I believe the New Zealand government made a mistake in refusing to attend the United Nations Anti-Racism Conference, and in claiming to be in good company by doing so. The United States insisting upon waging war in the Middle East, and Israel insisting upon terrorising Palestinians and others are not good company to be in.
At an anti-racism conference it is not acceptable to the United States and its coalition of evil to hear charges of racism by one country about another. What then is the point of such a conference? The Iranian president and his government may justifiably be criticised about many things, but when he describes Israel as a cruel and racist regime he is completely correct.
If we could put aside whether we like the messenger or not and listen to the message, responding accordingly, we would be acting responsibly. But we have to be informed and knowledgeable before we do. I have tried hard to study and understand and I can agree wholeheartedly that Israel is indeed a cruel and racist society. It is the apartheid country of our time.
I am married to a New Zealand born woman who happens to be Jewish. Our six children are therefore deemed to be Jewish. Both she and they are therefore qualified to go and live in Israel as a “right of return”. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and their descendants driven out of Palestine by the formation of Israel have no such right. To any decent-minded person this is not only absurd and unjust, it is an example of apartheid in action.
It is the continuing policy of promoting the influx of foreign Jewish immigrants which is keeping fanaticism, racism and hatred alive in Israel. Many of these immigrants, like religious converts, are articulate and aggressive. From the Palestinian perspective they are simply more foreigners arriving to displace them in their own land.
In not attending the conference New Zealand has chosen to place itself apart as if in a superior position “in good company”. Interestingly, this superior good company comprises what could loosely be termed white race nations. The formation of this good company is an act of racism in itself, an act of apartheid on the international scene.
I want New Zealand to be a nation of integrity and courage, standing by its own bicultural and multicultural values, with an independent mind on international matters.
