The prestigious prize is awarded annually to the person who has “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
Whakatāne-Ōhope ward councillor Nándor Tánczos.
Tánczos said he had also posted some “anti-genocide stuff” about the war in Gaza.
The councillor regularly shares news articles, opinion pieces and his own views on the conflict via his personal Facebook page.
He said he was contacted through his Facebook page by a woman in Tel Aviv who accused him of anti-Semitism and said she had two children in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) who were good people.
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Tánczos responded to her, explaining that he had nothing against Jewish people, only against the current actions being taken in Gaza by the IDF.
Three days later, he said he received a courtesy call from the Whakatāne police.
“The woman rang them from Tel Aviv to complain about my social media posts.”
Tánczos said he was surprised to learn that opposing what he believed to be genocide, was a hate crime in her eyes.
He said he was assured by the police officer who phoned him that they had looked into his online activity and informed the complainant that no crime had been committed.
“The police were great. It was just a courtesy call to let me know what had happened.
“It actually made me laugh to think that someone from Tel Aviv would go as far as reporting me to the New Zealand Police about this.”
Tánczos said the experience would not stop him from expressing his opinions on Facebook.
“I don’t have any hesitation in denouncing Israel’s actions in Gaza. I’m not anti-Semitic.”
Whakatāne police were not available to comment but a senior media adviser from police national headquarters said she did not think complaints of this type were common.
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– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.