- "I am sick and tired of hearing how many Jews got
gassed," announced New Zealand Labor Party MP John Tamihere, in an
interview released on Sunday.
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- Tamihere's comment was met with quick reaction from international
groups as well as his own party, which currently holds the New Zealand
premiership.
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- In a statement issued to the press, New Zealand Prime
Minister Helen Clark described Tamihere's comments as "deeply offensive
to New Zealanders" and added that "the statements are also offensive
and utterly unacceptable to the New Zealand Labor Party."
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- Clark went on to apologize on behalf of her party: "The
pain caused to the Jewish community and to others who suffered in the Holocaust
by these thoughtless comments is acknowledged and deeply regretted by the
Labor Party."
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- In response to the New Zealander MP's comments, Dr. Efraim
Zuroff, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Israel director suggested that such
a lack of understanding of the significance of the Holocaust makes Tamihere
unfit for political leadership.
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- "It would appear that MP Tamihere is in urgent need
of psychological assistance to increase his ability to deal with the sad
history and reality of life on the planet Earth during the past century,
an absolutely necessary quality for anyone who desires to serve as a public
representative. In that respect, "Holocaust fatigue " is simply
a new form of mental illness, which is a condition which should disqualify
him from public service," said Zuroff on Sunday.
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- According to a statement issued by the New Zealand PM's
office, Tamihere will not attend caucus this Tuesday and will be placed
on extended leave, as part of an agreement made with Labor Party leadership
in light of this, the latest in a series of brash statements that caused
embarrassment to the Labor Party leadership.
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