Israel-New Zealand relations
Encyclopedia
Israel-New Zealand relations are the foreign relations between Israel
and New Zealand
.
on all Commonwealth
nations to abstain on the resolution. New Zealand recognised the State of Israel in January 1949.
New Zealand has an honorary consulate in Tel Aviv
and Israel has an embassy resident in Wellington
with an honorary consulate in Auckland
. The Israeli embassy in Wellington
was closed in October 2002 for financial reasons, but later reopened in 2010.
New Zealand was accredited to Israel from The Hague
in 1986. The accreditation was moved to Ankara
, Turkey
in February 1996. The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) regional office in Dubai
and the NZTE office in Ankara, cover Israel. Gad Propper was appointed New Zealand's Honorary Consul to Israel in June 1998. Israel appointed a new ambassador to New Zealand, Yuval Rotem in September 2007, also based in Canberra.
NZ Foreign Minister Phil Goff
visited Israel from May 26–29 in 2003. New Zealand’s Minister for Research, Science and Technology, Pete Hodgson
, made a technical working visit to Israel from November 26–December 3 in 2000. A delegation of four senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials traveled to New Zealand for the inaugural New Zealand-Israel Foreign Ministry Consultations on September 11, 2003. A Knesset delegation visited New Zealand in August 2001.
In 2007, Israel's new ambassador to Australia
and New Zealand commented that he wanted to hire a staffer who was "an indigenous New Zealander... a non-Jewish Maori...". New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner responded to the comment by clarifying that it was unlawful in New Zealand (and Australia) to hire somebody on the basis of ethnicity.
and the New Zealand and Israel Trade Association, known as NZITA, was established. When NZITA was first created it was managed by Ezra Karon and led by Auckland businessmen Mike Nathan and David Nathan.
New Zealand sent about $12.5 million of exports to Israel in 2002 and received around $60.1 million of imports, including fertilizers, plastic and soap. By 2005 annual exports from New Zealand to Israel reached NZ$16.834 million. Exports were mostly milk and cream (13.8%), electronic circuit boards (11.1%), preserved meat or offal products (10.9%), casein (10.8%), and medications (7.4%). Exports from Israel to New Zealand, which were mostly manufactured goods like steam turbines (11.3%), industrial water heaters (5.2%), plastic sheets and films (4.7%), telecommunications equipment (4.7%), and inkjet printers (3.8%), reached NZ$88.15 million. Fonterra
, New Zealand's largest dairy
company, is involved in a joint venture
with the Israeli cooperative
Tnuva
which opened in December 2001. Agricultural exports to Israel increased in 2005, but protective barriers prevent a significant trade in agricultural products from developing. Visitor visa waivers are in place to increase business travel and tourism.
fraud
in Auckland
.
New Zealand police alleged that a third Israeli citizen, former Israeli diplomat Zev William Barkan, was the one who actually tried to get the passport. Tony Resnick, a former paramedic with St John Ambulance, which the cerebral palsy sufferer also belonged to, is also believed to have been involved. Barkan and Resnick were never found, but are believed to have left New Zealand before Kelman and Cara were caught. The New Zealand government said there was strong evidence that the two men were Mossad
agents and Prime Minister Helen Clark
said:
Kelman and Cara, who denied membership in the Mossad but pleaded guilty to trying to enter the country illegally and working with organized criminal gangs, were sentenced to six months in jail. They were also ordered to pay US $32,500 to a cerebral palsy
charity
because they tried to collect a passport in the name of a wheelchair-using cerebral palsy victim.
After serving either two or three months they were deported.
Cara, who visited New Zealand 24 times between October 2000 and March 2005, claims he was working as a travel agent.
expressed sorrow, and said that Israel would work to repair the relationship. Dr. Alon Liel, former Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said that Israel must protest the sanctions, "for if not, it's a silent admission that the two men worked for the Mossad."
Jewish graves in Wellington
were vandalized with Swastika
s and Nazi slogan
s carved into and around 16 Jewish graves. David Zwartz, a leader in the Jewish community in New Zealand who was appointed as the Honorary Consul from Israel to New Zealand in 2003, said:
The Israeli Deputy Chief of Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi
, was denied permission to visit New Zealand to speak at a private fund-raising event in March 2005 because of the freeze on visits from Israeli officials.
