That was the year of the 70th anniversary of the modern State of Israel. It was also about a year after the Israel Institute of NZ had been established and I was asked to be the MC for an outdoor event at Silo Park in Auckland.
But as our peaceful event kicked off, we were interrupted by a Pro-Palestinian group, who stood about 50 metres away banging drums, blowing vuvuzelas, and generally creating mayhem. They didn’t attempt to engage – their sole purpose was to drown out our speeches and try to ruin the event. I was still naive at the time and I remember being confused as to why people wouldn’t want to talk and why they wouldn’t respect the free speech of others. Now, of course, I understand that this is their modus operandi. ‘Talk’ requires an intelligent response and a cohesive argument and the pro-Palestinian movement (which has now morphed into more general support for Islamic extremism) has neither. Instead it is built entirely on mindless slogans and the gullibility of the young, the easily influenced, the woke virtue signallers and the useful idiots.
But to be fair – their approach has had some success in closing down debate and it has occurred to me, in more recent years, that we need to learn from it. Which is why I was delighted that Yifat Goddard and Nigel Woodley decided to hold a pro-Israel rally on Parliament Grounds in Wellington, recently, to counter a rally of pro-Islamic Extremists which was organised for the purpose of presenting a list of ‘demands’ to the Government.
And it worked.
Around 700 supporters of Israel and the Jewish people turned up (in contrast to about 300 pro-Islamic Extremists) and we simply drowned out what I’m sure its organisers were hoping would be a PR coup. The effect of our stand – which was peaceful but loud – was immediate and clearly apparent in the anxiety and alarm which spread through the participants and speakers in the Extremist rally. After a few inaudible speeches, and after being subjected to yet another powerful pro-Israel Maori haka, they finished early and scurried away.
The lessons are obvious.
If we’re going to hold rallies we need to be prepared for these Extremists and play them at their own game. We need to turn out in numbers and we need to drown out their attempts to speak hate and spread misinformation. As we saw earlier this week – evil can’t survive when it is confronted with Truth.
By the way – as the final speaker at the recent event, I issued a few ‘demands’ of my own to Prime Minister and the Government:
But to be fair – their approach has had some success in closing down debate and it has occurred to me, in more recent years, that we need to learn from it. Which is why I was delighted that Yifat Goddard and Nigel Woodley decided to hold a pro-Israel rally on Parliament Grounds in Wellington, recently, to counter a rally of pro-Islamic Extremists which was organised for the purpose of presenting a list of ‘demands’ to the Government.
And it worked.
Around 700 supporters of Israel and the Jewish people turned up (in contrast to about 300 pro-Islamic Extremists) and we simply drowned out what I’m sure its organisers were hoping would be a PR coup. The effect of our stand – which was peaceful but loud – was immediate and clearly apparent in the anxiety and alarm which spread through the participants and speakers in the Extremist rally. After a few inaudible speeches, and after being subjected to yet another powerful pro-Israel Maori haka, they finished early and scurried away.
The lessons are obvious.
If we’re going to hold rallies we need to be prepared for these Extremists and play them at their own game. We need to turn out in numbers and we need to drown out their attempts to speak hate and spread misinformation. As we saw earlier this week – evil can’t survive when it is confronted with Truth.
By the way – as the final speaker at the recent event, I issued a few ‘demands’ of my own to Prime Minister and the Government:
1. that the NZ Government recognises the right of Israel to defend itself and make decisions in the best interests of its national security
2. that the NZ Government rejects the International Court of Justice definition of genocide, as it has been applied to Israel, as it has no credibility amongst international law experts
3. that Mr Luxon revoke his foolish statement indicating that New Zealand would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to visit our country
4. that the NZ Government immediately cease funding the terrorist organisation UNRWA and, instead, lobbies for the permanent dismantling of this corrupt body
5. that the NZ Government renounce any UN vote which supports the dividing of Israeli territory
6. that the NZ Government rejects any resolution calling for a ‘two state solution’ until the Palestinians can demonstrate that they can maintain a long term and sustainable peace
7. that the New Zealand Government reform our Universities so as to ensure that they do not continue to be a hotbed of hatred and antisemitic activism
8. that State-owned broadcasters (TVNZ and Radio New Zealand) be required to treat issues in the Middle East with balance and objectivity and immediately cease their one-sided narrative
9. that the New Zealand Government denounce antisemitic terrorism, such as that which took place in Melbourne recently, together with a firm undertaking that such acts will not be tolerated here
10. that the New Zealand Government calls for the immediate release of the hostages taken by terrorists on 7 October
11. that the New Zealand Government returns to our traditional position of support of our friends and allies in Israel
Apart from #7, on which decisive action appears to have been taken in the last few days, I’m not holding my breath.
