Inescapable
We currently face a situation that cannot be escaped, ignored, or avoided.

Michael Kuttner
On all fronts, the enemies of Israel and the Jewish People are clearly identifiable as they vent their hate and chant their slogans.
The twelve-day campaign to thwart Iranian genocidal plans and the still ongoing war against their proxy, Hamas, is only one part of a multi-pronged effort to neutralise and destroy jihadist terror.
An equally threatening spectre of potential threats against Diaspora Jewish communities looms on every continent.
Whereas in Israel almost every Jewish citizen, except for the hopelessly befuddled lemmings of the extreme left, recognises the dangers, the same cannot be said for large swathes of Jews in the Diaspora.
Life for Jews as a minority group in various countries has always been fraught with uncertainty. In regimes where democratic values were a fiction, they survived only at the whim of whoever ruled at that moment. At any given period, they could be tolerated or persecuted, depending on the political and often religious agenda of the time. Pogroms, expulsions and ghettos occurred in a regular cycle yet despite these clear manifestations of intolerance, Jews either returned to the scenes of the crime or recreated shattered communities.
Many fled to the “golden medina” of America or washed up on the shores of the United Kingdom. Some even made it to the relative safety of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, however, far too many remained on the blighted continent of Europe, where millions were to be eventually murdered at the hands of those poisoned by Jew hate and incitement.
The lucky minority who found sanctuary in the USA and UK faced discrimination, but eventually democratic and liberal forces enabled them to take an equal place in those societies.
Where equal rights were granted, Jews rapidly became loyal citizens and contributed far in excess of their small numbers to the welfare and advancement of their adopted countries.
The virus of Jew hate never completely disappeared, and as in previous centuries, it did not take much to reawaken its potent force.
The malign effects of ignorance can now be seen and felt as the memories of the Shoah are fading fast, and a generation has arisen which knows nothing of Jewish history or the contribution that Jews have made to civilisation and religion.
Virus mutations mean that the ancient delegitimisation and derangement symptoms are now transferred onto Israel. The nation State of the Jewish People has become the repository of all that is evil and menacing in today’s warped world.
There still remains a residual community in Iran of some nine to ten thousand Jews. They cite various reasons for not having escaped when they had the chance. It is a familiar theme such as business considerations, material comfort, loyalty to the country and a belief that they can “weather” all challenges. No doubt a naïve thought that “it will all blow over” and that “exaggerated threats” can be ignored featured in their decision to remain in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
They make the same fatal mistakes as other Jewish leaders and communities of previous generations in other places. They believe that their safety will be assured if they demonstrate their solidarity with the Islamic Mullahs, proclaim their undying solidarity and loyalty with the masses and pillory Israel and Zionists. The spectacle of Iranian Jewry’s religious and lay leaders marching in solidarity with screaming mobs demanding Israel’s extinction is a classic case. Hoping that the crocodile you are feeding will not devour you at the end of the day is a proven failed tactic.
So it is proving at this very moment.
Reports of widespread roundups of Jewish families in Iran and accusations of them being either in cahoots with Mossad or sympathetic to Israel should come as no surprise. It is yet further proof of how a grossly misplaced and blinkered aversion to reality can precipitate dangerous and fatal illusions.
The selection of a progressive socialist democrat candidate for the upcoming New York mayoral elections is another case in point. His anti-Israel and anti Zionist credentials are impeccable. His selection is another example of how the US Democratic Party is sliding towards the lunatic left. Jewish Americans who genetically vote for the Democrats generally dismiss this as an “aberration” and prefer to hallucinate that there is nothing to worry about. Even worse is their blindness as to likely future electoral implications. The sight of Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, as well as other Jewish politicians, joining the bandwagon careening left is another indication of how far the detachment from reality has taken hold.
Increasing numbers of US, UK and European Jewish university students report feeling threatened and intimidated. The resultant ballot box impacts will become more evident as the intimidating individuals increases. Their violence against Jews, Zionists, and anti-Israel hysteria will reach unprecedented levels. As more brain-addled students graduate, they will take their acquired Israel-hate prejudices into the political arena. In no time, the resultant effluent will pollute and threaten democratic societies.
A recent survey revealed that half of young Americans support Hamas. Scenes from the recent UK Glastonbury music festival which looked more like a Hitler youth rally, shows how far the rot has already penetrated.
One can already see the beginning of this insidious infection in many democracies where a coalition of leftist ideologues and green deniers of Jewish sovereignty co-operate in sanctioning, divesting and delegitimising. Even so-called liberal and semi-conservative parties are not immune to succumbing in the face of this onslaught.
The question that then arises is how local Jewish communities should react.
Do they shut their ears and eyes and, like those in Iran and elsewhere, hunker down, join the anti-Israel mobs and hope that the nightmare will dissipate? Do they pretend that “it can’t happen here” and thus remain while the cauldrons of hate become increasingly volatile? Do they assimilate in the vain hope that the haters will overlook them and instead pick on the visible Jews? Do they try to disassociate themselves and their communities from anything to do with Israel and pretend that Judaism and Israel are not one and the same?
