PSNA Newsletter No 24 - June 9 2020
9 June 2020
Newsletter No 24
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
Netanyahu’s proposes to annex vast swathes of Palestinian land from 1 July as part of the Trump “Deal of the Century”.
So far all appeals we have made for the government to speak out have fallen on the deaf ears of New Zealand First which controls Foreign Affairs and Defence and Trade in the coalition government.
One thing you can do now – copy and paste the message below and send to
Kia ora Jacinda raua ko Winston,
Speak up for Palestine
New Zealand has been silent for six months as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been preparing a blatant breach of international law in his proposed annexation of vast swathes of Palestinian land in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
I want the government to speak out for me alongside the European Union and the vast mass of humanity which condemns this opportunistic, racist theft of Palestinian land.
The previous National-led government co-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 in December 2016 which said Israel’s settlement building on occupied Palestinian land constituted a "flagrant violation" of international law and had "no legal validity". It demanded Israel stop such activity and fulfil its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
However, this Labour-led coalition government has been deafeningly silent while Israel not only continues buildings illegal settlements but now intends to steal the land itself.
I want you to speak up for all decent New Zealanders and condemn this proposed annexation rather than issue a mild whimper once it has happened.
Please speak up NOW.
(Your name)
July 4th – National Day of Action against Annexation
We are organising a national day of action against Israel’s plans to annex vast areas of Palestinian land in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We hope as many centres as possible will be able to organise activities such as marches, pickets, vigils etc.
The date has been chosen because Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the annexation will go ahead in early July and because 4 July is American Independence Day. It is the US which has given the go ahead for annexation under Trump’s so-called “deal of the century”.
We will have details of local activities around the country in the next newsletter.
Donate to this urgent appeal for NZ $4,000 to help hold Israel to account for war crimes – we have raised $2,300 so far…
Since our last newsletter we have raised $2,300 towards the target of $4,000 for the employment of two Palestinians in Gaza to work on collating and processing evidence of Israeli war crimes for the International Criminal Court. Can you help us to reach the target?
Please consider if you can donate. We’d love to raise even more than $4000 because every dollar we get will help hold Israel to account for war crimes.
You will recall that last year PSNA raised $US6,000 to help in this work through New Zealander Julie Webb-Pullman. In the last two months however two temporary staff working with Julie have had their promised funding source dry up through Covid 19 disruption and we need the NZ$4,000 to bridge the gap and keep the work moving forward.
Please donate if you can and put GCHR in the particulars. Thanking you in anticipation…
Account name: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Campaign Account no: 38-9015-0849542-02
Reference: GCHR
New digital posters posters – another one for you to share on social media!
You can find other digital posters here - https://www.psna.nz/digitalposters
Two new books provide great reading after 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 (Email)
Whangarei PSNA Whangarei (Facebook)
Auckland PSNA Auckland – Tamaki Makaurau (Website)
Hamilton Palestine Human Rights Campaign Waikato (Facebook)
Tauranga Tauranga Moana 4 Palestine (Facebook)
Napier/Hastings Aotearoa Standing with Palestine (Facebook)
Palmerston North PSNA Palmerston North (Email)
Wellington Wellington Palestine (Website)
Nelson Te Tau Ihu (Nelson) Palestine (Facebook)
Christchurch PSNA Christchurch (Facebook)
Dunedin Dunedin for Justice in Palestine (Facebook)
Invercargill PSNA Invercargill (emial)
Affiliates