PSNA Newsletter No 52 - August 3, 2021
3 August 2021
Newsletter No 52
Kia ora PSNA Supporter
The tour is on…
John Minto’s national tour to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1981 Springbok Tour protests against apartheid in South Africa and turn the focus onto apartheid in Israel is well underway.
A bit further on you can read about the first four meetings of the tour but to help build and support the tour…
Something you can do right now – with just a few clicks…
Please post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram the links to
1. The next two events of the tour in Whanganui and Invercargill – these events are on this week!
2. Each week try to remember to post the events that are coming up in the week ahead
3. Come to the meeting closest to you when it comes up! We will need help collecting names and selling merchandise!
The remaining list of events is here (in the order they are coming up):
Whanganui www.facebook.com/events/817882619112968
Invercargill www.facebook.com/events/1073065233224812
Dunedin www.facebook.com/events/487249982568276
Christchurch www.facebook.com/events/1966947140110700
Timaru www.facebook.com/events/951247862339335
Nelson www.facebook.com/events/3929447933848325
Napier www.facebook.com/events/318193199921010
Wellington www.facebook.com/events/488585722435674
Rotorua www.facebook.com/events/173579434656218
Whangarei www.facebook.com/events/361919825367739
Auckland www.facebook.com/events/1010213499752355
Rawene www.facebook.com/events/674331456857574
Kerikeri Details to come
In case you need to check the dates of events they are in the links above or on the national poster below.
The 40th anniversary of the Springbok tour so far…
Gisborne (22 July):
The Gisborne Herald printed an opinion piece from PSNA Chair John Minto focusing on apartheid in Palestine. Two days later David Zwartz, Chair of the New Zealand Jewish Council, wrote a reply attacking the paper for printing what he said was a “disgraceful and dishonest” description of Israel. Subsequently the paper has printed responses from John and several others in support of Palestinian human rights. Three of the replies are here,here and here
Gisborne Meeting
The 40th anniversary meeting in the Gisborne City Museum went really well. Aside from John Minto, an audience of 48 heard from locals about their experiences in 1981, including the then HART organiser in Gisborne Laurie Harrison. Support for the Palestinian struggle was universal through the meeting.
Hamilton (25 July)
Hamilton events started on the Friday before with an interview with myself at the rugby stadium which has embraced the events of 25 July 1981 as an iconic moment in the history of Hamilton – complete with two huge photo murals from the break-in and even a button to push to get the commentary of the Springbok Vs Waikato game being cancelled.
Palestinian academic from Waikato University, Dr Yara Jarallah, addresses the 150 strong public meeting in Hamilton on Israel’s “crimes of apartheid”
I did numerous other interviews over the weekend with radio TV and newspapers. Links to the main ones are here:
Asia-Pacific Report
https://asiapacificreport.nz/2021/07/27/1981-springbok-tour-protests-revisited-and-now-palestine-is-the-new-struggle/
Joe Trinder video:
https://fb.watch/v/1g8HUa1BS/
Waikato Times:
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/125856900/rally-commemorates-1981-springbok-tour-but-antiapartheid-struggle-continues
Understandably the media focused mainly on the Springbok tour but most stories at least touched on Palestine although not with the focus that we would want. The best headline is the Waikato Times one which says “…anti-apartheid struggle continues” perfect for putting Israel in the frame!
On the Saturday morning about 100 gathered for the exhibition at the museum and lunch while about 150 came on the march and to the meeting at the park – a bit rainy by this time but lots of good energy. Myself and Justine Sachs (from Dayenu – New Zealand Jews against the occupation) were leading the chants – plenty of Palestinian flags and great banners.
(At the same time as the march the remastered copy of Patu was being shown at the museum and later they had Race Relations Conciliator Meng Foon speaking. Meng Foon was his usual friendly self and came to our meeting at the stadium later.
There was a very receptive audience to my talk on apartheid in Palestine and a presentation from Palestinian academic at Waikato University Dr Yara Jarallah which also focused on Israel’s apartheid policies. Former HART national committee member Mike Law and Justine Sachs also spoke with Bruce from the local Palestine group chairing.
I did a talk at Waikato University Politics Department on the following day – organized by Professor Priya Kurian. It was a full room of approx. 30 students and staff (and a couple on-line from Tauranga) and again was very well received.
New Plymouth
New Plymouth Meeting
30 people came to the meeting in New Plymouth including two from the celebrated march in Eltham, Taranaki. Eltham is a tiny town in rural Taranaki and 14 people turned up to march against the tour in 1981 only to be met by hundreds who lined the streets three and four deep to hurl abuse and all manner of rubbish and eggs at the demonstration. The smallest but bravest demonstration against the tour in 1981.
Here is the story from the New Plymouth Daily News
Palmerston North
Local activists and Palestinian supporters turned up for the Palmerston North meeting with local Palestinian leaders at the forefront. Speakers included ex Catholic Bishop Peter Cullinane who spoke of the marches against the tour in Palmerston North and the ongoing ethnic cleansing operations by Israel in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem.
