PSNA Newsletter No 64 - February 8 2022
8 Hui-tanguru 2022
8 February 2022
Newsletter No 64
Kia ora Palestinian Human Rights supporters
Welcome to the important news that after a four-year investigation Amnesty International has released a 280-page report declaring Israel as an “apartheid state”.
In doing so AI has joined other human rights organisations such as B’Tselem which, this time last year, released a report calling Israel “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid” and the Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning US-based organisation Human Rights Watch which in April 2021 released a 213-page report detailing how Israeli policies constitute crimes of apartheid and persecution.
Palestinians and South Africans, who both know firsthand the realities of apartheid, have for many years condemned Israeli policies as apartheid. The late South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously said regarding Israeli policies the world should “Call it apartheid and boycott!”
It’s taken a while but nonetheless it’s an important breakthrough to have the largest and most respected international human rights group finally calling out Israel for its apartheid policies towards Palestinians.
The reaction internationally has been warmly supportive but the Israeli leadership has reacted hysterically and predictably labelled Amnesty International with the false smear of anti-semitism.
PSNA has welcomed the Amnesty decision and called on the government to cancel its involvement with the proposed Agritech New Zealand summit.
Other important reactions to Amnesty’s report are here:
1. Amnesty’s report is here
2. Amnesty International petition following up on its declaration of Israel as an apartheid state here
3. Why Israel fully deserves its place as a pariah state here
4. Walls crumbling – Jonathan Cook here
5. Electronic Intifada - What makes Amnesty’s report different here
6. Can Israel stop the world from saying apartheid here
7. Israeli apartheid – the US view here
8. Democracy Now on Amnesty report here
9. Amnesty’s apartheid label for Israel the right call here
10. Amnesty’s apartheid Israel report shifts the conversation here
Three actions you can take now, with just a few clicks, in support of the Amnesty International report
1. Share the link to the report on your social media pages
2. Send this email to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Primary Industries
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nanaia Mahuta
Minister of Foreign Affairs
n.mahuta@ministers.govt.nz
Damien O’Connor
Minister of Agriculture
d.oconnor@ministers.govt.nz
Kia ora Ms Mahuta and Mr O’Connor,
Why would Aotearoa New Zealand get in bed with a racist, apartheid state which oppresses Palestinians?
In light of the Amnesty International report released last week confirming Israel is a racist apartheid state which brutally oppresses Palestinians, I insist the government pull out of the online event next week Israel and New Zealand: Embracing Agri-technologies through partnership, at which the Chief Science Advisor to the Ministry of Primary Industries, John Roche, is scheduled to speak.
Aotearoa New Zealand has no place helping Israeli agriculture sector to exploit land stolen from the Palestinian people. Israel is a racist, apartheid state. Taking part would be This is an affront to human decency.
Don’t turn your back on Palestinians – don’t remain silent – speak up and act! Now!
We have in the past played a significant role in condemning the apartheid practices of our sporting and trading partners. Let us continue this strong tradition with Israel's well documented apartheid practices.
Please respond urgently – this event is due to take place next week.
Nā,
(Your name)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3. Send this email to the Chief Executives of Agritech New Zealand and NZ Tech
Brendan O’Connell
Chief Executive
Agritech New Zealand
brendan.oconnell@agritech.org.nz
Graeme Muller
Chief Executive
NZ Tech
Graeme.muller@agritech.org.nz
Kia ora Mr Muller kōrua ko Mr O’Connell,
Why would Aotearoa New Zealand get in bed with a racist, apartheid state which oppresses Palestinians?
In light of the Amnesty International report released last week confirming Israel is a racist apartheid state which brutally oppresses Palestinians, I insist Agritech pull out of the online event next week Israel and New Zealand: Embracing Agri-technologies through partnership, at which Mr O’Connell and the Chief Science Advisor to the Ministry of Primary Industries, John Roche, is scheduled to speak.
Aotearoa New Zealand has no place helping Israeli agriculture sector to exploit land stolen from the Palestinian people. Israel is a racist, apartheid state. Taking part would be This is an affront to human decency.
Don’t turn your back on Palestinians – don’t remain silent – speak up and act! Now!
We have in the past played a significant role in condemning the apartheid practices of our sporting and trading partners. Let us continue this strong tradition with Israel's well documented apartheid practices.
Please respond urgently.
Nā,
(Your name)
Sport, politics, apartheid and brutality
The cyclist Alaa al-Dali in Rafah, Palestine. Photograph: Suhaib Salem/Reuter
“And so for Israel sport serves a dual function: both positive reinforcement and tool of repression. In March 2018, a promising Palestinian cyclist called Alaa al-Dali attended a march in Gaza with his bike, wearing cycling kit, to protest against Israel’s refusal to allow him to travel abroad for international competition. According to a United Nations report, he was shot by an Israeli sniper in the leg, which then had to be amputated after his request to leave Gaza for treatment was denied by Israeli authorities. He now competes as a para-cyclist”
More details on this story are here.
Haere rā e Walter
Walter Muller, at left, at one of the monthly Auckland rallies
Many of you, in Auckland especially, will remember Walter Muller who was staunch member of PHRC (Palestine Human Rights Campaign) for the past 30 years.
