August 5, 2011 -- Wellington -- An AJC leadership delegation has concluded a series of meetings in New Zealand, following on the heels of visits to Singapore and Australia.

The 12-member AJC group, which included leaders from across the United States, was joined by David Zwartz, a longtime advocate on behalf of New Zealand's Jewish community and a former Honorary Consul of the State of Israel.

AJC leaders met with, among others, Cabinet Minister and Attorney General Christopher Finlayson, the Labour party spokeswoman on Foreign Affairs Maryan Street, high-level Foreign Ministry officials, members of Parliament, the American and Israeli Ambassadors and leaders of the Jewish community.

The trip also provided an opportunity for AJC to express its solidarity in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that struck the city of Christchurch in February. In response to that tragedy, AJC provided humanitarian assistance for the rebuilding efforts.

"New Zealand is a country that deserves close inspection and admiration from the world community," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Traveling to this beautiful land one begins to understand why New Zealand consistently ranks so high in terms of human development, good governance and top-notch education.”  

Harris added: "In our conversations with officials, we were particularly delighted to witness the country's growing bilateral ties with Israel, which reopened its embassy in Wellington in 2010. Despite the considerable geographic difference, the areas of potential collaboration between Israel and New Zealand are considerable, especially in such areas as innovation, high technology and tourism."

In its diplomatic meetings, the AJC delegation welcomed the strengthening ties between Wellington and Jerusalem. It also applauded the principled position New Zealand took in 2009 when it was among ten nations that withdrew from the Durban Review Conference, known colloquially as Durban II.

In 2009, New Zealand's Foreign Minister declared, "When the World Conference Against Racism was held in Durban, South Africa...it gave rise to expressions of anti-Israeli views which undermined its focus in genuine anti-racism initiatives...I am not satisfied that the wording emerging from preparatory discussions will prevent the Review Conference from descending into the same kind of rancorous and unproductive debate that took place in 2001."

The AJC delegation noted that the very same concerns could be applied to the upcoming tenth anniversary of the original Durban conference, to be held at the UN in New York next month. To date, six countries -- the U.S., Canada, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic -- have indicated they will not attend.

This was AJC's second visit to New Zealand in recent years. AJC has close ties with the New Zealand Jewish community, which numbers approximately 8,000, mostly centered in Auckland and, to a lesser extent, Wellington.