Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to New Zealand
New Zealand: a Jewish community of about 10,000 and the New Zealand Jewish Council, diplomatic relations since 1949, the 2004 Mossad passport affair, the 2016 Resolution 2334 row, the 2025 decision not yet to recognise Palestine, and Israeli radars
New Zealand has about 10,000 Jews, represented by the New Zealand Jewish Council, according to the World Jewish Congress (WJC).[1] It has had diplomatic relations with "Israel" since January 1949.[2] In 2004 it imposed diplomatic sanctions on "Israel" after two suspected Mossad agents were jailed for passport fraud in Auckland,[3] and in September 2025 it decided not yet to recognise a Palestinian state.[4]
Jewish community and religious life
History and demography
According to the WJC, the first Jewish congregation was formed in Wellington in 1843 and another in Auckland in 1848; the gold rush of the 1860s brought communities to Dunedin, Christchurch, Hokitika, Timaru, Nelson and Hastings. Julius Vogel was prime minister in 1873–1875 and 1876. Restrictive immigration policy let in only about 1,100 Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe. The 2018 census counted 5,274 people of Jewish religion; the WJC puts the community at about 10,000, centred on Auckland and Wellington.[1]
Communal organisations
New Zealand Jewish Council. The council, the WJC's New Zealand affiliate, represents the community to the government through five regional councils: Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago. Other bodies include the Community Security Group, which works with the police, and the Zionist Federation of New Zealand. The Kadimah School in Auckland is the country's only Jewish day school.[1]
Chabad
- Main article: Chabad Lubavitch of New Zealand
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry lists an embassy in Wellington and relations dating from January 1949.[2] The WJC gives the Israeli embassy's address as Level 13, Bayleys Building, 36 Brandon Street, Wellington 6146. New Zealand has no embassy in "Israel"; its ambassador is based in Turkey. After New Zealand co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on Israeli settlements in December 2016, "Israel" recalled its ambassador, who returned to Wellington in June 2017. New Zealand designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation in February 2024.[1]
In September 2025 the government decided not to recognise a Palestinian state, keeping its "when not if" position. The foreign minister, Winston Peters, told the General Assembly that countries which had signalled recognition had "seen the Israeli government snap, and continue its widely condemned military actions in Gaza while continuing to develop illegal settlements on the West Bank".[4]
Passport affair
In July 2004 Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara were each sentenced in Auckland to six months in prison for trying to obtain a New Zealand passport in the name of a tetraplegic man. The prime minister, Helen Clark, said "the breach of New Zealand laws and sovereignty by agents of the Israeli government has seriously strained our relationship with Israel", cancelled high-level visits, imposed visa restrictions on Israeli officials, and called off an expected visit by the Israeli president, Moshe Katsav. The Guardian reported that up to four Israeli agents had been involved.[3]
Military ties
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records six Israeli M-2022 maritime patrol radars delivered to New Zealand in 2011–2014 as part of the NZD352 million ($260 million) upgrade of its P-3K aircraft.[5]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $14.5 million from New Zealand in 2025 (2024: $14.1 million) and exported goods worth $47.8 million to it (2024: $106.4 million).[6]
Political interference
UN voting
New Zealand voted in favour of the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[7]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 World Jewish Congress, Community in New Zealand worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Mossad spies' jailed over New Zealand passport fraud The Guardian, 16 July 2004, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 NZ not yet recognising Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announces RNZ, 27 September 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy).
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).