Indigenous Coalition for Israel

ICFI aims to address the underrepresentation of indigenous supporters for Israel in the prevailing cultural discourse, aiming to educate on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. ICFI seeks to change the perception of Israel among Māori and Pasifika communities to create greater understanding and to address the lack of an official Māori or indigenous entity to represent a pro-Israel stance.{{Cite web |last=Miriam |first=Bell |date=17 December 2021 |title=AIR New Zealand: Maori for Jewish Indigenousness |url=https://aijac.org.au/australia-israel-review/air-new-zealand-maori-for-jewish-indigenousness/ |access-date=8 December 2023 |website=AIJAC |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/12/new-zealands-yoni-come-latelies/|title=New Zealand's Yoni-come-latelies; On the unusual and enduring relationship between Maoris and Jews|author=David Cohen|date=6 December 2023|website=The Spectator Australia}}

ICFI uses various platforms to communicate their message, including its website, articles, newsletters, videos, social media and face-to-face engagement.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-11 |title=Israel's ambassador welcomed by Te Arawa Iwi in Rotarua [sic] |url=https://www.jwire.com.au/israels-ambassador-welcomed-by-te-arawa-iwi-in-rotarua/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=J-Wire |language=en}}

Sheree Trotter, co-founder of ICFI, is an academic and researcher who writes on rising antisemitism in Western-style democracies.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/te-pati-maori-facing-criticism-for-demanding-israeli-ambassador-be-expelled/MOWJKOM2EVHYLHSRKGJT32DBAQ/|title=Coalition of Māori leaders reject Te Pāti Māori demand|author=Tumamao Harawira|date=9 December 2023|website=NZ Herald}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2023/10/12/wahine-maori-in-gaza-feeling-the-pain-of-innocent-lives-lost/|title=Wahine Māori caught up in Israeli-Hamas conflict|date=October 12, 2023 |author=Michael Cugley|website=Te Ao Māori News}}{{Cite web |last=Trotter |first=Sheree |date=2 September 2023 |title=Zionism is a model for indigenous people – opinion |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-757101 |access-date=8 December 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post}} Trotter earned her PhD in History at the University of Auckland and her thesis was on Zionism in New Zealand.{{Cite web |last=Trotter |first=Sheree |date=21 April 2021 |title=Māori and Israelis: Peoples of the land |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/maori-and-israelis-peoples-of-the-land/ |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=Times of Israel Blogs}} Trotter is a Māori Te Arawa indigenous person from New Zealand and believes there is a misconception that Jews are colonisers in Israel. Through her work with ICFI she emphasises the Jewish historical connection to Israel.{{Cite web |last=Trotter |first=Sheree |date=29 November 2021 |title=A Light for the Indigenous Nations |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/light-indigenous-nations-maori-israel |access-date=8 December 2023 |website=Tablet Magazine}}{{Cite web |last=Trotter |first=Sheree |date=16 January 2023 |title=Jews have indigenous rights to the Temple Mount |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-728625 |access-date=8 December 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2023/10/25/te-pati-maori-facing-criticism-for-demanding-israeli-ambassador-be-expelled/|title=Te Pāti Māori facing criticism for demanding Israeli ambassador be expelled|date=2023-10-25|access-date=2023-12-09|website=Te Ao News|author=Tumamao Harawira}}{{Cite web|url=https://aijac.org.au/australia-israel-review/air-new-zealand-maori-for-jewish-indigenousness/|title=AIR New Zealand: Maori for Jewish Indigenousness|first=Michael|last=Shannon|date=17 December 2021}}

File:Alfred Ngaro.jpg

Alfred Ngaro, co-founder of ICFI and former Cabinet of New Zealand government minister, has stated that he is a Zionist and supports the Jewish people in the "Land of Israel". He reflects on his Jewish grandmother, who came to the Cook Islands, and describes himself as a Cook Islander, Polynesian by birth and Jewish by descent.{{Cite web |title=MP Alfred Ngaro declares his support for Israel and the Jewish people {{!}} One Community |url=https://1.org.nz/mp-alfred-ngaro-declares-his-support-for-israel-and-the-jewish-people/ |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=1.org.nz}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.renews.co.nz/thousands-march-in-pro-palestinian-and-pro-israel-rallies-across-nz/|title=Thousands march in pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli rallies across NZ|website=renews.co.nz|date=30 October 2023}}

