The deep-seated racism at the heart of the New Zealand Jewish Council
During the “Great March of Return” protests in Gaza, beginning in March 2018, Israel’s brutality towards unarmed Palestinian protestors reached new levels of savagery.
From March 2018 to 31 December 2018 a United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry found Israeli snipers injured 6,106 Palestinians with live ammunition while another 3,098 Palestinians were injured by bullet fragmentation, rubber-coated metal bullets or by hits from tear gas canisters.
In total 189 Palestinians were slaughtered during the demonstrations with 183 of these killed by live ammunition. Thirty five of these fatalities were children while three were clearly marked paramedics, and two were clearly marked journalists.
Meanwhile four Israeli soldiers were injured at the demonstrations.
The Commission noted the Israeli claim that the protests by the separation fence masked “terror activities” by Palestinian armed groups. However, the Commission found that the demonstrations were civilian in nature, with clearly stated political aims. Despite some acts of significant violence, the Commission found that the demonstrations did not constitute combat or military campaigns.
When confronted with this sickening brutality during a debate at Auckland University in 2019 the Spokesperson for the Israel Institute, Dr David Cumin, sought to blame the victims and said Palestinians engaged in –
“…violent riots on the border with Israel to which they bring children to use as human shields. The quote of Israel’s first woman Prime Minister sums the situation up beautifully. Golda Meir said: “there can only be peace when the Arabs start to love their children more than they hate us” ”
Suggesting Palestinians use their children as human shields and that Arabs hate Jews more than they love their own children is appalling and deplorable racism. Dr Cumin’s remarks are a particularly vile statement of anti-Palestinian racism and a repugnant slur on all Arabs.
Imagine for a moment if we reverse the ethnicities. If anyone made a similar statement that “Jews use their children as human shields and that we will only have peace in the Middle East when Jews start to love their children more than they hate Palestinians” it would be roundly condemned as deeply racist and anti-semitic. The same would apply if these comments were made about Maori, Pasifika or any ethnic group.
The Palestinian and Arab communities in New Zealand are small and vulnerable. This was graphically and savagely exposed in the March 2019 terrorist massacres in Christchurch. Six of the 51 people slain were Palestinian and many more were from Arab countries.
Dr Cumin comments about Palestinians and Arabs would fit in readily with the commentary on the racist, white-supremacist websites accessed by the Christchurch killer. And yet just six months after the Christchurch shootings Dr Cumin was fuelling anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism in the most revolting manner.
As well as being a spokesperson for the Israel Institute, Dr Cumin is also a member of the New Zealand Jewish Council, so we wrote to the New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Juliet Moses and requested the Council investigate our complaint of anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism and take action against Dr Cumin.
In response Juliet Moses sent an email saying –
Dear Mr Minto
We refer to your email of 14 October. The NZ Jewish Council considers your complaint to have no validity. We will not enter into any further correspondence about it.
Nga mihi
Juliet Moses
Juliet Moses has failed to respond to a follow up letter pointing out this is a cowardly refusal to face blatant racism from a council member. By defending such despicable racism Juliet Moses has brought the New Zealand Jewish Council into disrepute.
Dr Cumin and Juliet Moses have had plenty of time to reflect on Dr Cumin’s comments. Dr Cumin should have been required to withdraw them and apologise unreservedly. He hasn’t. And to have the New Zealand Jewish Council defend Dr Cumin’s racism is shocking and unacceptable.
Juliet Moses and Dr David Cumin spend a great deal of time spreading false smears of anti-semitism against those, such as myself, who call for sanctions against Israel until Israel abides by international law and United Nations resolutions. They have construed similar smears against other Palestinian solidarity activists and organisations, members of parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a host of other groups and individuals. They use bullying and public shaming as weapons to deflect criticism of Israel’s racist apartheid policies towards Palestinians.
In their desperation to defend Israel, they are actively pressuring government ministers, members of parliament, newspaper editors, editorial staff, editors of blogs and public officials of all sorts and using the threat of the label “anti-semitic” to encourage these groups to “self-censor” in their criticism of Israel.
Hostility, hatred or discrimination against Jews must always be condemned. Like any kind of racism it is a cancer in our community and the answer to all racism is community solidarity – when the community closes ranks around a vulnerable group and squeezes racism to the margins. I attended a protest in Auckland some years back (organised by Socialist Aotearoa) against the spray painting of swastikas on graves in the Jewish cemetery on Symonds Street. It was moving afterwards to be approached by several people from the Jewish community I didn’t know, to thank myself and others for our public expressions of solidarity and support. Our attendance meant a lot to them and it drove home to me how important it is to make a public stand with vulnerable communities when they come under attack.
