Critics say defence minister's proposal for ‘humanitarian city' points to longer-term intentions
There is no ceasefire yet in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, no clarity on how to address the territory's sprawling humanitarian catastrophe, and no road map for reconciling Israel with the
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Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Government Told NZ Should Not Follow Australia's Lead To Criminalise Support For Palestine
14 July 2025 Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is urging the New Zealand government NOT to follow Australia's example with measures which would effectively criminalise the Palestine solidarity movement. The Australian government has announced plans to implement recommendations from its anti-semitism envoy which PSNA says creates a 'hierarchy of racism' with anti-semitism at the top, while Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism hardly feature. However we know at least some of the appalling anti-semitic attacks in Sydney have been bogus. PSNA Co-chair John Minto says PSNA has no tolerance for anti-semitism in Aotearoa New Zealand, or anywhere else. 'But equally there should be no place for any other kind of racism, such as Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Our government must speak out against all forms of discrimination and support all communities when racism rears its ugly head. Let's not forget the murderous attacks on the Christchurch mosques.' Minto says the Australian measures will inevitably be used to criminalise the Palestinian solidarity movement across Australia. 'We see it happening in the US, to attack and demonise support for Palestinian human rights by the Trump administration. We see it orchestrated in the UK to shut down any speech which Prime Minister Starmer and the Israeli government don't like.' PSNA agrees with the Jewish Council of Australia who have warned the Australian government adopting these measures could result in 'undermining Australia's democratic freedoms, inflaming community divisions, and entrenching selective approaches to racism that serve political agendas' Minto says the free speech restrictions in the US, UK and Australia have nothing to do with what people usually understand as anti-semitism. 'The drive comes from the Israeli government. They see making anti-semitism charges as the most effective means of preventing anyone publicly pointing to the genocide its armed forces are perpetrating in Gaza.' 'The definition of anti-semitism, usually inserted into codes of ethics or legislation, is from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The IHRA definition includes eleven examples. Seven of the examples are about criticising Israel.' 'It's quite clear the Israeli campaign is to distract the community from Israel's horrendous war crimes, such as the round-the-clock mass killing and mass starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, and deflect calls for sanctions against Israel.' 'Already we can see in both the UK and US, that people have been arrested for saying things about Israel which would not have been declared illegal if they'd said it about other countries, including their own.' Minto says there are already worrying signs that the New Zealand government and New Zealand media and police are falling into the trap. 'Just over the past few weeks, there has been an unusually wide-ranging mainstream media focus on anti-semitism; At least one opinion piece in the Stuff newspapers from NZ Jewish Council spokesperson Ben Kepes on anti-semitism here A major interview in Stuff on anti-semitism with NZJC spokesperson Ben Kepes A New Zealand Herald opinion piece from NZJC spokesperson Juliet Moses A New Zealand Herald podcast featuring Holocaust Foundation spokesperson Deborah Hart. The Holocaust Foundation is partly funded by the Israeli Embassy. An enthusiastic 1News item on the latest appeal to the government to adopt similar measures here to those taken in Australia (TVNZ One News 13 July 2025) Stories highlighting anti-semitic graffiti in Wellington – numerous reports along these lines Stuff newspapers highlighting the case of an assault on a visiting Israeli after an altercation in Christchurch with the accused held overnight, denied bail and the police claiming it was a 'hate crime' However, our politicians and media have been silent about; An attack which knocked a young Palestinian woman to the ground when she was using a microphone to speak during an Auckland march An attack where a Palestine supporter was kicked and knocked to the pavement outside the Israeli embassy in Wellington. The accused was wearing an Israeli flag. He was not held in custody and the Post newspaper has reported neither the arrest nor the resulting charge (this case is due in court 15 July) An attack on a Palestine solidarity marshal in Christchurch who was punched in the face, in front of police, but no action taken. An attack in Christchurch when a Destiny Church member kicked a solidarity marshal in the chest (no action taken by police) Anti-Palestinian racist attacks on the home of a Palestine solidarity activist in New Plymouth. One of our supporters has had their front fence spraypainted twice with pro-Israel graffiti and their car tyres slashed twice (4 tyres in total) and had vile defamatory material circulated in their neighbourhood. (The police say they cannot help) The frequent condemnation of anti-semitism by the previous Chief Human Rights Commissioner, but his refusal to condemn the deep-seated anti-Palestinian racism of the New Zealand Jewish Council and Israel Institute of New Zealand. The refusal of the Human Rights Commission to publicly correct false statements it published in the Post newspaper which claimed anti-semitism was increasing, when in fact the evidence it was using was that the rate of incidents had declined. Minto says in each of the cases above there would have been far more attention from politicians, the police and the media had the victims been Israeli supporters. 