Veteran human rights campaigner and prominent union leader, Mike Treen, will be New Zealand’s representative on the 2018 solidarity Freedom Flotilla determined to break the inhumane blockade of Gaza. He will join the final leg on board the lead boat, the ‘Al Awda’ (the Return – pictured above), in mid-July. The four boats began their long journey from Sweden & Norway in May.
NZ/Palestinian maritime engineer, Youssef Sammour, is part of the crew on the ‘Freedom’, which is now is Lisbon with theAl Awda– a refitted fishing trawler. The other two smaller boats are travelling through Europe’s canals. Follow this website or jfp.freedomflotilla.org for updates. All four boats will meet up in Sicily before heading across the Mediterranean for Gaza next month. Volunteers from 20 countries will be on board. After arriving at their destination, all four boats will be gifted to Gaza’s fishers.
Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition. We are raising $40,000 as our share of the overall cost of this important mission.
You can support our NZ participation in this international endeavour to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, by coming to the above event, and/or by donating to our 2018 Freedom Flotilla Appeal:
Please make a direct payment to our bank account: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, 03-0211-0447718-000, Westpac Bank, Onehunga branch. Afterwards, email office@kiaoragaza.net with your deposit details so we can send you an e-receipt.
OR write a cheque for ‘Kia Ora Gaza’ and post to: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, P.O. Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158.
Lascaris interviews Human Rights activist Claude Leostic, President, Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, who accuses Emmanuel Macron’s government of “political harassment”.
This second video (below) features a series of photos of the other two Flotilla boats, ‘Al Awda’ and ‘Freedom’ in the port of Gijon, Spain recently. Video by Merdede Menendez de Pedro, 19 June 2018.
NOTE: NZ/Palestinian crew member, Youssef Sammour is on the Flotilla boat, ‘Freedom’, currently heading for Lisbon. NZ union leader, Mike Treen will join the fourth flotilla boat, ‘Al Awda’, in July. The four-boat flotilla intends to reach Gaza by the end of July.
You can support our NZ participation in this international mission to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, by donating to our 2018 Freedom Flotilla Appeal:
Make a direct payment to our bank account: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, 03-0211-0447718-000, Westpac Bank, Onehunga branch. Afterwards, email office@kiaoragaza.net with your deposit details so we can send you an e-receipt.
OR write a cheque for ‘Kia Ora Gaza’ and post to: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, P.O. Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158
Also: come to our Auckland fundraising dinner 6pm Sunday 24 June at the Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, New North Rd, $30 waged, $20 unwaged. [See details on earlier posts].
VIDEO: The Real News spoke with with Ron Rousseau, First Nation activist from Yukon, Canada, and the second Vice President of Canada’s Yukon Federation of Labor, who is on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, heading south along the coast of France to Gijon, Spain. 12 June 2018.
Come along to our special Freedom Flotilla fundraising event 6pm on Sunday 24 June at ther Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, Auckland.
Get tickets at the door, or deposit $30 (waged) or $20 (unwaged) with Kia Ora Gaza Trust’s Westpac account: 03-0211-0447718-000. The email us at office@kiaoragaza.net with you deposit details & name.
Two of the Freedom Flotilla boats, the ‘Freedom’ and ‘Al Awda’ have arrived in Gijon, Spain. New Zealand’s Youssef Sammour, a crewman on the ‘Freedom’ sent these pics. The other boats are sailing through Europe’s canals to all meet up in Sicily, before heading to Gaza in July.
The Freedom’s skipper, Jens Murklund, sent this message during the journey from Brighton to Gijon:
Onboard the s/v FREEDOM June 12, 1400 hrs UTC +2 (CET)
Back on the air! We have had good days at sea. Much of the time with very little wind, but the last 12 hours a fresh northerly gave us a night of high speed and heavy turns at the helm. Right now we’re doing 10-11 knots.
The crew has gradually become just that, a functioning crew, knowing its daily tasks and trained to deal with the not-so-daily events. Pitch-dark steering at surf speeds (we hit 15,7 knots around midnight) has also been very educative… The atmosphere is good and relaxed, and although our voyage has a serious mission, we can’t help enjoying this. It’s getting warmer, we have dolphins around us now and then, we get one beautiful sunset after the other…
In a few hours we will arrive in Gijon, we already have the Spanish coast in sight.
