Holocaust denier’s visit to NZ prompts concern and condemnation

The Government should closely scrutinise the visa application of Holocaust denier Candace Owens, the chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand has urged.
Owens, an American far-right activist with a history of antisemitic, Islamophobic and homophobic comments, is visiting Auckland in November as part of a speaking tour which will also take her to Australia.
While Jewish groups across the Tasman have urged their government to reject Owens’ visa application, views are more split in New Zealand.
“We are aware of Ms Owens’ hateful, racist, historically illiterate and frankly stupid statements, that include but go well beyond Holocaust denial, and suggest an unhealthy delusional fixation on the Jewish people who constitute 0.2 percent of the world’s population,” Jewish Council of New Zealand spokesperson Juliet Moses told Newsroom.
“However, like all the other antisemites who have visited these shores over recent years, some of whom have been platformed at houses of worship, on media and even at Parliament, we will not be opposing her visit.”
Justine Sachs, a spokesperson for Jewish group Dayenu, called on the Government to ban Owens from visiting.
“We don’t really see this as a left or right issue. She was fired from [right-wing outlet] The Daily Wire for her antisemitic views,” Sachs said. “There is just no justification for her to be allowed to come to Aotearoa and incite racial disharmony, from our point of view.”
In recent videos published to her YouTube channel, Owens questioned whether key elements of the Holocaust had occurred. She said the well-documented human experimentation conducted by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele at the Auschwitz concentration camp “just sounds like bizarre propaganda” and called the Holocaust “an ethnic cleansing [that] almost took place”.
In past comments, Owens has accused Jews of “drinking Christian blood” and of orchestrating the assassination of US President John F Kennedy.
Last week, Owens used her appearance on alternative media outlet The Platform to defend the 1915 antisemitic lynching of Jewish man Leo Frank, who historians have determined was not guilty of the murder he was convicted of.
Despite her public record of hateful comments, Owens is influential on the American right and hosts the 11th most popular podcast in the ‘News’ category in the United States, according to data from Apple Podcasts.
“She’s a medieval-style Jew hater repurposed for the age of the internet. We do have markedly increased antisemitism in this country and her rhetoric can incite hatred. There is certainly a fear that her rhetoric could inflame tensions in this country,” Holocaust Centre chair Deborah Hart told Newsroom.
“Officials need to use the tools at their disposal and run the ruler over whether someone like that should be coming or not.”
In 2004, Holocaust denier David Irving was refused permission to come to New Zealand in similar circumstances. When he nonetheless attempted to board a flight to Auckland in Los Angeles, he was refused permission to board.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said decisions like this were an operational matter for immigration officials so it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to comment.
Acting Race Relations Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo condemned Owens in comments to Newsroom.
“Holocaust denial is hateful and false. Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust as well as people from Rainbow communities, people with disabilities and political dissidents. Most Jewish people in Aotearoa New Zealand have Holocaust loss and survival in their family history. Its denial harms them and other marginalised communities,” she said.
“The right to freedom of expression, while important, must be balanced with people’s right to be free from discrimination, the right to safety and security, and the right to religious freedom and belief.”
Hart said New Zealanders should reject Owens’ views.
“Her remarks are absolutely repugnant. She minimises the Holocaust, she espouses discredited conspiracy theories, she should be treated with utter disdain. Her rhetoric is not seated in any factual basis,” she said.
“If she comes, Kiwis should turn their back to her. She has nothing useful to say that is helpful in this country. If she comes, she can speak to empty auditoriums.”