On 18/3/19 The Australian published a full-page opinion piece, Shared hatred of fanatics, by one of its stable of reactionary pundits, Paul Monk. Monk, thankfully, is only an occasional contributor to Murdoch's Australian mouthpiece. His specialty is Arab/Muslim history, with lashings of Islamophobia. (In earlier scribblings, he has referred to "the dark heart of Islam," declared the Prophet Muhammad to be "a very dubious figure," and claimed his "deity" is "a god of war and conquest." He has also given the thumbs-up to Douglas Murray's The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam, and lauded the late Italian Islamophobe, Oriana Fallaci, as "the great Italian journalist.")
Monk is described grandiosely in an appended bio as "a former senior intelligence analyst, long-time consultant in applied cognitive science and author of 10 books, of which the most recent is Dictators and Dangerous Ideas: Uncensored Reflections in an Age of Turmoil."
But back to Shared hatred of fanatics, written in the wake of the Christchurch massacres. It would take multiple posts to deal with all of Monk's distortions, but I restrict myself to his characterisation of the Crusades as a war of self-defence by the West:
"The crusades were a sideshow and a largely unsuccessful pushback against the Muslim conquest of Palestine and the 'holy places' of the Christian religion. This isn't angry rhetoric, it is basic history."
Except that the Muslim conquest of Palestine happened in the 7th century and the First Crusade in the 11th.
God only knows where Monk's picked up his take on the subject - Murray? Fallaci? Any one of a number of historically unsound Islamophobic websites, such as The Gates of Vienna?
So let's see what a reputable historian of the Crusades has to say on the subject of the "basic history" of the crucial First Crusade (1096-99). The following extracts come from Thomas Asbridge's The First Crusade: A New History (2004). (Asbridge is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Queen Mary, University of London.):
"From its genesis, the history of the crusade was blurred by distortion. The image of Muslims as brutal oppressors conjured by Pope Urban [II] was pure propaganda - if anything, Islam had proved over the previous centuries to be more tolerant of other religions than Catholic Christendom." (p 3)
"The first point to acknowledge is that [the Pope's] call to arms made at Clermont was not directly inspired by any recent calamity or atrocity in the East... And although the Holy City of Jerusalem, the expedition's ultimate goal, was indeed in Muslim hands, it had been so for more than 400 years - hardly a fresh wound... The reality was that, when Pope Urban proclaimed the First Crusade at Clermont, Islam and Christendom had coexisted for centuries in relative equanimity. There may at times have been little love lost between Christian and Muslim neighbours, but there was, in truth, little to distinguish this enmity from the endemic political and military struggles of the age." (pp 16-17)
"At the end of the eleventh century, Christendom was in one sense encircled by Islam, with Muslim forces ranged against it to the east along Byzantium's Asian frontier and to the south in the Iberian peninsula. But Europe was a long way from being engaged in an urgent, titanic struggle for survival. No coherent, pan-Mediterranean onslaught threatened, because, although the Moors of Iberia and the Turks of Asia Minor shared a religious heritage, they were never united in one purpose. Where Christians and Muslims did face each other across the centuries, their relationship had been unremarkable, characterised, like that between any potential rivals, by periods of conflict and others of coexistence. There is little or no evidence that either side harboured any innate, empowering religious or racial hatred of the other.
"Most significantly, throughout this period indigenous Christians actually living under Islamic law, be it in Iberia or the Holy Land, were generally treated with remarkable clemency. The Muslim faith acknowledged and respected Judaism and Christianity, creeds with which it enjoyed a common devotional tradition and a mutual reliance upon authoritative scripture. Christian subjects may not have been able to share power with their Muslim masters, but they were given freedom to worship. All around the Mediterranean basin, Christian faith and society survived and even thrived under the watchful but tolerant eye of Islam. Eastern Christendom may have been subjected to Islamic rule, bit it was not on the brink of annihilation, nor prey to any form of systematic abuse." (p 18)
"The problem addressed by the First Crusade - Muslim occupation of Jerusalem and the potential threat of Islamic aggression in the East - had loomed for decades, even centuries, provoking little or no reaction in Rome. Urban II's decision to take up this cause at Clermont was, therefore, primarily proactive rather than reactive, and the crusade was designed, first and foremost, to meet the needs of the papacy. Launched as it was just as Urban began to stabilise his power-base in central Italy, the campaign must be seen as an attempt to consolidate papal empowerment and expand Rome's sphere of influence." (p 19)
"A central feature of Urban's doctrine was the denigration and dehumanisation of Islam. He set out from the start to launch a holy war against what he called 'the savagery of the Saracens', a 'barbarian' people capable of incomprehensible levels of cruelty and brutality. Their supposed crimes were enacted upon two groups. Eastern Christians, in particular the Byzantines, had been 'overrun right up to the Mediterranean Sea'. Urban described how the Muslims 'occupying more and more of the land on the borders of [Byzantium], were slaughtering and capturing many, destroying churches and laying waste to the kingdom of God. So, if you leave them alone much longer they will further grind under their heels the faithful of God. The pope also maintained that Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land were being subjected to horrific abuse and exploitation... The accusations had little or no basis in fact, but they did serve Urban's purpose. By expounding upon the alleged crimes of Islam, he sought to ignite an explosion of vengeful passion among his Latin audience, while his attempts to degrade Muslims as 'sub-human' opened the floodgates of extreme, brutal reciprocity. " (pp 33-34)
Getting the history right matters, because if it's left in the hands of Monk, Murray, Fallaci and other xenophobes to distort and mangle, their distortions may well influence the likes of the Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant - with deadly effect.
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Friday, March 22, 2019
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
In the Shadow of the Knights Templar
"In his manifesto, the gunman said he was not a direct member of any organisation or group... 'No group ordered my attack, I make the decision myself,' he said. 'Though I did contact the reborn Knights Templar for a blessing in support of the attack, which was given'. Dr Roose said little was known about membership of the reborn Knights Templar, originally a Christian fighting force active in the medieval era. But he said the movement harked back to 'a time of perceived Western superiority'." (From 'vocal ratbags' a deadly threat emerges, Andrew Burrell, Paul Maley, The Australian, 16/3/19)
American singer/songwriter David Rovics, in his brilliant 2011 song, Breivik, could equally have been writing about our own, home-grown Knight Templar/Anders Breivik, the thoroughly medieval Brenton Tarrant:
They say he acted alone for a Europe white and free
A sick and twisted man from an otherwise sane society
The image of Aryan blond, almost iridescent
With a manifesto quoting from the Crusades to the present
But he stood on many shoulders, of this we can be sure
A millenia of xenophobes who slaughter to be pure
Since before the First Crusade, when a mighty Christian band
Hacked and stabbed and burned their way to the Holy Land
They say he acted alone but in his mind he was another
Of those who came before him, his mighty Christian brothers
Who rode, covered in armour, and served their masters well
They vowed to chastity, they vowed to kill the infidel
They marauded west and east in the name of Christendom
They killed Jews, Muslims, pagans, fellow Christians by the thousand
In the name of Jesus, from the Jordan to the Rhine
The red cross on their chest plates, their terrifying sign
In the Shadow of the Knights Templar
They say he acted alone, no one said this of the Pope
Whose victims were left burning or hanging from a rope
The Lord's own Inquisition for six centuries
The ethnic cleansing of a continent, a Christian tyranny
European Jews and European Muslims
Fled the Christian Caliphate to be protected by the Sultan
For five hundred years they prospered beneath the Turkish sky
For those left behind: convert or die
In the shadow of the Knights Templar
They say he acted alone but he's living in a country
Where the xenophobic right is the second-biggest party
And he's living on a continent that is over-run
With Prime ministers who tell us multiculturalism is done
They brag of their traditions, they swell with Christian pride
For their civilization built on genocide
Anders Breivik pulled the trigger but he didn't write the play
That script was being written a thousand years ago today
In the shadow of the Knights Templar
They say he acted alone and they want us to believe
That moderating rhetoric is the best we can achieve
But moderating rhetoric will bring us nowhere near
To the understanding that the problem is right here
European empires, European greed
European Christians, poison European seeds
European racists running European states
European tolerance for European hate
In the shadow of the Knights Templar
Look it up on YouTube.
American singer/songwriter David Rovics, in his brilliant 2011 song, Breivik, could equally have been writing about our own, home-grown Knight Templar/Anders Breivik, the thoroughly medieval Brenton Tarrant:
They say he acted alone for a Europe white and free
A sick and twisted man from an otherwise sane society
The image of Aryan blond, almost iridescent
With a manifesto quoting from the Crusades to the present
But he stood on many shoulders, of this we can be sure
A millenia of xenophobes who slaughter to be pure
Since before the First Crusade, when a mighty Christian band
Hacked and stabbed and burned their way to the Holy Land
They say he acted alone but in his mind he was another
Of those who came before him, his mighty Christian brothers
Who rode, covered in armour, and served their masters well
They vowed to chastity, they vowed to kill the infidel
They marauded west and east in the name of Christendom
They killed Jews, Muslims, pagans, fellow Christians by the thousand
In the name of Jesus, from the Jordan to the Rhine
The red cross on their chest plates, their terrifying sign
In the Shadow of the Knights Templar
They say he acted alone, no one said this of the Pope
Whose victims were left burning or hanging from a rope
The Lord's own Inquisition for six centuries
The ethnic cleansing of a continent, a Christian tyranny
European Jews and European Muslims
Fled the Christian Caliphate to be protected by the Sultan
For five hundred years they prospered beneath the Turkish sky
For those left behind: convert or die
In the shadow of the Knights Templar
They say he acted alone but he's living in a country
Where the xenophobic right is the second-biggest party
And he's living on a continent that is over-run
With Prime ministers who tell us multiculturalism is done
They brag of their traditions, they swell with Christian pride
For their civilization built on genocide
Anders Breivik pulled the trigger but he didn't write the play
That script was being written a thousand years ago today
In the shadow of the Knights Templar
They say he acted alone and they want us to believe
That moderating rhetoric is the best we can achieve
But moderating rhetoric will bring us nowhere near
To the understanding that the problem is right here
European empires, European greed
European Christians, poison European seeds
European racists running European states
European tolerance for European hate
In the shadow of the Knights Templar
Look it up on YouTube.
Monday, March 18, 2019
'Israel Mourns'
The arch-terrorist who presides over a worse-than-apartheid state never misses a trick:
"Israel mourns the wanton murder of innocent worshipers in Christchurch and condemns the brazen act of terror in New Zealand. Israel sends its condolences to the bereaved families and its heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded." (Tweet @netanyahu, 15/3/19)
Seldom has the stench of hypocrisy been so rank.
As it happens, 19 of the 50 slain were reportedly of Palestinian origin, and hence, in one form or another, already the victims of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
And this, just before, or after - I don't know which, and it hardly matters - Netanyahu ordered 100 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
"Israel mourns the wanton murder of innocent worshipers in Christchurch and condemns the brazen act of terror in New Zealand. Israel sends its condolences to the bereaved families and its heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded." (Tweet @netanyahu, 15/3/19)
Seldom has the stench of hypocrisy been so rank.
