[ … and the purpose of his visit was to foster closer ties between Israel and New Zealand .
First of all :
‘Eeewww’ to that idea.
Secondly – there was bugger all local coverage of the protest except for this
Scuffles erupted between New Zealand police and anti-Israel demonstrators
who were protesting a landmark visit by Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
About 25 protesters, mostly from pro-Palestinian and socialist student groups,
[ They forgot to mention Global Peace and Justice groups,
Human Rights Activists,
and everyday people who just plain don’t like the Naziesque way Israeli policy makers behave on the world stage.
Because they really do behave like shits. ]
were met Saturday night by a strong police presence outside the Auckland Hebrew Congregation,
[youtube]d2J4byAySg8[/youtube]
where Rivlin was giving the keynote address to 250 members of the Jewish community.
It is the first official Israeli state visit to New Zealand in 25 years, since President Chaim Herzog visited in 1986.
Rivlin, who will meet senior local parliamentarians, is the guest of his New Zealand counterpart, Dr. Lockwood Smith,
who visited the Knesset earlier this year.
“It is great to have high-level political interaction between Israel and New Zealand once again,”
said New Zealand Jewish Council President Stephen Goodman,
referring to the diplomatic meltdown in 2004 after two Israelis were caught trying to illegally obtain a Kiwi passport.