IT HAS BECOME ever more apparent over the course of the past year that the New Zealand coalition Government is not prepared to contradict American foreign policy, and this is especially true in relation to Gaza. Even though genocide has been committed in Gaza by a US-armed Israel, the New Zealand coalition government has remained silent. And there are politicians within it, like ACT leader David Seymour, deputy-leader Brooke van Velden and ACT MP Simon Court, who continue to defend Israel's barbarism.
Last week the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, attacked Donald Trump's proposal to 'ethnically cleanse' Gaza of its Palestinian population, commenting: 'No real estate operation can cover up the evil, disgrace, and crimes against humanity that we have seen in Gaza in recent years. We should not allow it. And from Spain, we will not allow it.'
In stark contrast, the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, has not only not rejected Trump's plan but has hinted that it might be 'practical' to purge Gaza of the Palestinian people, in order that Gaza can be rebuilt.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs support for the Trump administration has also been highlighted by his decision not to allow New Zealand to join the seventy-nine other countries who have united to oppose Donald Trump's baseless attack on the International Criminal Court.
As John Minto of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has observed: 'An independent foreign policy means making our own decisions and working with the great majority of like-minded countries who support international institutions, such as the ICC and the International Court of Justice. Instead, we have a foreign minister who is in the US pocket and blindly working for the interests of Trump and his robber barons.'
Given its uncritical support for the United States, it comes as no surprise that Prime Minister Chris Luxon is scheduled to meet with representatives of the New Zealand Jewish Council (NZJC) this week, including President Juliet Moses.
An unelected and Zionist controlled body, the NZJC has defended the slaughter in Gaza and continues its efforts to smear critics of Israel as 'anti-Semitic'. Last year, members of the NZJC, including Juliet Moses, mounted a campaign to smear Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick as anti-Semitic.
While the NZJC continues to claim it is the legitimate representative body for the Jewish community in New Zealand, it is not. This fact has again been made clear by a coalition of Jewish groups opposed to the Zionist views of the NZJC.
Marliyn Garson, co-founder of Alternative Jewish Voices, says: 'The NZ Jewish Council is not a representative group and is completely unaccountable to the Jewish community. Juliet Moses, their current president, has broadcast her intention to silence Jews who dissent from her increasingly extreme positions. How many members of the Jewish community would choose a representative who defended Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at the US presidential inauguration?'
The coalition has written an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning his decision to meet with the NZJC.
'We are concerned that the Jewish Council may be proposing special measures to combat anti-Semitism. From what we have observed in other countries, these anti-Semitism measures are generally weaponised to try to protect Israel from criticism by other governments. They are also used to suppress the free speech of people protesting the Israeli state’s criminal activities. Special protections distract from our shared mahi of anti-racism. They are also misused against Muslim and Palestinian communities, who have lost far more to racism in Aotearoa in recent years,' says Philippa Yasbek, spokesperson for Dayenu: NZ Jews Against Occupation.
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