As it happens, 19 of the 50 slain were reportedly of Palestinian origin, and hence, in one form or another, already the victims of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
And this, just before, or after - I don't know which, and it hardly matters - Netanyahu ordered 100 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Greg Sheridan: Today & Yesterday
A most interesting response to the mosque massacres in New Zealand comes from the foreign editor of The Australian, Greg Sheridan. Suddenly, uncharacteristically, this knee-jerk defender of Israeli apartheid and genocide, is all sweetness and light when it comes to Muslims:
"Today we are all Muslims... Like almost all right-wing terrorism, it was motivated by filthy racism and racial hatred... Everyone involved in politics and online activism should reflect on the dangers of exaggerated rhetoric, exaggerated grievance, exaggerated resentment... Decent social democrats, conservatives, liberals and others do not see race when they interact with other human beings... Yet throughout the West we are in the process of re-emphasising race as the central consideration in our politics." (In face of racist terror, we are all Muslims today, The Australian, 16/3/19)
But MERC has a long memory when it comes to Sheridan. Just cop a load of this Islamophobic dog-whistling:
"Uncontrolled Muslim immigration into Europe has been a public policy failure, if not an outright disaster. This is the view of most Europeans, as measured by opinion polls, and of a large number of European officials and politicians. Having just spent a month in Europe, talking to dozens of officials, politicians and immigrants, it is a view I reluctantly share. This is given sharp relief by the illegal immigration crisis Australia is experiencing to its north. The spike now in boat arrivals involves Sri Lankans, but this is primarily a route that would be used by Muslim illegal immigrants. There is nothing wrong with Muslim immigration. It goes without saying that the vast majority of Muslim immigrants are good Australians and perfectly law-abiding citizens. However, it is simply denying reality to pretend that the cultural distinctiveness and assertiveness of Islam, and of the propensity for a small but distinctively substantial minority to be attracted to extremism, does not pose problems." (Europe looks Down Under for answers on immigration, Greg Sheridan, The Australian, 24/10/09)
That's right, "today we are all Muslims," but what about yesterday? And tomorrow?
"Today we are all Muslims... Like almost all right-wing terrorism, it was motivated by filthy racism and racial hatred... Everyone involved in politics and online activism should reflect on the dangers of exaggerated rhetoric, exaggerated grievance, exaggerated resentment... Decent social democrats, conservatives, liberals and others do not see race when they interact with other human beings... Yet throughout the West we are in the process of re-emphasising race as the central consideration in our politics." (In face of racist terror, we are all Muslims today, The Australian, 16/3/19)
But MERC has a long memory when it comes to Sheridan. Just cop a load of this Islamophobic dog-whistling:
"Uncontrolled Muslim immigration into Europe has been a public policy failure, if not an outright disaster. This is the view of most Europeans, as measured by opinion polls, and of a large number of European officials and politicians. Having just spent a month in Europe, talking to dozens of officials, politicians and immigrants, it is a view I reluctantly share. This is given sharp relief by the illegal immigration crisis Australia is experiencing to its north. The spike now in boat arrivals involves Sri Lankans, but this is primarily a route that would be used by Muslim illegal immigrants. There is nothing wrong with Muslim immigration. It goes without saying that the vast majority of Muslim immigrants are good Australians and perfectly law-abiding citizens. However, it is simply denying reality to pretend that the cultural distinctiveness and assertiveness of Islam, and of the propensity for a small but distinctively substantial minority to be attracted to extremism, does not pose problems." (Europe looks Down Under for answers on immigration, Greg Sheridan, The Australian, 24/10/09)
That's right, "today we are all Muslims," but what about yesterday? And tomorrow?
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Morrison & Tarrant: Six Degrees of Separation?
Scott Morrison 2011:
"The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, urged the shadow cabinet to capitalise on the electorate's growing concerns about 'Muslim immigration', 'Muslims in Australia' and the 'inability' of Muslim migrants to integrate." (Morrison sees votes in anti-Muslim strategy, Lenore Taylor, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/2/11)
Scott Morrison 2019:
"I'm horrified by the reports I'm following of the serious shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. The situation is still unfolding but our thoughts and prayers are with our Kiwi cousins." (Tweet @ScottMorrisonMP, 14/3/19)
Note that Morrison cannot even bring himself to use the word terrorism ("serious shooting"), or Muslims ("Kiwi cousins").
In the mold of the Norwegian white supremacist terrorist Anders Breivik, the white supremacist perpetrator of the New Zealand massacres, Brenton Tarrant, had stated in a manifesto that his aim was "to take revenge for the thousands of deaths caused by foreign invaders in European lands throughout history."
This is arguably only a matter of degrees away from the real Scott Morrison, so beautifully summed up by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Tony Wright. (Remember that, before becoming immigration minister, Morrison was the managing director of Tourism Australia, trying to persuade people to visit Australia through an international advertising campaign starring model Lara Bingle, exclaiming, 'Where the bloody hell are you?'):
"His job these days," wrote Wright, "is to persuade would-be visitors to stay away from Australia. The old tourism chief has reversed his talent for propaganda by launching an international advertising campaign warning that the boat borne will find themselves in a concentration camp in the malarial jungles of Manus Island or the sweat box of Nauru, not a Lara in sight, if they so much as think of climbing aboard a leaky craft. Being an enthusiastic Christian, he declares that his concern is for the safety of what he calls 'illegals'." (Morrison keeps House in dark, 14/11/13)
"The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, urged the shadow cabinet to capitalise on the electorate's growing concerns about 'Muslim immigration', 'Muslims in Australia' and the 'inability' of Muslim migrants to integrate." (Morrison sees votes in anti-Muslim strategy, Lenore Taylor, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/2/11)
Scott Morrison 2019:
"I'm horrified by the reports I'm following of the serious shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. The situation is still unfolding but our thoughts and prayers are with our Kiwi cousins." (Tweet @ScottMorrisonMP, 14/3/19)
Note that Morrison cannot even bring himself to use the word terrorism ("serious shooting"), or Muslims ("Kiwi cousins").
In the mold of the Norwegian white supremacist terrorist Anders Breivik, the white supremacist perpetrator of the New Zealand massacres, Brenton Tarrant, had stated in a manifesto that his aim was "to take revenge for the thousands of deaths caused by foreign invaders in European lands throughout history."
This is arguably only a matter of degrees away from the real Scott Morrison, so beautifully summed up by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Tony Wright. (Remember that, before becoming immigration minister, Morrison was the managing director of Tourism Australia, trying to persuade people to visit Australia through an international advertising campaign starring model Lara Bingle, exclaiming, 'Where the bloody hell are you?'):
"His job these days," wrote Wright, "is to persuade would-be visitors to stay away from Australia. The old tourism chief has reversed his talent for propaganda by launching an international advertising campaign warning that the boat borne will find themselves in a concentration camp in the malarial jungles of Manus Island or the sweat box of Nauru, not a Lara in sight, if they so much as think of climbing aboard a leaky craft. Being an enthusiastic Christian, he declares that his concern is for the safety of what he calls 'illegals'." (Morrison keeps House in dark, 14/11/13)
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Portrait of a Grub
The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, protesting against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, was blown up by French intelligence agents in Auckland harbour on July 10, 1985, killing Portuguese freelance photographer Fernando Pereira.
Christine Cabon was one of these agents and had been chosen to infiltrate the Greenpeace crew by posing as an environmental activist.
A vile grub by any standards. But note this particular twist in the tale:
"Retired [NZ] detective superintendent Allan Galbraith, who tracked Cabon to Israel, said he didn't expect to see her extradited. But he would like to talk to her: 'I'd be interested to know what she knew about what her information was leading to. Whether she knew there was going to be a sabotage of a ship...'... It was a surprise to find her in Israel,' Galbraith says now. 'I think the Israelis were very well aware she was an intelligence agent'." (No apology as spy tracked down, Cecile Meier, Sunday Star-Times/Sydney Morning Herald, 10/7/17)
Christine Cabon was one of these agents and had been chosen to infiltrate the Greenpeace crew by posing as an environmental activist.
A vile grub by any standards. But note this particular twist in the tale:
"Retired [NZ] detective superintendent Allan Galbraith, who tracked Cabon to Israel, said he didn't expect to see her extradited. But he would like to talk to her: 'I'd be interested to know what she knew about what her information was leading to. Whether she knew there was going to be a sabotage of a ship...'... It was a surprise to find her in Israel,' Galbraith says now. 'I think the Israelis were very well aware she was an intelligence agent'." (No apology as spy tracked down, Cecile Meier, Sunday Star-Times/Sydney Morning Herald, 10/7/17)
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Don't Mention the Grovel
Morning Report, Radio New Zealand, 14/6/17. Transcript:
Susie Ferguson: New Zealand and Israel have agreed to restore ties, ending a 6-month crisis between the two countries. Israel recalled their ambassador in December after New Zealand co-signed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel's continued settlements. Well, last half-hour on Morning Report we spoke to Gil Hoffman from the Jerusalem Post, and he said that PM Bill English wrote a letter saying he regretted the damage done to Israel-New Zealand relations as a result of New Zealand proposing resolution 2334 at the [UN] Security Council. With us now is the foreign minister, Gerry Brownlee.
Ferguson: Are you able to confirm that that was indeed what the letter said?
Brownlee: What the letter indicated was that New Zealand wanted to resume diplomatic relations with Israel and regretted there'd been fallout from the co-sponsorship of the resolution.
Ferguson: So an apology was required to the Israelis?
Brownlee: I think it was a clarification of the fact that we remain good friends of Israel, have been for a very long time, and we respect the fact that they are a democratically-elected government which is not all that usual in the Middle East.
Ferguson: An apology regretting the damage done to the relations between the two countries. Does New Zealand regret the resolution itself?
Brownlee: Well, the resolution is one that's been passed by the UN and that exists. What's important is that the relationship between New Zealand and Israel is on a good footing and so we are able to discuss as friendly nations issues that affect both of us.
Ferguson: That's not exactly what I was asking though, minister. As for this resolution, is that something New Zealand and the New Zealand government regrets?
Brownlee: As I said, and all I'm going to say, is that we regret the fallout that came from that. I think the important thing is that the re-establishment of those diplomatic relations and the discussions we can now have as nations that remain after many, many years of friendship.
Ferguson: Is that a way of saying you do still back the resolution's intent but you still want to be friends with Israel?
Brownlee: It's a way of saying exactly what I've said so far.
Ferguson: So, as for all the work that was done on this by [former NZ foreign minister] Murray McCully, is this essentially all being thrown under the bus?
Brownlee: Look, what is important, and I'm going to keep on saying this no matter how many times you ask me, and different ways you ask it, is that the relationship between two countries that have been friends for a very long time is back on the right foot and that enables a level of discussion you can't have if you're at loggerheads.
Ferguson: Is this a pandering to Israel from New Zealand?
Brownlee: No.
Ferguson: How not?
Brownlee: It's a mark of respect for a country that's a unique democracy in the Middle East.
Ferguson: So was carrying that resolution and taking that forward disrespectful then?
Brownlee: Well, I just told you it didn't matter how many ways you asked me the question I wouldn't be deviating from my response.
Ferguson: But it is an interview, Mr Brownlee, which is where I get to ask questions and, hopefully, you get to answer them.
Brownlee: Where you get to ask questions and I give you the answers that I'm able to give you, and that's what I've been doing despite the fact that what you would desire as an answer from different questions.
Ferguson: So was New Zealand then used as a pawn by the US under President Obama in this territory?
Brownlee: That's a very interesting question. I don't know where you got the idea that New Zealand has allowed itself to be used as a pawn by anyone.
Ferguson: Well, essentially it came up in the interview with Gil Hoffman from the Jerusalem Post on Morning Report. That's why I thought it was something worth putting to you. So is that the case?
Brownlee (inaudible): The problem... Morning Report...
Ferguson: So [US Secretary of State] Rex Tillerson was here recently. Was this something that was discussed during his visit to Wellington?
Brownlee: No.
Ferguson: So there was no request from the US for New Zealand to make this apology?
Brownlee: No, we had a very good discussion with Tillerson. I think we were able to confirm that we're on the same page of a whole range of issues and we were also able to put our disappointment with the US position on climate change and the TPP but that is a perfect example of how two countries that are very close friends... can have differences without getting too fraught about it.
Ferguson: Just to clarify: what is New Zealand's view of the settlements that Israel has made on Palestinian land? Do you view them as illegal?
Brownlee: What we've said is that the settlement issue is one that the parties that are in dispute need to sort out among themselves, and we'll do what we can to assist in that process. In the end it's something for them to determine.
Shifty as...
Susie Ferguson: New Zealand and Israel have agreed to restore ties, ending a 6-month crisis between the two countries. Israel recalled their ambassador in December after New Zealand co-signed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel's continued settlements. Well, last half-hour on Morning Report we spoke to Gil Hoffman from the Jerusalem Post, and he said that PM Bill English wrote a letter saying he regretted the damage done to Israel-New Zealand relations as a result of New Zealand proposing resolution 2334 at the [UN] Security Council. With us now is the foreign minister, Gerry Brownlee.
