PSNA Newsletter No 18 - March 18 2020
18 March 2020
Newsletter No 18
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
One thing you can do right now…
Circulate this poster to family and friends in Auckland and come along yourself if you can. ACT MP David Seymour has invited the Israeli ambassador to talk about the Trump/Netanyahu “deal of the century” – the filthy plan to steal more Palestinian land and further develop the Israeli apartheid state at the expense of Palestinians.
We don’t expect to get more than 500 people to this protest so it’s going ahead and we need you to help get a decent crowd along.
Coronavirus, Racism and Israel
The Israeli state remains in a political mess with Netanyahu failing again to get a parliamentary majority in the third election early this month and facing charges of corruption. Covid 19 has postponed his court appearance and he is trying to stitch together a six-month emergency government to deal with the global epidemic. However, the blatant race-hatred of Palestinians by Netanyahu and most of the Israeli parliamentary leadership means Palestinian Israelis (20% of voters in Israeli elections) are not welcome in any government – emergency or otherwise. Instead the pandemic is being used to drive forward ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. PLO spokesperson Hannan Ashrawi explains what’s happening in this release while the deep-seated racism of the Israeli state is explained here.
Some Kiwisaver accounts in the clear
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.
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/
We will update this list in future newsletters as we find out more from each of the other providers.
Positive City Council responses
After the attempt by pro-Israeli groups to have the Wellington City Council pass a resolution on anti-semitism last month based on the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-semitism we have written to all mayors and councillors around New Zealand alerting them to the possibility this will be attempted at other councils. We have received a wide range of deeply appreciative response from around the country.
In case you missed the last newsletter, the IHRA definition of anti-semitism is not designed to protect Jewish communities from anti-semitism but is designed to protect Israeli from criticism and political action such as BDS by claiming this is anti-semitic.
Palestine Land Day Protests
Some centres are organising activities to protest Palestine Land Day – here is the poster for the Christchurch protest. (Palestine Land Day is the 30th March but it makes sense for us to take action on the 29th)
Please circulate it to friends and family in Christchurch and encourage them to join us.
Imprisoning a generation – Wellington screening postponed
Wellington Palestine have postponed their screening of the film Imprisoning a Generation, scheduled for Thursday 26th March, due to coronavirus. The Christchurch screening on 2 April will go ahead as we can manage the proximity of patrons quite easily at the WEA venue.
Please send the notice below to family and friends in Christchurch!
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 will be travelling to various centres for the launch of his book but in the meantime the book can be purchased from Tuma at gandthazou@gmail.com
Still Lives – Marilyn Garson
Marilyn Garson’s book Still Lives has been accepted for the Auckland Writers Festival. Great news for a great book!
In the book Canadian-Kiwi Marilyn writes of her experiences working in GAZA under the Israeli siege
Order your eBook here
BDS Conference in Sydney cancelled
The BDS conference planned for Sydney in late July has been cancelled due to corona virus. It will either held much later this year or more likely held over till July 2021.
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