All these strategies have been tried in the past and all have ended disastrously. Are those communities facing rising hate and violence and witnessing demographic realities of the electoral process, doomed to a bleak future? The stark fact is that a decreasing Jewish population and a rapidly rising jihadist-supporting electorate spell danger in the near and not-so-long-term future.
I listened to an interview recorded a week ago between Radio NZ and a spokesperson for the New Zealand Jewish Council. To say I was horrified would be putting it mildly.
The first question posed related to Israel being bombarded by Iranian missiles and the Jewish communities’ reactions. Imagine my shock when the spokesperson’s first response was to assert ”that Judaism and Israel are two different things”. This is the same sort of language spouted by the Iranian Jewish spokespersons to prove that the Jewish State has nothing to do with the Jewish religion. In actual fact, Judaism and the Jewish People’s march to sovereignty are very much intertwined.
Instead of stressing this, the spokesperson then compounded his initial faux pas by energetically attempting to distance NZ Jews from what was occurring. His frantic attempts to create some sort of moral equivalence between Iran, which is dedicated to Israel’s obliteration, and Israel’s response to thwart it became more embarrassing as the short interview continued. His comparison of Iran’s agenda to wipe out Israel with Donald Trump’s desire to make Canada part of the USA was ludicrous and quite frankly disconnected.
Instead of a robust defence of Israel’s dismantling of Iranian genocidal ambitions and preventing its proxy in Gaza from murdering Israelis, he repeated that NZ Jews held a variety of opinions and that suffering on all sides was equally bad. He expressed mystification as to why NZ Jews should be blamed for what the Israeli Government was doing. After all, he plaintively asserted, loyal Jews such as himself supported “not getting involved” and condemning violence by all sides in the conflict.
Not one word was uttered about the Israeli kidnapped hostages still being held in tunnels in Gaza, and whose continued incarceration is the reason that Hamas and its supporters are still being targeted.
If, as he asserted, Judaism has nothing to do with Israel, why do Synagogue services include, in addition to a prayer for the welfare of the country, a prayer for Israel and one for the men and women who defend it? Is the representative of the NZ Jewish Council suggesting that these prayers should be deleted? After all, if, as he claimed, Judaism and Israel are two different and presumably unconnected things, that is the logical next step.
In the late 1980s, the NZ Anglican Church sanitised the psalms of King David and removed all reference to Zion, Israel and Jerusalem. That is the consequence of distancing Judaism from Zion.
In June 1967 Nasser’s genocidal aim of developing rockets with the help of Nazi German experts and driving all Israeli Jews into the sea was thwarted by swift Israeli action. The response of the NZ Jewish community was prompt, loud and unapologetic. It issued unequivocal support for Israel, organised emergency meetings and raised funds via the United Israel Appeal. Young men and women volunteered and joined thousands of other Jews from around the free world in travelling to Israel and helping out on kibbutzim and in essential industries.
NZ abstained at the UN and refused to join the Arab and Soviet condemnations of Israel.
What a difference fifty-eight years can make.
Today, the NZ Government votes against Israel at the UN at every opportunity.
Today, there is no United Israel Appeal in NZ and instead of a robust communal support for Israel’s war against terror nations and their supporters, there is silence or attempted equivocation. Even worse, there is a frantic attempt to dissociate from any solidarity with Israel in case it attracts negative consequences.
The reality is that those who hate Israel consciously or subconsciously also hate Jews. No amount of denial by the haters and self-haters can change this evident fact.
Apparently, that salient truth has yet to be recognised.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
Shalom Ben
Nowhere do I mention that you have forgotten the Shoah. What a totally unfounded assertion to make.
I am well aware that Jew hate has exploded in NZ as it has elsewhere. In previous times Jews were blamed for all the world’s evils. These days Israel is the substitute scapegoat. Conveniently forgotten are the 7 October 2023 pogroms, kidnapped hostages in Gaza, the unrelenting terror not only from Gaza but also from Iran and its other proxies and the ultimate aim of eliminating Israel.
I am afraid that those who hate Jews and by extension the Jewish State don’t need any excuses to carry out their nefarious acts.
Of course the NZJC must work to protect NZ Jews but trying to disassociate itself from Israel’s fight to survive amidst a tsunami of hate is very regrettable and counterproductive.
Michael, firstly let me say that I find it offensive your insinuation that I have somehow forgotten the Shoah. As you know, both my parents are survivors and my grandfather, for whom my brother was named, was killed in Bergen Belsen. I’m also a board member of the Holocoaust Centre and take my responsibility to honour the memory of those who died very seriously.
You seem to confuse my statement as a spokesperson for an organization that has a singular mandate to look out for the interests of Jews in New Zealand with my own personal views.
You are, of course, away from New Zealand and hence seemingly ignorant of the increasing antisemitism that NZ Jewry has faced in the last couple of years. This antisemitism is a direct response to Israel’s actions in Gaza. Now your, and my, opinion over the rights and wrongs of Gaza are utterly irrelevant to the responsibility of the JC to do what it can to reduce negative impacts.
Sometimes a message we articulate is intended both for our own community, but also other recipients and I’d encourage you to cogitate over that fact.