The recent speech by the new Israeli ambassador to New Zealand – a position that has been vigorously protested by locals over the last months – at the opening of the new embassy in Wellington: The reopening of this Mission reflects the importance that Israel attaches to its relations with New Zealand. The primary aim…
Showing all posts tagged New Zealand
Liberal Zionism debates what Judaism should be in the 21st century
I’m coming late to this essay but there’s a long piece in the New York Review of Books by Peter Beinart talking about the failure of American Jewish elites and the wider Zionist community to understand the real effects of blind backing for Israel. Arabs are openly loathed and yet liberal, American Jewry is walking…
There are rules about what New Zealanders can see over the Middle East
Malcolm Evans is one of New Zealand’s leading cartoonists (I spent time with him in Auckland earlier in the week.) He used to be employed by the New Zealand Herald but after drawing a handful of cartoons critical of Israel, such the one below (and note the then editor’s comments alongside), he no longer worked…
New Zealanders robustly debate Israel/Palestine
Following the recent feature in New Zealand magazine The Listener on my work, this week’s edition publishes the following letters (and note the perfect “balance”, one pro and one anti): In the unbalanced demonisation of Israel (“Cry the promised land”, May 15), writer Joanne Black, swallowing every generalisation, stereotype and distortion made by Antony Loewenstein,…
The three New Zealanders who said “no” to US aggression
Spending time in New Zealand brings fascinating tales of a nation with a radical and independent streak. Admirable and pretty unique. I’ve been told by a number of different people about this story from March this year, an example of a non-violent protest against US wars that resulted in a great deal of local sympathy…
New Zealand remembers well how Israel views its sovereignty
The Dubai/Mossad saga rolls on: A former Israeli diplomat at the centre of a passport scam in New Zealand in 2004 has been named as a suspect in the assassination of a top Hamas leader. Zev William Barkan is one of 32 people Dubai police say they want to speak to as they investigate the…
The role of Palestine in global peace (through New Zealand)
I’m soon to visit New Zealand for the Auckland Writer’s Festival and a nationwide tour to various cities to speak about the Middle East. For any New Zealand readers, here’s another major event:
What some New Zealanders think about Israel
The following press release appears today: A campaign formed in Wellington to oppose the opening of an Israeli embassy says nobody would want the embassy as its neighbour. NIEW – No Israeli Embassy in Wellington – is a coalition set up to oppose Israel plans to open an embassy in Wellington for the first time…