Alternative Jewish Voices (AJV) is deeply disappointed by this government’s decision to regard Palestinian rights through the lens of politics yet again. The International Court of Justice has clearly affirmed that Palestinians have a right to self-determination in their land, that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land is illegal, and that third-party states are legally obliged to take every step possible to bring that illegal situation to a rapid end.
The states we generally follow in our foreign policy have now recognised the state of Palestine.
The United Nations and the vast majority of human rights organisations and genocide scholars have recognised a genocide being perpetrated in Gaza by its illegal occupier, Israel.
New Zealanders have turned out in our tens of thousands to demand effective action including the recognition of Palestine as a state and the sanctioning of Israel for its crimes.
Rights, law, diplomacy, fact and conscience all point in the same direction: Palestine must be free and self-determining.
Ignoring all that, our government fails to see genocide and this morning it failed to acknowledge Palestinians’ right to statehood. Our Foreign Minister has chosen instead to court the favour of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu; a convicted felon and a man wanted for war crimes. This is not merely a failure of leadership. It is a failure even of followership. It’s a disgrace.
If we want to live in a world of human dignity and rights, if we want change, we have to change this government.
Alternative Jewish Voices of Aotearoa
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Alternative Jewish Voices is a collective of anti-Zionist Jewish New Zealanders, from the Far North to Otago. We pursue three issues: Jewish pluralism; antiracism including antisemitism and Islamophobia; and we work in support of Palestinians’ full human and political rights.