Global Peace And Justice Auckland Newsletter #272 - January 20, 2009

Website: http://www.gpja.org.nz/

Dear friends,

We had a very effective protest against Rakon industries and their role in the Gaza attacks (see below). We have another organising meeting this Wednesday and a fundraising evening for medical aid on friday night.

Wednesday, January 21, 6pm, Unite Union, 6a Western Springs Rd, Morningside

GPJA ORGANISING MTG AGAINST ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE

Friday, January 23, 6.30pm, Avondale Community Centre, 99 Rosebank Rd, Avondale

AID FOR GAZA: This is an evening full of culture and cuisine and most importantly an opportunity to show your support for the Palestinian people either by donating or just learning about the situation in Palestine. We will be selling food, T shirts and kafeyahs. Come out and help us raise money to provide food and humanitarian aid - 100% of the proceeds will go to provide aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza. For more information you can contact: PALESTINIAN SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND, KHALID AL-AMLEH 021 575 484 OR JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE, SARAA NABHANI 021 1860 140. THANK YOU AND HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

WHAKATANE MEDICAL AID FOR GAZA FUNDRAISING

Two fundraising film evenings: Wednesday Jan 21st, Opotiki Theatre, Church St. Thursday Jan 22nd, REAP House, Pyne St Whakatane. Times the same for both evenings: 6.00 pm - Occupation 101 - The current and historic root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 7.30 pm sandwich and refreshment break; 7.45 pm - The Iron Wall (45 mins) Israeli settlements and 'the Wall' inside the ocupied territory of the West Bank. Whakatane/Opotiki Peace Group contact Lynne 07 315 4646

DONATE TO PALESTINE MEDICAL RELIEF SOCIETY.

Send donations c/- ARENA. The Arena bank account number is 06 0807 0122658 23 - National Bank, Fitzgerald Ave Christchurch branch. The 23 account is the international programme account. We shall apply for HAF funds in the February round, or if the government provides a special fund for Palestine. The situation for the PMRS is serious with the Israeli military advancing towards the PMRS head office in Gaza on the 15th Jan - see their website for full details".

http://www.pmrs.ps/last/index.php

NZ COMMENT & ACTION

Gaza Protest at Rakon Auckland - Free Palestine - NZ 2009 GPJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p47L9INLAw

Rakon protest symbolises the Gaza bloodshed

http://cafepacific.blogspot.com/2009/01/rakon-protest-symbolises-gaza-bloodshed.html

More photos from Rakon action

http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/76737/index.php

NZ Solidarity with Gaza- arms company Rakon bombed http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.com/2009/01/rakon-bombed.html

Anti-Israel cafe standoff sparks protest

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4820000a11.html

GAZA protest video ,removed from Video sharing site

http://www.micosantos.eg-designstudio.com/2009/01/gaza-protest-video-removed-from-video-sharing-site/

New Zealand Church Leaders’ Statement on Gaza

http://www.humanitarianchronicle.com/2009/01/new-zealand-church-leaders-statement-on-gaza/

UNITED NATIONS

Below are extracts from the UN DPI report of the concluding session of the General Assembly Plenary Tenth Emergency Special Session on Gaza: firstly, the summary of what the NZ

representative said: "KIRSTY GRAHAM ( New Zealand) was very concerned with the situation in Gaza and fully supported the call of resolution 1860 for a durable ceasefire. Hamas had to end its rocket attacks on Israel and Israel had to withdraw its forces from Gaza. She also deplored the attacks on United Nations buildings in the area. There were allegations of serious violations of humanitarian law and New Zealand supported the investigation of these violations. She urged both sides to renounce violence and make credible and decisive advances to achieve a durable peace."

The full report (with summaries of what all state representatives said, and the recorded vote on UNSC Resolution 1860) is at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2009/ga10809.doc.htm

INTERNATIONAL COMMENT & ACTION

Powerful statement by British Parliament by Jewish MP Gerald Kaufman on Israel and Gaza

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMGuYjt6CP8

Ralph Nader: Punishing the Palestinians

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/

Israel Must Lose: A collective statement by UK-based academics and writers

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/20270

Gaza: the logic of colonial power - As so often, the term 'terrorism' has proved a rhetorical smokescreen under cover of which the strong crush the weak

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/gaza-hamas-israel

Chains of Solidarity Link Gaza And Derry - Derry plant of Arms manufacturer and Israel sponsor occupied for 3d time since 2003

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/90565

Military components factory ransacked in Gaza protest - Nine people held after break-in at plant near Brighton allegedly making parts for Isareli missiles

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/17/gaza-armsfactory-protest

Thousands march through Melbourne to condemn Israel-Gaza war

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24928325-5005961,00.html

"We Are The Authors Of This Tragedy" By George Galloway – Video: George Galloway's powerful speech in the House of Commons debate on Gaza, Thu 15 Jan 2009 (5.30pm), highlighting the hypocrisy and brazen double-standards of Western foreign policy towards Israel policies, including assassinations and other war crimes.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21780.htm

