Growing up in Auckland, I knew I was a bit different. Christmas wasn’t a big deal for me. My family didn’t have a Christmas tree and a wreath on our door, and 25 December was the most boring day of the year. Often, we would travel to a holiday destination …

Last week, Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere caused outrage when he uttered the Nazi salutation “sieg heil” in a debate with Mayor Phil Goff. Tamihere claims his point was that Goff is like Hitler because he purports to dictate what speech is acceptable for Aucklanders to hear.  And of course, the …

I’m no biblical scholar, but if I was asked to name great Jewish prophets off the top of my head, Moses, Abraham and Jonah would likely get a mention. Gideon Levy, the Israeli commentator, would not. Nevertheless, on Levy’s visit to New Zealand in December, the unctuous RNZ interviewer Wallace …

Lorde has announced that she has decided to cancel her show in Tel Aviv, Israel, after predictable calls for her to do so. She was told that to perform there would be to “break the boycott”. A boycott that is imposed by a fanatical fringe who try to bully everyone …

Sometimes, when considering the past, it is tempting to indulge in a “what if” thought experiment. 2017 is a year of milestones in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is 50 years since the 6-Day War, 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, which was the British Government’s statement of support for the …

I remember the day when, as a child, I walked into an elevator with my sister and parents, and as the doors were closing, my sister decided to test out whether the doors would open up if she stuck her arm through them.  They didn’t.  There was a moment of panic …

 I am a Zionist. If I announced that, on walking into a party in New Zealand, I would quite likely get a worse reaction than if I declared that I am a P-addicted, ISIS sympathising prostitute. It’s not the kind of thing that one can state in polite company, at …

In July I went on a life-changing trip to Israel. This was my fourth trip to Israel, but I have not been there for 17 years. I have written in the past about other aspects and experiences of this trip.  I have not focussed on Israelis themselves, Israeli society, and …

Lawfare Many New Zealanders would probably have thought about the threat terrorism poses to us, and how that threat can be managed.  The state of Israel has been at the forefront of the battle against terrorism for decades. That battle takes different forms: through diplomacy, intelligence, security forces, cyber security …