Anti-Semitic backlash in New Zealand raises concerns for Jewish Leader
New Zealand is no longer a tolerant, prejudice free country for Jewish people following a report that antisemitism is on the rise according the NZJC.
Stephen Goodman
New Zealand Jewish Council president Stephen Goodman says hate speech towards Jews was particularly prevalent on social media. He says those responsible needs to better understand the implications of their actions.
“A lot of antisemitism comes out of ignorance and thinking this is a fashionable thing to do. I don’t think that legislating really works. The real issue is education,” Goodman says.
A recent event in Queenstown has involved police who made contact with two men after antisemitic posters were placed around Queenstown Resort College.
A security camera image posted earlier on the Southern District Police Facebook page shows two men – one in dark glasses, camo pants and wearing a “Trump” t-shirt – entering the tertiary institute last week. The photo has since been removed from the police Facebook page.
News source Stuff was alerted anonymously to the Facebook page, which showed photos of the posters containing Nazi swastikas and anti-Jewish slogans. The images have since been removed.
Queenstown Resort College
The page’s spokesman, Adam Holland, said he was waiting for police to get back in contact about the matter but says it was “absolutely ridiculous” police were looking into the matter, he said.
“This looks like freedom of speech not hate speech.”
Senior Sergeant Paula Enoka says the matter is being be followed up.
Queenstown Resort College chief executive Charlie Phillips said the two men put the posters up and, once alerted to them, staff took them down and contacted police.
“It’s unrelated to anything at the college. We didn’t recognise the people,” Phillips said.
Mr Goodman’s response to the event raises concern around the motivation for such an attack saying: “I’m not sure what would have caused this, there are no Jewish students at the college.
“This sort of thing is not acceptable in New Zealand,” says Goodman.
This incident comes after an open letter signed by 27 prominent New Zealanders warned freedom of speech was under threat in the country’s universities.
It might be nest for all of the Jewish People to leave New Zealand as soon as possible. Ever since that UN vote, I have dumped every drop of New Zealand wine down the toilet. No more purchasing any products from any country that hate’s the Jewish People. I own four homes around the world, and each home will never pour any wine or have any product that comes from New Zealand.
These are neo-Nazis, doing what they do best, and has nothing to do with any UN vote. And I don’t believe that NZ’s vote inspired those neo-Nazis.
But what’s really frightening is that this Stuff bloke reckons Nazi anti- Semitic posters should be free speech, and those prominent NZers reckon that free speech is under attack. I hope that this incident changes their minds.
Was this a satire?
On each Kiwi scumbag, there are thousand on tolerant ones.
Anyway, I will enjoy the Kosher Kiwi wines this Pesach!
New Zealand ‘opened a can of worms’ in the days immediately prior to their tenure as members of the U.N. Security Council ending.
Those ‘worms’ will cause more trouble for New Zealand before they get them back into the tin! If they ever do. I hope for their sake that they realize the magnitude of that error of judgment. If they don’t, they will ‘reap a whirlwind’. There are many New Zealand citizens desperately concerned for their nation. The unthinking have no idea what they have unwittingly unleashed on themselves.
How come now days that when you can make Antisemitic statements you call it freedom of speech. I am sorry hate speech is hate is hate speech and you cannot call it by any other name.