Shalom.Kiwi

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Censorship and the Amazing Bigotry of Artsplash

De-judaisation is a term that has recently arisen to describe the growing movement to eradicate the history of the Jewish people, and in particular their millennia-long connection to the land of Israel. De-judaisation has now manifested itself on New Zealand’s…

Shifra Horn: Palestinians spurning offers of peace

Fifty years ago this week, Israelis were euphoric. Our young army had just won the Six Day War and our newly created country in our historic homeland had been spared what we thought was our inevitable death and destruction. That…

George Deek: redefining the future

Last year when I was in Israel it was my great privilege to spend a fascinating few hours with George Deek, the young Christian Arab Israeli diplomat whose speech about being a Zionist went viral around the time of the…

New Zealand director tells story of righteous couple

The other night I commented to my book club about how much literature is still written about the Second World War and the Holocaust in particular. The same is true of movies. The Zookeeper’s Wife is both a book by…

Interview: Yonatan Nir, director of ‘My Hero Brother’

Israeli director Yonatan Nir’s film, My Hero Brother, was recently screened in Auckland at the Doc Edge festival, winning Nir the festival’s Best International Director title. Due to popular demand an additional screening will be held in Auckland on Monday 5…

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Wanganui Chronicle and NZ Herald spread anti-Jewish conspiracy theory

New Zealand’s role in the passing of UN Resolution 2334 in December 2016 appeared to unleash a wave of anti-Israel bias in the New Zealand media. Particularly disturbing were examples of classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories appearing in opinion pieces. The…

Meet New Zealand’s only Jewish comic (named Debbie)

Forward Magazine’s Michael Kaminer spoke to Debbie Filler, who wanted to call her one-woman show “All My Lennys” — both Leonard Cohen and Leonard Bernstein loom large in the piece and in her life. But she settled on “I Did…

Jerusalem 50th anniversary of reunification

Fifty facts for fifty years of reunification

Today, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification (Yom Yerushalayim). Here are 50 facts highlighting the rich tapestry of Israel’s capital: Reunification Jerusalem Day is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War….

Yom Yerushalayim – impressions of Jerusalem from the 1830s

Tonight marks the start of Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), commemorating Jerusalem’s reunification in 1967 when it was acquired in a defensive war in 1967 from Jordan. Jerusalem today has a rich culture which reflects its history – as captured by…

Yad Vashem Seminar – ‘Teaching dilemmas through the Holocaust for empathy, not judgement’

Walking down the halls of Jewish history can be a daunting and emotional task, especially when you are brought face to face with those who survived some of the the worst of it. In order to truly understand, you must…

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What sort of relationship does New Zealand want with Israel?

Both Prime Minister Bill English and new Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee have said they want to repair the relationship with Israel in the wake of New Zealand co-sponsoring anti-Israel UNSC Resolution 2334. However, they seem to disagree on what that…

Sunday Star Times publishes vile Sharon Murdoch cartoon

Fairfax media outlet, Stuff, published fake news in January 2017, which led to a stream of anti-Semitic comments on social media. Now, the most recent edition of Fairfax’s Sunday Star Times has chosen to print a vile cartoon suggesting new…

Dominion Post editor launches fanciful anti-Israel polemic

Who recently stated that Israel has “warmongering tendencies” and is engaging in a “deliberate balkanisation programme aimed at sabotaging the twin-state (sic) solution”? You would be forgiven for thinking it’s Hamas, as their charter contains very similar language. But, in…