By J-Wire Newsdesk…
The New Zealand Jewish Council has condemned the inflammatory comments and inaccurate statements made by two Green MPs in recent days, which risk stoking antisemitism and endangering Jews in New Zealand.
Following Saturday’s anti-Israel rally, Green MP Ricardo Menendez March posted on Twitter and Facebook photographs of himself and other Green MPs with the caption “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
This slogan is used by Hamas, the Islamist group that governs Gaza whose charter calls for the elimination of Israel and murder of Jews everywhere and whose military wing is classed as a terrorist organisation in New Zealand. The slogan is widely understood to be a call for the elimination of the State of Israel and is considered to be antisemitic. Despite an outcry on social media, Mr Menendez March has not removed the posts, and they have been shared by at least one other MP including co-leader Marama Davidson.
New Zealand Jewish Council president Stephen Goodman said, “Taken at its most mild possible interpretation, this slogan erases the right of Jews to self-determination. At its most pernicious (and in the way intended by Hamas), it promotes genocide and ethnic cleansing.
“It is an outrage that a member of a political party in New Zealand would use this slogan and that other members of the same party, including its co-leader, would endorse it by retweeting it. It is arguably incitement to violence.”
Separately, Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has made several comments about the conflict that contain such significant errors of fact and serious omissions it should raise questions about her suitability for her role as Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson and her credibility…
Read the full article on J-Wire here.