UK: 3rd National Demonstration For Gaza: Saturday 24 January: Israel Out Of Gaza Now: Lift The Blockade - Assemble BBC Broadcasting House Portland Place, London, W1A 1AA (Nearest Tube Oxford Circus) March To Trafalgar Square

http://globaldayofaction.org/stopwar/index.php

Israel's War Of Deceit, Lies And Propaganda By Uri Avnery

http://www.countercurrents.org/avnery140109.htm

Amnesty International accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza: Human rights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of war crimes, saying its use of white phosphorus in Gaza was indiscriminate and illegal.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/20/2469609.htm?section=justin

JEWSISH AND ISRAELI OPOSITION TO WAR

http://links.org.au/node/851

FREE THE SHMINISTIM – ISRAEL'S YOUNG CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. The Shministim are Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinian Territories. December 18 marks the launch date of a global campaign to release them from jail. Join over 20,000 people including American conscientious objectors,Ronnie Gilbert, Adrienne Rich, Robert Meeropol, Adam Hochschild, Rabbi Lynn Gottleib, Howard Zinn, Rela Mazali, Debra Chasnoff, Ed Asner and Aurora Levins-Morales and show your support by contacting the Israeli Minister of Defense using the form below. 40,000 LETTERS AND COUNTING!

http://december18th.org/

FEATURES

The Gaza Bombshell: After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, the author reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever. (Right-wing but informative)

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804?printable=true¤tPage=all

FILM & VIDEO

Ex-Communicated tells the story of Israeli occupation in Palestine through the genre of landscape and the perspective of a camera lens. In his series of remarkable photographs, Gary Fields, a professor of communication at the University of California, San Diego takes us behind the walls, gates, and fences of this deliberately fragmented geography in revealing Palestinian life under Israeli military rule. What he shows in these images is how the forces of occupation use the landscape as an instrument of control over Palestinians and a mechanism for dispossessing them of land and property. Much of this story is untold and largely unseen. These photos convey forcefully how the process of enclosure on the landscape has ex-communicated Palestinians, immobilizing them into ever-diminishing spaces, while at the same time inspiring them into heroic acts of peaceful resistance.

http://www.alternatefocus.org/

Embedded with Gaza medics: FRANCE 24's correspondent in Gaza, Radjaa Abou Dagga, followed a team of Palestinian medics during the Israeli assault. The video is an exclusive document with images that some may find shocking.

http://www.france24.com/en/20090116-gaza-israel-assault-medics-violence-hospital-war-palestinian

Israel TV news broadcasts a Gaza father's heartbreak

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-doctor-death17-2009jan17,0,4395549.story

Noam Chomsky On Gaza - Audio and Text - Fatah by now is more or less functioning as Israel's police force in the West Bank. But the West Bank is only part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21788.htm

BOYCOTT ISRAELI GOODS AOTEAROA

http://big.org.nz/boycottisraeligoods/index.php

BOYCOTT ISRAELI APARTHEID UK

http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.php

GIVE TALKBACK RADIO A CALL

Advertise march and give key facts to counter Zionist spin. Mention the GPJA website. RADIO LIVE 0800 723 465; ZB TALKBACK 0800801080; RADIO WATEA WED NIGHT 8-11PM 09 2570603

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WANTED: CAMPAIGN/UNION ORGANISERS

The Unite Union is employing new organisers in Auckland and Wellington to work on a nationwide workers’ rights campaign and organise worksites.Unite is a progressive campaigning union committed to building the power of low-waged workers.

KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct worksite one-on-one contact and recruitment;

• Organise workers around issues and organise worksite actions;

• Participate in negotiations and contract campaigns;

• Perform regular worksite visits and conduct site meetings;

• Effectively resolve worksite disputes and problems of workers;

• Lead mobilisation and turn out for strike actions, demonstrations and meetings;

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstrated commitment to social justice;

• Strong written and verbal communication skills;

• Basic computer knowledge;

• Ability to effectively plan and implement work and manage time;

• Able to work long and irregular hours;

• Driver's license;

• Self motivated and solid team player.

To apply, fax or email a CV to: Mike Treen, National Director email: mike@unite.org.nz ; fax 09-846-9509 or mail P.O.Box 7175 Wellesley St, Auckland.

2009 NATIONAL PEACE WORKSHOPS

The 2009 National Peace Workshops, the national gathering for people interested in peace, social justice and human rights, will be at the Quaker Settlement in Whanganui in mid or late March - the date is currently being finalised, and will be available soon. The theme of the 2009 NPW is 'Promoting peace through active non-violent resistance' and the main focus will be participatory discussion with Maori, Pacific and Pakeha contributors who have experience of community and individual non-violent resistance, and/or non-violent direct action in Aotearoa and overseas. Preliminary information about the National Peace Workshops, including the programme outline, venue and accommodation options, is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/npw09.htm

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose”: Helen Keller

“Not only is another world possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing”: Arundhati Roy

"Iniquity, committed in this world, produces not fruit immediately, but, like the earth, in due season, and advancing by little and little, it eradicates the man who committed it. ...justice, being destroyed, will destroy; being preserved, will preserve; it must never therefore be violated." Manu 1200 BC

“We must be prepared to make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war”: Albert Einstein

BEST ON THE WEB

PALESTINE

UN Says More than 50,000 Left Homeless in Gaza Following Israeli Attacks: With the ceasefire the United Nations has begun to grasp a fuller picture of the situation and along with the numbers on those now homeless the organization has said more than 400,000 have no water. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled by Israeli airstrikes and bodies are still being recovered.

