University problems in New Zealand
Pamphlets have been distributed by Uni Workers for Palestine at Wellington’s Victoria University, publicising grotesque falsehoods about Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people.
Cloaked in the language of social justice and decolonisation, these flyers attempt to recast terror as liberation, invert victim and aggressor, and smear Jews who support the existence of Israel as colonial occupiers, war criminals, and racists.
Let’s be clear: legitimate criticism of Israeli policy is entirely valid — and necessary. But this pamphlet is not that. It is antisemitism — plain and dangerous.
The flyer in question defends Hamas, a group internationally recognised as a terrorist organisation, including by New Zealand’s own government. It claims that “Zionist occupiers are the root of all violence” in the region, that “all resistance under occupation is justified,” and that Hamas does not fight Jews, but Zionists — ignoring both history and the group’s own words, which call explicitly for the extermination of Jews.
It calls Israel a “settler colony,” and Hamas’ butchery of civilians on October 7 — rapes, beheadings, and the burning of families alive — a legitimate act of “armed struggle.” It references UN resolutions selectively, falsely asserting they affirm the righteousness of such violence.
This is not an academic document. It is not a nuanced or informed critique. It is a blood libel, dressed in activist jargon.
Victoria University
The Myth of “Zionist Colonialism”
Zionism is not colonialism. It is the indigenous national liberation movement of the Jewish people, who have maintained a continuous presence in the land of Israel for over 3,000 years. Jews prayed toward Jerusalem while scattered in exile, referenced it in every lifecycle ritual, and returned in waves long before the colonial empires crumbled. To call Jews “settlers” in Jerusalem is to engage in historical erasure.
Colonialism is when a foreign empire exploits a distant land for its own gain. Zionism is when a stateless, persecuted people return home to live freely and safely. In fact, Zionism is one of the most successful decolonisation movements of the 20th century, reclaiming sovereignty in a land from which Jews were repeatedly expelled but never spiritually or culturally disconnected.
The Lie of “Anti-Zionism Isn’t Antisemitism”
Anti-Zionists frequently claim that they don’t hate Jews — only Zionists. But this is a rhetorical smokescreen.
What is Zionism if not the belief that Jews have the same right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland that every other people has in theirs? To single out the Jewish state among all nations as uniquely illegitimate — while defending or ignoring the brutal repression of Kurds, Uyghurs, Tibetans, or Armenians — is not principled anti-nationalism. It’s antisemitism in a keffiyeh. For instance, no one calls for the dismantling of China or Turkey to redress occupation of Tibet or Cyprus — but when it comes to the Jewish state, existence itself is framed as a crime.
And when you paint every Jew who supports Israel’s right to exist as complicit in genocide, and call Jewish self-determination “terrorism,” you are not fighting racism. You are spreading it.
The Reality of Hamas
This pamphlet wants you to believe that Hamas is merely resisting “occupation.” In fact, Israel withdrew entirely from Gaza in 2005 — a move verified by the UN and international observers — removing every last settler and soldier. In return, Hamas launched thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians, dug terror tunnels under the border, and on October 7 committed one of the most horrific pogroms since the Holocaust.
Hamas’ founding charter is not subtle. It quotes the hadith about Muslims killing Jews to bring about the Day of Judgment. It declares jihad as the only solution, rejects any negotiated peace, and portrays Jews as enemies of Islam. The idea that Hamas’ fight is merely political (not genocidal) is an outrageous whitewash.
No cause (however righteous you believe it to be) justifies the deliberate massacre of children at a music festival or the execution of kibbutz families in their homes. There is no “context” in which rape and child abduction are legitimate.
UN Resolutions Do Not Sanction Terrorism
The flyer points to UN resolution 45/130 to suggest that all “armed struggle” is lawful and righteous. This is a wilful misrepresentation. The resolution affirms the right to self-determination — not the right to murder civilians. The Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law explicitly prohibit the targeting of civilians, hostage-taking, and indiscriminate attacks.
Even legitimate resistance must conform to the laws of war. Hamas flagrantly violates them. And defending that on a university campus is a moral disgrace.
Why This Matters on Campus
University campuses are meant to be bastions of critical thinking, rigorous debate, and moral clarity. When antisemitic lies like those in this flyer are given space, they create a hostile environment for Jewish students, professors, and staff. They silence nuance and replace it with dogma. They do not advocate for peace — they advocate for the destruction of the only Jewish state.
And they do so under the perverse guise of “justice.”
To those distributing this pamphlet: You are not standing with the oppressed. You are standing with rapists, kidnappers, and executioners. You are not decolonising — you are dehumanising.
To the university administration: Silence is complicity. It is time to enforce the same standards of intolerance toward hate speech here as would rightly be applied to anti-Māori, anti-Muslim, or anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda. Antisemitism does not become acceptable when it’s written in activist fonts.
To students reading this: Do not be fooled. Ask hard questions. Read more than one source. Speak to people who live in Israel, who have experienced terrorism, and who still yearn for peace. Moral clarity is not a luxury in times like this—it is a responsibility.
Final Word
The Jewish people have survived empires, inquisitions, and extermination. We will survive Hamas and its apologists too. But we should not have to walk university campuses and see the oldest hatred in the world dressed up as revolution.
Let us be clear and unapologetic: Israel has a right to exist. Jews have a right to defend themselves. And if your movement’s “liberation” requires the slaughter of Jews, it is not liberation — it is fascism.
