Mayor Nick Smith urged residents to be respectful and tolerant of differing opinions. Photo / Max Frethey.
Mayor Nick Smith urged residents to be respectful and tolerant of differing opinions. Photo / Max Frethey.
Nelson councillors received abusive emails after voting to boycott businesses in illegal Israeli settlements.
Deputy Mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens said the policy targets companies violating international law, not groups.
Mayor Nick Smith urged respectful dialogue, acknowledging strong community passions and condemning violent rhetoric.
Nelson councillors have been receiving abusive emails after a majority voted that the city council boycott businesses that operate in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.
Since the vote two weeks ago, supporters of Israel have sent emails expressing their “great sadness” over the council’s “foolish decision”.
But other emails went further. One sender, through an anonymised email forwarded by council staff to police, said they were compiling the names of the “Nazis who support crimes against Jewish civilians”.
Deputy Mayor RohanO’Neill-Stevens moved the motion supporting the boycott and said describing the policy as anti-Semitic was “harmful”.
“The resolution itself is directly dealing with companies who are involved in “flagrant” violations of international law. This isn’t about punishing a group or groups of people.”
Deputy Mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens rejected allegations that the council policy was anti-Semitic. Photo / Max Frethey
Mayor Nick Smith, who voted against the policy, equally said he did not equate “criticism of the settlements and the occupied territories, or of the Israeli Government, as being anti-Semitic”.
However, he did caution that while the policy wasn’t anti-Semitic, he had seen some rhetoric and graffiti that was.
“We need to be careful as a community when we see the arson in Australia of a synagogue. That is totally unacceptable.”
Smith responded to the anonymous email, calling out the “crude abuse” contained within and said that approach undermined views alternative to the council decision.
He acknowledged the “strong passions” on the topic in the community and said he had received some “nasty emails and comments” from people on “both sides of the debate” but added that ultimately most people were respectful.
“I was actually very proud of the way in which people conducted themselves in the council chamber, including elected members, given the passions that were there,” he said.
“I just urge people to be respectful and in condemning the violence in Palestine, we need to make sure that we are tolerant in our own community.”
O’Neill-Stevens said they were used to receiving abusive emails and hadn’t paid “much attention” to them, or other abusive comments on social media.
“It’s ironic. Coming from a lot of people who often, as part of the same message, are saying that this is an action that will result in violence being brought to Nelson or violent language being brought, and yet they’re the ones bringing violent language into the conversation.”
The abusive emails formed just “a drop in the bucket” to the more than 100 messages of support and thanks.
O’Neill-Stevens added that the policy was about ensuring that ratepayers’ money was spent responsibly and taking a “principled and practical stand” to ensure the council doesn’t support companies that were “actively involved in breaching international law”.
The emails followed a council decision to not do business with firms that operated in illegal Israeli settlements, which divided the community and council chamber. Photo / Max Frethey
Staff earlier identified that the council has no known current procurement relationship with any of the identified companies, but the topic is not without relevance in New Zealand.
Last week New Plymouth District Council admitted it had investments in some of the companies, which include travel companies Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking Holdings which owns Booking.com and other sites.
Nelson City followed the Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City councils in updating their procurement policies prohibiting trading with corporations involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
O’Neill-Stevens urged people who were “passionate or pissed off” about a council decision to get in touch with themself or other elected members for a chat.
“I’ll gladly have a coffee and actually have a conversation, because it’s through those conversations that our community is strengthened, not through anonymous, hateful emails.”
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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