Media Release on NZ vote in favour of biased anti-Israel WHO vote – May 2019

Media Release – 31 May 2019

The Zionist Federation of New Zealand strongly condemns New Zealand again voting in favour of yet another anti-Israel resolution, this time at the WHO on 22 May which denounced Israel over “Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.” That Israel should be singled out at all, let alone be the only nation state singled out at the annual assembly of the UN’s World Health Organization in a resolution is biased, outrageous and pure lies with the intent to demonise Israel.

Israel has treated hundreds of civilians injured in the Syrian civil war, at no cost to the patient; patients who without Israel’s help would have had their quality of life and / or  life expectancy severely reduced. According to Palestinian Authority figures, over the last decade Palestinian Arabs in East Jerusalem and the “occupied Palestinian territory” have seen their population grow by 27% to 4.8 million, their infant mortality rate decrease, and their current life expectancy increase to 75yrs. Statistics which are far better than many other Middle East countries. The facts speak for themselves and once again show the institutional antisemitism of the United Nations.

That New Zealand, which supposedly prides itself on fairness and even handedness would vote for such a resolution, as opposed to joining the ranks of countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Honduras and Hungary is nothing short of immoral and perpetuates the antisemitic bias of the United Nations, at a time when antisemitism across the world is increasing, when Jews are advised by German authorities not to wear Kippot (skull caps) in public. We expect and demand more of the New Zealand Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and of the New Zealand Ambassador to the UN, the Hon Craig Hawke.

ends.