PSNA Newsletter No 25 - June 23 2020
23 June 2020
Newsletter No 25
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
Three essential steps
we must all take NOW to stop Israeli theft of more Palestinian land.
Essential Step 1:
Rally against Israeli theft of Palestinian land
Nationwide protests around New Zealand will take place on July 4th – American Independence Day – because the US is encouraging and supporting this brazen theft. Rallies are planned from Northland to Otago.
Check out the event in your area and come along with your energy, passion, placards, banners and flags in Support of Palestinian Human Rights.
You can find out what is happening in your local area here. Please share widely.
Essential Step 2:
Copy and paste letter to PM and Foreign Minister
Demand New Zealand take action to back up the government’s criticism of Israel rather than simply “express serious concern” over its plan to again violate international law and steal more Palestinian land. Copy and paste the letter below to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs into an email and send to:
j.ardern@ministers.govt.nz
and
w.peters@ministers.govt.nz
Kia ora Ms Ardern kōrua ko Mr Peters,
I was pleased to see the government express serious concern about Israeli plans to steal more Palestinian land. However I think the government should back this up with real pressure on Israel to abide by international law and United Nations resolutions because polite criticism has never worked.
Steps the government should take include:
suspending our bilateral agreements with Israel
prohibiting the importation of products of illegal settlements made in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
instructing the Superannuation Fund to disinvest in any Israeli company complicit in settlement activities or land confiscation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
ending arms and military equipment purchases from Israeli companies
closing the Israeli embassy (as we did when Israeli Mossad agents stole New Zealand passports in another breach of international law)
ending visa free travel to New Zealand for Israelis (Palestinians are already excluded)
Palestinians will never achieve peace with justice unless countries like New Zealand turn words into meaningful action. We did it against South African apartheid. We must do it against Israeli apartheid.
Please respond urgently.
(Your name)
Essential Step 3:
Send a short letter to your local newspaper
You could use some of the information from our media release below.
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
23 June 2020
Media Release:
Peters criticism of Israeli annexation plan ‘all gums and no teeth’
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is pleased that the Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, has today expressed serious concern at Israeli plans to annex large parts of the Occupied West Bank, but says the New Zealand government is failing to use any leverage to get Israel to take any notice.
PSNA National Chair, John Minto, says the statement is ‘all gums and no teeth’.
“New Zealand governments have been saying ad nauseum that Israel should give up territory which it occupied in the 1967 war, ever since Israel fought that war to take more Palestinian land.”
“However by never joining with other countries to put real pressure on Israel to comply with international law and United Nations resolutions, Israel is now poised to commit another flagrant breach of international law and extinguish the last hope that Palestinians could ever achieve statehood.”
Steps New Zealand should be taking to back up its criticism of Israel include:
* Suspending our bilateral agreements with Israel
* Prohibiting the importation of products of illegal settlements made in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
* instructing the Superannuation Fund to disinvest in any Israeli company complicit in settlement activities or land confiscation in the Occupied
* Palestinian Territories
* ending arms and military equipment purchases from Israeli companies
* closing the Israeli embassy (as we did when Israeli Mossad agents stole New Zealand passports in another breach of international law)
“We still import Israeli goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and our Superfund still invests in Israeli companies which profit from illegal settlement building and the occupation.”
When Russia annexed Crimea our then Foreign Minister Murray McCully put in place some limited sanctions on individuals associated with the annexation. Despite much more egregious and long-standing breaches of international law and UN resolutions by Israel, Peters is signalling no such steps.
“Any objective look at the situation will show Peters’ claim of New Zealand’s “principled and balanced approach to the Middle East Peace Process” is a fairytale”. The conflict derives from Israel’s brutal military occupation of Palestine in the first instance. It is not a “both sides have legitimate issues and grievances”, as Mr Peters claims”
New Zealand should also NOT be calling for direct negotiations to solve these issues because the power imbalance will prevent a solution based on justice for Palestinians. Instead we must insist that Israel abide by international law and United Nations resolutions and take action with other countries to force compliance on this rogue state. That is the only path to peace based on justice.
John Minto says Israel has become increasingly identified as an apartheid state.
“New Israeli nationality laws have reinforced the permanent supremacy of people with Jewish ancestry over the indigenous Palestinians.”
