PSNA Newsletter No 70 - May 10 2022
10 Haratua 2022
10 May 2022
Newsletter No 70
NAKBA Day – Sunday 15 May – National Day to Rally for Palestine
May 15th marks Nakba Day (“catastrophe” in Arabic) which remembers the ethnic cleansing of up to a million Palestinians from their land and homes by Israeli militias in 1948.
Palestinians continue their struggle for human rights and self-determination 74 years later in 2022 despite on-going theft of their land, bulldozing of their homes and widespread suffering under Israeli military occupation.
To mark this important day Palestine solidarity supporters will be out in public around the country – we will bring full details of events in the next newsletter but those organized so far include:
Auckland: Aotea Square at 2pm. Facebook event page here
Napier: Saturday 14th May. Corner Marine Parade and Emerson Street 11am. Facebook event page here
New Plymouth: Puke Ariki Landing 2pm to 3pm. Facebook event page here
Christchurch: Bridge of Remembrance 12 noon, Facebook event page here
Dunedin: The Dunedin rally and march was held last weekend. A good turnout with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Photos in the next newsletter.
Check our Facebook page here for details of events in other centres here
In Wellington Justice for Palestine is holding a Palestinian cultural event at the Thistle Hall in Cuba Street from 1pm to 3pm. Further details on the poster below. Register for attendance here. Facebook event is here
Get ready for World Kufiya Day – This Wednesday 11 May
Put a selfie of yourself wearing a Kufiya on your social media pages to mark World Kufiya Day on Wednesday this week!
Here is the photo again from Kufiya Day last year in parliament’s debating chamber.
This photo from World Kufiya Day last year with New Zealand parliamentarians showing solidarity with Palestine by wearing a kufiya
Two things you can do this week…
Join the public rally to mark Nakba Day (Sunday 15 May) in your closest centre – some events are listed above and you will be able to see further events on our facebook page here later this week – keep in touch.
Take a photo of yourself tomorrow – Wednesday 11 May – wearing your kufiya and share on social media.
#nowaytotreatachild campaign
Defence for Children International are holding a special on-line premiere for a new short film reporting on Israel's May 2021 military assault on the Gaza Strip. The New Zealand time is 4am on Wednesday 18 May (for the insomniacs amongst us) More details here
Our Vision for Liberation
This is an outstanding book which documents what liberation looks like from Palestinian viewpoints.
It is presented by outstanding Palestinian author and activist Ramzy Baroud (who toured Aotearoa New Zealand several years back) and renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe. It is a not-to-be-missed publication!
We have purchased 50 copies for PSNA supporters and we are selling these at $35 per copy to cover our costs. To get your copy simply deposit $35 in our bank account here:
Account name: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-00
And then email secretary@PSNA.nz with your address and we will get your copy in the mail! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Inside Israeli apartheid
Mondoweiss has produced a superb 20-minute video “Inside Israeli apartheid” which clearly and succinctly explains the apartheid policies of the Israeli regime. The link to the video is here.
Security services nasty smear against Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement
Earlier this week we sent this letter to the minister in charge of our security services, Andrew Little. The letter is self-explanatory.
Andrew Little
Minister of Security Services
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
a.little@ministers.govt.nz
Dear Mr Little,
Security services smear against Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement
We are writing to request an apology for the nasty smear against Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement by a Combined Threat Assessment Group (CTAG) report into the Wellington parliamentary protest.
The report was released to Newshub through the Official Information Act and looks at how "politically-motivated violent extremists" (PMVEs) could react as a result of the protest clearance at parliament.
The report identifies “pro-Palestinian” protestors – the only national ethnic grouping so identified in this context of potential security threats. This is a nasty repugnant smear on Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement.
There was a Palestinian flag being held at one point during the occupation but the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has no idea who that person was. We tried to identify them from the livestream but couldn’t – if we had we would have told them to put the flag away. For all we know it could have been a deliberate plant.
What we do know is there was an Israeli flag carried at the protest during the clearance of the occupation but somehow it escaped the attention of our security services.
The pro-Israel lobby in New Zealand, with which the security services meet regularly and have a cosy relationship, has been trying for many years to denigrate the Palestine solidarity movement with repugnant smears of anti-semitism and claims of support for terrorism. Now we have the Police, SIS and the National Assessments Bureau doing the pro-Israel lobby’s dirty work for it.
Perhaps this is why the Israeli flag was overlooked.
It will possibly come as a surprise to the security services that six Palestinians were killed in the Christchurch mosque attacks on 2019. Following this up with repulsive smears – guilt by association – against Palestinians and pro-Palestinian activists in their assessment of the Wellington occupation is reckless and dangerous. It is a not-so-subtle hint to white supremacists and their fellow travellers that Palestinians and pro-Palestinian activists are their enemy.
As well as pro-Israel supporters, also present at the Wellington protest were National Party supporters, New Zealand First supporters, Labour Party members, pro-Israel supporters and supporters from dozens of other groups. But the security services chose to identity supporters of one vulnerable national ethnic grouping – Palestinians – for special mention in the context of possible PMVE attacks.
If the CTAG report had mentioned “pro-Israel” supporters in this context of possible PMVE attacks the pro-Israel lobby would denounce this as anti-semitism, the Israeli ambassador would demand a meeting with the government and the Prime Minister would issue an apology.
Why should Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement expect anything less from our government?
Please respond without unnecessary delay.
Nā,
John Minto
National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
In conversation with Michael Lynk
Michael Lynk has just stood down as United National Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He did a fantastic job in promoting support for Palestinian human rights and in his last report he called out Israel for its apartheid policies against Palestinians.
You can register for the event here.
Important stories from the Web
Former Israeli Attorney General – “my country is an apartheid regime” here
Victory for Palestine in French State Council here
Israeli authorities unlawfully detaining teen UN says here
Subscribe for updates from excellent news site Mondoweiss here
Who has the dignity and power here?
Damages paid for false claims of anti-semitism here
Failure of Israeli propaganda tool ACT.IL here
The campaign to De-Palestinise Jerusalem here
The storming of Al Aqsa here
Apartheid chorus grows here
The moment that changed forever my perspective in ANZAC mythology here
Palestinian Christians banned from Holy Sepulcher Church here
A collective concern for human rights here
Israeli court gives approval for eviction of 1000 Palestinians from occupied West Bank here
Israel set to approve 4000 more Jewish settler homes in occupied West Bank here
Israeli apartheid explained – short video here
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
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)