Ferguson: Are you able to confirm that that was indeed what the letter said?
Brownlee: What the letter indicated was that New Zealand wanted to resume diplomatic relations with Israel and regretted there'd been fallout from the co-sponsorship of the resolution.
Ferguson: So an apology was required to the Israelis?
Brownlee: I think it was a clarification of the fact that we remain good friends of Israel, have been for a very long time, and we respect the fact that they are a democratically-elected government which is not all that usual in the Middle East.
Ferguson: An apology regretting the damage done to the relations between the two countries. Does New Zealand regret the resolution itself?
Brownlee: Well, the resolution is one that's been passed by the UN and that exists. What's important is that the relationship between New Zealand and Israel is on a good footing and so we are able to discuss as friendly nations issues that affect both of us.
Ferguson: That's not exactly what I was asking though, minister. As for this resolution, is that something New Zealand and the New Zealand government regrets?
Brownlee: As I said, and all I'm going to say, is that we regret the fallout that came from that. I think the important thing is that the re-establishment of those diplomatic relations and the discussions we can now have as nations that remain after many, many years of friendship.
Ferguson: Is that a way of saying you do still back the resolution's intent but you still want to be friends with Israel?
Brownlee: It's a way of saying exactly what I've said so far.
Ferguson: So, as for all the work that was done on this by [former NZ foreign minister] Murray McCully, is this essentially all being thrown under the bus?
Brownlee: Look, what is important, and I'm going to keep on saying this no matter how many times you ask me, and different ways you ask it, is that the relationship between two countries that have been friends for a very long time is back on the right foot and that enables a level of discussion you can't have if you're at loggerheads.
Ferguson: Is this a pandering to Israel from New Zealand?
Brownlee: No.
Ferguson: How not?
Brownlee: It's a mark of respect for a country that's a unique democracy in the Middle East.
Ferguson: So was carrying that resolution and taking that forward disrespectful then?
Brownlee: Well, I just told you it didn't matter how many ways you asked me the question I wouldn't be deviating from my response.
Ferguson: But it is an interview, Mr Brownlee, which is where I get to ask questions and, hopefully, you get to answer them.
Brownlee: Where you get to ask questions and I give you the answers that I'm able to give you, and that's what I've been doing despite the fact that what you would desire as an answer from different questions.
Ferguson: So was New Zealand then used as a pawn by the US under President Obama in this territory?
Brownlee: That's a very interesting question. I don't know where you got the idea that New Zealand has allowed itself to be used as a pawn by anyone.
Ferguson: Well, essentially it came up in the interview with Gil Hoffman from the Jerusalem Post on Morning Report. That's why I thought it was something worth putting to you. So is that the case?
Brownlee (inaudible): The problem... Morning Report...
Ferguson: So [US Secretary of State] Rex Tillerson was here recently. Was this something that was discussed during his visit to Wellington?
Brownlee: No.
Ferguson: So there was no request from the US for New Zealand to make this apology?
Brownlee: No, we had a very good discussion with Tillerson. I think we were able to confirm that we're on the same page of a whole range of issues and we were also able to put our disappointment with the US position on climate change and the TPP but that is a perfect example of how two countries that are very close friends... can have differences without getting too fraught about it.
Ferguson: Just to clarify: what is New Zealand's view of the settlements that Israel has made on Palestinian land? Do you view them as illegal?
Brownlee: What we've said is that the settlement issue is one that the parties that are in dispute need to sort out among themselves, and we'll do what we can to assist in that process. In the end it's something for them to determine.
Shifty as...
Thursday, May 11, 2017
No, Minister
"Premature" ejaculation definitely not on:
"[New Zealand] Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee says he's an 'excellent student' when it comes to learning diplomatic speak. The newly-appointed Minister is being tutored by his officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade after comments which appeared to undermine a New-Zealand-sponsored UN Security Council resolution [2334] condemning the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
"Brownlee admits the comments were his mistake. 'The Government's position hasn't changed. What we are trying to do is re-establish diplomatic relations with a country that we've had a long relationship with. Under the intense scrutiny of a Radio New Zealand journalist, I used some language that perhaps made that less than clear,' he said. In that interview, Brownlee described the resolution carried out under his predecessor Murray McCully as 'premature' and suggested NZ should not have moved forward with it unless Israel agreed. 'It's something I've got to take a little bit of a lesson from my friends at MFAT who are currently giving me various pieces of advice about appropriate diplomatic language.' But Brownlee gave an assurance: 'I'm an excellent student, a great learner.'
"His comments came after Prime Minister Bill English yesterday said he had spoken with his Foreign Minister and was confident they were the comments of someone still 'trying to find the right language'." (Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee learning the diplomatic lingo after Israel gaffe, Stacey Kirk, stuff.co.nz, 10/5/17)
[See my 5/5/17 post, Brownlee Blinked First.]
"[New Zealand] Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee says he's an 'excellent student' when it comes to learning diplomatic speak. The newly-appointed Minister is being tutored by his officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade after comments which appeared to undermine a New-Zealand-sponsored UN Security Council resolution [2334] condemning the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
"Brownlee admits the comments were his mistake. 'The Government's position hasn't changed. What we are trying to do is re-establish diplomatic relations with a country that we've had a long relationship with. Under the intense scrutiny of a Radio New Zealand journalist, I used some language that perhaps made that less than clear,' he said. In that interview, Brownlee described the resolution carried out under his predecessor Murray McCully as 'premature' and suggested NZ should not have moved forward with it unless Israel agreed. 'It's something I've got to take a little bit of a lesson from my friends at MFAT who are currently giving me various pieces of advice about appropriate diplomatic language.' But Brownlee gave an assurance: 'I'm an excellent student, a great learner.'
"His comments came after Prime Minister Bill English yesterday said he had spoken with his Foreign Minister and was confident they were the comments of someone still 'trying to find the right language'." (Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee learning the diplomatic lingo after Israel gaffe, Stacey Kirk, stuff.co.nz, 10/5/17)
[See my 5/5/17 post, Brownlee Blinked First.]
Friday, May 5, 2017
Brownlee Blinked First
Remember Netanyahu recalling Israel's ambassador to New Zealand following that country's vote in support of SC resolution 2334 (23/12/16), which declared Israeli settlements "a flagrant violation of international law"?
Well, that vote took place under the watch of National Party foreign minister Murray McCully, who has decided he's not standing for re-election this year. (Could his decision, perhaps, have had something to do with resolution 2334?)
As of May 2, McCully's place as foreign minister has been taken by Gerry Brownlee, who, for reasons which elude me, seems to be in an awful hurry to mend fences with the obnoxious leader of the apartheid state:
"I sent [Netanyahu] a letter yesterday afternoon," he said, "expressing a desire to get the relationship back on track, to recognise that we have had an incident that has caused a problem and proposing that we have a process for getting full diplomatic representation back in place and reasserting that New Zealand has been a long-term friend of Israel." (New foreign affairs minister Gerry Brownlee knee-deep in restoring relations with Australia and Israel, stuff.co.nz, 3/5/17 )
Interestingly, according to Israel's Haaretz, Australia's PM Trumble had raised the matter of the Israel/NZ rift with Netanyahu, who then proceeded to improve on his demented accusation that, in voting for the resolution, NZ had actually declared war on Israel with an insistence that the country move first to repair the damage - in a word, grovel:
"Western diplomats told Haaretz that during Netanyahu's visit to Australia some months ago, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull advocated ending the breakdown in relations with New Zealand. Netanyahu clarified that New Zealand would have to take the first step and make a gesture towards Israel." (New Zealand's new foreign minister wants to end diplomatic crisis with Israel, Barak Ravid, 3/5/17)
Haaretz continued:
"Mere hours after Brownlee was sworn in, he made his first official decision and sent the letter to Netanyahu. 'I've sent a letter to Mr Netanyahu... firstly congratulating them on their national day but expressing a desire for the Israeli-New Zealand relationship to get back on track and to do that by recognizing that we've got synergies and innovation and agriculture and various other things like that,' Brownlee told the New Zealand Herald. He added that he believes the letter will enable the foreign ministries of Israel and New Zealand to start talks ahead of resuming diplomatic relations, saying he would like the crisis to end by October, when Israel will be marking the 100th anniversary of the battle for Be'er Sheva [sic] during World War I - a battle in which Australian and New Zealand soldiers met their deaths."
Which makes one wonder: surely Brownlee was not so desperate to participate in Israel's appropriation of Anzac history to serve its own ends that he decided to blink first?
Well, that vote took place under the watch of National Party foreign minister Murray McCully, who has decided he's not standing for re-election this year. (Could his decision, perhaps, have had something to do with resolution 2334?)
As of May 2, McCully's place as foreign minister has been taken by Gerry Brownlee, who, for reasons which elude me, seems to be in an awful hurry to mend fences with the obnoxious leader of the apartheid state:
"I sent [Netanyahu] a letter yesterday afternoon," he said, "expressing a desire to get the relationship back on track, to recognise that we have had an incident that has caused a problem and proposing that we have a process for getting full diplomatic representation back in place and reasserting that New Zealand has been a long-term friend of Israel." (New foreign affairs minister Gerry Brownlee knee-deep in restoring relations with Australia and Israel, stuff.co.nz, 3/5/17 )
Interestingly, according to Israel's Haaretz, Australia's PM Trumble had raised the matter of the Israel/NZ rift with Netanyahu, who then proceeded to improve on his demented accusation that, in voting for the resolution, NZ had actually declared war on Israel with an insistence that the country move first to repair the damage - in a word, grovel:
"Western diplomats told Haaretz that during Netanyahu's visit to Australia some months ago, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull advocated ending the breakdown in relations with New Zealand. Netanyahu clarified that New Zealand would have to take the first step and make a gesture towards Israel." (New Zealand's new foreign minister wants to end diplomatic crisis with Israel, Barak Ravid, 3/5/17)
Haaretz continued:
"Mere hours after Brownlee was sworn in, he made his first official decision and sent the letter to Netanyahu. 'I've sent a letter to Mr Netanyahu... firstly congratulating them on their national day but expressing a desire for the Israeli-New Zealand relationship to get back on track and to do that by recognizing that we've got synergies and innovation and agriculture and various other things like that,' Brownlee told the New Zealand Herald. He added that he believes the letter will enable the foreign ministries of Israel and New Zealand to start talks ahead of resuming diplomatic relations, saying he would like the crisis to end by October, when Israel will be marking the 100th anniversary of the battle for Be'er Sheva [sic] during World War I - a battle in which Australian and New Zealand soldiers met their deaths."
Which makes one wonder: surely Brownlee was not so desperate to participate in Israel's appropriation of Anzac history to serve its own ends that he decided to blink first?
Friday, March 31, 2017
History Repeating Itself
In his account of the massacre of the Palestinian Arab inhabitants of Surafend (Sarafand) by ANZACs in December 1918 (following the death of a New Zealand trooper at the hands of an Arab thief), the Australian war correspondent and historian, Henry Gullett wrote as follows:
"In fairness to the New Zealanders, who were the chief actors, and to the Australians who gave them hearty support, the spirit of the men at that time must be considered. They were the pioneers and the leaders of a long campaign. Theirs had been the heaviest sacrifice. The three brigades of Anzac Mounted Division had been for almost three years comrades in arms... The war task was now completed and they... were going home. To them the loss of a veteran comrade by foul murder, at the hands of a race they despised, was a crime that called for instant justice. They were in no mood for delay. In their movement against Surafend, therefore, they felt that, while wreaking vengeance on the Arabs, they would at the same time work off their old feeling against the bias of the disciplinary branch of General Headquarters, and its studied omission to punish Arabs for crime. They were angry and bitter beyond sound reasoning. All day the New Zealanders quietly organised for their work in Surafend, and early in the night marched out many hundreds strong and surrounded the village. In close support and full sympathy were large bodies of Australians. Good or bad, the cause of the New Zealanders was theirs. Entering the village, the New Zealanders grimly passed out all the women and children and then, armed chiefly with heavy sticks, fell upon the men and at the same time fired the houses. Many Arabs were killed, few escaped without injury; the village was demolished. The flames from the wretched houses lit up the countryside, and Allenby and his staff could not fail to see the conflagration and hear the shouts of the troops and the cries of their victims. The Anzacs, having finished with Surafend, raided and burned the neighbouring nomad camp, and then went quickly back to their lines." (Quoted in Paul Daley's Beersheba: A Journey Through Australia's Forgotten War, 2009, pp 343-44)
A comment on my 15/10/12 post Time to Revisit the ANZAC's Sarafand Massacre indicates that bayonets were also used:
"I first heard about this event from the son of a NZ soldier who was there (I think) name of Gainfort and he was in 2000 one of the last survivors of WW 1 being nearly 100 years old. I was told the story after I mentioned a sickly lamb I had, had died. I said it had not been worth treating... and was told 'not worth a bullet'. His father told him they bayonetted the Arabs as they were not worth a bullet. Tough men in those days."