As Nobel Peace prize winner and South African Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, says “we should name it apartheid and boycott”
New Zealand has a proud history in the fight against South African apartheid. We must do the same against Israeli apartheid”
John Minto
National Chair PSNA
Gaza and Covid 19 – brief update
As you know we have been watching the Covid 19 situation in Gaza closely over recent months as the blockaded territory faced this deadly threat in an area where 97% of the water is unfit to drink and where the densely-crowded area means “social distancing” as we know it is impossible.
Meanwhile under the tightly controlled Israeli blockade Gaza hospital and medical lack the medical equipment and personnel to deal effectively with an outbreak.
GAZA has so far done the almost unimaginable. They have been able to keep the virus out of community transmission through a rigid border quarantine system. This is a stunning achievement almost unmatched elsewhere in the world. We hope it continues.
We will keep you posted on progress.
Appeal to help Palestinians prepare cases of war crimes to take to the International Criminal Court.
We are continuing to make progress towards our target of NZ$4,000 for the Gaza Centre for Human Rights to employ two additional people to collect and prepare evidence of Israeli war crimes for the International Criminal Court. Can you help us reach this target?
The GCHR is the group which employs specialist investigator New Zealander Julie Webb-Pullman. In the last three 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.
At our last national committee meeting we met online with the two Palestinian women doing this work in very difficult circumstances and we were deeply impressed with their energy and drive and obvious competency for the work.
Please donate if you can and put GCHR (Gaza Center for Human Rights) in the Reference field. Thanking you in anticipation…
Account name: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-02
Reference: GCHR
An invitation from Palestinian journalist and author Tuma Hazou for Auckland and the Far North…
I have the pleasure of inviting you to the Launch of my book Dances with Death. In it I recount my many 'brushes with death' reporting on hostilities in the turbulent Middle East. The on-going conflicts and upheavals in the region have their roots in the infamous 1917 British Balfour Declaration committing Britain to set up in Palestine a national state for the Jews, ignoring the Muslim and Christian majority population.
The book ends with an overview of the prevailing dire consequences of the 1967 June War.
Addendums to the book add further substance to the personal traumatic narrative and related historical facts.
The digital flyer above provides more details on the book and author
Launch dates:
Sunday 5th July at 2 pm, at the Whangaparaoa Library, 9 Main St, Whangaparaoa, North Shore
And
Tuesday 14th July, 6pm at the Women's Bookshop, 105 Ponsonby Rd.
Still Lives – Marilyn Garson
Canadian-Kiwi Marilyn writes of her experiences working in GAZA under the Israeli blockade from 2011 to 2015. This is a book which brings to life the horrific brutality of the 2014 Israeli invasion of Gaza which left over 300 killed – including over 500 children. Marilyn documented her experiences as she worked through this horror. It is a MUST READ.
You can purchase this from your local bookshop or order your eBook here or order a physical copy at www.marilyngarson.com
Looking ahead – Palestinian political prisoners
PSNA is working on another on-line rally focusing on Israel’s brutality towards Palestinians imprisoned, often without trial (including Palestinian children). The tentative date is Sunday 26 July. More details in the next newsletter.
Don’t be tricked!
In August 2002 former Israeli Minister of Education Shulamit Aloni was interviewed on the radio and television program Democracy Now. When she was asked why people in the US were labelled anti-Semitic when they criticise Israel she said –
“Well, it’s a trick, we always use it. When from Europe somebody is criticizing Israel, then we bring up the Holocaust. When in this country (the US) people are criticizing Israel, then they are anti-Semitic…..it’s very easy to blame people who criticize certain acts of the Israeli government as anti-Semitic, and to bring up the Holocaust, and the suffering of the Jewish people, and that is to justify everything we do to the Palestinians.”
The late Shalomit Aloni
In New Zealand and other Western countries “the trick” is used to silence criticism of Israel.
People such as newspaper editors, journalists, cartoonists and members of parliament are intensely pressured whenever they speak out against Israel’s brutal military occupation and apartheid policies towards Palestinians.
In New Zealand the pressure comes from groups like the Jewish Council, the Israel Institute, the Israel Friendship Group in parliament, the Israeli embassy and Christian Zionist supporters. Pressure from “the trick” helps silence criticism and sometimes results in otherwise good people making excuses for Israel’s murderous policies and blaming the Palestinian victims.
Don’t be silenced!
Don’t be tricked!
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 (Email)