PSNA Newsletter No 19 - April 1 2020
1 April 2020
Newsletter No 19
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
What a difference two weeks makes! All the events and activities from our last newsletter have been abandoned for the lockdown.
However, you can be a digital human rights warrior for Palestine during the lockdown!
Gaza is poised on the edge of a human catastrophe.
Nine cases of Covid 19 in Gaza appear to be contained for the moment but wider release is inevitable and will be an easily-avoidable death sentence for thousands of Palestinians. Gaza has 40 ICU beds and 60 ventilators for two million people crammed in one of the most densely populated places on earth. It also has badly degraded medical services following Israel’s 13 year blockade, invasions and regular bombardment. Israel's racist words, racist policies and racist denial of human rights for Palestinians is at the heart of the crisis.
Israel must end its brutal blockade of Gaza and allow Palestinians to bring in the medical equipment and medical personnel needed to deal with the looming crisis.
Meanwhile US senators have spoken out calling on the Trump administration to pressure Israel
“Given the spread of the coronavirus in the West Bank and Gaza, the extreme vulnerability of the health system in Gaza, and the continued withholding of U.S. aid to the Palestinian people, we are concerned that the Administration is failing to take every reasonable step to help combat this public health emergency in the Palestinian Territories,” the senators said in their letter.
The New Zealand government has been repeatedly asked to raise its voice but to date has been silent when silence is NOT an option.
THE PEOPLE OF GAZA NEED US.
We can all help now by doing these three things:
Sign the letter to the Prime Minister signed by many prominent New Zealanders online here www.psna.nz/petition and
Send your own short personal message to back up the call for government action to j.ardern@ministers.govt.nz
Share the petition link widely on social media.
Update - some Kiwisaver accounts in the clear
As we reported in the last newsletter, we have written to all 29 registered Kiwisaver providers to check if they have investments in any of the 112 companies which the United Nations Human Rights Council has identified as being complicit in illegal settlement building or settlement maintenance on occupied Palestinian land. We are encouraging any providers with such investments to transfer their investments elsewhere rather than in assisting in Israel’s blatant abuse of international law and oppression of Palestinians.
The UNHRC media release and link to the full report are here.
So far four Kiwisaver providers have indicated they have no such investments. These responsible Kiwisaver providers are:
Amanah Kiwisaver (www.amanahnz.com/)
Christian Kiwisaver (https://christiankiwisaver.nz/)
Caresaver Kiwisaver (caresaver.co.nz/)
Juno Kiwisaver (www.junokiwisaver.co.nz/
However not all Kiwisaver funds are engaging with this important issue. Here is the response from Nikko Asset Management.
“Dear John
I refer to your emails below, and confirm that we won’t be entering into correspondence on this matter.
Regards
George
George Carter
Managing Director
George.Carter@nikkoam.com
Nikko Asset Management New Zealand Limited | www.nikkoam.co.nz
Level 17, Vero Centre, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
PO Box 3892, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140
”
If you have the time during the lockdown you might like to write to Mr Carter and let him know that human rights are vitally important, especially for Palestinians who have their land confiscated for the building of Israeli-only settlements which are illegal under international law. Nikko Asset Management should divest from all the 112 companies identified by the United Nations Human Rights Council as complicit in these breaches of international law.
Two new books provide great reading during the lockdown
Dances with Death - A new book by Palestinian New Zealander – Tuma Hazou
“Written without rancour, Tuma Hazou’s account of his wartime reporting experiences is an engaging, authentic and rare Palestinian account of recent Middle-East events and of nerve-wracking personal trauma” - Janfrie Wakim - Auckland
Tuma is a Palestinian New Zealander. He was planning to attend book launches around the country but that’s not possible. You can purchase a book from Tuma at gandthazou@gmail.com
Still Lives – Marilyn Garson
Canadian-Kiwi Marilyn writes of her experiences working in GAZA under the Israeli blockade from 2011 to 2015. It’s a great book and has been accepted for the Auckland Writers Festival.