My reason for returning again to this subject, is the appearance of a new book, Hit & Run, by New Zealanders Nicky Hager and John Stephenson. The book's blurb runs:
"In August 2010, a New Zealand soldier died in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. In retaliation, the New Zealand SAS led a raid on two isolated villages in search of the fighters they suspected were responsible. They all knew the rules. Prior to firing weapons, their freshly issued orders said, 'the commander approving the strike must determine that no civilians are present.' If they could not assess whether civilians were present, firing was prohibited. But it all went horribly wrong. None of the fighters were found but, by the end of the raid, 21 civilians were dead or wounded. Most were children or women, including a three-year-old girl who was killed. A dozen houses had been burnt or blown up. The operation was personally approved by the prime minister via phone from New Zealand. More missions against the group of fighters and more potential crimes of war followed, including the beating and torture of a prisoner. Afterwards no one took responsibility. The New Zealand military denied the facts and went to great lengths to cover things up. This book is the story of those events. It is, at heart, about the meaning of honour; about who we want to be and what we believe in as New Zealanders."
What we have here is an uncanny similarity to the events of December 1918 in Palestine. It seems that the only appreciable differences between the two war crimes are that, in the case of Afghanistan, the go-ahead came directly from the prime minister of the day, John Key, and not even the women and children were spared. (That is, if, with respect to the latter, Gullett's account is correct.)
"In fairness to the New Zealanders, who were the chief actors, and to the Australians who gave them hearty support, the spirit of the men at that time must be considered. They were the pioneers and the leaders of a long campaign. Theirs had been the heaviest sacrifice. The three brigades of Anzac Mounted Division had been for almost three years comrades in arms... The war task was now completed and they... were going home. To them the loss of a veteran comrade by foul murder, at the hands of a race they despised, was a crime that called for instant justice. They were in no mood for delay. In their movement against Surafend, therefore, they felt that, while wreaking vengeance on the Arabs, they would at the same time work off their old feeling against the bias of the disciplinary branch of General Headquarters, and its studied omission to punish Arabs for crime. They were angry and bitter beyond sound reasoning. All day the New Zealanders quietly organised for their work in Surafend, and early in the night marched out many hundreds strong and surrounded the village. In close support and full sympathy were large bodies of Australians. Good or bad, the cause of the New Zealanders was theirs. Entering the village, the New Zealanders grimly passed out all the women and children and then, armed chiefly with heavy sticks, fell upon the men and at the same time fired the houses. Many Arabs were killed, few escaped without injury; the village was demolished. The flames from the wretched houses lit up the countryside, and Allenby and his staff could not fail to see the conflagration and hear the shouts of the troops and the cries of their victims. The Anzacs, having finished with Surafend, raided and burned the neighbouring nomad camp, and then went quickly back to their lines." (Quoted in Paul Daley's Beersheba: A Journey Through Australia's Forgotten War, 2009, pp 343-44)
A comment on my 15/10/12 post Time to Revisit the ANZAC's Sarafand Massacre indicates that bayonets were also used:
"I first heard about this event from the son of a NZ soldier who was there (I think) name of Gainfort and he was in 2000 one of the last survivors of WW 1 being nearly 100 years old. I was told the story after I mentioned a sickly lamb I had, had died. I said it had not been worth treating... and was told 'not worth a bullet'. His father told him they bayonetted the Arabs as they were not worth a bullet. Tough men in those days."
My reason for returning again to this subject, is the appearance of a new book, Hit & Run, by New Zealanders Nicky Hager and John Stephenson. The book's blurb runs:
"In August 2010, a New Zealand soldier died in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. In retaliation, the New Zealand SAS led a raid on two isolated villages in search of the fighters they suspected were responsible. They all knew the rules. Prior to firing weapons, their freshly issued orders said, 'the commander approving the strike must determine that no civilians are present.' If they could not assess whether civilians were present, firing was prohibited. But it all went horribly wrong. None of the fighters were found but, by the end of the raid, 21 civilians were dead or wounded. Most were children or women, including a three-year-old girl who was killed. A dozen houses had been burnt or blown up. The operation was personally approved by the prime minister via phone from New Zealand. More missions against the group of fighters and more potential crimes of war followed, including the beating and torture of a prisoner. Afterwards no one took responsibility. The New Zealand military denied the facts and went to great lengths to cover things up. This book is the story of those events. It is, at heart, about the meaning of honour; about who we want to be and what we believe in as New Zealanders."
What we have here is an uncanny similarity to the events of December 1918 in Palestine. It seems that the only appreciable differences between the two war crimes are that, in the case of Afghanistan, the go-ahead came directly from the prime minister of the day, John Key, and not even the women and children were spared. (That is, if, with respect to the latter, Gullett's account is correct.)
Thursday, January 5, 2017
One Nation Declares War on New Zealand
Just look at the RWNJs (Right Wing Netanyahu Jobs) standing by their man:
Trump: "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"
Bishop: "The Coalition government has consistently not supported one-sided resolutions targeting Israel."
Turnbull: "A two-state solution is not assisted by one-sided resolutions made at... the United Nations."
UK PM Theresa May: "The settlements are far from being the only problem in this conflict. In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long."
Now this, FFS:
"One Nation has picked a fight with one of Australia's closest allies, calling for tighter immigration controls for those across the ditch, after New Zealand co-sponsored a United Nation's resolution censuring Israel. Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts said he was 'appalled' by the Security Council resolution, which called for an end to any and all settlement activities in disputed [sic] zones, including East Jerusalem, which he said 'have contained Jewish settlements since biblical times'." ('Appalled' One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts seeks punitive stance against Kiwi 'settlements' in Australia, Amy Remeikis, Sydney Morning Herald, 4/1/17)
No comment on the matter, of course, is complete without a touch of the Light Horse Brigade:
"2017 marks the centenary of the ANZAC's brave actions to free the Palestinian territory - now Israel - from Ottoman oppression of Christians, Jews and other groups. It would never have been possible for those brave ANZACs, charging as part of the Light Horse Brigade, to have ever thought that events 100 years later would go full circle and future generations would betray the very people they were about to liberate."
Of course, Malcolm's grasp of history is as shaky as his grasp of climate science.
The only betrayal worth mentioning in this context is the betrayal by Britain of its Arab allies, the Arab nationalist forces of the Sharif of Mecca, who had been promised independence in most of the Arab Near East (including Palestine) by Britain's High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon, in 1915, only to have had that promise broken twice. First, when the British concluded a colonial carve-up of the region with France (the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916), and second when the British promised the European Zionist movement a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine (the Balfour Declaration of 1917).
So, instead of a united Arab kingdom, the Arab Levant was torn in two, with the French imposing themselves in Lebanon/Syria, and the British in Iraq/Transjordan and Palestine.
While the other component parts of this cosy Anglo-French arrangement eventually became independent states, Palestine was unfortunately singled out for special treatment by the Britz. The majority Arab population of Palestine was deliberately denied representative government and independence by Britain so that the Zionist colons it had introduced, in ever larger numbers, could proliferate to the point where they were able to drive the Arabs out, block their return, and establish an ethnocratic, sectarian, Jewish supremacist state on their lands.
If that be 'liberation'...
"Israel is a Jewish state, and it's the only Middle Eastern democracy where Christians, Muslims, atheists and Jews can all be elected to the same parliament. Israel is Jewish and democratic, unlike most Islamic countries."
Just a minute. Only when all of those Palestinian Muslims and Christians currently under Israeli military occupation or in exile can vote in the said parliament, will we have democracy between the River and the Sea.
"At the very least, we should look at further cutting benefits for New Zealanders living in Australia. Perhaps a tougher immigration policy aimed towards NZ would stop Kiwis from establishing settlements in Australia."
*Sigh*
Trump: "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"
Bishop: "The Coalition government has consistently not supported one-sided resolutions targeting Israel."
Turnbull: "A two-state solution is not assisted by one-sided resolutions made at... the United Nations."
UK PM Theresa May: "The settlements are far from being the only problem in this conflict. In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long."
Now this, FFS:
"One Nation has picked a fight with one of Australia's closest allies, calling for tighter immigration controls for those across the ditch, after New Zealand co-sponsored a United Nation's resolution censuring Israel. Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts said he was 'appalled' by the Security Council resolution, which called for an end to any and all settlement activities in disputed [sic] zones, including East Jerusalem, which he said 'have contained Jewish settlements since biblical times'." ('Appalled' One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts seeks punitive stance against Kiwi 'settlements' in Australia, Amy Remeikis, Sydney Morning Herald, 4/1/17)
No comment on the matter, of course, is complete without a touch of the Light Horse Brigade:
"2017 marks the centenary of the ANZAC's brave actions to free the Palestinian territory - now Israel - from Ottoman oppression of Christians, Jews and other groups. It would never have been possible for those brave ANZACs, charging as part of the Light Horse Brigade, to have ever thought that events 100 years later would go full circle and future generations would betray the very people they were about to liberate."
Of course, Malcolm's grasp of history is as shaky as his grasp of climate science.
The only betrayal worth mentioning in this context is the betrayal by Britain of its Arab allies, the Arab nationalist forces of the Sharif of Mecca, who had been promised independence in most of the Arab Near East (including Palestine) by Britain's High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon, in 1915, only to have had that promise broken twice. First, when the British concluded a colonial carve-up of the region with France (the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916), and second when the British promised the European Zionist movement a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine (the Balfour Declaration of 1917).
So, instead of a united Arab kingdom, the Arab Levant was torn in two, with the French imposing themselves in Lebanon/Syria, and the British in Iraq/Transjordan and Palestine.
While the other component parts of this cosy Anglo-French arrangement eventually became independent states, Palestine was unfortunately singled out for special treatment by the Britz. The majority Arab population of Palestine was deliberately denied representative government and independence by Britain so that the Zionist colons it had introduced, in ever larger numbers, could proliferate to the point where they were able to drive the Arabs out, block their return, and establish an ethnocratic, sectarian, Jewish supremacist state on their lands.
If that be 'liberation'...
"Israel is a Jewish state, and it's the only Middle Eastern democracy where Christians, Muslims, atheists and Jews can all be elected to the same parliament. Israel is Jewish and democratic, unlike most Islamic countries."
Just a minute. Only when all of those Palestinian Muslims and Christians currently under Israeli military occupation or in exile can vote in the said parliament, will we have democracy between the River and the Sea.
"At the very least, we should look at further cutting benefits for New Zealanders living in Australia. Perhaps a tougher immigration policy aimed towards NZ would stop Kiwis from establishing settlements in Australia."
*Sigh*
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Netanyahu Threatens War on New Zealand
Clearly, Netanyahu's mask is slipping. As you read the following detailed Israeli account of what went on behind the scenes in the lead up to last Friday's UNSC vote on the illegality of Israel's settlement project in the West Bank, bear in mind:
a) that it is only because of the abject failure of Western governments to stand up to Israel's criminality and bullying decades ago that has led to this;
b) that it was only in September that Obama approved the largest aid package in history for Israel, an unconditional $38 billion over the next 10 years; and
c) that the Turnbull government has issued an invitation for the man who has declared war on NZ to visit these shores early in 2017.