'Meanwhile, both our government and the New Zealand Jewish Council have refused to condemn Israel's blatant war crimes. There is silence on the mass killing, mass starvation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. The Jewish Council and our government stand together and refuse to hold Israel's racist apartheid regime to account in just about any way.' 'This refusal to condemn what genocide scholars, including several Israeli genocide academics, have labelled as a 'text-book case of genocide', brings shame on both the New Zealand Jewish Council and the New Zealand government.' 'Adding to the clear perception of appalling bias on the part of our government, both the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, have met with New Zealand Jewish Council spokespeople over the war in Gaza.' 'But both have refused to meet with representatives of Palestinian New Zealanders, or the huge number of Jewish supporters of the Palestine solidarity movement.' 'New Zealand must stand up and be counted against genocide wherever it appears and no matter who the victims are.'
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Sectarian clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias have killed at least 30 people
Israel has threatened to intervene in Syria in defence of the Druze and has said it will not allow the Syrian military to deploy south of the capital, Damascus. The strikes were launched after the Syrian Government sent troops to Sweida today NZT to restore order as sectarian clashes entered a second day. The Israeli military said it struck the Syrian tanks because their presence in southern Syria 'may pose a threat to the State of Israel'. The tanks were advancing towards Sweida, the statement said and were targeted to stop their arrival in the area. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the strikes were a 'message and a clear warning to the Syrian regime - we will not allow harm to be done to the Druze community in Syria'. The clashes in the Druze-majority city of Sweida initially broke out yesterday in the Maqous neighbourhood of the city, Syria's Interior Ministry said. It marked the first time that months of simmering tensions in the wider province had reached the city itself. More than 30 people were killed and nearly 100 were injured, according to a preliminary count from the ministry. The clashes expanded as local armed groups began fighting the government forces. Khalid Nemer, a Druze activist in Sweida, said at least 150 Druze have been killed in the clashes. The Washington Post could not independently verify the toll. 'The situation is very bad. Since the morning, there have been attempts to storm several axes by government forces as well as shelling operations and armed clashes,' said Rayan Maarouf, a researcher from Sweida who runs the local news site Sweida 24. Some Druze have described the government intervention as an attack on the Druze people, rather than an effort to restore order. 'They entered the administrative borders last night under the pretext of protection, but they proceeded to bombard our people in the border villages and supported the takfiri gangs with their heavy weapons and drones,' influential Druze spiritual leader Hikmat Hijiri said in a statement, using a term for radical Islamist groups. While Hijiri has vehemently opposed the new Islamist authorities, Druze spiritual leaders in Syria called for calm today and urged Damascus to intervene. 'Blood is everywhere from both sides,' said a 34-year-old Druze resident of Sweida, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons. People were sequestered in their homes 'in a state of panic' because of the fighting, she said, adding that she fled the city and headed to Iraq today. The violence began when a Druze businessman was ambushed, robbed and humiliated with sectarian slurs by an armed group, according to Malik Abu al-Khair, the leader of the Druze al-Liwa party in Syria. Local reports said the incident at the weekend sparked a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings between the Druze and members of a Bedouin tribe before the clashes broke out. Syrian Government troops went to Sweida to 'begin a direct intervention,' the Interior Ministry said. Efforts to integrate the armed factions of Syrian minorities - including the Druze and the Kurds - into the new Syrian military have continually hit stumbling blocks since the overthrow of the regime of Bashar al-Assad last year. Anas Khattab, Syria's Interior Minister, said in a statement that the 'absence of state institutions, especially military and security institutions, is a major cause of the ongoing tensions in Sweida and its countryside'. 'The only solution is to reactivate these institutions to ensure civil peace,' he said. The ongoing violence follows deadly incidents in April and May in which dozens were killed on the outskirts of Damascus and Sweida in clashes between Druze gunmen and Islamist militants backing the new Syrian Government. The fighting prompted Israeli intervention with several strikes in support of the Druze, including one near the presidential palace in Damascus. Some Syrian Druze distanced themselves from the Israeli action, while others, such as Hijiri, welcomed it, telling the Washington Post in May that Israel was 'not the enemy'. The violence subsided after a deal was reached to put Druze fighters in charge of security in Sweida.