Ashley Church is former CEO of the Property Institute of New Zealand and is an active social commentator. This article was first published HERE
9 comments:
Ashley. I strongly recommended you change your medication.
Read the real news (i.e. not CNN, BBC, and the "bought and paid for lot", by the previous worse PM NZ has ever endured) of genocide by the Israelis. Which is spreading to Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Get your facts sorted and correct.
You are condoning genocide.
Excellent article Ashley. In response to Anonymous, I fail to see how Israel responding to unprovoked attacks from Lebanon and Yemen is wrong let alone a war crime.
Re: 5, which territory? The territory awarded when the modern State of Israel came into existence in 1948, or the extra swathes of land the Zionists (meaning those who regard the only acceptable borders to be those at the time of King David) claim?
Rothschilds parasitical Zionist Israel, is non-semitic, genocidal, apartheid occupying terrorists, supported and funded by the west.
As the bloke on the Clapham Bus – having neither empathy nor hostility to Jews or Muslim (though I do concede having had NZ government approved contracts with Iran businessmen, this shite version is the most perfidious I have ever dealt with – includes 2 years in/out of Syria 2007/8- and 6-years Hon Consul Morocco):
1 What Netanyahu has done and is doing to Palestine, is genocide.
2 Netanyahu has members of his closest cabal – opoosed to his overkill in Palestine.
3 Netanyahu should be indicted as a war criminal – as Tony Blair is deemed to be by many (saved by the UK Judges saying UK law does not apply) re WOMD which did not exist in Iraqi
4 Netanyahu however would be remiss if he did not take the Golan Heights – just as the Kurds would be if they don’t take the north east corner of Syria –which is a classic case of “be careful for what you wish” for-
5 Turkey who facilitated the rebirth of ISIS as the salvation for Syria but gave their historical adversary the Kurds – their own land.
“They didn’t attempt to engage … I remember being confused as to why people wouldn’t want to talk and why they wouldn’t respect the free speech of others. Now, of course, I understand that this is their modus operandi. ‘Talk’ requires an intelligent response and a cohesive argument … Instead it is built entirely on mindless slogans and the gullibility of the young, the easily influenced …. and the useful idiots.”
If this is the case, Ashley, then the pro-Palestinians have simply taken a leaf out of the age old Jewish/Israeli playbook as to how to never debate with critics but rather to obfuscate, slander, punish and (in some places) criminalise criticism of Jews and Israel.
Critics of Israel and disproportionate Jewish influence in the West (when their arguments have been side-stepped and instead met with the most banal and platitudinous responses) are habitually denounced as “vile anti-semites” who are “obsessed with Jews" and the like. Such is the very low quality of their arguments, necessarily requiring censorship.
Why to the rely on censorship? Because any significant level of actual and open debate on the matter would be very bad for Jews and Israel, so indefensible are their positions and their claims when subjected to fair and open critique.
The argument seems to be that it hurts Jewish feelings if there is anything less than reverance for them. No doubt this is the case, but I care more about what is true than what hurts Jewish feelings.
Then at the institutional level you’ve got the Jewish ADL acting as “trusted flaggers” and determining the terms of service (i.e. what can and can’t be said) on the biggest social media sites. Recently in the United States, the Jewish Lobby has passed (through their proxies in Congress) a law to ban the TikTok app – not because of its Chinese connections (which is the pretext) but because TikTok was not censored by the ADL, therefore the anti-Israel content on the site was very significant, and manipulating public sentiment to benefit Israel is a crucial element of the information war.
Before the pro-Jewish side of the argument accuse their opponents of bad faith, a reluctance towards intelligent engagement and dishonest tactics, they should first ensure that they don’t do exactly the same thing but on scale orders of magnitude greater.
Completely with you Ashley.Thank you for your post. Wish I had been at the rally in Parliament - can someone include me on the mailing list?
Bad cess to all the critics of Israel - no they're not perfect or blameless - Anybody this side of Heaven?
But by God! compared to their enemies, they are wonderful!!! Hamas and Hesbollah and Isis and the rulers of Iran - are , in my deeply considered opinion, pure evil and the scourge of humankind.
ISIS is the odd one out in your list, Anonymous 216, and one that Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian political elite would agree with you about as being "pure evil".
Madam - seeking the truth. Was it not Joseph Goebbels who insisted, “truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, truth is the greatest enemy of the State”,
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