For the first 15 years of the monthly rallies initiated after the second intifada in 2000 Walter did not miss one rally and for many of them bringing all the necessary banners, signs etc as well.
He was a superb drummer and protest marches were often accompanied by his splendid drumming.
We mourn his death, inspired by his commitment and deep knowledge of the Palestinians prolonged struggle for justice and send our sympathy to his family, especially his cherished Violet.
Te mamae me te pouri nui e ngau kino nei
Love and sympathy to Walter’s family from the Palestine Solidarity Movement.
The politics of Persecution
End travel bans against Palestinian journalists
In its never-ending war to suppress Palestinian voices Israel frequently bans Palestinian journalists from traveling overseas. More details are at this link here
False Smears of anti-Semitism
The hysterical reaction from Israel’s political leaders to the Amnesty International report is a reminder of the false smears of anti-Semitism which is the ONLY defence the Israeli regime has to deflect criticism of its racist, apartheid policies against Palestinians which are plain for the world to see.
A serious danger is that these false smears of anti-Semitism from the pro-Israel lobby detract from the threat of real anti-Semitism in anti-Jewish attitudes and prejudices which remain entrenched in some sectors of European countries in particular.
The following links show where false smears of anti-Semitism are being called out around the world:
Emma Watson and responses
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/20/the-smearing-of-emma-watson/
https://www.972mag.com/edition/emma-watson-antisemitism-danon/
Alternative Jewish Voices calling it out:
https://ajv.org.nz/2022/01/09/first-antisemitism-now-the-holocaust/
https://ajv.org.nz/2021/12/28/blame-palestine-and-the-greens/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12203054
Other examples from around the world:
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david-cronin/why-eu-anti-semitism-chief-smearing-solidarity
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/463911-freedom-metoo-zizek-anti-semitism/
https://mondoweiss.net/2019/12/britains-chief-rabbi-is-helping-to-stoke-antisemitism/
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/02/05/the-holocaust-the-bbc-and-antisemitism-smears/
https://1.org.nz/grotesque-reckless-use-of-genocide-by-nz-mps/
https://electronicintifada.net/content/bogus-anti-semitism-report-sank-jeremy-corbyn/31026
Dates for Palestine Solidarity in 2022
Israel apartheid week has been added to the dates for likely local and national Palestine solidarity activity this year.
28 Mar – 4 Apr Israel Apartheid Week
30 Mar Land Day Palestine
5 Apr Palestinian Childs Day
9 Apr Deir Yassin massacre - Irgun Terrorism - 107-120 Palestinian men, women and children massacred
17 Apr Palestinian Prisoners Day
11 May World Kufiya Day
15 May Nakba Day – marking the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestine in 1948
5 Jun Naksa Day - Start of 1967 War - Land Grab – Invasion of Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza, Egypt and Syria - 5 June 1967 – 10 June 1967
20 Jun Attack on Gaza - 6–21 May 2021 (2 weeks and 1 day)
28 Sep Second Intifada - 28 Sept 2000 – 8 Feb 2005
2 Nov Balfour Declaration
29 Nov United Nations - International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
8 Dec "First Intifada - 8 Dec 1987 – 13 Sept 1993
Important stories from the Web
1. Important background on Israel’s cyberwarfare campaigning here
2. The battle for the world’s most powerful cyberweapon here
3. Repositioning Israel’s cyberwarfare campaigning for US interests here
4. What are Palestinian organisations waiting for here
5. Devastating environmental effects of Israel’s settler colonialism in occupied West Bank here
6. Palestine in 1920 – the other side of the Palestinian story here
7. Palestinian should unite to oppose upcoming PCC meeting here
8. Why is the Palestinian Authority cracking down on opposition here
9. Palestinians demand answers to PS shooting at student protest here
10. B’Tselem – 2021 the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2014 here
11. Israel targets Palestinians in Israel here
12. Five ways Israeli law discriminates against Palestinians here
13. Ill-Fates and Phosphate: Complicity in the Occupation of Western Sahara here
14. Jerusalem Christians: ‘We shrunk from 20% to 2% of population due to Israeli violence’ here
15. Hungarian journalist targeted with Israeli spyware to sue state here
16. Calling the Sydney Festival boycott censorship is a disingenuous attempt by those in power to silence Palestinians here
17. Peter Slezak – Boycott of Sydney Festival is not about censorship here
18. In support of Rev J Herbert Nelson in his courageous stance on 21st century slavery here
19. Ongoing resistance in the Naqab with Riya Al Sanah here
20. Sportswashing is associated with certain countries – why not Israel? here
21. Saving seeds, counting cows: work of a terror group? here
22. How Israel’s Facebook law plans to control all Palestinian content online 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
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
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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)
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New Plymouth PSNA Taranaki (Facebook)
Wellington PSNA Wellington (Email)
Nelson Te Tau Ihu (Nelson) Palestine (Facebook)
Christchurch PSNA Christchurch (Facebook)
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Invercargill PSNA Invercargill (Email)