This is the first video created by the Malaysian contingent on the 2018 International Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, as the four boats recently departed on the long journey via various European ports to eventually cross the Mediterranean determined to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza in July.
Over twenty countries are represented on the flotilla, including two Kiwis: NZ/Palestinian crewman/engineer, Youssef Sammour, and veteran human rights campaigner and union leader, Mike Treen.
You can support this important mission, and the two New Zealanders on board, by posting your cheque to Kia Ora Gaza Trust, PO Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158, or deposit your donation with our Westpac account: 03-0211-0447718-000. Then email office@kiaoragaza.net with details for an e-receipt.
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain with a group of children in Gaza. ‘Thank you for shining your light on the dark places’ – Erin Cunningham
By Juan Cole, TruthDig, 10 June, 2018
Anthony Bourdain: The Only Mensch on Gaza
Anthony Bourdain was the only major American celebrity who succeeded in depicting publicly the Palestinians as rational, caring human beings rather than as irrationally angry inciters to violence. He was the anti-Bernard Lewis. Lewis smeared the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims with the charge of “Islamic rage” (as though large swathes of humankind are angry for no reason).
Bourdain said, “The world has visited many terrible things on the Palestinians, none more shameful than robbing them of their basic humanity.”
The Israel propaganda machine has even attempted to smear Razan al-Najjar, the 21-year-old nurse in Gaza who was shot dead by an Israeli-American sniper as she tended, unarmed and clearly wearing medic’s clothing, to injured Palestinians being shot with live ammunition by Israeli troops on the Gaza side of the border. Shooting Razan was a war crime. Razan was engaged in an act of unselfish bravery. We should all be so “complex.” That attempt to dehumanize one Palestinian is typical of the American and Israeli media in general. I can’t tell you how many “panels” on Palestine I’ve seen on CNN that included no Palestinian; often it was three middle-aged males, and sometimes they lacked even religious diversity among them.
In the face of this dehumanization, Bourdain stood as an all too rare exception. Half the people in Gaza are children, and Bourdain loved them:
When the Israeli army, notorious for its use of indiscriminate fire, hit Palestinian children on a beach in Gaza, Bourdain wrote:
Maybe it’s the fact that I walked on that beach—and have a small child that makes this photo so devastating. #Gaza
And this is how he responded to being honored by a Muslim-American organization for his segment on cooking in Gaza, in which he was forthright about how the world has mistreated the Palestinians (70 percent of the families in Gaza are refugees, created by a campaign of deliberate ethnic cleansing on the part of Jewish immigrants into British Mandate Palestine, in which the Palestinians were chased from their homes in what was turned into southern Israel and then imprisoned in the Gaza Strip to this day):
Bourdain got away with his humane sentiments toward Palestinians and his calling of bullshit on Israeli propaganda presumably because he had a cooking show rather than doing hard news. Or perhaps he stood where he stood because of the sheer force of his personality and his refusal to compromise with principle.
Two recent video reports by PressTV on the four-boat Freedom Flotilla currently sailing to the Mediterranean sea to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza.
Kia Ora Gaza is part of the 20-nation Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and is facilitating the participation of two NZ representative. NZ/Palestinian sailor/engineer Youssef Sammour is a crewman on the ‘Freedom’ sailing from port to port through Europe, and Unite Union national director and NZ veteran human rights campaigner, Mike Treen, will board the ‘Al Awda’ (the Return) in July as it heads for Gaza.
Support New Zealand’s participation in this international flotilla – donations can be deposited with Kia Ora Gaza Trust’s Westpac account: 03-0211-0447718-000 or post a cheque to Kia Ora Gaza Trust, PO Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158. Send you deposit details to office@kiaoragaza.net for an e-receipt.
VIDEO REPORT by Dan Cohen for RT America, 8 June 2018
The Israeli military promised to investigate the killing of Palestinian medic Razan Al Najjar, then it launched a disinformation campaign to justify her murder by manipulating a video interview of her. RT America’s Dan Cohen reports.
Jewish Voice for Peace deputy director, Ari Wohlfeiler, has voiced his outrage at this media manipulation, on 11 June 2018:
I’m beside myself with anger.
10 days ago, 21 year-old Razan al-Najjar, a volunteer medic, was shot dead by an Israeli sniper while treating wounded protestors in a clearly visible medic’s uniform.