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?storyid=73577

Isn't it Time for a War Crimes Tribunal? By Robert Fisk: It's a wrap, a doddle, an Israeli ceasefire just in time for Barack Obama to have a squeaky-clean inauguration with all the world looking at the streets of Washington rather than the rubble of Gaza.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21794.htm

Olmert announces Gaza ceasefire

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200911718127624660.html

Reports from Israeli Human Rights Groups

http://gazaeng.blogspot.com/

Israeli Information centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

http://www.btselem.org/English/

Fresh evidence of Israeli phosphorus use in Gaza emerges

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/17/israel-gaza-phosphorus-civilians

FIDA’S BLOG FROM GAZA: Israel accused of war crimes over 12-hour assault on Gaza village

http://sunshine208.blogspot.com/

The IDF has no mercy for the children in Gaza nursery schools

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055574.html

Israel Bars Arab Parties From Election

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21772.htm

Israel: Criminal and wretched by Michael Warchawski, Alternative Information Centre in Israel.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/779/40183

Sacrificing Gaza To Revive Israel's Labor Party By Smadar Lavie - Hubert H. Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Islamic World and the Middle East at Macalester College.

http://www.countercurrents.org/lavi190109.htm

Shock, Awe, And A Belated Soul-Search By Jerrold Kessel & Pierre Klochendler

http://www.countercurrents.org/kessel190109.htm

REVIEWS

Books: There Was Blood - The Ludlow massacre revisited. (NB: Meanwhile, following the Ludlow massacre, not a single militia member or National Guardsman in Colorado ever was punished for having killed 66 miners and their family, nor did the miners win trade union recognition.)

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/01/19/090119crbo_books_crain

Film: Che - Searching for the man behind the myth

http://www.aworldtowin.net/reviews/Che1.html

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

The Paris declaration: We won’t pay for your crises

http://www.lasthours.org.uk/news/the-paris-declaration-we-wont-pay-for-your-crises/

Doctor Doom: A Global Breakdown Of The Recession In 2009 by Nouriel Roubini

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/14/global-recession-2009-oped-cx_nr_0115roubini_print.html

Capitalism's Burning House: Interview with John Bellamy Foster by WIN Magazine

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/foster180109.html

AUSTRALIA

History of Indigenous resistance - January 26 is the first Invasion Day (Australia Day) since the federal Labor government made the official apology recognising the wrongs suffered by the Stolen Generations - the Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families and lands.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/779/40164

Climate change: new science, same old politics

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/779/40156

Australia — world’s biggest climate vandal

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/779/40184

BOLIVIA

Bolivia declared illiteracy free

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/779/40176

¿Sí o No? Bolivians Mobilize for National Vote on New Constitution

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1670/1/

CANADA

Toronto janitors organize for rights, respect and justice

http://rabble.ca/news/toronto-janitors-organize-rights-respect-and-justice

CHINA

As China's Jobless Numbers Mount, Protests Grow Bolder - Economic Woes Shining a Light On Social Issues

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203014.html

CUBA

Interview with Mariela Castro Espín, Director of Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs2294.html

IRAN

CIA chief: No proof of Iranian A-bomb

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=82558§ionid=351020104

PHILIPPINES

900 people killed in Philippines by 'mysterious death squads': Peasant leaders, environmental campaigners and student activists in the Philippines are being murdered by mysterious death squads who appear to have close links to the army.

http://tinyurl.com/7staq4

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka: The Root Causes By Chandi Sinnathurai: The real battle is in the jungles and it is here the "Vietnam" lesson is going to be learnt, yet again. The tragedy is, civilians will continue to die in their thousands. The other real battle is in the realm of politics. What are the root causes of the Tamil conflict? How will the Government handle the business of eradicating the causes

http://www.countercurrents.org/sinnathurai140109.htm

UK

Will Hutton: Unless we are decisive Britain faces bankruptcy - Our financial institutions are fighting for their lives and the Treasury may not be able to bail them out. The government needs to get serious to avert meltdown

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/18/recession-banking

USA

The End of Upward Mobility? American society is based on the idea that 'anyone' can reach the top. But the gap between rich and poor is growing, and the ladder seems to be disappearing.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/180041/output/print

Obama sells out to Wall Street - The president-elect's support of the bank bailout is payback to his wealthy Wall Street supporters.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/01/17/sirota/print.html

Guantanamo force feeding is "a form of inhuman and degrading treatment": Force feeding, in the words of the World Medical Association, is "a form of inhuman and degrading treatment" that is "never ethically acceptable". More than 250 eminent physicians have protested against its use at Guantanamo and called for the navy doctors involved to be struck off.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5519155.ece

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