PSNA Newsletter No 67 - March 22 2022
22 Poutū-te-rangi 2022
22 March 2022
Newsletter No 67
Apartheid South Africa – Apartheid Israel
Online - 5am Tuesday 22 March (NZ time)
Register here for this seminar.
Register for the Global Rally Against Israeli Apartheid!
3:00 am Sunday 27 March (NZ time)
March 28 to 4 April marks Israel apartheid Week here in Aotearoa New Zealand and 30 March is Palestine Land Day. However with covid restrictions still in force in many parts of the world this online rally gives everyone the chance to show solidarity with Palestinians in the face of the Israel’s brutal, racist, apartheid regime.
Register here for this global rally against Israeli apartheid. It is on at 3:00 am Sunday 27th March here in Aotearoa.
Thank you Rawiri
Speaking in parliament last week on sanctions against Russia Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi gave the best speech by a long way.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi
He said Aotearoa should be consistent in applying sanctions in future and take action against “any imperial power illegally invading a sovereign nation”.
“Why did our successive New Zealand governments not condemn the illegal US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, or Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine? Rather than condemn the United States for their illegal, imperial invasion, we've supported them with troops, with training, with intelligence. This must end.”
Clear, consistent and principled. Thank you Rawiri!
Something you can do right now with a couple of clicks
Email a quick message to Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi thanking him. You can write tour own note or copy and paste this one…
Rawiri Waititi MP
Co-Leader Te Pāti Māori
Rawiri.waititi@parliament.govt.nz
Kia ora e Rawiri,
I was pleased to read your clear principled comments about the double standards of Aotearoa New Zealand applying double standards on human rights where we take BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions action against Russia for its illegal invasion and occupation of Ukraine but refuse to do the same for the people of Palestine or West Papua.
Thank you.
(your name)
When will the Palestinian and West Papuan flags fly over parliament?
The Ukrainian flag flying over the Aotearoa New Zealand parliament this week
PSNA National Chair asked the question “When will the Palestinian and West Papuan flags fly over parliament?” in a blogpost last week here
Silencing freedom of speech on Palestine
Several people missed this marvellous webinar – which was advertised in our last newsletter – and have asked for a link so they can watch it now. The link is here and is well worth the hour and a half to watch.
Impact of forced displacement on Palestinian women
Wednesday, 23 March, 2022, 10 am – 12 pm (NY Time)
Thursday 24 March 3.00am (NZ time)
(This might be too much of a mission to see live – it’s on at 3am NZ time! – but you will be able to use the links below to see it after the event)
The UN Palestinian Rights Committee, will hold the virtual event “Impact of forced displacement on Palestinian women” on Wednesday, 23 March 2022 from 10am to 12pm (New York Time), via WebEx. The event will also be livestreamed on UN Web TV.
The event will be organized as a panel conversation – moderated by H.E. Neville Gertze, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and Permanent Representative of Namibia – with Palestinian women, civil society representatives and UN officials. Ms. Amy Cohen, Director of international Relations and Advocacy, Ir Amin; Ms. Reem Hamad, resident of Sheikh Jarrah; Ms. Amani Odeh, resident of Silwan; Ms. Sarah Muscroft, Head of Office OCHA-OPT; and Ms. Inas Maggieh Khalidi, UN Women Programme Coordinator, Palestine Country Office, will shed light on the impact of displacement through forced evictions and demolitions, especially in East Jerusalem, on Palestinian families and on women in particular. They will also highlight the unique situation of Palestinian women under occupation, their roles and actions to end the occupation while emphasizing ways for the international community to provide support.
Participants will consist of Committee Members/Observers and the panellists. All Member States, intergovernmental and civil society organizations as well as the public and media will be invited to follow the event and pose questions. While participation in the virtual platform will be limited to UN Member and Observer States, panellists, IGOs and CSOs, the general public can send their questions via the Committee Facebook page, Twitter account or e-mail dpr-meeting@un.org and WhatsApp (+1 646 421 0579).
For further information, please visit https://www.un.org/unispal/.
46th Land Day Commemoration Event NZ
Wednesday, 30 March 2022 from 19:30-20:30
Land Day, on the 30th of March, marks a turning point as the first mass mobilization by Palestinians within Israel against internal colonialism and land theft. This year, we will commemorate the 46th anniversary of Land Day in Aotearoa New Zealand through an online event with speeches, cultural content and poetry, brought to you by Palestinian Youth Aotearoa and Justice for Palestine.
The event details are here.
Israel racism and apartheid on display to the world
Jewish Voice for Peace have pointed out the racism, apartheid and hypocrisy in Israeli government welcoming Jewish refugees from Ukraine but refusing, for the past74 years, to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Palestine.
The twitter link is here – please retweet and share.
All refugees have the right to sanctuary—AND the right to return home.
Israeli leaders before the International Criminal Court
We advertised this book by Christophe Oberlin in earlier newsletters when it was available in English and French. It is now available in Arabic at this link.
Ramadan is just 2 weeks away. Break your fast on ethically sourced Palestinian Medjoul Dates
Don’t be tricked into buying Israeli dates from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Ethically sourced dates can be purchased from Preserved Identity here
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
Important stories from the Web
How to avoid police brutality in Israel: Don’t be an Arab here
Nothing makes liberals abandon their values, or their courage, like mentioning Palestine here
Palestine and Ukraine – International expert talks about ICC double standards here
Watching Ukraine through Palestinian eyes here
The state of Israel above all here
European academics applaud sanctions against Russia – call for the same action against Israel here
The Sierra Club stands with Palestine for a few hours here
Irish MP calls out double standards on Ukraine and Palestine here
FIFA’s hypocrisy on Palestine and the Ukraine here
Australian investment fund bans investment in Elbit Systems Limited here
Hypocrisy highlighted in reporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine here
The West’s hands are as bloody as Putin’s here
A red card for the sporting world’s hypocrites here
Mike Pence meets with people linked to anti-Christian terror groups here
White House says Ukrainians have the right to resist which congress approves $4.8 billion in military aid to Israel 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)