"Just a Damned Nuisance": New Zealand's Changing Relationship
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“Just a Damned Nuisance” New Zealand’s Changing Relationship with Israel from 1947 until May 2010 By Hannah van Voorthuysen A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in International Relations Victoria University of Wellington 2011 ABSTRACT In 1955, Mr Linton, the Israeli Minister accredited to New Zealand, sent an angry cable home decrying how the New Zealand government seemed to view Israel as if it “were just a damned nuisance, involving New Zealand in complex debating with a certain amount of expenditure within a sphere remote from Dominion interests and apprehensions.” Despite this early criticism from the Israelis, there has been an ongoing level of interest within New Zealand towards the Jewish state that goes beyond what should be expected as the cultural, economic, historic and diplomatic ties between New Zealand and Israel are relatively insignificant. Degrees of closeness between the two states have fluctuated dramatically, from New Zealand’s strong political support of the creation of Israel at the United Nations in 1945, to an adoption of Israel’s kibbutzim model in the 1970s, and culminating in the extraordinary cutting of diplomatic ties in 2004. What explains these dynamic shifts in attitudes? Why has the relationship seen such dramatic shifts throughout the last fifty years? What explains this intense interest from consecutive New Zealand governments, diplomatic staff and the New Zealand public? In this thesis I explore how the relationship is generally shaped by the interest- motivated hand of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, punctuated every now and then by a well-placed individual responding to instinct or passion. I also explore the role of external influences on the relationship, examining how trade concerns with Arab states in the Middle East affected the relationship, and examining the effect of international left-wing discomfort towards Israel. New Zealand’s relationship with Israel is a dynamic but woefully underexplored history that deserves greater attention and analysis. This thesis tells that story. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing the acknowledgment section for this thesis is a task I have looked forward to immensely, ever since I began my first day searching through the dusty Foreign Affairs archives, sneeZing, cursing my life choices, and eagerly anticipating the day that I could wrap up this project. However, very quickly I began to uncover the extraordinary array of information about this relationship, began to discover a dynamic and tension-fuelled past, and began to talk to well- informed New Zealanders about their perceptions of the relationship. This project consequently morphed from an isolated dust riddled paper-hunt to a dynamic people-centred examination that has been truly rewarding and a real joy. Many people have accompanied me on this journey and I could not have completed this thesis without them. A very special first thanks is due to my supervisor, Dr. David Capie. David’s support was invaluable during this process as a mentor, a supporter, and a well- considered critic. He urged me to seek interviews with people I never would have thought would want to talk to a mere Master’s student, inspired me to investigate events that remain murky in the public eye, and offered me valuable learning tools and insights for future research. I was incredibly lucky to have such a patient and supportive supervisor, whose interest in this project at times rivalled my own. I would like to thank my thirty-four interviewees, all of whom offered frank and candid interpretations of the relationship from their personal experiences and perspectives. Many of these people are extraordinarily busy and sought-after individuals, and I was deeply humbled by their readiness to provide me with their time, knowledge, and insights. Special thanks are due to my first two interviewees, Russell Marshal and David ZwartZ for their enthusiasm, knowledge, and connections. This thesis would have been a dull shadow without the fascinating contributions of the disparate collection of individuals who allowed me to interview them. 3 The staff at the Parliament Library, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade research division, Archives New Zealand, the National Library, and the Wellington Jewish Archives all deserve thanks for their patient and professional support of my many information requests. Many of these people went beyond the call of duty to help me track down information or offer suggestions about further research avenues. Several academics at Victoria University offered me insightful comments and suggestions in the early stages of this project. Special thanks are due to Malcolm McKinnon, Stephen Levine, and Rob Rabel for their support, and to Simone Gigliotti for her experience and mentorship. Thanks also to my office mates, Lucy, Simon, and our informal colleagues Noel and Toni. I will miss our anxious and stress-riddled conversations over coffee. I was fortunate to be a recipient of the Victoria Summer Research Scholarship, the Victoria Masters Scholarship, and generous travel grants from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, which allowed me to travel to Auckland, Sydney, and Canberra. The alleviation of the financial burden that post- graduate study normally entails was a real privilege and also assured me that my work was valued to the University. When I was nearing completion of this thesis I put out a call for proofreaders expecting that I would need to bribe and beg people for their services. Instead an intrepid bunch of people stepped up, each of whom deserves thanks: Noel Ballantyne, Lucy Mitchell, Stephen Wenley, Hugh Eldred-Grigg, and Robert van Voorthuysen. Finally I would like to thank friends, flatmates, and family for their support during this process. I am extremely grateful for your patience and encouragement. 4 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION........................................................................ 6 Examination of the literature..................................................................8 Outline of the Argument...................................................................... 13 CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................... 16 Recognition and Redirections ............................................................... 16 Holland........................................................................................... 29 Suez and the Old Lion with the “mighty roar and a sharp claw”.................... 29 Walter Nash..................................................................................... 36 Short-lived International Idealism.......................................................... 36 Consensual Diplomacy and Individual Passions ........................................ 38 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................ 40 Inching Towards ‘Even-handedness’ ...................................................... 40 Holyoake and the Six Day War: ............................................................ 41 “A little less David and a bit too much Goliath”? ...................................... 41 Norman Kirk.................................................................................... 49 Idealism in a Cold War World .............................................................. 49 Even-handedness explained.................................................................. 56 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................... 59 Muldoon to Bolger............................................................................. 60 Muldoon and the Middle East: A Grocer-Consumer Policy? ......................... 61 The Fourth Labour Government: The Mouse that Roared?........................... 69 Bolger and McKinnon......................................................................... 76 Open Political Dialogue ...................................................................... 76 New Zealand in the world, or the world in New Zealand?............................ 80 CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................... 83 Competing notions of “even-handedness” ............................................... 83 The Fifth Labour Government .............................................................. 84 Left-wing and Loathing? ..................................................................... 84 John Key and Murray McCully ............................................................102 Conservative camaraderie...................................................................102 CONCLUDING STATEMENTS .................................................. 110 Works Cited............................................................................. 118 5 “Just a DamneD Nuisance”: New ZealanD’s Changing Relationship with Israel from 1947 until May 2010 INTRODUCTION New Zealand’s foreign policy is frequently described by its leaders as bipartisan. The current Prime Minister John Key, for example, claimed in 2008 whilst Leader of the Opposition that New Zealand’s foreign policy: …does not belong to any individual political party. It does not belong to any Prime Minister or any government. Foreign policy belongs to the public of New Zealand and should, as far as possible, be driven by a considered evaluation of their evolving international interest and not by perceptions of narrow domestic political advantage.1 In some ways this