Print friendly
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has expressed the opinion that Mary and her husband Joseph were Palestinian refugees.
Last Thursday Ghahraman posted a tweet: “They were literally Palestinian refugees.
“And she (Mary) normally had her hair covered because that’s what modesty looked like in her culture…but let’s keep fighting about what race mermaids are.”
She had been answering a tweet suggesting that by the parents of Christ were refugees.
Ghahraman’s tweet has since been deleted.
But it has prompted criticism from Jewish community representatives.
A spokesperson for Green Party co-leaders said Ghahraman Golriz had unreservedly apologized for her poorly worded remarks.
A spokesperson of the New Zealand Jewish Council, Juliet Moses, said: “There has been no apology from Ghahraman that I’m aware of”.
“Ms Ghahraman, by refusing to acknowledge that Jesus was Jewish, including when many people pointed out her error, is continuing to erase that connection, a favourite tactic of those who aim to delegitimise the modern-day Jewish presence in the land,” said Moses.
She also said that: “Calling Mary and Joseph Palestinian refugees is disrespectful to the Jewish community, and no doubt the Christian community too.”
However, Ghahraman did say she understood her comments had caused offence to some in the Jewish community in New Zealand and she did apologise.
“That was not my intention and I unreservedly apologise.
“The Jewish community are pivotal in advocating for the rights of refugees, most recently for those detained on the American border,” she said.
“I will ensure to engage in dialogue with the Jewish community about what I could have done better with that remark and how I can improve dialogue ongoing”.
Ghahraman was born in Iran and her family sought asylum in New Zealand when she was a child.
Source
Related Posts:
News category: New Zealand.
