Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa – Newsletter No 42 – Auckland in Level 1 – National Meeting March 27/28 – Agenda finalised. Look inside

You can see this from the full agenda included later with this newsletter.

If you can make it we’d love you to be there! In particular we want to extend our representation to many more centres around New Zealand. If you live in an “under-represented” area of New Zealand please get in touch and we can help to get you to Auckland!

1. Register: Register with an email to our National Secretary, Neil Scott, at Secretary so we know numbers for catering purposes. Please note there is no registration cost and meals will be provided on a koha basis.
2. Billets: If you need somewhere to stay in Auckland please let Neil know as Auckland supporters will be providing beds for those from out of town.
3. Travel costs: We are happy to help with travel expenses for petrol and flights as is necessary. Please don’t let the cost be a barrier to coming! Please email Neil to discuss what we can do to help to get you there.
4. Publicity: Everyone can help by posting the flyer (at the start of this newsletter) for the meeting on social media and encouraging others to come for all or part of the meeting (see agenda below)
5. Donations: If you can’t come you may be able to make a donation to help someone else to attend. Donations can be made to:

Account name: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-00
(Put “travel” in the reference field)

Saturday 27 March

8.45am MORNING TEA and registration

9.15am Welcome, introductions and scene setting
Zoom call from Palestinian Ambassador to Australia Izzat Abdulhadi (TBC)

9.30am Keynote Speaker – Annette Sykes – “Indigenous struggles in Aotearoa and Palestine”

10.30am Report from National Chair – John Minto
Financial report – Neil Scott

11.00am Workshops 1 – Strategies for local organising (choose one)

• Organising local film screenings (eg “Imprisoning a Generation” and “Gaza Fights for Freedom”) (Randa Abbasi)
• BDS international campaigns – Puma (Silver Ferns sponsor), HP and Sodastream (Neil Scott)
• Social media – FB, Twitter, Instagram etc (Nedina Hohaia, Fred Hayward, Brandon Johnstone)
• National organising tour based around the 40th anniversary of the Springbok Tour protests – from apartheid South Africa to apartheid Israel (John Minto/Don Carson)
• Student-led organisations – (Gia Ngatai-Smith and Rahman Bashir)

11.30pm Plenary

• Report back from Workshops 1
• IHRA definition of anti-semitism report (Don Carson)
• Superfund investments campaign (John Minto)
• Elbit Systems Limited campaign (John Minto)

12.30pm LUNCH (provided on site – koha requested)

1.30pm Workshops 2 – Organising in local networks (choose one)

• Relating to Maori organisations (John Minto)
• Religious groups – Christian, Islamic, Jewish etc (Steve Liddle/Janfrie Wakim/Billy Hania)
• Trade Unions (Mike Treen)
• Student organisations (Gia and Rahman)

2.15pm Reporting back in plenary

3.00pm AFTERNOON TEA

3.30pm Updates:

• Julie Webb-Pullman – update on ICC holding Israel to account for war crimes
• Roger Fowler – Kia Ora Gaza – flotilla update

4.00pm Working with the Palestinian Community in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Palestine
Dr Abdalla Gouda, Maher Nazal, Billy Hania, Tuma Hazou, Rand Hazou, Randa Abbasi (Contact Randa Abbasi randaabbasi)

4.45pm Review of PSNA strategies and tactics (Randa Abbasi)
Feedback and suggestions on how we can improve our campaigning

5.30pm FILM SCREENING – “Gaza Fights for Freedom”

6.30pm Palestinian meal provided at venue!

7.30pm Updates from Palestine: (late in the day so speakers from Palestine don’t have to get up in the middle of the night!)

• Update on Covid 19 in Gaza, Palestine. Dr Medhat Abbass (TBC) Consultant, International Cooperation Department, Gaza Ministry of Health
• Update on upcoming Palestinian elections (May to July) and Israeli election result (23 March) Haneen Zoabi – Palestinian Israeli – former member of the Israeli Knesset (via Zoom)
• Apoorva Gautam – Asia-Pacific rep on Palestine National BDS Committee – via zoom from Delhi)

Sunday 28 March

8.00am For the early risers – new film “This is Palestine”

9.00am Review of National Structure – what can be improved (Don/Janfrie)

• Election of National Chair and Secretary (Janfrie)
• Appointment of National Committee

10.00am Political panel – building support for Palestinian human rights amongst MPs (Don Carson)

• Duncan Webb – Labour Party
• Golriz Ghahraman – Green Party
• Bob Carr – former Labour Minister from Australia (on Zoom from Australia)

11.00am Further reflection from the ‘Review of PSNA strategies and tactics discussion from Saturday (Randa)

11.15pm Farewells and finish (the room has been booked from 11.30am by another group)

11.30-12.30 Protest on corner Great North Road and Williamson Ave – 100m from venue – to mark Palestine Land Day which is on 30 March.

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

Or Pay Pal account: admin

We are happy to provide a receipt upon request (however, we are not a registered charity so this is not tax-deductible)

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 Leslie if you also wish to become a subscriber.

• Forward this Newsletter – If you know people who may be interested in this movement, please forward this Newsletter to them. They can sign up themselves by emailing Secretary
• Join in local activities in your area monthly Rallies – In Auckland, we hold a monthly Protest at Aotea Square at 2.00 pm on the first Saturday of every month. Please consider doing the same in your community. Contact Secretary if you would like to know where and how to get Flags and Banners
• Help set up a Students for Justice in Palestine group 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
  • Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa website: www.PSNA.nz
  • Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Facebook page
  • Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa 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 "sumud1 @ outlook. com" (Remove the spaces to use an 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

• Palestinian Community of New Zealand
• Boycott Divestment and Sanctions NZ
• Kia Ora Gaza
• Letters for Palestine
• Auckland Peace Action
• Global Peace and Justice Auckland
• Preserved Identity (Palestinian products)
• <a href="mailto:Auckland.SJP
• Massey Uni – Students for Justice in Palestine
• Wellington Palestine
• Palestine Human Rights Campaign

Our mailing address is:
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa44-46 Lorne St
Auckland, Auckland 1010 New Zealand

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