Diplomatic relations were fully re-established on August 30, 2005 when Naftali Tamir presented his credentials, which were accepted, to Governor-General
Dame Silvia Cartwright before a guard of honor." The Foreign Minister's deputy director for Asia and the Pacific, Amos Nadav, said, "We are happy the crisis is behind us and look ahead to the future."
caused the New Zealand government to investigate whether he and his companions had links to Israeli intelligence. No such links were found, but the story gained media attention in July 2011 due to the suspicious circumstances that the man held several foreign passports and in that his companions all left New Zealand within 12 hours of the earthquake and their companion's death.
Helen Clark
expressed satisfaction that the United Nations Security Council
had unanimously passed Resolution 1701
, calling for a "full cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah, on August 11.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
History
New Zealand has a long history of support for Israel, and voted in favour of the 1947 UN partition resolution, which lead to the creation of the State of Israel, despite heavy pressure from the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on all Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
nations to abstain on the resolution. New Zealand recognised the State of Israel in January 1949.
New Zealand has an honorary consulate in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and Israel has an embassy resident in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
with an honorary consulate in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. The Israeli embassy in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
was closed in October 2002 for financial reasons, but later reopened in 2010.
New Zealand was accredited to Israel from The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
in 1986. The accreditation was moved to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in February 1996. The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) regional office in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and the NZTE office in Ankara, cover Israel. Gad Propper was appointed New Zealand's Honorary Consul to Israel in June 1998. Israel appointed a new ambassador to New Zealand, Yuval Rotem in September 2007, also based in Canberra.
NZ Foreign Minister Phil Goff
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff is the current Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. During the Fifth Labour Government, he served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Defence of New Zealand, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Foreign Affairs and...
visited Israel from May 26–29 in 2003. New Zealand’s Minister for Research, Science and Technology, Pete Hodgson
Pete Hodgson
Peter Colin Hodgson is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party.Hodgson was born in Whangarei, and received a Bachelor's degree in veterinary science from Massey University...
, made a technical working visit to Israel from November 26–December 3 in 2000. A delegation of four senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials traveled to New Zealand for the inaugural New Zealand-Israel Foreign Ministry Consultations on September 11, 2003. A Knesset delegation visited New Zealand in August 2001.
In 2007, Israel's new ambassador to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand commented that he wanted to hire a staffer who was "an indigenous New Zealander... a non-Jewish Maori...". New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner responded to the comment by clarifying that it was unlawful in New Zealand (and Australia) to hire somebody on the basis of ethnicity.
Economic ties
In 1994 Israel opened a trade office in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and the New Zealand and Israel Trade Association, known as NZITA, was established. When NZITA was first created it was managed by Ezra Karon and led by Auckland businessmen Mike Nathan and David Nathan.
New Zealand sent about $12.5 million of exports to Israel in 2002 and received around $60.1 million of imports, including fertilizers, plastic and soap. By 2005 annual exports from New Zealand to Israel reached NZ$16.834 million. Exports were mostly milk and cream (13.8%), electronic circuit boards (11.1%), preserved meat or offal products (10.9%), casein (10.8%), and medications (7.4%). Exports from Israel to New Zealand, which were mostly manufactured goods like steam turbines (11.3%), industrial water heaters (5.2%), plastic sheets and films (4.7%), telecommunications equipment (4.7%), and inkjet printers (3.8%), reached NZ$88.15 million. Fonterra
Fonterra
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by almost 10,500 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$19.87 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.- History :In...
, New Zealand's largest dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
company, is involved in a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with the Israeli cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
Tnuva
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, is a cooperative in Israel specializing in milk and dairy products. The 620 members of the cooperative are made up a large number of kibbutzim and moshavim in Israel...
which opened in December 2001. Agricultural exports to Israel increased in 2005, but protective barriers prevent a significant trade in agricultural products from developing. Visitor visa waivers are in place to increase business travel and tourism.
Background
On July 15, 2004, New Zealand imposed diplomatic sanctions against Israel and suspended high-level contacts between the two countries in July 2005 after two Israeli citizens, Uriel Zosha Kelman and Eli Cara, were convicted of passportPassport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
.
