Shalom.Kiwi

Keep updated from Shalom.Kiwi:

How New Zealand pushed a trophy resolution through and scored an own goal

Since the passing of anti-Israel UN Resolution 2334 on Christmas Eve last year, co-sponsored by New Zealand, there have been questions about what kind of mandate the Foreign Minister had and the level of prior advice and knowledge of the…

Surprising admissions from New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the UN

For many New Zealanders the anti-Israel UN Resolution 2334, co-sponsored by New Zealand on the Eve of Christmas 2016, came as a shock. It is one thing for a democratic nation to criticise another democratic nation for its policies. It…

Happy Purim from Shalom.Kiwi

“They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat”, sums up most Jewish holidays fairly well. In the case of Purim, the attempted destruction of the Jews occurred in Persia, modern day Iran. The Jews survived because of an intelligent,…

Full STEAM ahead at Kadimah School

Kadimah School is about to become the first primary school in New Zealand to fully integrate the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, maths) approach into its curriculum, including Jewish Studies. “This is what makes us unique,” Kadimah School principal Sue…

Journalist’s lived experience and fact-finding shifts his perceptions

In the summer of 2015, just three days after I moved to Israel for a one-and-a-half year stint freelance reporting in the region, I wrote down my feelings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A friend of mine in New York had…

Aid offered from Government and people of “enemy” nation

For Jewish people the words “never again” have been a reminder and moral imperative to act in order to prevent another genocide after the Holocaust. The humanitarian crises on the northern border with Syria has spurred a number of Israeli…

New Zealand ties to Israel ignored

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic visit to Australia, the leaders of the two nations took the opportunity to celebrate the ties that bound them together and to re-affirm their friendship and the value of continued co-operation in business…

New Ambassador to United Nations stands up to bias

The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security. But at our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hizballah’s illegal build-up of rockets in Lebanon. It was not about the money…

English speaks up on 2334 after conversation with Turnbull

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken the opportunity of the Israeli Prime Minister’s historic visit to once again condemn the anti-Israel United Nations Security Council resolution 2334, which New Zealand co-sponsored. Turnbull wrote an opinion piece in The Australian…

Jewish Community backs HRC in hate crime reporting and no new laws

The New Zealand Jewish Council has added its voice to those government ministers opposing the idea of new hate crime legislation but support the idea of collecting more information when crimes occur. Recording hate crimes as such, and identifying the…

United Nations agency continues to incite anti-Semitic violence

A recent report presented by UN Watch to the United States congress has uncovered more than 40 alarming new cases of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school teachers in Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria inciting…

Resolution 2334 has emboldened radicals, not helped peace

New Zealand’s role in co-sponsoring United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2334 isn’t anything to cheer about for those who care more about peace than symbolism. In fact, it damages prospects for peace. We have already seen in recent days…

Prime Minister defers to Foreign Minister on UNSC resolution questions

In the last days of 2016, an open letter was sent to Prime Minister Bill English, signed by 28 organisations and 858 Jewish and non-Jewish Kiwis, condemning New Zealand’s decision to co-sponsor and vote for the biased anti-Israel United Nations…