Order your eBook here or order a physical copy at www.marilyngarson.com
Guidelines for engaging on social media
Our national committee recently discussed the best ways for us to engage in supporting Palestine in social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc and we came up with these guidelines for PSNA supporters. We would welcome feedback to secretary@PSNA.nz
PSNA Online Policy Guidelines
Social media is an unregulated space where there are many opportunities to get clear pro-Palestinian messages out to a wider audience than through traditional mainstream media. We need as many voices as we can muster speaking out on all social media platforms. Our goal is to amplify the Palestinian side of the issue which has previously been lost in a sea of pro-Israeli lies which has so often dominated media reporting. However, there are potential dangers to avoid. Keep these guidelines in mind when you engage with social media:
When we encounter pro-Israeli trolls on social media we should attack their views rather than attack them personally – stick to the issues and avoid being side-tracked. Be assertive but stay on track.
Remember the real target is the wider social media audience. We won’t convince individual pro-Israeli trolls to support the Palestinian struggle but those reading and watching an exchange are our real audience. We must keep them as the real target for our social media activism.
Calling out racism in all its forms, such as white supremacy, Islamophobia or anti-Semitism builds consistency with the messages of support for Palestinian rights and places into context the fundamental racist premise on which the state of Israel is founded.
People in leadership or spokesperson roles within PSNA and its affiliates should be especially careful in social media interactions because as we become more effective in advocating for Palestine we will face more vitriolic, personal attacks from elements of the extremist pro-Israeli lobby who will look for ways to undermine our kaupapa by undermining us.
New Merchandise
T shirt Free Palestine End Israeli Occupation medium size only $22
Kaffiyeh 110 x 110 $44 + postage
Are you able to donate a cup of coffee a month to the campaign?
We will need some serious money to make our campaign as effective as possible. For example, we will need somewhere in the vicinity of $25,000 to bring speakers to New Zealand over the next year and organise large public meetings to help spread the message.
You can help. Are you able to donate a cup of coffee a month to the campaign? In other words, can you afford to make an automatic payment of $5 per month to support the Palestinian struggle? (If you can afford more that would be great!)
Our account details are:
Account name: Palestine Solidarity Networt
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-00
Or Pay Pal account: admin@palestinesolidaritynz.net
We are happy to provide a receipt upon request (however, we are not a registered charity so this is not tax-deductible)
More ways you can get involved
Forward this Newsletter – If you know people who may be interested in this movement, please forward this Newsletter to them.
Join in local activities in your area monthly Rallies - In Auckland at 2.00 pm on the first Saturday of every month. Please consider doing the same in your community. Contact mailto:admin@palestinesolidaritynz.net?subject=Flags and Banners if you would like to know where and how to get Flags and Banners
Help set up a Students for Justice in Palestine groups on your campus
Tell Your MP your opinions on Divestment and Sanctions of Israel.
Write Letters to Newspapers – Call Talkback Radio
Keep in touch with the campaign on social media
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network website: http://PalestineSolidarityNZ.net/index.html
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/671376706283605/
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network email: admin@PalestineSolidarityNZ.net
The Palestine Human Rights Campaign produces the In Occupied Palestine newsletter. It is a regular daily newsletter on the daily situation in Palestine, compiled by Leslie Bravery and emailed to subscribers. If you would also like to become a subscriber, please contact Leslie at “lesliebravery @ icloud .com” (remove the spaces to use as an email address) for further information.
Keep Updated on our Facebook pages and websites (listed below)
Regional Branches and Affiliates
Regional
Bay of Islands PSNA Bay of Islands
Whangarei PSNA Whangarei
Auckland PSNA Auckland – Tamaki Makaurau
Hamilton Palestine Human Rights Campaign Waikato
Tauranga Tauranga Moana 4 Palestine
Napier/Hastings Aotearoa Standing with Palestine
Palmerston North PSNA Palmerston North
Wellington Wellington Palestine
Nelson Te Tau Ihu (Nelson) Palestine
Christchurch PSNA Christchurch
Dunedin Dunedin for Justice in Palestine
Invercargill PSNA Invercargill
New Zealand Affiliates
Boycott Divestment and Sanctions NZ
Kia Ora Gaza
Letters for Palestine
Auckland Peace Action
Global Peace and Justice Auckland
Preserved Identity (Palestinian Goods)
Auckland – Students for Justice in Palestine
Massey University- Students for Justice in Palestine