There couldn’t be a more fundamental rule of engagement: you don’t kill medical personnel. But this is what happens when soldiers are lined up yards away from protesters and given shoot to kill orders. This is what the world’s “most moral army” does.
But what really makes me furious is how hard it is to get this story out with a bare minimum of accuracy and respect.
On Friday, the New York Times published an article essentially written by and for the Israeli military. With a bare minimum of context, they shared a (quickly debunked) IDF video that doctored an interview with Razan, and went so far as to say Najjar was a “complex person” and suggested that she wasn’t just a “healthcare worker.”
Here’s what I think: I think Razan was one of millions of women – especially women of color – holding social justice and freedom movements together. I think she was an example of someone who chose life. And she was killed for it not just by the sniper’s bullet, but by a clear and terrible set of policy choices that reaches right back to the US government – which means we can do something about it.
And that’s why it’s so outrageous to read the Times’ take. There are already all too many people out there diligently whitewashing Israeli military actions. Public conversation in the US is already so skewed. Decent reporting matters!
I’m angry, but also incredibly sad. It’s so hard to sit here and not be able to do more. But I do believe that getting the story straight is something we can do – and that its actually necessary if we’re going to help stop the killing.
Auckland veteran peace activist, Bob van Ruyssevelt, took up Ari’s challenge this morning and penned this letter to the editor of the New York Times:
It is difficult for me to comprehend why a respectable newspaper such as yours should attempt to justify the illegal shooting of Razan al-Najjar, a young woman from Gaza who in no way could be considered any kind of threat to the Israeli Defence Forces.
Her shooting by an IDF sniper is shocking to the civilized world. The sight of the US representative to the United Nations trying and failing to dissuade the rest of the world from condemning the ongoing slaughter by the IDF (and having to resort to her veto) is troubling and embarrassing, but I guess she will say she is doing what the US administration pays her to. What is your excuse?
A wounded Palestinian protester is evacuated during demonstrations east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on 25 May. The woman medic in the photo is Razan al-Najjar, who was shot and killed by an Israeli army sniper on 1 June. See earlier reports on kiaoragaza.net posted 2, 4, & 5 June 2018. [Ashraf Amra/APA images]
NZNO (NZ Nurses Organisation) Media Statement 8 June 2018
NZNO condemns violence on first responders
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) supports the stand taken by international organisations and governments condemning attacks on health personnel in Palestine.
On Friday 1 June 21 year old nurse Razan al-Najjar was fatally shot while carrying out her duties as a volunteer in the Palestinian Medic Relief Society. About 245 health care workers and 40 ambulances have been attacked in the region between March 30 and May 27, according to recent reports.
We join the international community in calling for international humanitarian laws to be upheld and for attacks on medical personnel to immediately cease. We are calling for highest level international organisations to condemn these acts of violence and targeted attacks on first responders. Nurses, doctors and other health care workers must be protected and have the right to treat people safely even in areas of conflict.
We are concerned also that New Zealanders are part of first responder health care teams in conflict areas around the world and must be able to do their duty to care for those needing urgent health interventions and humanitarian aid without risk of harm or death.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation is a member of the International Council of Nurses which is a member of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition. And has previously spoken out against violence and attacks on health professionals in Syria and other nations.
Medics at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City transport a Palestinian wounded by Israeli troops during Great March of Return rallies, on 14 May. Health authorities say that on that day Gaza witnessed a worse health crisis than during any single day in Israel’s 2014 offensive on the territory. [Lewis Joly SIPA]
As the dust settles over Gaza, an already wobbling Egyptian-mediated ceasefire may bring some calm for the two million Palestinians trapped there without, yet again, any resolution to Gaza’s underlying problems.
The most pressing problem for Palestinians in Gaza remains a tottering infrastructure that threatens a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe at any moment. Water and electricity are scarce, sewage flows directly into the sea and the economy is in ruins.
The health sector has been the focus over the past few weeks since the Great March of Return protests put the spotlight back on Gaza.
The number of injuries resulting from Israeli attacks against unarmed protesters on the eastern boundary of the Gaza Strip nearly broke the back of an overstretched and under-resourced sector, exacerbating the pressure on health professionals and straining provision.