The highlight speaker was Palestinian Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab. Katrina is a storyteller, actress, event co-ordinator and fitness coach. She has been an activist for many years in New Zealand, Australia, Egypt and France. Her family is originally from Quatamon (Katamon) Jerusalem, where they owned apartment buildings and land before 1948. Her family are currently based in East Jerusalem, Haifa and Ramallah.
Katrina delivered a marvellous, impassioned yet gracious speech about the strength of the Palestinian people under Israeli racism, apartheid and brutal oppression. She has agreed we can reprint her speech in the next newsletter. It will be a treat to read.
Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab enlivens the Palmerston North meeting
Remember to continue supporting the tour by circulating the facebook events listed at the front of this newsletter.
An Interactive Walk through the Palestinian Timeline
Over the weekend of July 31 / August 1, NZ for Humanity, in collaboration with Palestinian Youth Aotearoa and Preserved Identity, hosted “An Interactive Walk through the Palestinian Timeline”
With more than 150 meters of timeline laid out covering more than 12,000 years, 10 video screens and 2 Virtual Reality headsets, the exhibition was an outstanding success.
We hope to see the Timeline on the internet and accessible to all people who have a genuine interest in finding out the facts/truth about Palestine/Israel.
Knowing the facts always leads to people understanding the issues. Then, without fail, decent people with a Moral Compass understand that they should support Palestinian Human Rights.
Boycott Israel, the apartheid state under new management
The above is the headline for an opinion piece on Radio New Zealand website from PSNA National Chair John Minto.
Radio New Zealand
Please share this around your family and friends on social media. The link is below:
Mayor – Tamaki Loves Palestine – Film Fundraiser for our Auckland supporters
The film screening is Sunday 15th August 5.30pm at The Capitol in Dominion Road, Balmoral. There is also an awesome raffle that anyone can buy tickets to.
The Facebook event is here:
https://m.facebook.com/events/312531193954273
And the event site with portal to buy movie and raffle tickets is here:
https://www.pya.org.nz/
Details have also been posted on Instagram @tamakilovespalestine
The growing impact of BDS
BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel were called for by Palestinian civil society groups in 2005 and they are having a growing impact in bringing pressure on Israel. The near hysterical reaction of the Israeli leadership to the Ben and Jerry’s decision to no longer sell ice-cream in the illegal, Jewish-only, settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories shows the power of BDS.
The Israeli regime is terrified international sanctions will force it to abandon its apartheid policies just as it did in the case of apartheid South Africa in the late 20th century.
Here is a summary of BDS successes in this year alone compiled by the BDS national committee:
Following years of #BDS campaigning, Ben & Jerry’s announced it will not renew its licensing agreement with its Israeli licensee and will end sales of its ice cream in Israel's illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land.
Norway's largest pension fund KLP excluded 16 companies because of their links to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In a statement KLP cited an “unacceptable risk that the exclude companies are contributing to the abuse of human rights in situations of war and conflict through their links with the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank”.
A ground-breaking report by Human Rights Watch, titled ‘A Threshold Crossed’, detailed how Israel’s policies against millions of Palestinians amount to persecution and apartheid.
Ten former presidents, and more than 700 members of parliament, mayors, cultural figures and academics from Latin America, Asia and Africa, called on the UN to recognize Israel as an apartheid State and to impose sanctions on it.
The “friendly” football match between FC Barcelona and racist Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem, known for its fans’ “death to Arabs” chants, was cancelled. Premier league Qatar Sports Club pledges not to renew with PUMA amid local and international calls for boycott due to its complicity with the Israeli occupation.
Lothian Pension Fund, Scotland’s second largest local authority pension fund, with 84,000 members and £8 billion in assets, divested from Israeli Bank Hapoalim.
The Irish government became the first EU country to declare Israel’s building of illegal settlements on Palestinian land a ‘de facto annexation’.
Over 350 academic departments, centres, unions, and societies, along with 23,000 academics, students, and university staff, signed statements in support of Palestinian rights with many calling for BDS.
Chilean parliament introduces a bill to ban import of Israeli goods from illegal settlements.
39 labour organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of workers across Canada, signed an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging his government to immediately suspend bilateral military trade with Israel.
The Canadian Labour Congress endorsed a ban on settlement goods, promoting divestment from Israeli military and security companies, and calling on Canada to impose a #MilitaryEmbargo on Israel.
The University of Brasilia and the University of Costa Rica passed historic resolutions declaring they will have no ties with companies complicit in Israel’s regime of military occupation, colonialism, and apartheid.
The Student Association of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva became the first student association in Switzerland to endorse BDS and to declare itself an Apartheid Free Zone (AFZ).
The City University of New York (CUNY) staff congress, representing 30,000 members, passed a resolution condemning Israel as a settler-colonial and apartheid state.
More than 130 Mexican civil rights organizations demand CEMEX end complicity with Israeli apartheid.