Otago Daily Times
10 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Leader nuclear ‘red button' concerns
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES When it comes to those who have the power to push "the big red button" and start a nuclear war, it has always been hoped that cool heads will prevail. But a University of Otago study shows there is growing concern about the leaders of nuclear-armed nations around the world, and how their health may be affecting their decision-making. Menachem Begin. The Doomsday Clock now sits at 89 seconds to midnight — the closest it has been to catastrophe since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the United States and Russia were brought to the brink of nuclear war. The closer it moves to midnight, the closer humanity is to the end of the world. University of Otago (Wellington) public health researcher Prof Nick Wilson said the world was again perilously close to the edge and, given that many former leaders of the world's nine nuclear-armed nations were impaired by health conditions while in office, there were concerns about their decision-making abilities while they had access to nuclear weapon launch codes. Richard Nixon. Prof Wilson, fellow researcher Associate Prof George Thomson and independent researcher Dr Matt Boyd found many of the leaders had multiple serious health issues while in office, including dementia, personality disorders, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. Their study analysed the health information of 51 deceased leaders of China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Prof Wilson said 15 leaders had confirmed or possible health issues which impaired their performance and likely hastened their departure. John F. Kennedy. In one case, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin had severe depression and spent his last year as leader isolated in his home. "Impairment during crises was also seen in the case of Richard Nixon's bouts of heavy drinking, including during a nuclear crisis involving the Middle East." He said there were also cases where health information about leaders had been kept secret, including United States President John F. Kennedy, whose aides concealed that he had Addison's disease; and Ronald Reagan, whose administration hid the extent of his injuries after he was shot in 1981, and the likely signs of his dementia near the end of his term. Francois Mitterrand. Prof Wilson said Mr Kennedy's performance was likely impaired by Addison's disease, back pain and his use of anabolic steroids and amphetamines in 1961 when he authorised the failed CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. In turn, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's poor mental health probably contributed to him triggering both the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis. And long-serving French President Francois Mitterrand clung to power until the end of his term in 1995, despite having advanced prostate cancer and his doctor concluding in late 1994 that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties. A study of members of the British parliament also found they were 34% more likely to experience mental health problems than other high-income earners due to the stress of the job. Nikita Khrushchev. Following the rise in international instability caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it had become even more important to ensure there was good leadership and governance in those countries with nuclear weapons, Prof Wilson said. "This is particularly the case for the United States, where a leader can in principle authorise the release of nuclear weapons on their own — a situation referred to as a 'nuclear monarchy'." He said there was a range of measures which could reduce global security risks from leaders whose judgement was in question. Ronald Reagan. They included removing nuclear weapons from "high alert" status, adopting "no first use" policies where nations only used nuclear weapons in retaliation, ensuring any weapon launches needed authorisation by multiple people and progressing nuclear disarmament treaties. Requirements for medical and psychological assessments could be introduced for leaders before and during their terms, and democracies could also consider introducing term limits for their leaders, as well as recall systems, so voters could petition for politicians to step down, he said.