Medics even found themselves in the crosshairs, and two – Razan al-Najjar on 1 June and Mousa Jaber Abu Hassanein on 14 May – were killed while carrying out their duties.
As more celebrities and public figures follow their conscience and stand with our struggle for freedom, justice and equality, the scales are tipping for Palestinian rights.
Mike Treen & the 2018 Freedom Flotilla: an interview
Mike Treen is the National Director of Unite Union, representing fast food and hospitality workers across Aotearoa. Next month Mike will be participating in this year’s mission by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to break the siege on Gaza.
In this interview Nadia Abu-Shanab, of Wellington Palestine, interviews Mike on his part in the 2018 Freedom Flotilla mission and the links between unions in Aotearoa and the global movement for justice in Palestine.
Mike has a long history of activism. Playing a major role in movements that transformed not only Aotearoa, but also how our small Pacific nation related to the rest of the world. Notably, participating in the anti-Vietnam war campaign, the Bastion Point occupation and organising as part of anti-apartheid movement during the Springbok tours.
Please note that tonight, Thursday the 7th of June, Mike and other union activists will be meeting at Unite Union in Auckland to discuss how to deepen union support for Palestine and BDS: Unions for Palestine meeting, 7:00pm, Unite Union, 6a Western Springs Road, Kingsland, Auckland.
Kia ora Mike, you’ve been invited to participate in an attempt to break the siege of Gaza. Can you please tell us a bit about the flotilla and why you’ve decided to go?
BDS: World Reacts as Argentina Cancels Match with Israel
Argentina officially canceled its final World Cup warm-up match against Israel on June 9, as a result of BDS (the international Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions campaign) pressure.
The announcement is considered one of the greatest achievements for the BDS movement in years.
You can send a powerful message of thanks to the team’s manager:
Gonzalo “El Pipa” Higuaín felt it was the right decision:
Argentinian player, Gonzalo “El Pipa” Higuaín, who is also a striker for the Italian football club Juventus, told ESPN: “the right thing was not to go to Israel.”
Carlos Latuff, Political Cartoonist had a message:
A few hours before the official announcement, popular Brazilian political cartoonist Carlos Latuff created an image which went viral:
Crowds gathered at Brighton Marina wall yesterday to welcome the Swedish boat to Gaza ‘Freedom’ as it sails into the British mainland.
The ‘Freedom’ will have a short stop-off in Brighton and then head to ports in Spain and other European countries before joining the other three flotilla boats on their way to Gaza.
Jehan Alfarra reports from Brighton – Including an interview with Kiwi/Palestinian crew member, Youssef Sammour.
Veteran human rights campaigner & union leader, Mike Treen, will join the lead flotilla boat, the Al Awda (the Return), for the final leg on the Mediterranean.
Please support our Freedom Flotilla appeal: Donations can be deposited with Kia Ora Gaza’s Westpac account: 03-0211-0447718-000, or post a cheque to Kia Ora Gaza Trust, PO Box 86022, Mangere East, AK 2158.
Argentina national team player Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal for his club side Barcelona during a Spanish league match against Real Madrid, in Barcelona, 6 May. [Joan Gosa Xinhua]
Palestinians are celebrating the news that Argentina – and its star Lionel Messi – will not be playing the “friendly” football match that had been set for Jerusalem next weekend.
The cancellation is a huge blow to Israel and came after an intense campaign by Palestinians and their supporters, especially in Latin America and the Spanish state, urging Argentina not to help Israel whitewash its most recent massacres of unarmed civilians in Gaza.
“We welcome news that Argentina’s ‘friendly’ football match with Israel has been canceled,” PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, stated. “The team responded to creative campaigning from fans around the world denouncing Israel’s sportswashing of its crimes against Palestinians.”
Activists in Catalonia, home to Messi’s club side Barcelona, hailed the news as a “victory.”
Video: The grassroots boycott campaign included a direct appeal to Messi and his teammates from Palestinian footballer Muhammad Khalil Obeid.Israeli snipers shot Obeid in both of his knees, ending a promising football career, during the first Great March of Return rallies near the Gaza-Israel boundary on 30 March.