East Sussex Pension Fund divested from Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer
The Olympics and the desperate plight of Palestinian athletes under occupation
A few articles which highlight the desperate plight of Palestinian athletes suffering under Israeli occupation:
Gideon Levy: A Young Gazan’s Dream, Amputated
Alaa ad-Dali is a young man who had a dream… He was the Gaza cycling champion. He won the Tokyo Race twice in a row… After an Israeli sniper shot him, his family tried to get him transferred to a hospital where there was a chance of saving his leg. The Israeli authorities wouldn’t allow it… 138 young people in Gaza have lost legs in the protests at the fence as a result of IDF sniper fire…Read more
Video shows moment Israeli sniper shoots Palestinian footballer in the knee, ending his career
Mohammed Khalil, who played for a football club in the Gaza Strip, was apparently shot by an Israeli soldier as he protested near the border last week…Read more
Israel blocks Olympics-bound Palestinian from travel
Israeli authorities have prevented the head of the Palestinian Olympic team from leaving the Gaza Strip to be with his team… Israel also prevented the team from obtaining equipment…Read more
Shattered Limbs, Broken Dreams: Life for Gaza Athletes after Surviving Israeli Bullets
3 young men in Gaza: a surfer, a boxer, and a volleyball player, whose dreams were destroyed by snipers’ bullets as they stood watching or helping the injured at the Great March of Return….Read more
Abudullah is one of a great cloud of witnesses
Meet Abdullah. He is 13. He lost a leg to an Israeli sniper bullet. This not a human interest story about a cute kid determined to beat the odds after a tragic accident. This is a story of the horror that Gaza has become for nearly every family…Read more
’42 Knees in One Day’: Israeli Snipers Open Up About Shooting Gaza Protesters
Over 200 Palestinians were killed and nearly 8,000 were injured during almost two years of weekly protests at the Israel-Gaza border. Israeli army snipers tell their stories… “Think about it: There’s a whole generation of children there who won’t be able to play soccer…”Read more
Gaza Amputees Form First Ever Football Team in Hope to Join World Championships
Some of Gaza’s 2,500 lower-limb amputees have created a team, and they have their sights set on the World Championship… all its members are aged between 13 and 42 years old & have a leg amputated due to being injured during the past three wars Israel waged on the Gaza Strip since 2008…Read more
Hundreds of Gaza protesters shot by Israeli forces risk limb amputation
Israeli soldiers have shot 7,000 demonstrators in Gaza over the past year with live ammunition. Now 1,700 of them have shattered limbs that may need to be amputated if Gaza doesn’t receive emergency help. Already, over 120 people have had arms or legs amputated, including 20 children…Read more
Israel’s Apartheid Policies Create Hurdles For Team Palestine On The Road To Rio
From blocked shipments of equipment to a lack of access to Olympic-sized, or even just adequate, training facilities, the six athletes of Team Palestine have overcome the odds to compete in the 2016 Games…Read more
Palestine: Restricted Movement
Some 250 physically disabled athletes cannot participate in regional and international competitions because Israel bars most of them from traveling….Read more
Rights Group Accuses FIFA of Ignoring Israeli Ban on Palestinian Footballers From Gaza
Euro-Mediterranean Human Right Monitor said Wednesday that Israeli authorities banned 30 players from the Rafah Team in Gaza to play the final match of the Palestinian Cup against the Balata Youth Team in West Bank’s Nablus which is a violation of international law and of FIFA’s principles which say everyone has a “right to play”…Read more
Israel bans entry for most players on Gaza soccer team
Israel has denied travel permits to most players on a Gazan soccer team which had hoped to cross through Israel and into the West Bank to play a local championship final against a rival Palestinian club…Read more
A footballer from Gaza, Mahmoud Sarsak, aged 25, has been imprisoned for nearly three years. No charge, no trial. In desperation, he has been on hunger strike for more than 80 days and is now close to death…Read more
Over $10,000 raised so far in our appeal for the Gaza Centre for Human Rights whose offices were targeted and destroyed by Israel
We have now collected over NZ$10,000 for this appeal. The money has been warmly welcomed and has been received in Gaza. The Centre is getting itself back on its feet again in its role of collecting evidence for war crimes prosecutions from the latest Israeli outrages.
Donations are still welcome.
Account name: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-02 (Please put GCHR in the reference)
Close the Israeli Embassy
Remember our campaign to close the Israeli embassy in Wellington.
1) Sign the petition to close the Israeli embassy. The petition is on-line here and is in English and Arabic or use the QR code here.
2) Share the petition on social media – the FB event link is here.
Solidarity with Palestine by Artists, Cultural Workers and Scholars of Aotearoa New Zealand
Remember to please help circulate this statement of solidarity with Palestine. It is aimed particularly at Artists, Cultural Workers and Scholars.
They can read and sign on to the statement at this link.
This has been organised by Dr Rand T Hazou, Senior Lecturer in Theatre, School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University
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
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)