‘Test of regionalism’ – Pacific churches call for review of Israel’s PIF role

The region’s premier ecumenical organisation is calling for Israel’s new partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to be reviewed.

The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), which represents Christian churches and national councils across 18 countries and territories in the region, also wants all engagement with Israel suspended until it complies with international court rulings and United Nations resolutions.

It comes after Israel announced this week it had been accepted by Pacific leaders as a second-tier PIF partner.

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PCC’s general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan told RNZ Pacific Waves that the announcement came as a surprise, particularly as PIF had not issued a statement on the partnership.

He said Pacific leaders should review the arrangement and ensure local communities are consulted before decisions are made on their behalf.

On Thursday, Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka said the “entire Pacific Islands identify with Israel” and their relationship with the country was “biblical, ageless and real”.

Reverend Bhagwan told Pacific Waves that the region needed to apply consistent standards to its international relationships.

“We cannot invoke the [International Court of Justice] for our islands and ignore the fact that the ICJ, in 2024, stated that Israel must end its occupation of Palestinian territory as soon as possible,” he said.

Pacific history of colonisation
Reverend Bhagwan said the Pacific’s own history of colonisation, nuclear testing and environmental destruction should inform how it engages with other countries.

“This is the test of regionalism and our commitment for our sisters and brothers in the Pacific,” he said.

“We cannot talk about the suffering of one community only without ignoring what others are going through. That’s not the Pacific way at all.”

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has said criticising Israel’s inclusion in PIF is an “insult” to Pacific Island countries, adding that the decision by the Pacific leaders should be respected.

As a PIF partner, Israel will support Pacific development priorities in areas such as water management, desalination, agriculture and climate change adaptation.

Reverend Bhagwan stressed that the PCC’s concerns were not directed at Jewish people, nor at communities’ needs for water, food security and climate adaptation.

He said the PCC rejected anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, adding that the organisation mourned the loss of civilian lives on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Plea to PIF Toika
Reverend Bhagwan is urging the PIF Troika, which comprises Solomon Islands, Palau and New Zealand, to consider PCC’s concerns as the partnership arrangements are developed.

He also wants regional leaders to continue advocating for the right to self-determination of the six Pacific territories on the United Nations decolonisation list which are yet to achieve self-government.

He said the same principles should apply to all countries the region partners with, including Indonesia, which he wants pressed to allow a visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.