Britain pulled the strings and Netanyahu warned New Zealand it was declaring war: new details on Israel's battle against the UN vote, Barak Ravid, Haaretz, 28/12/16:
"Last Friday, a few hours before the UN Security Council vote on the settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned New Zealand's foreign minister, Murray McCully. New Zealand, together with Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela, was leading a move to resubmit for a vote the resolution from which Egypt had backed down the day before. A few hours earlier, a senior official in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem called New Zealand's ambassador to Israel, Jonathan Curr, and warned that if New Zealand's move came to a vote, Israel might close its embassy in Wellington in protest. Ambassador Curr noted this and reported it to his government, but when dawn came in New York Israel understood that things were still moving ahead. Netanyahu's phone call to McCully was almost his last attempt to prevent the vote, or at least postpone it and buy a little time. Western diplomats say the conversation was harsh and very tense and Netanyahu let loose with sharp threats, perhaps unprecedented in relations between Israel and another Western country. 'This is a scandalous decision. I'm asking that you not support it and not promote it,' Netanyahu told McCully, according to the Western diplomats, who asked to remain unnamed due to the sensitivity of the matter. 'If you continue to promote this resolution from our point of view it will be a declaration of war. It will rupture the relations and there will be consequences. We'll recall our ambassador to Jerusalem.' McCully refused to back down from the vote. 'This resolution conforms to our policy and we will move it forward,' he told Netanyahu.
"Just one month earlier, when McCully visited Israel and met with Netanyahu, he found the latter an entirely different man. Netanyahu was pleasant, friendly and overflowing with warmth. He showed McCully the famous PowerPoint presentation that he had shown in a round of background briefings for the media last summer. Laser pointer in hand, Netanyahu told McCully that Israel was expanding its foreign relations, breaking through in the region and making friends in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Western diplomats said that McCully, who over the past two years had been consistently pushing the Israeli-Palestinian issue in the UN Security Council, spoke with Netanyahu about the resolution his country wanted to promote. It was a much softer and more moderate version than the motion that passed last Friday. New Zealand's resolution did talk about freezing construction in the settlements, but also about freezing Palestinian steps in the UN and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and called for direct negotiations without preconditions. Netanyahu rejected this outright. If it were up to him, the Palestinian issue would not have come up in the meeting at all. His message to McCully was similar to what he said endlessly in public over the past few weeks. The world doesn't care too much about the Palestinian issue. The automatic majority against Israel in the UN is about to become a thing of the past. 'The vote Friday proved differently and showed that Netanyahu's assessment was wrong,' a Western diplomat said.
"Discussions with Western and Israel diplomats reveal many interesting details about some of what happened behind the scenes at UN headquarters in New York between Thursday afternoon, when Egypt announced it was backing down from the resolution on the settlements, and Friday morning, when New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela announced that they would continue to push for a vote. From the moment Egypt backed down on Thursday, the Western and Israeli diplomats say, New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela were pressured to move ahead anyway. The Palestinians were the first to exert pressure, but they were joined by some of the Gulf States and Britain. The Western diplomats said that the British encouraged New Zealand to continue pushing for a vote even without Egyptian support. The British had become active regarding the resolution a few days earlier. The Israeli diplomats say that from information that reached the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, British legal figures and diplomats had been working directly with the Palestinians on the wording of the resolution even before it was distributed by Egypt the first time on Wednesday evening. According to the Israeli diplomats, the British did this secretly and without informing Israel. The suspicion in Jerusalem is that the British had been working during all those days for the Americans to make sure the resolution was to US President Barack Obama's liking, but without the need to intervene directly in formulating it."
a) that it is only because of the abject failure of Western governments to stand up to Israel's criminality and bullying decades ago that has led to this;
b) that it was only in September that Obama approved the largest aid package in history for Israel, an unconditional $38 billion over the next 10 years; and
c) that the Turnbull government has issued an invitation for the man who has declared war on NZ to visit these shores early in 2017.
Britain pulled the strings and Netanyahu warned New Zealand it was declaring war: new details on Israel's battle against the UN vote, Barak Ravid, Haaretz, 28/12/16:
"Last Friday, a few hours before the UN Security Council vote on the settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned New Zealand's foreign minister, Murray McCully. New Zealand, together with Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela, was leading a move to resubmit for a vote the resolution from which Egypt had backed down the day before. A few hours earlier, a senior official in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem called New Zealand's ambassador to Israel, Jonathan Curr, and warned that if New Zealand's move came to a vote, Israel might close its embassy in Wellington in protest. Ambassador Curr noted this and reported it to his government, but when dawn came in New York Israel understood that things were still moving ahead. Netanyahu's phone call to McCully was almost his last attempt to prevent the vote, or at least postpone it and buy a little time. Western diplomats say the conversation was harsh and very tense and Netanyahu let loose with sharp threats, perhaps unprecedented in relations between Israel and another Western country. 'This is a scandalous decision. I'm asking that you not support it and not promote it,' Netanyahu told McCully, according to the Western diplomats, who asked to remain unnamed due to the sensitivity of the matter. 'If you continue to promote this resolution from our point of view it will be a declaration of war. It will rupture the relations and there will be consequences. We'll recall our ambassador to Jerusalem.' McCully refused to back down from the vote. 'This resolution conforms to our policy and we will move it forward,' he told Netanyahu.
"Just one month earlier, when McCully visited Israel and met with Netanyahu, he found the latter an entirely different man. Netanyahu was pleasant, friendly and overflowing with warmth. He showed McCully the famous PowerPoint presentation that he had shown in a round of background briefings for the media last summer. Laser pointer in hand, Netanyahu told McCully that Israel was expanding its foreign relations, breaking through in the region and making friends in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Western diplomats said that McCully, who over the past two years had been consistently pushing the Israeli-Palestinian issue in the UN Security Council, spoke with Netanyahu about the resolution his country wanted to promote. It was a much softer and more moderate version than the motion that passed last Friday. New Zealand's resolution did talk about freezing construction in the settlements, but also about freezing Palestinian steps in the UN and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and called for direct negotiations without preconditions. Netanyahu rejected this outright. If it were up to him, the Palestinian issue would not have come up in the meeting at all. His message to McCully was similar to what he said endlessly in public over the past few weeks. The world doesn't care too much about the Palestinian issue. The automatic majority against Israel in the UN is about to become a thing of the past. 'The vote Friday proved differently and showed that Netanyahu's assessment was wrong,' a Western diplomat said.
"Discussions with Western and Israel diplomats reveal many interesting details about some of what happened behind the scenes at UN headquarters in New York between Thursday afternoon, when Egypt announced it was backing down from the resolution on the settlements, and Friday morning, when New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela announced that they would continue to push for a vote. From the moment Egypt backed down on Thursday, the Western and Israeli diplomats say, New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela were pressured to move ahead anyway. The Palestinians were the first to exert pressure, but they were joined by some of the Gulf States and Britain. The Western diplomats said that the British encouraged New Zealand to continue pushing for a vote even without Egyptian support. The British had become active regarding the resolution a few days earlier. The Israeli diplomats say that from information that reached the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, British legal figures and diplomats had been working directly with the Palestinians on the wording of the resolution even before it was distributed by Egypt the first time on Wednesday evening. According to the Israeli diplomats, the British did this secretly and without informing Israel. The suspicion in Jerusalem is that the British had been working during all those days for the Americans to make sure the resolution was to US President Barack Obama's liking, but without the need to intervene directly in formulating it."
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Abbott's Anglosphere
Tony - ah - Abbott here. Everywhere you look - ah - our precious Anglosphere is - ah - not only under threat, from without, by - ah - baddies, but worse, from within, by - ah - goodies. I mean - ah - what was New Zealand thinking here?
"The federal government led secret diplomatic efforts to frustrate a New Zealand-led push for nuclear disarmament, according to documents released under FOI laws... because 'we rely on US nuclear forces to deter nuclear attack on Australia'. In October last year, following the election of the Coalition government, Australia refused a NZ request to endorse a 125-nation joint statement at the UN highlighting the humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons. Australia objected to a sentence declaring that it is in the interest of humanity that nuclear weapons are never used again, 'under any circumstances'." (Government pushed against NZ on nukes, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 10/3/14)
Just as well we put the kibosh on that one! The - ah - bottom line here, to quote that great American Suppository of all Wisdom, Sarah Palin, is - ah - this:
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke." (How to stop a bad guy with a nuke, AFP/SMH, 10/3/14)
Then there's Britain! As - ah - my own dear Suppository of all Wisdom, Monsignor Sheridan JP, has written only this weekend past:
"A few years ago I wrote a book about the US/Australia alliance and everywhere I went in research for that book I was surprised to find Britain as a third partner. Most people in both Australia and Britain don't realise how close the operational, political, intelligence, military, diplomatic and economic partnership really is. At AUKMIN [Australia United Kingdom Ministerial meeting] next Tuesday the two governments will sign a joint statement on enhanced diplomatic network co-operation." (Old ties that secure our future, Greg Sheridan, The Australian, 8/3/14)
Sadly, however, even - ah - the British these days are deviating from one of their - ah - core historical responsibilities, screwing the Palestinians. Maybe they're getting a little - ah - tired of this after almost 100 years? Whatever - ah - Foreign Minister Palin - sorry, Bishop - is resolved to - ah - show wee willie Hague the way here:
"Bishop, who admires Hague, who has indeed become a globally important foreign minister, disagrees with her British counterpart in his insistence that all Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 borders are illegal under international law. Hague got Bishop's predecessor, Bob Carr, to sign up to that language the last time an AUKMIN was held in Sydney. This was a departure for Australian policy and Bishop has reverted to the far more sensible formulation that these settlements... are part of negotiations now under way." (ibid)
We'll - ah - show them.
"The federal government led secret diplomatic efforts to frustrate a New Zealand-led push for nuclear disarmament, according to documents released under FOI laws... because 'we rely on US nuclear forces to deter nuclear attack on Australia'. In October last year, following the election of the Coalition government, Australia refused a NZ request to endorse a 125-nation joint statement at the UN highlighting the humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons. Australia objected to a sentence declaring that it is in the interest of humanity that nuclear weapons are never used again, 'under any circumstances'." (Government pushed against NZ on nukes, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 10/3/14)
Just as well we put the kibosh on that one! The - ah - bottom line here, to quote that great American Suppository of all Wisdom, Sarah Palin, is - ah - this:
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke." (How to stop a bad guy with a nuke, AFP/SMH, 10/3/14)
Then there's Britain! As - ah - my own dear Suppository of all Wisdom, Monsignor Sheridan JP, has written only this weekend past:
"A few years ago I wrote a book about the US/Australia alliance and everywhere I went in research for that book I was surprised to find Britain as a third partner. Most people in both Australia and Britain don't realise how close the operational, political, intelligence, military, diplomatic and economic partnership really is. At AUKMIN [Australia United Kingdom Ministerial meeting] next Tuesday the two governments will sign a joint statement on enhanced diplomatic network co-operation." (Old ties that secure our future, Greg Sheridan, The Australian, 8/3/14)
Sadly, however, even - ah - the British these days are deviating from one of their - ah - core historical responsibilities, screwing the Palestinians. Maybe they're getting a little - ah - tired of this after almost 100 years? Whatever - ah - Foreign Minister Palin - sorry, Bishop - is resolved to - ah - show wee willie Hague the way here:
"Bishop, who admires Hague, who has indeed become a globally important foreign minister, disagrees with her British counterpart in his insistence that all Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 borders are illegal under international law. Hague got Bishop's predecessor, Bob Carr, to sign up to that language the last time an AUKMIN was held in Sydney. This was a departure for Australian policy and Bishop has reverted to the far more sensible formulation that these settlements... are part of negotiations now under way." (ibid)
We'll - ah - show them.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Busted!
