PSNA Newsletter No 66 - March 8 2022
8 Poutū-te-rangi 2022
8 March 2022
Newsletter No 66
Government hypocrisy in calling out human rights abuse
Following on from our last newsletter, the theme of the Labour government’s double standards in calling out human rights abuses is continuing with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
PSNA National Chair John Minto has written this piece, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe has written this excellent piece and Palestinian writer and journalist from Gaza, Mohammed Rafik Mhawesh tells us “What the war in Ukraine has taught us Palestinians”.
Our government has, quite rightly, joined the international condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is preparing to pass legislation giving it the power to impose “autonomous sanctions” against Russia. This would be a good move if it meant the government would clearly and consistently call our human right abuses wherever they occur in the world. To do that the legislation would have to be based on international law and United Nations resolutions – both from the General Assembly as well as the Security Council.
And something you can do right now with a couple of clicks
Send this email to the Prime Minister TODAY, as the legislation is due to pass tomorrow (Wednesday).
Prime Minister
Government Buildings
Wellington
j.ardern@ministers.govt.nz
Dear Ms Ardern,
Autonomous Sanctions must be based on International Law and United Nations resolutions
The proposed government “autonomous sanctions” legislation must be based on international law and United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
New Zealand has a poor record of consistently calling out human rights abuses around the world.
Using international law and United Nations resolutions as the basis for sanctions will bring this security and accountability in a consistent and transparent way. This is essential for our integrity and credibility as a small nation which claims to have an independent foreign policy.
(your name)
Movement for Liberation from the Nakba Live Webinar – not to be missed!
After the Nakba and roughly until the 1980s, the academic research in the West on Palestine was dominated by the Zionist narrative and scholars. Palestinian scholarship was hardly heard and was brushed aside as too ideological and polemic. The pendulum shifted after the first Intifada (1987) and the emergence of critical scholarship in Israel that adopted major chapters in the Palestinian narrative and more importantly the appearance of a new generation of Palestinian scholars focusing their work on Palestine.
The impact on academic research and studying was profound. Curricula of courses and modules were revised and more critical works on Zionism and Israel began to be published in leading academic journals and publishing houses. In this century, official Israel, with help of pro-Israeli lobbies around the world responded with a targeted assault on such scholarship. The government and its propaganda machine weaponized anti-Semitism in order to undermine this scholarship and intimidate the scholars.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://bit.ly/3pnUDNA
Passcode: Palestine
Please use MLN FB for Live Screening
Facebook.com/Nakbaliberation
Are you a member of a political party?
Aotearoa New Zealand’s political parties are well behind other countries in their policies towards recognising and supporting Palestinian human rights.
If you are a member of a political party we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to put forward new policy for your party to consider adopting.
You can email either Chair@PSNA.nz or Secretary@PSNA.nz and we can suggest some ideas you could raise to improve your party policy.
Here, for example, is a copy of the policy remit passed at the British Labour Party’s National Conference in October 2021.
Palestine Land Day – 30 March
Palestine Land Day is approaching fast and groups around the country are beginning planning local events.
In Christchurch for example they will be gathering for a rally at the Bridge of Remembrance at 12 noon on Saturday 3 April to mark this day.
Here is a note from Wikipedia regarding Land Day:
March 30, is a day of commemoration for Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians of the events of that date in 1976 in Israel.
In 1976, in response to the Israeli government's announcement of a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for state purposes, a general strike and marches were organized in Arab towns from the Galilee to the Negev. In the ensuing confrontations with the Israeli army and police, six unarmed Arab citizens were killed, about one hundred were wounded, and hundreds of others arrested
Thanks so much to all who were able to make the #NoTechForApartheid endorsers call last week! Here are the notes in case you weren't able to attend.
Harvard Law School and Addameer issue Report outlining Israeli Apartheid
The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association have recently issued a report on Israeli Apartheid – “Apartheid in the Occupied West Bank: A Legal Analysis of Israel’s Actions”
This is the fifth report detailing Israeli Apartheid, which a Crime against Humanity, in just Two years.
The 4 previous reports can be found at these links:
2020 – Yesh Din - The Occupation of the West Bank and the Crime of Apartheid: Legal Opinion
2021 - B'Tselem - A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid
2021 - Human Rights Watch - A Threshold Crossed - Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution
2022 – Amnesty International - Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians - Cruel System Of Domination And Crime Against Humanity
You may choose to send these links to your local MP, whose email address you can find here, to remind them that Israel is an Apartheid state.
Google – don’t punish workers for standing with Palestinians
Reminder: 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
Neta Golan and the fightback in Israel
Neta Golan is an Israeli anti-apartheid activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). She was active in lobbying Agritech and the New Zealand government to withdraw support for the racist policies of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development through the Agritech summit last month. She has refused to appear in court in solidarity with a months-long boycott of the Israeli courts by Palestinian administrative detainees.
We will keep you posted of developments. More detail here.
Important stories from the Web
US accused of hypocrisy for sanctions against Russia but not Israel here
It isn’t apartheid – it’s worse here
Israeli settlers storm archeological site here
Rethinking Palestine Podcast – Amnesty report on Israel here
13-year-old killed by Israeli troops here
Demand AXA stop investing in Israeli arms trade here
How Israel’s occupation of Palestine intensifies climate change 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
Bay of Islands PSN Bay of Islands (Email)
Whangarei PSN Whangarei (Facebook)
Auckland PSN 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 PSN Palmerston North (Email)
New Plymouth PSN Taranaki (Facebook)
Wellington PSN Wellington (Email)
Nelson Te Tau Ihu (Nelson) Palestine (Facebook)
Christchurch PSN Christchurch (Facebook)
Dunedin Dunedin for Justice in Palestine (Facebook)
Invercargill PSNA Invercargill (Email)