The Indigenous Coalition for Israel (ICFI) is a New Zealand based organisation that aims to foster a unified indigenous voice in support of Israel, both domestically and globally, by promoting education and cultural engagement. It was founded by former Cabinet of New Zealand government minister Alfred Ngaro and academic Sheree Trotter.

Mission

ICFI aims to address the underrepresentation of indigenous supporters for Israel in the prevailing cultural discourse, aiming to educate on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. ICFI seeks to change the perception of Israel among Māori and Pasifika communities to create greater understanding and to address the lack of an official Māori or indigenous entity to represent a pro-Israel stance.

ICFI uses various platforms to communicate their message, including its website, articles, newsletters, videos, social media and face-to-face engagement.

People

Sheree Trotter, co-founder of ICFI, is an academic and researcher who writes on rising antisemitism in Western-style democracies. Trotter earned her PhD in History at the University of Auckland and her thesis was on Zionism in New Zealand. Trotter is a Māori Te Arawa indigenous person from New Zealand and believes there is a misconception that Jews are colonisers in Israel. Through her work with ICFI she emphasises the Jewish historical connection to Israel.

Alfred Ngaro, co-founder of ICFI and former Cabinet of New Zealand government minister, has stated that he is a Zionist and supports the Jewish people in the "Land of Israel". He reflects on his Jewish grandmother, who came to the Cook Islands, and describes himself as a Cook Islander, Polynesian by birth and Jewish by descent.

Activities

In April 2023, ICFI supported a press statement alongside several other organisations condemning the rocket attacks fired from Gaza and Southern Lebanon into Israel, and called on the New Zealand government to do the same.

In December 2023, ICFI criticised a petition with 5000 signatories entitled the "Māori Call for Palestine" which urged the New Zealand government to intensify its support for Palestinians in the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. The petition included measures such as expelling the New Zealand-based Israeli ambassador until a ceasefire is reached and imposing economic sanctions on businesses linked with Israel's military actions. In addition, the petition accuses Israel of genocide, apartheid and occupation which Trotter, as spokesperson for ICFI, deemed "problematic" and "deeply misguided". Trotter is quoted as saying, "...it doesn’t really show a recognition or understanding of the geopolitics of the region or the history of the region. It throws around some pretty provocative terms that I would challenge as being incorrect and I think it fails to recognise what Israel is dealing with with Hamas.”

Indigenous People Embassy in Jerusalem

In 2024, the Indigenous Coalition For Israel initiated the creation of the first-ever Indigenous People Embassy in Jerusalem, located on the Friends of Zion Museum campus. This project, recognized as the 100th embassy in the State of Israel, aims to modify the narrative among indigenous peoples worldwide, emphasizing the ancestral connections indigenous groups have to their lands and resources. It seeks to acknowledge the social and cultural distinctions that define indigenous populations across the globe.

The establishment of the embassy received support from indigenous leaders from various regions, including Singapore, Taiwan, Samoa, American Samoa, Hawaii, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, along with Native American and Southern African chiefs.

According to Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, indigenous peoples, with their intrinsic connections to their territories, are well-positioned to counter narratives that aim to disconnect the Jewish people from their ancestral lands.