You Got Your Apology..Now Get Over It
Aussie Dave | Jun 27, 2005 | 3 comments
Israel has apologized to New Zealand for the passport affair, after New Zealand suspended all high level contacts between the two countries. But instead of graciously accepting the apology and putting the affair behind them, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has decided to rub Israel’s face in it.
Israel’s apology for two of its citizens who illegally obtained New Zealand passports is proof the pair were secret agents, Prime Minister Helen Clark said Monday.In a letter released Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom apologized for the involvement of Israeli citizens in criminal activities and vowed to take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.“We believe there was a very good reason for the apology. The apology has been offered and I think it speaks for itself,” Clark told reporters a day after Israel apologized for the incident, allowing the two nations to restore full diplomatic relations and end an 11-month spat.
“It is an acknowledgment that these people were associated with Israeli intelligence agencies. That’s always been our belief,” she said.
Actually, the apology does nothing of the kind. Did it occur to Clark that Israel apologized since it desires warm relations with New Zealand, and Clark’s grandstanding made it clear this would not happen unless an apology was forthcoming? In fact, Israel does not accept responsibility for the actions of the men involved.
Israeli sources emphasized that Shalom’s letter did not accept Israel’s responsibility for the acts attributed to the Israelis.
It looks to me like Clark is trying to gain political mileage out of this. Look at me, I showed those Israelis who’s boss.
Clark should just move past the affair already, and concentrate on staying inside airplanes, rather than trying to score cheap political points.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
As a New Zealander I think Ms Clark has a right to be concerned and angry about foreign agents operating in New Zealand. I’m sure the Israeli authorities would not take kindly to New Zealand operatives working in their state. You can’t have it both ways…
Be that as it may, she could have done this in a more private manner. And given she got her apology anyway, she had no need to dwell on the issue. I think she is trying to score political points.
I think Ms Clark should be more concerned about the Al Qaida sleeper cells which have probably already infested New Zealand. They pose the real danger.
Well, as a New Zealander I think Helen Clark’s mock outrage couldn’t be a more attempt transparent to bolster her support amongst the anti-Israeli left inside her party and its supporters.
Her pretended outrage was patently false from the outset as she hadn’t reacted to other much worse events in recent times. Where, for example, was Clark’s outrage at sales of real and fake New Zealand passports to suspected Al Qaida terrorists in Thailand? Most Kiwis aren’t even aware of that story. Funny that.
It doesn’t take a doctorate in nuclear physics to figure out that Clark timed the release of this “apology” (which she’d been sitting on for weeks) to take the thunder out of (pro-Israeli) opposition leader Don Brash’s excellent speech to the National party conference. Fran O’Sullivan wrote an excellent piece on this in The Herald a couple days ago.