The New Zealand Jewish Council notes with dismay John Tamihere’s reported comments that “This is a pogrom” in relation to an NZ Herald investigation into the use of funds by charities associated with him. He also likened the experience to Jews facing persecution.

“Pogrom” is a Russian word that connotes specific historical acts of Jewish persecution, being violent attacks by local non-Jewish mobs on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries. The term came into common usage in the 1800s as pogroms in Eastern Europe became widespread. Pogroms like Kristallnacht were a feature of the Nazi regime and they continued after the Holocaust, as in Kielce Poland in 1946, when Jewish survivors returning to their homes were attacked by a mob and at least 42 murdered.

Many members of New Zealand’s tiny Jewish population, which according to the 2013 census number about 7,000, have ancestors who fled the pogroms and sought refuge here.

Māori have their own history of persecution and mamae, which should not be appropriated or trivialised. As we work to improve our understanding and recognition of that persecution, we hope that all who make up this nation have their histories and unique experiences treated with respect and accuracy.

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