Daphne Anson: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's Planned Israel Visit Attacked by BDSers

Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Thursday, 31 March 2011

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's Planned Israel Visit Attacked by BDSers

Another country heard from in the ongoing crusade by leftist fanatics to delegitimise Israel. This time it's New Zealand - you know, the country composed of two antipodean islands that Europeans with no previous claim or title to the land or links to it whatsoever snatched from its owners, the Maori people?

Yeah, that one.

A group of anti-Israel New Zealanders suffering from Boycott Derangement Syndrome and calling themselves Global Peace and Justice Auckland made a nuisance of itself noisily and noisomely protesting the presence of Israeli tennis star Shahar Peer when she played at the ASB Classic in Auckland in 2009 and 2010.

Now this group is badgering the renowned opera star Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to cancel plans to perform at the Israel Festival towards the end of May.

Says spokesperson John Minto (who was one of those arrested by police in the video): "By going to Israel in the face of a call by Palestinians for a comprehensive boycott Kiri Te Kanawa would be turning her back on the Palestinian struggle while giving comfort to Israeli apartheid and its brutal military occupation of Palestinian land."

Dame Kiri has yet to respond to a letter to that effect that Minto sent her in February.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/4821979/Dame-Kiris-Israel-plans-attacked?comment_msg=posted#post_comment

5 comments:

Shirl in Oz1 April 2011 at 07:32
I’ve had a number of run-ins with the NZ print media, due to their blatant antisemitism. Especially with Matt McCarten of the NZ Herald. The first time being after the incident with the Mavi Marmara. I wrote a letter of complaint to the Editor, who didn’t even have the courtesy to reply !!

“McCarten has expressed strong criticism of the state of Israel and has publicly declared that Israel is "a terrorist state". In January 2008, McCarten wrote (in a column in the New Zealand Herald) that:
The truth is Israel is a terrorist state and is able to wage crimes on an innocent people because it is funded and abetted by the world's only superpower. Watching the television images of the Palestinians breaking through to freedom surely must make everyone in the world realise we are being sold a great lie about Israel wanting to negotiate peace.
In response to this article, Israel's Ambassador to Australia and non-resident Ambassador to New Zealand, Yuval Rotem, sharply criticized McCarten and accused him of "blunt anti-Israel sentiment which is a camouflage for anti-Semitism".
Comparing the situation of Gaza with that of the Warsaw Ghetto in occupied Poland, McCarten has also suggested that the next move of Israeli leaders could be "to follow the example of the Nazis who in the end massacred everyone".
McCarten reportedlygarnered some criticism in January 2009 when, as weekly columnist for the New Zealand Herald, he accused Israel of ordering its soldiers to “slaughter and mutilate hundreds of citizens trapped on the Gaza Strip.” McCarten also wrote that “The Nazis used a similar policy during World War II in their occupied territories. The Israelis are getting the same results the Nazis got -- their victims increase their hatred and determination to seek revenge.” McCarten further stated Israeli politicians' "prattling about the need to kill and maim thousands of citizens in their campaign for democracy and peace against barbarism would be comical, if it wasn't so outrageous" “

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_McCarten
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Shirl in Oz1 April 2011 at 07:33
Continued from above............

There have been some bad incidents there involving Israeli tourists, who were literally thrown out of shops

This was a well publicised one last year.
“Fane was delivering his stand-up comedy routine to advertising bosses at an event in Auckland on June 23 when he asked the audience, “Would you roast an HIV person? “You’d roast them because they’re expendable, like the Jews. Hitler had a right, you know.””
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/06/29/2739792/comedian-apologizes-for-anti-semitic-jokes
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Daphne Anson1 April 2011 at 08:22
Shirlee,you are a veritable mine of information.
Many thanks indeed for this.
I do know that NZ has not been the warmest friend of Israel in recent years ...
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Anonymous1 April 2011 at 18:02
Agreed, Minto is deranged but honestly,

no previous claim or title to the land or links to it whatsoever snatched from its owners, the Maori people?

from an Australian, bit rich there, from an Australian.
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Daphne Anson1 April 2011 at 18:18
Well, yeah - but I wanted to ram the point home!
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Islamophobia is a false allegation of prejudice which is deployed to silence rational criticism based on actual facts about attitudes and practices within the Islamic world.
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The division of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into three separate areas “A”, “B” and “C” was agreed on by Israel and the PLO pursuant to the Oslo Accords.
95% of the West Bank Arabs live in Areas A and B and their daily lives are under the total administration and control of the PLO since the Palestinian Authority was disbanded by Abbas in January 2013. The PLO has total security control in A and shares security control in B with Israel. Israel has total administrative and security control in C.
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Jews were given the legal right to settle in the West Bank under article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter. They did so for decades until they were driven out in 1947 and not able to return there until 1967.
There are Arab roads only in the West Bank that Jews are not allowed to use. Jews are also forbidden from entering Area “A”. Selling land to Jews is forbidden by the PLO under pain of death. The PLO runs the daily lives of 95% of the West Bank Arabs and Hamas runs the daily lives of 100% of the Gazan Arabs. They have been under occupation – and subjugation – by these two evil groups for the last ten years and given no say in their future or any opportunity to elect others to lead them following the disastrous political decisions of their leaders over the past ten years. Hamas and the PLO do not accept the continued existence of a Jewish State and call for its disappearance.
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