If you\u2019re over 50 you might remember an old arcade game called \u2018whack-a-mole\u2019 in which players used a mallet to hit toy moles which appeared at random. It occurs to me that this is also a pretty good metaphor to describe advocating for the modern state of Israel \u2013 because just as one issue seems to disappear another pops up to take its place. Except, unlike whack-a-mole, where there was only one mole to deal with at a time \u2013 attacks on Israel are endless and often happening at the same time on multiple fronts and emanating from multiple parties.<\/p>\n
This past month has been no different.<\/p>\n
Take the news, a couple of weeks ago, that Immigration New Zealand had published a \u2018fact sheet\u2019 on its website<\/a>\u00a0which contained politicised distortions of the truth and totally erased Israel from the map. This \u2018fact sheet\u2019 (which has now been removed following outrage on social media) claimed that its purpose was to inform people about Palestinian refugees coming to New Zealand. However it contained significant errors of fact including a map which labelled the whole of modern-day Israel as \u201cPalestine\u201d; a totally fictitious description of East Jerusalem as \u2018the designated capital of the State of Palestine\u2019; and an emotive description of Israel\u2019s \u201ceconomic sanctions and a blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza<\/em>\u201d which failed to mention that Hamas is a terror group and that\u00a0the blockade was put in place to prevent rocket attacks<\/a>. It also failed to mention that the Egyptians also have a blockade on Gaza – or that Israel facilitates the transport of\u00a0thousands of trucks carrying aid and provisions<\/a>\u00a0into Gaza each week. We\u2019ve written to the Government and the Ministry seeking an explanation of this document \u2013 but we\u2019re yet to receive a response.<\/p>\n There was also the news that\u00a0the New Zealand Government had supported a recent UN World Health Organisation (WHO) resolution which singled out Israel<\/a> for the \u201chealth conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories, East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan\u201d. The resolution points the finger at Israel for increased health and mental health issues for Palestinians stemming from \u201ctrauma injuries and exposure to violence during the \u2018Great March of Return\u2019 \u2013 but completely ignores the leading role <\/a>of Hamas and other terrorist groups in orchestrating that march and encouraging violent acts, by demonstrators, as they approached the Gaza-Israel border. The Resolution also failed to mention that health conditions in the Palestinian territories are the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority \u2013 which receives substantial international support to provide these, and other services. Again, we\u2019ve written to the Government seeking an explanation of their support of this resolution \u2013 but we\u2019re yet to receive a response.<\/p>\n