Reflections on a modern Bar Mitzvah: What can the ancient rite teach us? I have many Jewish friends. As such, I have been invited to a number of special celebrations over the years – Passover, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, and of course the special Friday night meal, Shabbat. These have generally involved meals…
Not all Māori on board with Marama Green M.P. Marama Davidson’s involvement with the “Peace Boat” to Gaza is purportedly to raise awareness of the struggle of women in Gaza. However, Davidson has involved herself in one of the world’s most intractable conflicts without attempting to understand…
When a Zionist went to Ramallah: You won’t believe what she found As a Jewish Zionist it is easy enough to believe that all Palestinians hate me, they see Israel as the source of all their suffering, and they believe that Jews do not belong there. It’s not hard to find evidence…
“We’re on a slippery slope to a one state reality” – Yossi Alpher (2/2) At the 2016 Auckland Writers Festival, Yossi Alpher spoke with Radio NZ producer, Jeremy Rose. In the first part of the talk, Yossi spoke of his experience with the “Periphery Doctrine”. In this, second and last, part of the talk,…
“Israel reached out to the periphery because of Arab hostility” – Yossi Alpher (1/2) Not many people are aware of Israel’s “Periphery Doctrine”, or the “Alliance of the Periphery” developed by Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. This foreign policy initiative called for development of strategic ties with states beyond the most hostile, immediate…
Donna Miles-Mojab’s apologia for genocidal fascism Most people would make a distinction between those who deliberately throw alleged homosexuals from rooftops, actively commit genocide and ethnically cleanse regions of minority groups, enslave thousands of women and girls, and call for the murder of civilians around the…
Te Jewry – Māori and Jews Awataha Marae, on Auckland’s North Shore, may be one of the country’s coolest Māori cultural centres. The impressive centre brings together traditional Māori heritage with a creative street vibe and offers a variety of services to unify the community and…
A personal perspective on anti-Semitism in New Zealand This will be a personal account; I can’t speak for other Jews, I’m sure everyone will have their own opinions on this subject. First of all I’d like to say that I consider myself lucky. My experience as a Jew…
From Ulpan to Te Kohanga Reo to Ulpan The following is a personal account from Raoul Ketko, a colleague of the late John Rangihau, about how the two men influenced and energised each other through a mutual yearning to keep alive their respective indigenous languages and cultures. Raoul…
Te Reo Māori: More than just a language This week is Māori language week – Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. It is a pertinent, but too infrequent, reminder that all Kiwis have the simple choice of embracing the language and culture of Aotearoa’s tangata whenua (indigenous…
Elliott Abrams: “A powerful denunciation of terrorism” Elliott Abrams visited Auckland in September 2015. In this article, he analyses the recent UN report submitted by the Middle East Quartet. The Middle East Quartet’s New Report Misses the Point The Middle East Quartet has just issued its first…
Government incites, teenager murdered. When will it end? This week a 13 year old Israeli girl was brutally murdered by a 17 year old Palestinian, while asleep in her own bedroom. The vile and cowardly nature of this attack is brought home by the temerity of the perpetrator…
Dame Susan Devoy: “Their philosophy is not OK” Neo Nazi uniform has no place in a march against child abuse – Susan Devoy This month when I opened a copy of the Wairarapa Times Age, a New Zealander wearing a Neo Nazi uniform stared back at me. I’ve…