hit Gaza tunnels as diplomats work for truce
18 May: Israel-Palestine conflict: More airstrikes on Gaza mark second week of unrest
19 May: Palestinians go on strike as Israel-Hamas fighting rages
19 May: Israeli police say two killed in strike launched from Gaza
20 May: Now is the time for NZ to be brave, and stand up to Israel and China
20 May: As a Jewish New Zealander I am ashamed by Israel’s long history of inflaming tensions in the Mideast
20 May: Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu ‘determined” to continue Gaza operation
20 May: Palestinian Kiwis worried for families in Gaza as bombs rain down
20 May: Israeli air strikes kill six, large family home destroyed in Gaza
21 May: Israel agrees ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza to end 11-day conflict
21 May: Israel-Palestine Conflict: The media is ‘dehumanising’ the nation of Israel
21 May: Israel unleashes wave of strikes in Gaza despite pushback from US President Joe Biden
23 May: Vitriol and double standards are directed against Israel
23 May: Egyptian mediators hold talks to firm up Israel-Hamas truce
A review of these Stuff headlines shows that they overwhelmingly present Israel as the antagonist. Of the 39 headlines only two mention Hamas’ indiscriminant rocket attacks and only one mentions that Hamas’ attacks are war crimes under international law, and even then only within the body text, not in any headline.
Amidst this barrage of biased headlines, even the NZ government’s call to de-escalate is twisted to be seemingly addressed toward Israel and not toward Hamas.
It’s not surprising therefore to see a growing wave of anti-Israel sentiment resulting in pro-Palestinian rallies being held around the country.
The NY Times, in its daily update, lengthily summarises the “toll” of the latest conflict by numbering the Arab deaths, separating out children from the rest of the statistics and describing the damage to infrastructure and housing. But only briefly mentions Israeli death toll with no further elaboration.
The oft-mentioned East Jerusalem “eviction” is a legal dispute between tenants and their landlord and arises from long standing unpaid rent.
There are other cases regarding ownership disputes opened by Jewish owners who were themselves displaced after Jordan illegally annexed East Jerusalem but returned after Israel won the 1967 War. Now these Jewish owners are seeking reinstatement through the courts.
The Israeli courts have shown themselves to be politically independent and scrupulously so. It’s prosecution of past Prime Ministers and even the current Prime Minister, show that the Israeli courts are not intimidated by political power and that no one is above the law.
These court cases are ongoing and we should wait for their outcome before reacting.
Israel is accused of disproportionate use of force. But there is no question that Hamas and its allies are themselves using deadly force. Militarily, we would expect the amount of force should be sufficient, to stop the attacks. They haven’t stopped which suggests insufficient force has been applied.
The bombardment of Homs in the Syrian War is an example of how conventional warfare is conducted by the rest of the world. By the end of that siege, Homs was nearly levelled and looked like Stalingrad after it’s siege in WW2. Israel’s targeted strikes are comparatively humane, considering that its enemies use its own civilians as human shields.
Finally, we urge everyone to restrain themselves from jumping to conclusions during a military conflict. It’s been said that truth is the first casualty of war. This conflict is no different. Both sides will be wanting to manage the public narrative to their own advantage.
It’s not until after the conflict is over that independent foreign observers can report on what really happened. For example, in the 2014 Gaza War, it wasn’t until journalists returned to their home countries that they were able to safely report that Hamas was using civilians and civilian infrastructure, including UN facilities as shields.
NZFOI