New Zealand police alleged that a third Israeli citizen, former Israeli diplomat Zev William Barkan, was the one who actually tried to get the passport. Tony Resnick, a former paramedic with St John Ambulance, which the cerebral palsy sufferer also belonged to, is also believed to have been involved. Barkan and Resnick were never found, but are believed to have left New Zealand before Kelman and Cara were caught. The New Zealand government said there was strong evidence that the two men were Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
agents and Prime Minister Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
said:
- "The New Zealand government views the act carried out by the Israeli intelligence agents as not only utterly unacceptable but also a breach of New Zealand sovereigntySovereigntySovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and international lawInternational lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
."
Kelman and Cara, who denied membership in the Mossad but pleaded guilty to trying to enter the country illegally and working with organized criminal gangs, were sentenced to six months in jail. They were also ordered to pay US $32,500 to a cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
because they tried to collect a passport in the name of a wheelchair-using cerebral palsy victim.
After serving either two or three months they were deported.
Cara, who visited New Zealand 24 times between October 2000 and March 2005, claims he was working as a travel agent.
Repercussions
Prime Minister Clark cancelled a planned visit to New Zealand in August by Israeli President Moshe Katzav, delayed approval for a new Israeli ambassador to New Zealand, and called the case "far more than simple criminal behaviour by two individuals" which "seriously strained our relationship." Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan ShalomSilvan Shalom
' , born 4 October 1958) is an Israeli politician, member of the Knesset for Likud and the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development. He previously served as the country's Foreign Minister and Finance Minister.-Biography:...
expressed sorrow, and said that Israel would work to repair the relationship. Dr. Alon Liel, former Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said that Israel must protest the sanctions, "for if not, it's a silent admission that the two men worked for the Mossad."
Jewish graves in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
were vandalized with Swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s and Nazi slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
s carved into and around 16 Jewish graves. David Zwartz, a leader in the Jewish community in New Zealand who was appointed as the Honorary Consul from Israel to New Zealand in 2003, said:
- "...there is a direct connection between the very strong expressions against Israel and people here feeling they can take it out on Jews. It seems to me Israel-bashing one day, Jew-bashing the next day."
The Israeli Deputy Chief of Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi
Gabi Ashkenazi
Gavriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi , was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces from 2007 to 2011.- Background and early life :...
, was denied permission to visit New Zealand to speak at a private fund-raising event in March 2005 because of the freeze on visits from Israeli officials.
Reconciliation
On June 26, 2005 Foreign Minister Shalom sent a letter of apology to the New Zealand government saying:
- "In this context, we wish to express our regret for the activities which resulted in the arrest and conviction of two Israel citizens in New Zealand on criminal charges and apologize for the involvement of Israeli citizens in such activities. Israel commits itself to taking steps to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents in the future."
Diplomatic relations were fully re-established on August 30, 2005 when Naftali Tamir presented his credentials, which were accepted, to Governor-General
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
Dame Silvia Cartwright before a guard of honor." The Foreign Minister's deputy director for Asia and the Pacific, Amos Nadav, said, "We are happy the crisis is behind us and look ahead to the future."
2011 investigation
A combination of unusual events immediately following the death of an Israeli backpacker in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake2011 Christchurch earthquake
The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island at on local time , The earthquake was centred west of the town of Lyttelton, and south-east of the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous...
caused the New Zealand government to investigate whether he and his companions had links to Israeli intelligence. No such links were found, but the story gained media attention in July 2011 due to the suspicious circumstances that the man held several foreign passports and in that his companions all left New Zealand within 12 hours of the earthquake and their companion's death.
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
On August 14, 2006 Prime MinisterPrime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
expressed satisfaction that the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
had unanimously passed Resolution 1701
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.It was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2006. The Lebanese cabinet, which includes two members of Hezbollah, unanimously approved the...
, calling for a "full cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah, on August 11.
"I call on all parties involved in this tragic conflict, as well as the wider international community, to use their influence to help bring peace and a lasting solution. New Zealand stands ready to consider what role we might play in an expanded UN presence in southern Lebanon, taking into account the other demands on our Defence Force."