Not only do we have young Israelis flogging Dead Sea mineral products (coming from an illegal factory in an illegal settlement built on illegally-confiscated Palestinian land in the illegally-occupied Palestinian West Bank) fanning out in our shopping malls, we also have them flogging dodgy paintings on our streets. Typically, the latter phenomenon has yet to engage the attention of the Australian ms media. But, thanks to the efforts of a New Zealand woman, the phenomenon has at least made it into the NZ press:
"A scam involving Israelis selling artwork door-to-door has been busted, thanks to the suspicions of a Richmond woman. The Israelis now face deportation. Immigration New Zealand says one, an overstayer, has been taken into custody pending deportation, 5 found to be working in breach of visitor visas have been served with deportation liability notices and a seventh, due to leave New Zealand voluntarily, has been warned about working in breach of visa conditions.
"Richmond resident Rebekah Young said she felt uneasy when a man claiming to be an Israeli student came to her door selling artwork 2 weeks ago. She said he told her they were one-off prints of original paintings. She liked one called Passion Flower and bought it for $180, and he told her a mobile picture framer could call and frame it. She paid a total of $320. Later she discovered a neighbour had been offered the same one, and another the same was seen in the back of the framer's van. She had expected he would be a Nelson framer, but he too was Israeli. 'I just had this sick feeling in my stomach that something was not right', she said. She said she then went onto her computer and googled 'art scam' and found similar stories in Auckland, Napier and Christchurch. So she rang the police. Police caught up with the Israelis when they called at another Richmond house. Young got her money back and handed over the artwork she had bought.
"Senior constable Marty Tutton, of Wakefield, said it was a case of buyer beware. Anybody could sell door-to-door but the issue was how they were selling and whether there was a misrepresentation, or an attempt to deceive. 'They have been spoken to and advised of the correct procedures in New Zealand'. He said there were 5 in a van and they admitted to selling artwork in Nelson, Stoke and Richmond. They were not charged but the police contacted Immigration NZ. Immigration NZ manager fraud and compliance, Peter Elms, said INZ staff and police visited a Nelson address on Monday and spoke to 7 Israeli nationals. 'INZ understands that the artwork being sold door-to-door is pictures purchased from China for a small sum and sold for between $150 and $400 each'." (Israeli art scammers told to quit country, stuff.co.nz, 15/3/12)
[For Mossad's activities in NZ, click on the NZ tab below. Also read the comprehensive report Mossad down under-again? (23/7/11) by KR Bolton at foreignpolicyjournal.com; For more on Israeli 'art students', see my 30/9/10 post Round Round Get Around...5.]
"A scam involving Israelis selling artwork door-to-door has been busted, thanks to the suspicions of a Richmond woman. The Israelis now face deportation. Immigration New Zealand says one, an overstayer, has been taken into custody pending deportation, 5 found to be working in breach of visitor visas have been served with deportation liability notices and a seventh, due to leave New Zealand voluntarily, has been warned about working in breach of visa conditions.
"Richmond resident Rebekah Young said she felt uneasy when a man claiming to be an Israeli student came to her door selling artwork 2 weeks ago. She said he told her they were one-off prints of original paintings. She liked one called Passion Flower and bought it for $180, and he told her a mobile picture framer could call and frame it. She paid a total of $320. Later she discovered a neighbour had been offered the same one, and another the same was seen in the back of the framer's van. She had expected he would be a Nelson framer, but he too was Israeli. 'I just had this sick feeling in my stomach that something was not right', she said. She said she then went onto her computer and googled 'art scam' and found similar stories in Auckland, Napier and Christchurch. So she rang the police. Police caught up with the Israelis when they called at another Richmond house. Young got her money back and handed over the artwork she had bought.
"Senior constable Marty Tutton, of Wakefield, said it was a case of buyer beware. Anybody could sell door-to-door but the issue was how they were selling and whether there was a misrepresentation, or an attempt to deceive. 'They have been spoken to and advised of the correct procedures in New Zealand'. He said there were 5 in a van and they admitted to selling artwork in Nelson, Stoke and Richmond. They were not charged but the police contacted Immigration NZ. Immigration NZ manager fraud and compliance, Peter Elms, said INZ staff and police visited a Nelson address on Monday and spoke to 7 Israeli nationals. 'INZ understands that the artwork being sold door-to-door is pictures purchased from China for a small sum and sold for between $150 and $400 each'." (Israeli art scammers told to quit country, stuff.co.nz, 15/3/12)
[For Mossad's activities in NZ, click on the NZ tab below. Also read the comprehensive report Mossad down under-again? (23/7/11) by KR Bolton at foreignpolicyjournal.com; For more on Israeli 'art students', see my 30/9/10 post Round Round Get Around...5.]
Saturday, July 30, 2011
If an Israeli Sparrow or Backpacker Should Fall...
Can you imagine an Australian journalist speaking her mind on this subject in the way Kerre Woodham of the New Zealand Herald has?:
"I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories. I don't believe the moon landings were faked by NASA. Nor do I believe there was another gunman on a grassy knoll who took a pot-shot at President John F Kennedy. I don't even believe that Suzie the South African waitress served the All Blacks tainted food, thus scuppering our chances of winning the Rugby World Cup in 1995. But I really do have doubts that the Israeli nationals who were caught up in the Christchurch earthquake in February were simple backpackers.
"The Prime Minister has assured us they were. The Israeli ambassador finds it offensive that we would even raise doubts about the authenticity of the young people. But really, it was all very odd. The multiple passports found in the backpackers' van don't bother me too much. Travelling on an Israeli or US passport makes you a target in some parts of the world, so there may well be a valid reason for carrying more than one passport.
"But for a country to be able to identify 4 of its nationals caught up in a natural disaster, make contact with them and whip them out out of the country in 12 hours is absolutely remarkable, especially given the chaos that was going on in Christchurch. For the Prime Minister of Israel to, firstly, know he had citizens in trouble and, secondly, ring his counterpart in New Zealand, at a time when he knew the Prime Minister was a little busy trying to manage the disaster, not once but 4 times, is also truly extraordinary. Isn't that what officials on the ground are paid to do?
"And how about a search-and-rescue team arriving within 24 hours and proceeding to track down Israeli nationals, despite the fact they weren't authorised or welcome? It shows more than a bit of tunnel-visioned determination. I know it's a subjective thing, but who would leave a dead mate to the mercy of the authorities in a foreign country? The Israeli ambassador said the young people were shocked and frightened and just wanted to return home - but not one of them thought it would be the decent thing to stay with the body of their friend? I find that weird.
"Those scornfully suggesting that New Zealand is far too backward and out of the way to attract Israeli interests should remember New Zealand wasn't so far away or backward to prevent two Mossad agents from stealing the identities of dead New Zealand children some years back. I wouldn't describe that as a minor 'kerfuffle', as the Jerusalem Post called it. More an appalling breach of trust.
"There may well be completely plausible reasons these backpackers were given so much special attention. Maybe the Government of Israel gives all its nationals this gilt-edged service. Maybe there are teams of Israeli officials scattered throughout the world, poised and ready to spring into action to rescue any Israeli citizen who finds themselves in strife. Maybe there is not one Israeli sparrow or backpacker that falls without the Prime Minister knowing about it and acting on it. There may well be a perfectly reasonable explanation. I just haven't heard it yet." (24/7/11)
"I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories. I don't believe the moon landings were faked by NASA. Nor do I believe there was another gunman on a grassy knoll who took a pot-shot at President John F Kennedy. I don't even believe that Suzie the South African waitress served the All Blacks tainted food, thus scuppering our chances of winning the Rugby World Cup in 1995. But I really do have doubts that the Israeli nationals who were caught up in the Christchurch earthquake in February were simple backpackers.
"The Prime Minister has assured us they were. The Israeli ambassador finds it offensive that we would even raise doubts about the authenticity of the young people. But really, it was all very odd. The multiple passports found in the backpackers' van don't bother me too much. Travelling on an Israeli or US passport makes you a target in some parts of the world, so there may well be a valid reason for carrying more than one passport.
"But for a country to be able to identify 4 of its nationals caught up in a natural disaster, make contact with them and whip them out out of the country in 12 hours is absolutely remarkable, especially given the chaos that was going on in Christchurch. For the Prime Minister of Israel to, firstly, know he had citizens in trouble and, secondly, ring his counterpart in New Zealand, at a time when he knew the Prime Minister was a little busy trying to manage the disaster, not once but 4 times, is also truly extraordinary. Isn't that what officials on the ground are paid to do?
"And how about a search-and-rescue team arriving within 24 hours and proceeding to track down Israeli nationals, despite the fact they weren't authorised or welcome? It shows more than a bit of tunnel-visioned determination. I know it's a subjective thing, but who would leave a dead mate to the mercy of the authorities in a foreign country? The Israeli ambassador said the young people were shocked and frightened and just wanted to return home - but not one of them thought it would be the decent thing to stay with the body of their friend? I find that weird.
"Those scornfully suggesting that New Zealand is far too backward and out of the way to attract Israeli interests should remember New Zealand wasn't so far away or backward to prevent two Mossad agents from stealing the identities of dead New Zealand children some years back. I wouldn't describe that as a minor 'kerfuffle', as the Jerusalem Post called it. More an appalling breach of trust.
"There may well be completely plausible reasons these backpackers were given so much special attention. Maybe the Government of Israel gives all its nationals this gilt-edged service. Maybe there are teams of Israeli officials scattered throughout the world, poised and ready to spring into action to rescue any Israeli citizen who finds themselves in strife. Maybe there is not one Israeli sparrow or backpacker that falls without the Prime Minister knowing about it and acting on it. There may well be a perfectly reasonable explanation. I just haven't heard it yet." (24/7/11)
Friday, July 29, 2011
Spies? What Spies?
Continued from my previous post...