Christchurch commentator Donna Miles writes: Thrilled to hear Labour MP Duncan Webb (above with PM Ardern) will be presenting my petition to the New Zealand Parliament. NZ Superannuation Fund must not invest in illegal #Israeli settlements on the occupied Palestinian land.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (the catastrophe), in which approximately 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes by Zionist militias. On May 14, 2018, Israel’s independence day and one day before the concurrent occasion of the Nakba anniversary, the world witnessed a dystopian reality of split screens that displayed Israeli officials engaged in celebrations during the opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem, as Israeli troops massacred dozens of Palestinians near the border fence to Gaza during the Great March of Return.
The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is a grassroots, nonviolent effort aimed at expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and coordinating local campaigns that challenge Israel’s decade-old siege of the Gaza strip. The FFC made headlines in 2010, when it was raided by Israeli Navy commandos who killed nine activists and injured more than 50, causing international outrage.
The FFC set sail from Norway to Gaza several days ago and will stop at about a dozen ports, among them Cadiz, Spain, on June 23 just before entering the Mediterranean Sea.
Zohar Chamberlain Regev is an Israeli citizen who lives in Spain. Chamberlain Regev is the owner of the Women’s Boat to Gaza Zaytouna-Oliva, seized in 2016, and the object of ongoing court proceedings in Israel. She has participated in the coordination of Rumbo a Gaza, the Spanish component of the Freedom Flotilla, since 2012, and is the FFC’s boat leader on board Al-Awda (The Return) — the flotilla for 2018.
Gerd von der Lippe (pictured below) is a professor at the University of Southeast Norway, specializing in media, sports (with a focus on the Middle East), gender and politics.
In this interview, Regev and von der Lippe discuss their hopes and fears for the Al-Awda Freedom Flotilla.
VIDEO: Remembering Palestinian Medic Razan al-Najjar, Killed by IDF
Democracy Now! interviewed Dr. Medhat Abbas, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip: “It was clear to everybody that she was a paramedic, that that was murder. I mean, that was a crime committed before cameras.” Democracy Now! also talked with Najjar’s cousin, Dalia al-Najjar, who says the response of the international community to the Gaza crisis has been “really disappointing.”
Published 4 June 2018
So, what are our own politicians going to do about this? Why not ask them? Go to this website set up for this purpose:
Kia Ora Gaza is a New Zealand network dedicated to breaking the inhuman and illegal Israeli siege and naval blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid, fostering fraternal relations, enhancing understanding of Palestine and the Middle East, and cooperating with others who have similar aims.
Kia Ora Gaza promotes justice, human rights, peace and freedom for the people of Palestine.
Our website and facebook pages underscore and promote these goals, however posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Kia Ora Gaza or our partners.
All forms of recism and discrimination are the antithesis of justice, peace and freedom. Kia Ora Gaza social media will not tolerate any act or discourse which adopts or promotes, among others: racism, anti-Arab racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, xenophobia, or homophobia.
Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition - website: freedomflotilla.org and part of the NZ Palestine Solidarity Network. Website: palestinesolidaritynz.net
Kia Ora Gaza was established from a series of public meetings to organise Kiwi participation in international efforts to end the siege of Gaza & promote practical solidarity for Palestine. This followed the Israeli commando raid on the Mavi Mamara-led peace flotilla in 2010 which resulted in the deaths of 10 civilian peace activists in international waters. Since then Kia Ora Gaza has organised or supported the following projects: 1. Sent a team of 6 Kiwis on the 140-vehicle Viva Palestina international land convoy in 2010, driving and donating 3 ambulances to Gaza – part of the $7million medical aid delivered.