There is an important fight to be had against racism in Aotearoa in all its forms, white supremacy, Islamophobia, racism against Maori and Pacific Islanders, Palestinians, Arabs and Jews etc.
However, by failing to speak out against Dr Cumin the New Zealand Jewish Council has made itself part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is no credibility for an organisation which condemns anti-semitism on the one hand and then practices and defends anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism on the other. Giving comfort to white supremacists is not the role of any credible New Zealand organisation.
Juliet Moses and Dr David Cumin should be required to resign from the New Zealand Jewish Council.
This is where Cancel Culture and deplatforming gets us:
https://www.bod.org.uk/condemnation-for-decision-to-invite-ken-loach-to-speak-at-st-peters-college-oxford/
Tautoko John, it is telling that when met with valid criticism of the Israeli state, Moses and Cumin often choose to deflect with “what about China?” rather than discussing the violent racism at play.
To share another rank quote from Cumin, following the March 15 attack:
“The undeniable message that is also being sent is that anyone who expresses any sentiment that is in any way contrary to the prevailing mob mentality, then you are worthy of censorship and elimination.
The danger and hypocrisy of such thinking can best be illustrated by considering the para-factual. Exactly the same widespread blaming and calls for mass censorship were coming from the far right after previous Islamist terror attacks.
The extreme-left and Islamists today are acting entirely congruent with the far-right of yesterday.”
According to Cumin, combatting rising far-right and fascist movements is apparently “McCarthyism”, and according to Moses you are an anti-Semite for criticising IDF military actions without also criticising every other injustice in the world. I’d want her to take a breath, but whenever she does she begins dogwhistling about “adult human females” instead.
Perhaps neither of them should be taken seriously in political discourse at all, as their priority is Cleary to sow confusion and discourage criticism of Israel, at any cost.
After WWII & the Holocaust, the Jewish “world” said words to the effect: ‘NEVER AGAIN!”
If only! What the Israelis have consistently done to the Palestinian people is treat them in a manner very alike to how they (the Jews) were treated by Germany during Hitler’s “reign”.
One only needs to read the writings of Ilan Pappe – in particular ‘The Ethic Cleansing of Palestine’. Pappe is a Jew.
IMO, there is only ONE way to treat other people – that is only HOW I WISH TO BE TREATED. That is simple, but not always easy.
This is pathetic. Minto has an obsession with Israel and, it seems, now with Jews. Although I am unsure if he ever really separated the two in his mind. His need to point out that he has been on an anti-anti-Semitic march is evidence that he, on some level, appreciates how little credibility he has. And to accuse David of being a racist is defamatory. Of course, there isn’t any point in suing Minto, as he is probably penniless after several decades wasted on a pointless crusade against the only Jewish state and his outrage that the most persecuted people in recorded history have a homeland from which they can be secure from the hatred of the type evidenced by John Minto.
I prefer not to call people racists, as I can never truly know a person’s soul, but if members of the Jewish Council describe Minto as being an antisemite, well, they have a vast trove of evidence to justify just such a characterisation.
And; I should add, The Daily Blog should not be publishing this sort of garbage. it is reprehensible. It is wrong. There are valid points to discuss on the disputes in the Levant. This sort of personal attack, this vile, hateful, spiteful and contemptable abuse is a discredit to both the author and of the organisation that chooses to publish it.
Damien, would you say that before Israel, John Minto “had an obsession” with apartheid Sth Africa?
Or would it be fairer to simply say that John “has an obsession” with injustice. (Which we *ALL* should.)
It should be possible to criticise a country’s apalling human rights record without being accused of some kind of “ism”. After all, there are many Jewish people who are also opposed to Israel’s zionist policies. How do you reconcile that with your narrative?
Meh, playing the person sideshow, it’s silly to get dragged down to that level.
The issue of the moment is the lining up of pro Israel nations (generally those with the IHRA anti-semitism definition) not to support ICC moving to investigate both Israel and Palestine for abuse of power etc.
The local Israeli Institute crowd seem concerned that the ICC is not investigating the suppression of Uighurs instead (absurdly they call this genocide, despite the lack of killing) – China has not signed up as an ICC member so that is not within its jurisdiction.
They want our government to join those disapproving of the ICC decision. But the UN SG supported the Palestinian request to be a member of the ICC in 2015. Thus making actions in its territory – including by the occupying power, within its jurisdiction.