John Key has been the prime minister of New Zealand since 2008. To say that he is Israel-friendly is to enter the realm of the bleeding obvious:
"Key, who criticized [then Labor prime minister Helen] Clark for not supporting the war against Iraq, said Israel and New Zealand have many similarities. 'We are small in nature and we are entrepreneurial, and Israel has achieved some amazing things in terms of high-tech space', he said. 'I think there's a lot New Zealand can learn from Israel'... Nathan Lawrence, the president of the Zionist Federation of New Zealand, believes a Key government will be more sympathetic to Israel's concerns. 'The current Labor Party has within its leadership several people that are ideologically fixated on certain positions, some of which mean an automatic disdain of Israel's policies', Lawrence said. 'There is likely to be greater balance under Key', he said. 'This will have little to do with Key's Jewish background, but more so the greater open-mindedness of the center-right parties to the realities of the world'." (New Zealand's shift to right could ease hostility toward Israel, Dan Goldberg, jewishexponent.com, 6/11/08)
So Key's shifty response to the revelations of The Southland Times comes as no surprise:
"Key refused to answer questions about the revelations when he was grilled by reporters this morning, saying it was not in the national interest. He did not dispute there were a number of passports involved and said there was nothing illegal in someone holding more than one. In this afternoon's statement he said he had been advised the dead man was found with only one passport, of European origin. The surviving passengers in the van took their own passports with them when they left the country, and handed over the deceased man's Israeli passport to Israeli representatives before departing, he said. 'None of the passports were New Zealand passports', Key said. This morning Key also said he had received a number of phonecalls from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - but said not all had got through to him. Although he would not discuss all aspects of their conversation he said Netanyahu called to offer help and advice. In this afternoon's statement, Key confirmed he spoke once with Netanyahu 'in the days following' the quake. 'It took several attempts by Israeli representatives to set up the phone call, as is commonly the case with such calls in the circumstances of a major natural disaster', the statement said. Key also said he had been assured by police there had been no unauthorised access to their computer system. The government took the security of New Zealanders 'very seriously', he said... Mr Key's statement came after both the Green and Labor parties called on him to be more open." (Investigation cleared Israelis of spy claims: PM, stuff.co.nz, 20/7/11)
And, frankly, what's an Israeli ambassador to say?:
"Israeli Ambassador Shemi Tzur has dismissed as 'science fiction' suspicions that agents of Israel's secret service, Mossad, had been caught up in the Christchurch earthquake in February. Mr Tzur, who is based in Canberra but flew into Christchurch hours after the earthquake, said he was 'shocked and upset' that New Zealand's intelligence agencies would have such suspicions... 'I drove [Ofer Mizrahi's] three friends to the airport so they could go home. [Israeli Government Taxis Sans Frontieres! (MERC)] They were shocked and crying, they were just talking about their friends. [Plural? (MERC)] To suggest anything else, someone has been feeding you science fiction. These were youngsters holidaying in your beautiful country... we encourage our young people to visit New Zealand'. Mr Tzur said he was aware that Mr Mizrahi was found to be carrying more than one passport when identity checks were being made of earthquake victims - 'I was handed a parcel of his effects and it did contain more than one passport' - but dual citizenship was common in Israel because of difficulties over the use of Israeli passports in some other countries. [Like NZ? (MERC)] He said he had not been told anything about Mr Mizrahi being found with 5 or 6 passports and to suggest that he and his friends were anything other than young tourists made him upset. It had not been raised by New Zealand authorities, he said. Asked if he considered it unusual that a tribute page to Mr Mizrahi posted on facebook had attracted only 5 'likes' in more than four months after the earthquake, Mr Tzur said different cultures reacted to tragedy in different ways. [The famous Israeli stiff upper lip, Shemi? (MERC)] To questions about the two urban search and recue teams from Israel that had arrived in Christchurch and were refused permission to enter the earthquake red zone to help the search, Mr Tzur said they had been sent by the parents of the two Israeli backpackers who also died in the quake. Israeli families reacted that way when their children needed help anywhere in the world, often because it was demanded by insurance companies. [A couple of s&r teams? No problem! (MERC)] 'If they were later found inside the red zone no-one brought that to our attention... 'Yes, there was some regrettable history of Mossad involvement in New Zealand, in 2004, and they have apologised for that and we have put it beyond us. Now, we are moving forward'. " ('Quake victims no Mossad agents', Fred Tulett, stuff.co.nz, 20/7/11)
Guy and his Papa are pretty pissed off:
"One of the Israelis suspected of being a Mossad spy says the allegations are 'rubbish' and 'a big lie'. Guy Jordan was one of 3 Israelis whose 'unusual' behaviour following the February Christchurch earthquake sparked a top level government investigation. But today he told 3News he was just a backpacker... His father Amihai Jordan said the family wanted a 'big apology' from the New Zealand government. 'How can someone say that someone who is 22 years old is a spy? I don't know what to think of it, it's truly nonsense'... [Guy] Jordan said the group left New Zealand quickly because 'a lot of people were doing it'... Among the further mysteries that emerged yesterday was confirmation from Key's office that Michel Fraidman, Guy Jordan and Liron Sade left Christchurch on one of the earliest flights out after the February 22 earthquake, on an air force 757." (Key confirms inquiry; Israeli backpackers were questioned, stuff.co.nz, 22/7/11)
But a certain Mr McCormick contradicts that with this hilarious tale about a kibbutz kode of omerta:
"The silence maintained by Israelis at the centre of high-level investigations after February's earthquake in Christchurch has a rational explanation, a Hawke's Bay man says. New Zealand Friends of Israel Association Hawke's Bay branch* chairman John McCormick said the answers lay in the system the Israelis embroiled in the saga were raised in... [He] said the ethos under which the 4 lived prevented them from speaking out directly. Mr Mizrahi, Mr Jordan and Miss Fraidman had grown up together in Kibbutz Magal near Haifa, while Mr Jordan's girlfriend had been raised in a village nearby. A kibbutz, a collective community in Israel, combines socialism and Zionism. 'It's a Marxist system 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs...', Mr McCormick said. The kibbutz functions as a direct democracy, but its structure is reminiscent of socialist or communist states, he said... 'There was no reason they would stay there... they couldn't be with him and they couldn't help him any more so it was obvious they will come back... This was in stark contrast to the access media have had to the families of two other Israelis killed in the earthquake, Gabi Ingel and Ofer Levy, Mr McCormick said. 'But I would say if they could fund private rescue teams, they are wealthy individuals in Tel Aviv perhaps, and aren't bound by kibbutz rules'." (Israel Kibbutz culture 'explains silence', Jared Morgan, stuff.co.nz, 23/7/11) [* Blimey, a FOI in every town! What with all that claptrap about Marxist kibbutzniks, I have to ask, has John McCormick been guzzling those full-bodied Hawke's Bay reds for which the area is famous?]
And isn't this interesting?:
"RB sends a Google search that reveals a sentence that is now removed from all mainstream media: "However, sources said the SAS had entered the zone to secure sensitive material belonging to the Israeli nationals now at the centre of the spying claims." (Israeli killed in Christchurch earthquake was carrying 5 passports, cryptogon.com, 20/7/11)
Stay tuned...
John Key has been the prime minister of New Zealand since 2008. To say that he is Israel-friendly is to enter the realm of the bleeding obvious:
"Key, who criticized [then Labor prime minister Helen] Clark for not supporting the war against Iraq, said Israel and New Zealand have many similarities. 'We are small in nature and we are entrepreneurial, and Israel has achieved some amazing things in terms of high-tech space', he said. 'I think there's a lot New Zealand can learn from Israel'... Nathan Lawrence, the president of the Zionist Federation of New Zealand, believes a Key government will be more sympathetic to Israel's concerns. 'The current Labor Party has within its leadership several people that are ideologically fixated on certain positions, some of which mean an automatic disdain of Israel's policies', Lawrence said. 'There is likely to be greater balance under Key', he said. 'This will have little to do with Key's Jewish background, but more so the greater open-mindedness of the center-right parties to the realities of the world'." (New Zealand's shift to right could ease hostility toward Israel, Dan Goldberg, jewishexponent.com, 6/11/08)
So Key's shifty response to the revelations of The Southland Times comes as no surprise:
"Key refused to answer questions about the revelations when he was grilled by reporters this morning, saying it was not in the national interest. He did not dispute there were a number of passports involved and said there was nothing illegal in someone holding more than one. In this afternoon's statement he said he had been advised the dead man was found with only one passport, of European origin. The surviving passengers in the van took their own passports with them when they left the country, and handed over the deceased man's Israeli passport to Israeli representatives before departing, he said. 'None of the passports were New Zealand passports', Key said. This morning Key also said he had received a number of phonecalls from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - but said not all had got through to him. Although he would not discuss all aspects of their conversation he said Netanyahu called to offer help and advice. In this afternoon's statement, Key confirmed he spoke once with Netanyahu 'in the days following' the quake. 'It took several attempts by Israeli representatives to set up the phone call, as is commonly the case with such calls in the circumstances of a major natural disaster', the statement said. Key also said he had been assured by police there had been no unauthorised access to their computer system. The government took the security of New Zealanders 'very seriously', he said... Mr Key's statement came after both the Green and Labor parties called on him to be more open." (Investigation cleared Israelis of spy claims: PM, stuff.co.nz, 20/7/11)
And, frankly, what's an Israeli ambassador to say?:
"Israeli Ambassador Shemi Tzur has dismissed as 'science fiction' suspicions that agents of Israel's secret service, Mossad, had been caught up in the Christchurch earthquake in February. Mr Tzur, who is based in Canberra but flew into Christchurch hours after the earthquake, said he was 'shocked and upset' that New Zealand's intelligence agencies would have such suspicions... 'I drove [Ofer Mizrahi's] three friends to the airport so they could go home. [Israeli Government Taxis Sans Frontieres! (MERC)] They were shocked and crying, they were just talking about their friends. [Plural? (MERC)] To suggest anything else, someone has been feeding you science fiction. These were youngsters holidaying in your beautiful country... we encourage our young people to visit New Zealand'. Mr Tzur said he was aware that Mr Mizrahi was found to be carrying more than one passport when identity checks were being made of earthquake victims - 'I was handed a parcel of his effects and it did contain more than one passport' - but dual citizenship was common in Israel because of difficulties over the use of Israeli passports in some other countries. [Like NZ? (MERC)] He said he had not been told anything about Mr Mizrahi being found with 5 or 6 passports and to suggest that he and his friends were anything other than young tourists made him upset. It had not been raised by New Zealand authorities, he said. Asked if he considered it unusual that a tribute page to Mr Mizrahi posted on facebook had attracted only 5 'likes' in more than four months after the earthquake, Mr Tzur said different cultures reacted to tragedy in different ways. [The famous Israeli stiff upper lip, Shemi? (MERC)] To questions about the two urban search and recue teams from Israel that had arrived in Christchurch and were refused permission to enter the earthquake red zone to help the search, Mr Tzur said they had been sent by the parents of the two Israeli backpackers who also died in the quake. Israeli families reacted that way when their children needed help anywhere in the world, often because it was demanded by insurance companies. [A couple of s&r teams? No problem! (MERC)] 'If they were later found inside the red zone no-one brought that to our attention... 'Yes, there was some regrettable history of Mossad involvement in New Zealand, in 2004, and they have apologised for that and we have put it beyond us. Now, we are moving forward'. " ('Quake victims no Mossad agents', Fred Tulett, stuff.co.nz, 20/7/11)
Guy and his Papa are pretty pissed off:
"One of the Israelis suspected of being a Mossad spy says the allegations are 'rubbish' and 'a big lie'. Guy Jordan was one of 3 Israelis whose 'unusual' behaviour following the February Christchurch earthquake sparked a top level government investigation. But today he told 3News he was just a backpacker... His father Amihai Jordan said the family wanted a 'big apology' from the New Zealand government. 'How can someone say that someone who is 22 years old is a spy? I don't know what to think of it, it's truly nonsense'... [Guy] Jordan said the group left New Zealand quickly because 'a lot of people were doing it'... Among the further mysteries that emerged yesterday was confirmation from Key's office that Michel Fraidman, Guy Jordan and Liron Sade left Christchurch on one of the earliest flights out after the February 22 earthquake, on an air force 757." (Key confirms inquiry; Israeli backpackers were questioned, stuff.co.nz, 22/7/11)
But a certain Mr McCormick contradicts that with this hilarious tale about a kibbutz kode of omerta:
"The silence maintained by Israelis at the centre of high-level investigations after February's earthquake in Christchurch has a rational explanation, a Hawke's Bay man says. New Zealand Friends of Israel Association Hawke's Bay branch* chairman John McCormick said the answers lay in the system the Israelis embroiled in the saga were raised in... [He] said the ethos under which the 4 lived prevented them from speaking out directly. Mr Mizrahi, Mr Jordan and Miss Fraidman had grown up together in Kibbutz Magal near Haifa, while Mr Jordan's girlfriend had been raised in a village nearby. A kibbutz, a collective community in Israel, combines socialism and Zionism. 'It's a Marxist system 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs...', Mr McCormick said. The kibbutz functions as a direct democracy, but its structure is reminiscent of socialist or communist states, he said... 'There was no reason they would stay there... they couldn't be with him and they couldn't help him any more so it was obvious they will come back... This was in stark contrast to the access media have had to the families of two other Israelis killed in the earthquake, Gabi Ingel and Ofer Levy, Mr McCormick said. 'But I would say if they could fund private rescue teams, they are wealthy individuals in Tel Aviv perhaps, and aren't bound by kibbutz rules'." (Israel Kibbutz culture 'explains silence', Jared Morgan, stuff.co.nz, 23/7/11) [* Blimey, a FOI in every town! What with all that claptrap about Marxist kibbutzniks, I have to ask, has John McCormick been guzzling those full-bodied Hawke's Bay reds for which the area is famous?]
