On behalf of the Green Party, I would like to endorse what the previous speakers have said, and express our absolute repugnance at the desecration of Jewish graves in Makara and in Wellington.
We share the sadness and the pain of the Jewish community.
What has happened is particularly distresssing becasuse New Zealanders have taken some pride in being largely free of the anti-Semitism that we see in some other countries. It is therefore important that on this sad occasion we renew and reaffirm our opposition to all forms of racial intolerance.
The Nazi symbols daubed at the cemetary make this crime even more dastardly. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews, and crushed democracy and freedom in Europe. These Nazi symbols are an affront, not only to the Jewish families of the people killed in the Holocaust, but also to the families of the thousands of New Zealanders who died fighting fascism.
Today we stand together with the Jewish community in remembering those who died, and in expressing our horror at the desecration of the tombs of their ancestors.
[The text of the resolution, which was passed unanimously, is:
“That this House deplores recent attacks on Jewish graves and a Jewish chapel in Wellington, recalls the terrible history of anti-Semitism over many centuries, culminating in the holocaust under Nazi rule, and expresses its unequivocal condemnation of anti-Semitism, violence directed against Jews and Jewish religious and cultural institutions, and all forms of racial and ethnic hatred, persecution and discrimination.”]
Speeches of other Party’s Spokespeople are available at
Hansard – 10 August
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