Open letter to David Cumin of the Israel Institute

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

12 September 2023

Open letter to David Cumin of the Israel Institute

PSNA is seriously concerned there are irresponsible actors from the pro-Israel lobby who are trying to use the appalling death of Israelis in last weekend’s Hamas attack to drive anti-Palestinian racism and promote hatred of Palestinians and Palestinian human rights activists.

David Cumin from the Israel Institute is one of those actors. Cumin specialises in using false smears of anti-semitism against media, human rights activists, politicians and anyone who calls for Israel to be held accountable for its war crimes against the Palestinian people. Here is an open letter from PSNA to David Cumin this morning: 

Open Letter to David Cumin of the Israel Institute

Kia ora David,

 

I hardly spend any time on Twitter as you know but yesterday was alerted to this filthy, racist tweet on your twitter account.

I saw lots of similar racist tweets you’ve made as you try to use the appalling killing of Israeli civilians to conflate Palestinians with terrorism. Your tweet is an example of despicable anti-Palestinian racism.

I think you are being deeply disrespectful to the families of the Israeli civilians killed by using their deaths to promote race hatred against Palestinians.

You are certainly no stranger to anti-Palestinian racism – your twitter account is full of it.

And then there was the time you quoted former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir to the effect that “there will never be peace in the Middle East till Palestinians love their children more than they hate Jews”.

You thought that was fine to quote as an attack on Palestinians. It was vile racism which denigrated Palestinians. If anyone said the same thing about Jews you would scream it was anti-semitism and we’d agree with you. So why do you think it’s OK to dehumanise Palestinians in that way?

Sadly, the New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Juliet Moses said she saw no problem in what you had said. The Jewish community was badly let down by Ms Moses as well as yourself because the many Jews I know want to see justice for Palestinians, not racism against them.

I’m inviting you to do the decent thing and take down this tweet and all the other similar tweets and issue a public apology to Palestinian New Zealanders and to Jewish New Zealanders. Both communities are suffering as their families, relatives and friends face appalling loss of life in the Middle East.

 John Minto
National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
johnminto@orcon.net.nz

John Minto

John Minto is also former National Organiser for HART (Halt All Racist Tours) which successfully campaigned to stop rugby contact between New Zealand and apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s.

Neil ScottIsrael, NZ Media, BDS, Sports washing Apartheid