And isn't this interesting?:
"RB sends a Google search that reveals a sentence that is now removed from all mainstream media: "However, sources said the SAS had entered the zone to secure sensitive material belonging to the Israeli nationals now at the centre of the spying claims." (Israeli killed in Christchurch earthquake was carrying 5 passports, cryptogon.com, 20/7/11)
Stay tuned...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Leaving New Zealand in Great Haste
Remember last year's Mossad passport scandal stemming from the murder of Hamas fighter, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai? Remember then prime minister Rudd expelling an Israeli diplomat? Remember how an angry Israel lobby suddenly lost interest in fundraising for Labor? (See my 22/6/10 post The Best Israel Policy Money Can Buy) All big news at the time. So why the ms media's complete lack of interest (excepting for one item on SBS TV's World News) in covering the latest evidence of Mossad activity in New Zealand. (See my 27/2/10 post Israel: The Ultimate Identity Fraud)
The story, SIS on trail of spies, by Fred Tulett, first surfaced in The Southland Times of July 20. Having read one report that it's no longer available at the TST site, I'm posting it here in full:
"The police national computer has been under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake in February because of fears Israeli agents loaded software into the system that would allow backdoor access to highly sensitive intelligence files. The Security Intelligence Service (SIS) ordered the checks as part of an urgent investigation of what one SIS officer described as the suspicious activities of several groups of Israelis during and immediately after the earthquake. Three Israelis were among the 181 people who died when the earthquake destroyed most of Christchurch's CBD on February 22. One was found to be carrying at least 5 passports. An unaccredited Israeli search and rescue squad was later confronted by armed New Zealand officers and removed from the sealed-off 'red zone' of the central city. The response of the Israeli government to the three deaths appears extraordinary. In the hours after the 6.3 quake struck:
*Israel's ambassador in the South Pacific, Shemi Tzur, who was based in Australia, booked flights to Christchurch, where he visited the morgue.
*Israel's civil defence chief left Israel for Christchurch.
*A complete Israeli urban search and rescue squad was assembled and flown to Christchurch, arriving about the same time as...
*Three people who had smashed their way out of a van crushed by a concrete pillar in the central city, leaving a fourth person dead in the vehicle, arrived back in Israel.
"Those four Israelis - Ofer Benyamin Mizrahi, 23, from kibbutz Magal near Haifa, Michal Fraidman, Liron Sade and Guy Jordan - would later become a prime focus of the SIS investigation, along with the Israeli search and rescue squad and a group of forensic analysts from Israel that worked in the Christchurch morgue helping to identify earthquake victims. The four, two men and two women, had been shopping in the central city on the morning of the earthquake and had returned to their van, parked in Gloucester Street when the quake hit. Mizrahi, the driver, was killed instantly, and Jordan, in the front passenger seat, smashed a window and climbed through a hole to escape. The two women, Fraidman and Sade, who were sitting in the back seat, also managed to crawl out. They were unable to reach Mizrahi, and after taking photographs of the crushed van, made their way to Latima Square, where Israeli officials had set up an emergency meeting point. Within twelve hours they had left New Zealand.
"On Sunday, February 26, Mizrahi's body was recovered from the van and taken to the morgue where, during routine identity checks, he was found to be carrying at least 5 passports. Meanwhile, the search and rescue squad dispatched from Israel had arrived in Christchurch but the offer of help was rejected by the New Zealand authorities because the squad did not have accreditation from the United Nations. According to Israeli newspaper reports, the squad was being funded by the parents of 2 other Israelis killed in the earthquake, Ofer Levy and Gabi Ingel, both 22, who were said to be in New Zealand on a backpacking holiday. The parents made repeated public appeals for the Israeli team to join the rescue, appeals that were dismissed by the New Zealand authorities until squad members were discovered in the sealed-off 'red zone' of the central city. It is understood the squad members were confronted by armed New Zealand officers and removed from the area. That confrontation is understood to have led to intense diplomatic exchanges between New Zealand and Israel, though police have refused to comment on the incident or even acknowldge that it occured, and the Israeli ambassador says that he had not been advised of any such incident. Another Israeli group, a forensic analysis team sent by the Israeli government, was welcomed in Christchurch and worked on victim identification in the morgue. However, the SIS also began to have suspicions about this group when it began investigating possible links between the cache of passports found with Mizrahi, the immediate flight of his three companions, the high powered Israeli interest shown in the earthquake, the unexplained behaviour of the supposed 'search and rescue squad' and a mysterious seventh Israeli, in New Zealand illegally, who was first reported missing in the quake and then, weeks later, was reported to have left the country. They were also interested in the Facebook tribute page set up for Mizrahi that has attracted only five 'likes' in the more than four months it has been on the social media site.
"When it was realised the forensic analysts could have accessed the national police computer database, an urgent security audit was ordered. As the SIS officer explained, it would take only moments for a USB drive to be inserted in a police computer terminal and loaded with a program allowing remote backdoor access. 'We were concerned that could have happened', the officer said. 'We carried out an urgent audit. If it had been done it would have eventually given the Israelis access to all of our intelligence'. The national database holds all records of convictions, firearm licenses, lost and stolen property, criminal behaviour and identifying marks and observations taken by police. It is capable of sophisticated searching and data matching. The officer said the audit had not identified any suspicious files so far, but a wider SIS investigation was continuing. 'It all looks suspicious, but a lot of what the Israelis do raises suspicion. So lots of smoke but we haven't found any fires. The file remains open though'.
"Intelligence agencies have become hypersensitive to sophisticated hacking after the malware 'agent.btz' was infiltrated into the computer systems of the United States Military Command 3 years ago. The US believes Russian agents were responsible and Deputy Defence Secretary William Lynn has described it as 'a digital beachhead' for a foreign intelligence agency to attempt to steal data. Attempts to remove the malware have so far been unsuccessful - new, more potent variations of agent.btz are still appearing. The SIS officer said the agency was also aware of a comment posted on the website of the Russian newspaper Pravda that the Christchurch earthquake had disrupted an Israeli spy base in the city.
"The Southland Times asked police national headquarters for comment on the actions of various Israeli groups after the earthquake. After considering the request for 9 days, the police issued a brief statement, attributed to Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess, confirming that 3 Israelis had died in the earthquake, that the van in which Mizrahi died had been recovered and examined, that police had not been involved in the decision to exclude the Israeli search squad, and that 'police do not discuss or disclose details of personal effects found with any of the 181 victims'. Mr Tzur, also approached for comment, said it was 'science fiction' that any Mossad agents had been involved."
Next Post: Spies? What Spies?
PS (29/7/11): Re coverage in the Australian ms media, I've just located a 25 July story, Key red-faced after Israeli spy scandal, by AAP's New Zealand correspondent Tamara McLean based on TST's report. As far as I'm aware the McLean rehash was confined to the SMH website. The same rehash also appeared on The Australian's website under the heading New Zealand Prime Minister John Key embarrassed by Israel post-quake spy story.
The story, SIS on trail of spies, by Fred Tulett, first surfaced in The Southland Times of July 20. Having read one report that it's no longer available at the TST site, I'm posting it here in full:
"The police national computer has been under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake in February because of fears Israeli agents loaded software into the system that would allow backdoor access to highly sensitive intelligence files. The Security Intelligence Service (SIS) ordered the checks as part of an urgent investigation of what one SIS officer described as the suspicious activities of several groups of Israelis during and immediately after the earthquake. Three Israelis were among the 181 people who died when the earthquake destroyed most of Christchurch's CBD on February 22. One was found to be carrying at least 5 passports. An unaccredited Israeli search and rescue squad was later confronted by armed New Zealand officers and removed from the sealed-off 'red zone' of the central city. The response of the Israeli government to the three deaths appears extraordinary. In the hours after the 6.3 quake struck:
*Israel's ambassador in the South Pacific, Shemi Tzur, who was based in Australia, booked flights to Christchurch, where he visited the morgue.
*Israel's civil defence chief left Israel for Christchurch.
*A complete Israeli urban search and rescue squad was assembled and flown to Christchurch, arriving about the same time as...
*Three people who had smashed their way out of a van crushed by a concrete pillar in the central city, leaving a fourth person dead in the vehicle, arrived back in Israel.
"Those four Israelis - Ofer Benyamin Mizrahi, 23, from kibbutz Magal near Haifa, Michal Fraidman, Liron Sade and Guy Jordan - would later become a prime focus of the SIS investigation, along with the Israeli search and rescue squad and a group of forensic analysts from Israel that worked in the Christchurch morgue helping to identify earthquake victims. The four, two men and two women, had been shopping in the central city on the morning of the earthquake and had returned to their van, parked in Gloucester Street when the quake hit. Mizrahi, the driver, was killed instantly, and Jordan, in the front passenger seat, smashed a window and climbed through a hole to escape. The two women, Fraidman and Sade, who were sitting in the back seat, also managed to crawl out. They were unable to reach Mizrahi, and after taking photographs of the crushed van, made their way to Latima Square, where Israeli officials had set up an emergency meeting point. Within twelve hours they had left New Zealand.
"On Sunday, February 26, Mizrahi's body was recovered from the van and taken to the morgue where, during routine identity checks, he was found to be carrying at least 5 passports. Meanwhile, the search and rescue squad dispatched from Israel had arrived in Christchurch but the offer of help was rejected by the New Zealand authorities because the squad did not have accreditation from the United Nations. According to Israeli newspaper reports, the squad was being funded by the parents of 2 other Israelis killed in the earthquake, Ofer Levy and Gabi Ingel, both 22, who were said to be in New Zealand on a backpacking holiday. The parents made repeated public appeals for the Israeli team to join the rescue, appeals that were dismissed by the New Zealand authorities until squad members were discovered in the sealed-off 'red zone' of the central city. It is understood the squad members were confronted by armed New Zealand officers and removed from the area. That confrontation is understood to have led to intense diplomatic exchanges between New Zealand and Israel, though police have refused to comment on the incident or even acknowldge that it occured, and the Israeli ambassador says that he had not been advised of any such incident. Another Israeli group, a forensic analysis team sent by the Israeli government, was welcomed in Christchurch and worked on victim identification in the morgue. However, the SIS also began to have suspicions about this group when it began investigating possible links between the cache of passports found with Mizrahi, the immediate flight of his three companions, the high powered Israeli interest shown in the earthquake, the unexplained behaviour of the supposed 'search and rescue squad' and a mysterious seventh Israeli, in New Zealand illegally, who was first reported missing in the quake and then, weeks later, was reported to have left the country. They were also interested in the Facebook tribute page set up for Mizrahi that has attracted only five 'likes' in the more than four months it has been on the social media site.
"When it was realised the forensic analysts could have accessed the national police computer database, an urgent security audit was ordered. As the SIS officer explained, it would take only moments for a USB drive to be inserted in a police computer terminal and loaded with a program allowing remote backdoor access. 'We were concerned that could have happened', the officer said. 'We carried out an urgent audit. If it had been done it would have eventually given the Israelis access to all of our intelligence'. The national database holds all records of convictions, firearm licenses, lost and stolen property, criminal behaviour and identifying marks and observations taken by police. It is capable of sophisticated searching and data matching. The officer said the audit had not identified any suspicious files so far, but a wider SIS investigation was continuing. 'It all looks suspicious, but a lot of what the Israelis do raises suspicion. So lots of smoke but we haven't found any fires. The file remains open though'.
"Intelligence agencies have become hypersensitive to sophisticated hacking after the malware 'agent.btz' was infiltrated into the computer systems of the United States Military Command 3 years ago. The US believes Russian agents were responsible and Deputy Defence Secretary William Lynn has described it as 'a digital beachhead' for a foreign intelligence agency to attempt to steal data. Attempts to remove the malware have so far been unsuccessful - new, more potent variations of agent.btz are still appearing. The SIS officer said the agency was also aware of a comment posted on the website of the Russian newspaper Pravda that the Christchurch earthquake had disrupted an Israeli spy base in the city.
"The Southland Times asked police national headquarters for comment on the actions of various Israeli groups after the earthquake. After considering the request for 9 days, the police issued a brief statement, attributed to Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess, confirming that 3 Israelis had died in the earthquake, that the van in which Mizrahi died had been recovered and examined, that police had not been involved in the decision to exclude the Israeli search squad, and that 'police do not discuss or disclose details of personal effects found with any of the 181 victims'. Mr Tzur, also approached for comment, said it was 'science fiction' that any Mossad agents had been involved."
Next Post: Spies? What Spies?
PS (29/7/11): Re coverage in the Australian ms media, I've just located a 25 July story, Key red-faced after Israeli spy scandal, by AAP's New Zealand correspondent Tamara McLean based on TST's report. As far as I'm aware the McLean rehash was confined to the SMH website. The same rehash also appeared on The Australian's website under the heading New Zealand Prime Minister John Key embarrassed by Israel post-quake spy story.
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