Everyone has the right to be free from discrimination. Treating others with respect is at the heart of our values, which makes Aotearoa New Zealand such a special place to live. So Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission was alarmed to learn of a wall defaced with antisemitic graffiti overnight, near to the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand.

Accompanied by an image of the graffiti, a post on the Holocaust Centre’s Facebook page reads: “Found in the early hours of this morning, just a stone’s throw from the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand in Wellington, this vile antisemitic message – "I hated Jews before it was cool!”

Race Relations Commissioner, Dr. Melissa Derby, condemns this hateful and brazen act as “shocking, confronting, and an alarming normalisation of antisemitism that everyone in New Zealand must stand against.”

She adds that “we must not allow antisemitism, islamophobia, racism and other forms of hateful bigotry to flourish in our country.”

It is unlawful under the Human Rights Act to discriminate against anyone because of their race or colour, ethnicity, religious or ethical beliefs, gender, or sexual orientation.

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