Awkward reminder

It’s likely that Michael Cullen’s worthy memoir excludes the egregious episode involving his quashing of the arrest of a former Israeli defence chief, Moshe Ya’alon.

Ya’alon, who arrived in New Zealand in December 2006, had admitted ordering the bombing of a civilian neighbourhood in Gaza, killing 15 people and injuring 150 others. After considering the evidence over a number of days, an Auckland judge ordered him to be arrested for war crimes. Cullen, as attorney-general, stayed the prosecution. The warrants were cancelled and Ya’alon was free to leave New Zealand. I was the claimant in this case and Cullen’s decision registered as a betrayal of New Zealand’s

commitment to uphold international criminal justice.

Ya’alon was Minister of Defence under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was in charge during the 2014 attack on Gaza when, according to the UN, 2251 Palestinians were killed. Janfrie Wakim, Auckland

❚ Editor’s note: Crown Law advised at the time that the materials supplied to support the allegations could not be relied upon to show a prima facie case against the defendant.

Let Team NZ go

Taxpayers and ratepayers subsidised Team NZ to the tune of $247.5 million at the previous America’s Cup. Team NZ now repays that loyalty by rejecting a $99m handout. The Government should scuttle any option for them to come back to the negotiating table if their overseas negotiations fall short.

Give the money to people who deserve it – nurses, police officers, Defence Force personnel, border and MIQ workers.

I love my sport, but the America’s Cup reflects much of what ails sport today. It is driven by self-serving corporate greed. Steve Plowman, Wellington