2. Supported Kiwi participant Harmeet Sooden to join the Canadian boat, Tahrir on Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza in 2011. 3. Sent a team of 4 Kiwis on the “Miles of Smiles” land convoy to Gaza with 10 tonnes of medical aid, 2012 4. Sent a fact-finding mission for www.kiaoragaza.net to Gaza Nov, 2012 5. Sent donations for food relief following the 2014 floods in Gaza 6. Co-organised nation-wide protests each weekend during Israel’s 50-day bombardment of Gaza in 2014 7. Sponsored an education project training young Palestinian journalists in Gaza 2015 8. Facilitated “NZ-Gaza twinning agreements” with a sports club and community centre in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza. 9. Co-sponsored 2 ambulances for Doctors Worldwide rehabilitation centre in Khan Younis (Israeli bombing in 2014 destroyed 26 ambulances in Gaza) 10. Maintains website: kiaoragaza.net and facebook pages. 11. Co-hosted the NZ Conference on Palestine, 2013 and 2016 12. Facilitated 2 Maori TV journalists on board the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza in 2015 13. Co-hosted NZ speaking tours including: – Harry Fear (UK doco-maker) & Roger Fowler (Kia Ora Gaza) in 2013
– Jeff Halper (Director, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) 2013
– Miko Peled (author) 2013
– Yousef Aljamal (Palestinian commentator) 2013
– Amira Hass (Israeli Journalist, Haaretz) 2015
– Samah Sabawi (Palestinian Writer) 2015
– Emad Burnat (Palestinian Film-maker) 2016
– Ali Abunimah (founder Electronic Intifada) 2016
– Rafeef Ziadah (Palestinian poet) April 2017
14. Aug 2016 co-hosted special Auckland screening of Emad Burnat’s documentary ‘5 Broken Cameras’
15. Sept 2016. Transferred $6000 raised in our appeal to Palestinian doco-maker Emad Burnat towards a new camera.
16. Sept 2016 facilitated Green MP Marama Davidson to join Women’s Boat to Gaza peace flotilla.
17. Feb 2017 co-hosted film screening event: “The Idol”
18. April 2017, co-hosted three-city NZ tour with Palestinian performance poet Rafeef Ziadah and musician Phil Monsour.
19. May 2017 ‘Salt Water Challenge’ solidarity actions with Palestinian hunger strikers.
20. May 2017 transferred $1000 donation to Al Ahli Sports club in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza for football equipment. 21. July 2017 transferred our EURO1000 share to the FFC Gaza fishers project via MyCare Humanitarian Care Malaysia. 22. July 2017 transferred $1000 donation to Al Ahli Sports Club, Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza. 23. Sept 2017 the Freedom Flotilla Coalition delivered fishing equipment as solidarity aid to 400 Gazan fishers via MyCare, Malaysia. 24. Kia Ora Gaza co-hosted a public lecture in Auckland on 3 December 2017, by renowned Haaretz journalist and writer, Gideon Levy. 25. January 2018, Kia Ora Gaza organiser, Roger Fowler, attends the Freedom Flotilla Coalition conference in Sweden to plan the 2018 international flotilla to break the illegal blockade of Gaza. 26. Nationwide ‘Day of Action’ for Free Palestine on Sat 3 February 2018 demanding the release of all children held in Israeli prisons. 27. Co-hosted a public meeting at Auckland Uni with US/Palestinian writer. Hawarita Arraf and Justine Sachs from Dayenu: NZ Jews against Occupation, March 2018. 28. Co-organised Auckland rallies in support of Palestinian Arch of Return, April/ May 2018.
CURRENT APPEALS
In 2018 the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is organising another international peace flotilla to challenge Isreal's illegal 10 year naval blockade of Gaza and for a just future for Palestine.For updates visit the website and facebook: jfp.freedomflotilla.org You can support NZ participation in this project by checking the options in the 'How to donate to Kia Ora Gaza' segment below.Appeal target: $40,000 to cover costs of our share of the purchase and upgrade of the flotilla boats, airfares and accommodation for our NZ participant.
HOW TO DONATE TO KIA ORA GAZA
Make a direct payment to our bank account: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, 03-0211-0447718-000, Westpac Bank, Onehunga branch. Afterwards, email office@kiaoragaza.netwith your deposit details so our Board of Trustees can send you an e-receipt.
Write a cheque for ‘Kia Ora Gaza’ and post to: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, P.O. Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158
Kia Ora Gaza is a Charitable Trust incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957. Registration number 2540065
FREEDOM FLOTILLA TO GAZA: DOCUMENTARY
A MaoriTV media team of senior journalist Ruwani Perera and award-winning, free-lance camera operator Jacob Bryant, returned home from reporting on the Freedom Flotilla III attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
Facilitated by Kia Ora Gaza, the Native Affairs team joined other international journalists on the board the flotilla to observe and document the mission.
Thanks to all those who generously supported the Flotilla project.
Over 100,000 Palestinians were injured and over 2,100 killed during Israel’s 2014 genocidal onslaught. Their illegal siege on Gaza left the medical services without basic supplies.
