PSNA Newsletter No 32 - September 29, 2020
29 September 2020
Newsletter No 32
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
Something you can do NOW – with just a couple of clicks…
Send an email to Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters (and copy in the Prime Minister) condemning the government’s welcoming the “normalisation” agreement between the US, Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
Four traitors – two medieval despots, one vile racist and one indescribable idiot!
A good report of the agreement is here and PSNA Chair John Minto wrote a blog about the deal here.
Here is Winston Peter’s email to us:
From: Rt. Hon. Winston Peters <Winston.Peters@parliament.govt.nz>
Sent: Thursday, 24 September 2020 9:30 a.m.
To: johnminto@orcon.net.nz
Subject: RE: URGENT - invitation to signing of so-called "peace" deal
Dear John Minto
Thank you for your letter of 15 September 2020.
New Zealand welcomed the agreements of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalise relations with Israel, as well as the announcement of the suspension of Israel’s annexation plans. The establishment of diplomatic relations is a positive step towards achieving greater peace and stability in the Middle East.
New Zealand was not represented at the event to mark the signing of the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement at the White House in Washington, D.C. on 15 September 2020.
Yours sincerely
Rt Hon Winston Peters l Deputy Prime Minister | Leader New Zealand First | Minister of Foreign Affairs l Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control | Minister for State Owned Enterprises | Minister for Racing | 7.4 Executive Wing, Parliament Buildings, Wellington | www.beehive.govt.nz
Here is a letter you could send (or personalise it for yourself)
To:
w.peters@ministers.govt.nz
j.ardern@ministers.govt.nz
Kia ora Mr Peters kōrua ko Ms Ardern,
I was appalled to read the government is welcoming the recent “normalisation” agreement between the US, Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
This agreement is a betrayal of Palestinians. It will not move closer to peace because the UAE and Bahrain, led by feudal medieval despots, have signed only so they will be able to purchase modern weapons from the US to quell dissent amongst their own populations.
I urge the government to stand behind Palestinians, not simply by voting for limp-wristed resolutions at the United Nations, by bringing meaningful pressure on Israel to abide by international law and United Nations resolutions.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Nā,
(name)
Election pledges for parliamentary candidates
These were sent out last week to all candidates from all political parties standing for election.
Here are the pledges below with an introduction looking at the campaign to isolate apartheid South Africa. Responses so far have been very encouraging. Most Green party candidates have got back to us including ALL current Green MPs supporting all three pledges. This is a good start - we look forward to the other parties stepping up!
Pledges for Palestine
14 September 2020
Dear election candidate,
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is asking all candidates for the 2020 general election to pledge support for the human rights of all Palestinians based on international law and United Nations resolutions.
New Zealand has been here before. In the 1970s and 1980s New Zealanders gave strong support to the struggle of black South Africans against apartheid.
In 2020 the focus has shifted to Palestine and the racist, apartheid policies of the Israeli government towards Palestinians.
Nobel Peace prize winner and South African Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, says in relation to Israeli policies “we should name it apartheid and boycott”.
"I have witnessed the racially segregated roads and housing in the Holy Land that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under apartheid," says Tutu.
"We could not have achieved our democracy without the help of people around the world, who through... non-violent means, such as boycotts and disinvestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the apartheid regime."
Candidate pledges for Palestine
I support Palestinians’ rights to self-determination in an independent Palestinian state in historic Palestine and I support the application of international law and United Nations resolutions in achieving this goal.
In particular:
1. I oppose the illegal annexation by Israel of large areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the so called ‘Trump Plan’.
The Trump Plan is strictly between the US and Israel to bypass well established international law principles and United Nations resolutions for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict. It has been condemned by governments throughout the world with the New Zealand government expressing serious concern. To achieve diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, the Israeli government has recently delayed its annexation plan, but has explicitly not cancelled it.
2. I support New Zealand relations with Israel being conditional on Israel’s compliance with its international law responsibilities, in particular the issues of occupation, human rights and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
Until Israel complies, I will support the New Zealand government;
suspending its range of 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
3. I oppose the use of Israeli military detention for Palestinian children and the use of “administrative detention” of Palestinians whereby they are incarcerated for prolonged periods without charge or trial.
Therefore I pledge to support the recommendations of Defence for Children Palestine and will support a government public statement, tabled in the New Zealand parliament, condemning Israel’s use of military courts and military detention for Palestinian children and for New Zealand to work with other countries at the United Nations to stop these inhumane practices.
Covid in Gaza
As we have written about for a long time the tragedy of Covid 19 in Gaza has become a reality. The Israeli blockade is hampering Palestinians’ ability to deal with the pandemic with Israel being blatantly obstructive as is its normal practice and even being reported as destroying Covid 19 supplies. Here is a summary of the pandemic in Gaza (Note the actual figures will be much higher because of the shortage of test equipment available)
Supporters will know we have taken this up with the government on several occasions this year but Foreign Minister Winston Peters is unmoved and the other ministers have washed their hands of it.
Go Napier!
Palestine supporters took the Free Palestine campaign to Napier’s Marine Parade last weekend (that’s the beautiful water of Hawkes Bay in the background!)
See here for more pictures.
Meanwhile:
Auckland holds their Monthly Rally at 2:00 - 3:00 pm 3 October (this Saturday) at Aotea Square on Queens street, Auckland. Here is the link to the Facebook event. If you are in Auckland, come along. Face masks will be available.
Then New Plymouth will be out in action on 10 October. Here is the link to the Facebook event. If you live close call in and show your support!
The David Wakim Memorial Lecture
PSNA Chair John Minto will delivery the 2020 David Wakim Memorial Lecture in Auckland this year. Details are on the poster below. NOTE The lecture will be livestreamed on www.thedailyblog.co.nz
In case you missed them last time…
Earlier this year PSNA developed guidelines for our supporters using social media to build the solidarity campaign for Palestine. This week our national committee added another point (see the fourth bullet point in our undated guidelines below) It is an attempt to keep the discussion on our social media pages positive and forward-looking. Any feedback would be welcomed to secretary@PSNA.nz
Here are our updated guidelines ( https://www.psna.nz/policies ):
PSNA guidelines for social media
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.
If racist comments of any kind are made on our social media sites these will be removed as soon as they are seen. We will also remove comments which are offensive or dehumanising because although not racist, such comments don’t help the building of solidarity with Palestinians and can encourage more of the same types of unhelpful comments.
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.
Boycott Hewlett-Packard! Don’t buy HP!
If you haven’t had a chance to read through this information about Hewlett Packard then please do so. We will begin building a national campaign against Hewlett-Packard shortly so get yourself up to date and ready to act!
The online HP campaign page is here: https://bdsaustralia.net.au/campaigns/dont-buy-hp-products/
And the online petition is here: https://bdsaustralia.good.do/boycotthp/individualpledge/
Dances with Death - Tuma Hazou
“In this book 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”
Books can be ordered directly from the author 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. 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
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 Secretary@PSNA.nz 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: https://www.PSNA.nz
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/671376706283605/
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network email: Secretary@PSNA.nz
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)
New Plymouth PSNA New Plymouth (Email)
Wellington PSNA Wellington (Email)
Nelson Te Tau Ihu (Nelson) Palestine (Facebook)
Christchurch PSNA Christchurch (Facebook)
Dunedin Dunedin for Justice in Palestine (Facebook)
Invercargill PSNA Invercargill (Email)