Israeli politicians are saying there is a threat to their right to self defence – ignoring completely that the ICC will also look at “terror” actions by Palestinian groups.
So much double speak and duplicity.
Is
In response to your first sentence, we all know that you wouldn’t lecture yourself about your own failures. It takes self awareness to be introspective.
This comment has been reinserted where it belongs, under Gay’s response to John W. He initially said, “i wouldn’t be lecturing me about failure, old son.”
Saw a documentary on this Jewish attack on a family that among other things burn’t a toddler alive deliberately. Barbaric. Also the extremist Jewish settlers were at a wedding and celebrating with pictures of the toddlers burnt body on placards while they danced at the wedding.
“DUMA, West Bank — Suspected Jewish assailants set fire to a West Bank home on Friday and burned a sleeping Palestinian toddler to death in an attack that drew Palestinian rage and widespread Israeli condemnation. The attack, which threatens to set off another violent escalation, shines a light on the growing lawlessness of extremist Jewish settlers that Israel is either unable or unwilling to contain.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspected-jewish-extremists-burn-sleeping-palestinian-toddler-to-death-outrage/”
More attacks.
Mohamed Abu Khdeir, the Palestinian teenager who was kidnapped and murdered on Wednesday in a suspected revenge killing by Israeli extremists, was burned alive after suffering a head injury, the Palestinian attorney general has claimed
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/05/palestinian-boy-mohammed-abu-khdeir-burned-alive
Israeli army bulldozer crushes US peace protester in Gaza Strip
Peace campaigner killed as Israeli army destroys homes in Palestinian refugee camp
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/17/israel.usa
Shall we,dare,you against the wall. What our humanity,so burned to have no humanity,them all against the wall.
Took me years,to understand ABBA.
How long you.
[quote]
Imagine for a moment if we reverse the ethnicities. If anyone made a similar statement that “Jews use their children as human shields and that we will only have peace in the Middle East when Jews start to love their children more than they hate Palestinians” it would be roundly condemned as deeply racist and anti-semitic. The same would apply if these comments were made about Maori, Pasifika or any ethnic group.
[unquote]
Actually, it would only be anti-Semitic if untrue.
Is Kublia making the case that the Israelis are less than human??? , ,,, or like the NZ Jewish council is that his view of Palestinian people ??.
The truth is when Israel bombs Palestinian neighborhoods,,, you can guarantee the parents, ,,just like New Zealand ones, would futilely try to shield their children.
1minute 10 secs shows what isreal drops on Civilians, ,,, and the results. https://youtu.be/ezNqSAIJIOI ,,,, you have to be a bit sick to point the finger at Palestinians and claim they are uncaring about children when Israel does what it does.
U.N. Finds Israel Intentionally Shot Children, Journalists & the Disabled During Gaza Protests https://youtu.be/94BOE_eVLuU
And some more truth for Kubla
The only ‘collateral damage’ Israel cares about ,,,, is to its reputation.
“Israel’s “human shield” propaganda has also been applied on civilian adults. Following international outrage at the slaying of 21-year-old Razan Al-Najjar, who was killed while treating an injured protester, the Israeli army circulated an edited clip entitled “Hamas uses Paramedics as Human Shields”.”
“Israel justifies its violent attacks by continuously accusing Hamas of using human shields, desperately hoping to stir moral indignation while also trying to muster a legal defence for the indefencible.
Morally, the charge intimates that the Palestinians are savages. Not unlike imagined barbaric pagans who offered their children to the gods, it suggests that the Palestinians of Gaza have no problem sending their sons and daughters to the front lines. The subtext is that civilised people protect their children while Palestinians sacrifice them.”
For a look at some savagery ,,, Amnesty Report Visualizes Israel’s War Crimes https://youtu.be/QQdBhUDj40o
Lethal force against demonstrators not posing imminent threat https://youtu.be/4uCj1JTldJI
BTW ,,,Human shields is what Israel soldiers have used Palestinian children for … ” Israeli soldiers had used Palestinian children to enter potentially dangerous buildings before them and to stand in front of military vehicles to deter stone-throwing, it said.
“Almost all those using children as human shields and informants have remained unpunished and the soldiers convicted for having forced at gunpoint a nine-year-old child to search bags suspected of containing explosives only received a suspended sentence of three months and were demoted,” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/21/israeli-soldiers-human-shield-avoid-jail
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2018/6/18/the-fallacy-of-israels-human-shields-claims-in-gaza