The alleged comments were made at a meeting with a leader of the Jewish community.
12:20: This story has been updated with a response by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith.
11:45: This story has been updated with a Stephen Rainbow response.
Three New Zealand community groups, two representing Jewish voices, are asking Stephen Rainbow to dismiss his role as Commissioner -Chief of Human Rights after what they believe were Islamophobic comments made during an official meeting with an leader of the Jewish community.
At the time of Rainbow’s appointment last year, he was asked about his history of pro-Israel and written statements. Rainbow told RNZ that his views on Israel were not “particularly relevant” to their role as a Commissioner -Chief of Human Rights. In January 2024, Rainbow wrote an article for the Israeli Institute on New Zealand’s changing relationship with Israel. “Now, in New Zealand, being on the left, it seems that Kaffiyeh using work crossings and green parliamentarians lately are any indication-being anti-Israel have become an integral part of the leftist creed.
“The left has found a new misfortune to replace Jews – Palestinians – although the treatment of gays, women and political opponents wherever the Palestinians have control is barbaric.”
On February 24, Philippa Yasbek met with Rainbow, the Melissa Derby Race Relations Commissioner and two Human Rights Commission officials to discuss the Jewish community and racial relations in New Zealand. Yasbek was participating as a gate -Alternative Jewish voices and Dayenu: Jews against occupation.
In a complaint email sent to the Minister of Justice, Paul Goldsmith, who hired Rainbow after an independent panel considered him “not recommended” to the role, Yasbek exposed what happened at the meeting. She described the discussion topics her statement that there is a plurality of voices in the Jewish community in New Zealand. She argued that any suggestion that there needed to be a special focus on combating anti-Semitism was the risk of confusing anti-Semitism with anti-psychism, and that “racism is better combined with joining other groups that suffer racism rather than arguing that Jews are exceptional compared to other ethnic or religious groups.” At the meeting, Yasbek observed the common threat of white supremacists to Jewish and Muslim communities.
“Dr. Rainbow has contested my statement that white supremacists are still the biggest threat to the Jewish community in Aotearo. He told me that the assessment of the SIS threat shows that Muslims represent a greater threat to the Jewish community in New Zealand than white supremacists.” In the letter to Goldsmith, Yasbek detailed how she told Rainbow that she found it hard to believe, but admitted that she had not read the evaluation everywhere.
SIS Mentive Assessment Evaluation is the New Zealand Safety Threats environment 2024, an annual New Zealand Security Intelligence Service report that describes the most recent concerns and trends identified on threats to New Zealand communities. In the chapter “extremism and violent terrorism,” the report states that “violent extremism motivated by identity (IMVE) remains a prominent ideology in the violent Extremist environment of New Zealand.” Imve refers to violent extremists “who seek to advance their own identity through violence or seek to denigrate the perceived identity of others.”
He immediately elaborates: “Violent extremism motivated by white identity (W-Imve) remains the dominant IMVE Ideology in New Zealand. Material and propaganda related to terrorist attack, including the manifesto manifesto and Christchurch’s liver Dream, continuing between New Zealand and Holding Imphes.
NZSIS Security Director Andrew Hampton told Spinoff that he did not personally hear Rainbow’s alleged observations, but “if that’s what he said, it represents what our safety threat assessment of 2024 says.”
“At no time does it indicate or imply that ‘Muslims represented a greater threat to the New Zealand Jewish community than white supremacists.’
In his letter to Goldsmith, Yasbek shared his concerns about Rainbow’s comments and the thought behind them. “I was shocked by the fact that the main human rights commissioner made such naked Islamophobic statements to me, a complete stranger. I was also offended by his implicit assumption that I, like a Jewish person, tolera or tolera.”
Yasbek sent an email to Rainbow after the meeting, highlighting the relevant parts of the assessment of threats on violent extremism in New Zealand. Rainbow thanked her for feedback, saying, “I will surely consider your information … and review my position, if appropriate.”
The next day, Rainbow followed, rereading the evaluation. He cited another line of the report that he said he based his comments: “The conflict in Gaza is being used by terrorist organizations to boost on -line radicalization and recruitment. These are global trends, but similar signs are beginning to appear in our environment.”
The Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand (Fianz) has called Rainbow’s comments “an alarming alertness of human rights in this country.” The chairman of the Royal Commission of Fianz and the Abdur Razzaq defense team attended a meeting with Rainbow and the Secretary of Justice and the CEO of the Ministry of Justice, Andrew Kibblewhite, after learning the comments. Razzaq said in a statement that Rainbow apologized at the meeting and later sent an “brief apology for and email.”
Fianz, in a statement, applauded Christopher Luxon for “assuming a prominent advantage to ensuring peace and cohesion between the various ethnic communities” before accusing Rainbow of “using his position as the main human rights commissioner to sabotage the way for social cohesion.”
Alternative Jewish voices, Fianz and Dayenu: The Jews against the occupation asked the Minister of Justice and the first -minister to investigate the matter. The Minister of Justice’s office confirmed that he had received a complaint, but did not offer an answer. The Human Rights Commission was approached to comment on this story, but did not provide a comment before the publication.
Update, 11:44 am: Stephen Rainbow apologized to Muslim communities in New Zealand. In a written statement, Rainbow responded to his dismissal with an apology. “On February 28, I learned that, in an involvement with alternative Jewish voices, it caused offenses to Muslim communities,” he said. “When making my mistake, I found it with Fianz and apologized personally. The commission and I continued to get involved to repair the relationship, which I was trying to build.
“I read Fianz’s statement and apologize with all my heart to our Muslim communities. They should always feel that they can trust the Human Rights Commission to protect their rights. I am even more committed to ensure that I am the main human rights commissioner of all New Zealandes.”
Update: 12:20 pm: Paul Goldsmith in a statement said he had “No intention to request the resignation of the Human Rights Commissioner. ”
“By his own admission, in this case, he did not express himself as well as he could have. I will find myself with the Commissioner in the coming days and encourage him to be more careful with his comments in the future. ”
