PSNA Newsletter No 44 - April 13, 2021
13 April 2021
Newsletter No 44
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
A small thing you can do right now…
The Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt is considering adopting the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of anti-Semitism which amounts to a blatant attack on Palestinian human rights and pro-Palestinian activists. This would be an outrage. If the HRC insists on a special definition of anti-Semitism, apart from its regular policies condemning racism, then the new definition, the Jerusalem Declaration, is a much better alternative, despite its drawbacks. The drawbacks are discussed in articles here and here.
Please send an email to Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt paulh@hrc.co.nz urging him to reject the IHRA definition and, if he insists on having a separate definition of anti-semitism, then the HRC should adopt the Jerusalem Declaration.
You can write your own note or copy and paste this note to paulh@hrc.co.nz:
Kia ora Mr Hunt,
I understand the Human Rights Commission is considering adopting the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. This would be an appalling assault on Palestinian human rights.
I think the Commission should have policy to oppose all kinds of racism, including anti-Semitism without separate definitions for any particular kind of racism. If, however, you insist on adopting a separate definition of anti-Semitism then the Jerusalem Declaration, despite its shortcomings, is a much better alternative than the IHRA definition.
Please let me know the Commission’s position on these definitions of anti-Semitism.
(Your name)
Foreign Affairs Officials sell us out on human rights
This important story appeared on Television One last week. PSNA National Chair has written this blog in response which we are reproducing in full here:
Revelations that foreign affairs officials have approved the sale of military equipment to a host of human-rights-abusing countries, including Israel, is an outrage.
In recent years senior foreign affairs staff have advised successive ministers of foreign affairs to prioritise trade above other considerations such as human rights. They have been given approval, rather than government ministers, to decide which countries will be able to receive New Zealand exports of military equipment.
The tragic outcome was seen in Friday night’s Television One story which includes this:
In the last three years, the ministry has received 256 applications for military exports to 41 countries and territories. It has declined just one, that was an export to Saudi Arabia in 2019.
1 NEWS understands that was rejected because Saudi Government assassins had recently murdered the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at their consulate in Turkey.
Among the list of approvals are Indonesia (guilty of murder and mayhem against the indigenous people of West Papua who are fighting for independence and self-determination), Israel (guilty of grave abuses of human rights and war crimes against the Palestinian people), the United Arab Emirates (a medieval despotic regime) and Turkey (its democracy has been seriously degraded in recent years with numerous breaches of civil, political and human rights)
In Israel’s case the situation is even more galling because New Zealand has also been importing military equipment from Israel which has been “battle-tested” on the civilian Palestinian population.
In 2012 the New Zealand Superfund withdrew investments from Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems Limited, because it was involved in grave breaches of international law through building Israel’s “apartheid wall” which the International Court of Justice declared in serious breach of international law.
Despite this, in an appalling double standard, the New Zealand Defence Force continues to purchase military equipment from this violator of international law and human rights.
Meanwhile these same unelected officials pressure successive governments about which human rights abuses around the world to ignore and which ones to highlight.
Their advice has led Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta to go softly on Israel’s human rights abuses against Palestinians and Indonesia’s bloody campaign against the people of West Papua while continuing to allow the importation of “blood phosphate” from Western Sahara. Ironically these three cases involve struggles for self-determination by indigenous people against colonisation - something Nanaia Mahuta said would be a point of difference for her.
The only human rights abuses these officials encourage the government to speak out about are in China, Hong King and Myanmar because these are the human rights abuses our five eyes “allies”, led by the US, want us to highlight while we quietly ignore the human rights crimes of America’s friends – Indonesia and Israel in particular.
The government needs to wrench control of official advice from the trade-first and US-first-at-all-costs mandarins in the Minister Foreign Affairs.
We should speak clearly against human rights abuses wherever they occur. Ethics and morality should be the guiding principles we follow rather than sycophancy to the biggest schoolyard bullies.
Ancestors of Palestinian liberation
Go to this link to navigate this exciting new project. (One of the people involved is Zelda Edmonds, producer of the film “Imprisoning a Generation” which has been screened around New Zealand and at parliament over the past year)
1981 – Fighting apartheid in South Africa: 2021 – Fighting apartheid in Israel
We need your help!
It’s a long time since the 1981 Springbok tour – this year is the 40th anniversary in fact. As we reported in the last newsletter we are planning a national tour by PSNA Chair John Minto to mark this 40th anniversary and at the same time to help build the fight against Israel apartheid and the oppression of Palestinians.
Here is the schedule for the tour which will include public meetings in each centre along with talking to community groups, media and schools. If you can help organise an event in one of these centres or put us in touch with some of the local activists at the time then please write to secretary@PSNA.nz and let us know.
Some important stories from recent weeks
Canada’s New Democratic Party passes motion to sanction Israel here
Medical apartheid: Structural racism, not race here
Iran blames Israel for attack on nuclear facility here
Israel throws dancer in prison here
Israel’s interference in British politics blasted here
New Anti-Semitism definition excludes BDS but Palestine activists say it’s still flawed here
Federal judge tosses out lawsuit targeting Palestinian rights group here
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 Network
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)
In Occupied Palestine daily newsletter – an invitation to subscribe from Leslie Bravery
Because of mainstream news media complicity, daily headlines and commentary only occasionally ever mention the relentless Israeli violence in Palestine, not even the frequent air strikes!
However, daily news and statistics regarding the violence Palestinians are forced to live under are regularly reported on in the “In Occupied Palestine daily newsletter”, sourced and compiled for easy reading and correlation chiefly from the Palestinian Monitoring Group's daily situation reports.
The In Occupied Palestine daily newsletter continues to be circulated, by email, worldwide to subscribers only, as it has been over the last two decades.
Please contact lesliebravery@icloud.com if you also wish to become a subscriber.
Merchandise for sale
We have Merchandise you can buy including T-shirts from our website.
Go here - https://www.psna.nz/shop
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)
Human rights for Uyghur refugees - In line with our support for human rights for the people of Palestine we have added our name to the petition in support of human rights for Uyghur refugees so they can be included in the government’s refugee quota. PSNA members who wish to also sign this petition can do so here - https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/open-letter-let-s-show-compassion-to-the-uyghur-community
PSNA Groups
PSNA National Committee
Website: www.PSNA.nz
Chair - John Minto: Chair@PSNA.nz
Secretary - Neil Scott: Secretary@PSNA.nz
Regional Groups
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)