In April 2023, ICFI supported a press statement alongside several other organisations condemning the rocket attacks fired from Gaza and Southern Lebanon into Israel, and called on the New Zealand government to do the same.{{Cite web |last=IINZ |date=2023-04-10 |title=Rocket Attacks Against Israel: Joint Press Statememt |url=https://israelinstitute.nz/2023/04/rocket-attacks-against-israel-joint-press-statememt/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Israel Institute of NZ |language=en-US}}

In December 2023, ICFI criticised a petition with 5000 signatories entitled the "Māori Call for Palestine" which urged the New Zealand government to intensify its support for Palestinians in the Gaza war. The petition included measures such as expelling the New Zealand-based Israeli ambassador until a ceasefire is reached and imposing economic sanctions on businesses linked with Israel's military actions.{{Cite web |title=Māori Call for Palestine petition gains traction |url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2023/12/08/maori-call-for-palestine-petition-gains-traction/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Te Ao Māori News |language=en}} In addition, the petition accuses Israel of genocide, apartheid and occupation which Trotter, as spokesperson for ICFI, deemed "problematic" and "deeply misguided". Trotter is quoted as saying, "...it doesn’t really show a recognition or understanding of the geopolitics of the region or the history of the region. It throws around some pretty provocative terms that I would challenge as being incorrect and I think it fails to recognise what Israel is dealing with with Hamas.”

In 2024, the Indigenous Coalition For Israel initiated the creation of what it called the "first-ever Indigenous People Embassy in Jerusalem",{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-788322|title=Jerusalem welcomes opening of world's first Indigenous Embassy|last=Strauss|first=Ilse|date=24 February 2024|accessdate=1 March 2024}} located on the Friends of Zion Museum campus.{{cite web|last=Jaffe-Hoffman|first=Maayan|title=First-ever Indigenous People Embassy in Jerusalem is the 100th embassy opened|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-784788|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=Feb 1, 2024|accessdate=Feb 2, 2024}} This project, recognized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry as the 100th embassy in the State of Israel, aims to modify the narrative among indigenous peoples worldwide, emphasizing the ancestral connections indigenous groups have to their lands and resources. It seeks to acknowledge the social and cultural distinctions that define indigenous populations across the globe.

The project's participants are largely unified by Christian beliefs in the Biblical importance of Israel, and some acknowledge that their pro-Israel positions do not reflect the majority opinions of their indigenous communities back home.{{cite news |last1=Pacchiani |first1=Gianluca |title=Indigenous leaders rally in Jerusalem to affirm historical Jewish ties to the land |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/indigenous-leaders-rally-in-jerusalem-to-affirm-historical-jewish-ties-to-the-land/ |access-date=3 November 2024 |work=The Times of Israel |date=2 November 2024}} However, the group's membership is open to people of all religions.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the establishment of the embassy received support from unspecified indigenous leaders, including "several tribal chiefs, a princess, and a king", from various parts of the world including Singapore, Taiwan, Samoa, American Samoa, Hawaii, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, North America, and South Africa. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum stated that indigenous peoples, with their intrinsic connections to their territories, are well-positioned to counter narratives that aim to disconnect the Jewish people from their ancestral lands.

• [https://www.indigenouscoalition.org Official Website]
• [https://www.indigenousembassy.org/ Indigenous Embassy]

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Category:Indigenous organizations

Category:Organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Category:Israel friendship associations

Category:Māori organisations

Category:Zionist organizations

Category:Zionism in Oceania

Category:Right-wing politics in New Zealand

Category:Zionism in New Zealand