PSNA was appalled and shocked at Sunday’s anti-semitic terror attack targeting the Jewish community in Australia on the first day of the celebration of Hanukkah.
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-Chair John Minto says he’s thinking of the families who have lost loved ones in this most dreadful of circumstances.
“For those who would try to make out otherwise, we reiterate our condemnation of racism and race hatred of any kind – whether it is anti-semitism, anti-Māori racism, anti-Palestinian racism or white supremacy. There is no place for any of it anywhere in the world.
“The best antidote to race hatred is community solidarity and we stand with the Jewish community in the face of such horror.”
“For many decades, and the past two years in particular, we have protested and marched side by side with Jews and Jewish groups to condemn the genocide in Gaza and stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation,” Minto says.
“We have always made clear our campaign targets Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing. Jews are not responsible for these policies, despite Netanyahu claiming he is acting and speaking as ‘Prime Minister’ of all Jews.”
Minto says Palestine supporters were also appalled when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and leaders of the pro-Israeli lobby in Australia and New Zealand, tried to exploit the horror in Bondi by blaming it on condemnation of Israel’s genocide and the Australian government’s (largely non-existent) support for Palestinian rights.
“This blaming almost invariably comes from people who support Israel’s actions in Gaza. Their strategy is to exploit the killing in Bondi to help the Israel government carry on its genocide and ethnic cleansing without criticism.”
Minto says he’s concerned that the strategy will cross the Tasman to panic the New Zealand government into introducing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-semitism into New Zealand legislation.
“This definition is used to target people supporting Palestine. The Israeli government has managed to get it into government legislation, university rules and local government policy in many parts of the western world.”
“It’s all part of Netanyahu’s ‘Eighth Front’ to silence Israel’s critics.”
“It has no place here.”
John Minto
Co-Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
I 100% agree John . Netanyahu would use this atrocious event to cause more carnage in Gaza .
Yep, well said….(even more) precarious times, now, for us all.
Another great column from John. It is a messed-up world when those causing the genocide in Gaza can get the MSM repeating their lies that those who are protesting about the killings in Gaza are somehow to blame for the deaths in Bondi.
100% agree.
Anti-semitism has two main well springs currently – the Western far right, and Islamic extremists. The latter are also a Western creation. Islamist fanatics are fine – so long as they serve Western interests and are wielded against secular Arab regimes, and Russia and China.
The left is not anti-semitic, almost by definition. Indeed one of the first things the newly installed Soviet government did over a hundred years ago was declare anti-semitism a crime worthy of death. Jews have been in the vanguard of the left movement ever since it started.
Excellent comments. This in particular:
Islamist fanatics are fine – so long as they serve Western interests and are wielded against secular Arab regimes, and Russia and China.
The West is to blame for many many of the nasty things going on in the world, they have exploited and then defecated on many countries throughout Latin America, Africa and closer to home in the Pacific. We are not allowed to be real friends with China because the United States have made them the bogey.
On the TV the other night they talked about Matilda, the little girl who was killed in Bondi. A terrible tragedy. But ab even greater tragedy is the 30,000 children killed in Gaza – none of whom deserved to die just as Matilda didn’t.
The main Jewish lobby group in Aotearoa reiterated their concern about anti-semitism, information that came from a survey they did. However they didn’t mention Islamophobia which is greater than anti-semitism and if the Jewish lobby group (who really should be called the Zionist Lobby group) had their way there would be no Palestine solidarity marches.