PSNA Newsletter No 21 - April 28 2020
28 April 2020
Newsletter No 21
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
As we shift down to Level three we can still all be digital human rights warriors for Palestine during the lockdown!
One thing you can do now – circulate this poster on your social media pages
We are lucky right now that beautiful Palestinian dates are now available in supermarkets – here is a picture from Pak n Save in Royal Oak, Auckland – look for these great dates in your local supermarket. They are expensive but
incredibly beautiful to eat. Give them a go!
Nakba day – Friday 15th May
The Palestinian "Nakba" ("catastrophe" in Arabic) refers to the mass expulsion, at gunpoint and with many massacres, of Palestinian Arabs (between 750,000 and one million) from British Mandate Palestine during Israel's creation (1947-49)
It was a deliberate and systematic policy of ethnic cleansing designed to create a Jewish majority state in historic Palestine, which was overwhelmingly Arab prior to 1948.
The Nakba did not end in 1948 and continues today, in the form of Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestinian land for Jewish settlements and denial of the internationally recognised legal right of return of millions of stateless Palestinian refugees.
Because of the lockdown we are working on a plan to have a further Zoom protest involving speakers from around the world. We will build on the success of our first online protest held two weeks ago which linked up Gaza’s health sector with the Palestine solidarity movement in New Zealand.
Incredibly, the people of Gaza have so far been able to stop Covid 19 at Gaza’s border and are quarantining those wanting to enter the area. This has been a heroic effort and we hope it can be maintained because the virus, along with Israeli racism and indifference, means Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank face a looming human catastrophe. Run down and bombed hospitals
New film on Gaza
Some of your may have seen this film when it was screened as part of an online webinar last week. It’s an incredibly good film and deserves the accolades it has received. It can be viewed online for US$5.99 or a copy can be downloaded for US$19.99 Either way it’s well worth it. Details are here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/gazafights
New digital posters
We are working on a series of new digital posters aimed at a New Zealand audience which has strong memories of the fight against apartheid in South Africa. We need to shift that energy to the fight against Israeli apartheid. Here is one of the first drafts.
New website is up and running
Our new website is at www.PSNA.nz and is slowly being “populated” with campaign material.
Have a look and feel free to send feedback to secretary@PSNA.nz
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