Kia Ora Gaza Trust launched an urgent appeal for funds towards humanitarian relief in war-ravaged Gaza.
Kia Ora Gaza co-sponsored two ambulances for Gaza in 2015.
Kia Ora Gaza donated three ambulances in 2010.
VIDEO: The manager of the Doctors World Wide Turkey services in Gaza, Mohammed Alkhatib, thanks Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM) and Kia Ora Gaza donors for jointly sponsoring two new ambulances at their Khan Younis rehabilitation clinic. The video also shows the recently delivered ambulances in service. (Video by DWWT 21 October 2015.) CLICK HERE
COMING EVENTS
Kia Ora Gaza is planning future speaking tours & other events, in cooperation with NZ Palestine Solidarity Network and PHRC. Watch this space.
Ramzy Baroud’s New Zealand speaking tour
Roger Fowler teaching Kiwi-English at Al Aqsa University, Gaza City.
In June 2012, Kia Ora Gaza sent a four-person team to Gaza as part of an international aid convoy. Our Kiwi convoyers were (from left) Roger Fowler, Tali Williams, Gibran Janif and Hone Fowler. This land convoy, which left from Cairo, delivered ten tonnes of urgently needed medical supplies to health authorities in Gaza. In November 2012 Kia Ora Gaza sent Roger Fowler on a fact-finding mission to Gaza (see his reports posted Nov-Dec 2012 on this website). UK documentary-maker Harry Fear joined Roger on a speaking tour of NZ on his return.
In November 2010, six volunteers from Kia Ora Gaza joined an international land convoy which delivered NZ$7 million in medical aid to Gaza. The convoy, which left from London and was joined by other columns from North Africa and the Middle East, arrived at night in Gaza City to a rapturous welcome from Palestinian throngs.
Books and T-shirts available
Enquires: email office@kiaoragaza.net.
OR send a cheque and details to Kia Ora Gaza, PO Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158.
Miko Peled's book 'The General's Son' can be purchased for $25 (+$4 postage). Limited copies of the new second edition are now available - includes an updated epilogue. Each copy is signed by the author.
"The Prisoners' Diaries', co-translated by Yousef Aljamal, is available for $15 (+$4 postage).
Tee shirts are also available for $30 each plus postage.
Our fallen heros
We remember the ten humanitarians on board the Gaza aid vessel Mavi Marmara killed by Israeli commandos on 31 May 2010:
Ibrahim Bilgen
Ali Haydar Bengi
Cevdet Kiliçlar
Çetin Topçuoglu
Necdet Yildirim
Fahri Yaldiz
Cengiz Songür
Cengiz Akyüz
Furkan Dogan
Ugur Suleyman Soylemez
Our founding meeting
Robyn Hughes, a former Auckland Regional councillor, chairs Kia Ora Gaza's public foundation meeting in Auckland on 7 July 2010. Flanking her are (right) Steve Phillips, official representative of Ngati Whatua, and Grant Morgan, former chair of Kia Ora Gaza. The meeting agreed unanimously on Kia Ora Gaza's three aims: (1) deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, (2) help to break Israel's siege of Gaza, and (3) co-operate with others who have similar aims.
by Grant Morgan retiring chair of Kia Ora Gaza 18 February 2013 After two-and-a-half years as Kia Ora Gaza’s chair and website editor, I retired from those roles at our leadership forum last weekend. The reason? Over the past half-dozen years I have researched, written and spoken about how global capitalism is in overshoot […]
by Roger Fowler new chair of Kia Ora Gaza 18 February 2013 Last Saturday, at a leadership forum of Kia Ora Gaza, Grant Morgan stood down as chair of our solidarity network and editor of our website kiaoragaza.net. His departure had been well flagged over the past 12 months. Grant has been busy with […]
Al Jazeera, 29 November 2012. Nicole Johnston reports from Ramallah. Euro News, 29 November 2012. by Ewen MacAskill at the UN & Chris McGreal in Ramallah The Guardian 29 November 2012 The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to recognise Palestine as a state, in the face of opposition from Israel and the […]
by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed Le Monde Diplomatique 28 November 2012 It is clear that without an overall military operation to uproot Hamas control of Gaza, no drilling work can take place without the consent of the radical Islamic movement. Moshe Ya’alon, Israeli deputy prime minister and minister of strategic affairs, 2007. Over the […]
