Community group takes positive action for Palestine

Whāingaroa Palestine Solidarity is raising awareness around the plight of Palestine through local events, fundraisers and campaigns.

On Thursday, November 28 at 7pm, they are holding a movie night featuring The Last Sky at the Raglan Old School Arts Centre. Entry is by koha (cash only) and all funds raised go directly to the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association (PANZMA).

The screening coincides with the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on the Friday November, 29. The hard-hitting documentary provides insight into the longstanding Gaza occupation through the eyes of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. It explores the reasons why so many Palestinians support armed struggle and looks at what is behind Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

Co-organiser and Whāingaroa Palestine Solidarity member Gillian Marie hopes the movie will help people understand the decades-long struggle of the Palestinians.

“This movie and others we’ve shown provide the context for what is happening now. People tend to start looking at it from October the seventh, rather than looking at it from the first Nakba, the first ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948.”

The group is also lobbying the local supermarkets to stop stocking Obela products, which are 50 percent owned by the Strauss Group, one of Israel’s largest food producers. The Strauss Group actively support and fund the Israeli Defence Forces. 

“Both supermarkets have been really positive, but the process of stopping the order is quite complex,” Gillian says.

Gillian says community-driven action plays a pivotal role in influencing our political leaders to take action at an international level.

“That’s how the anti-nuclear movement started, with little towns and councils declaring themselves nuclear free, and then the momentum built up,” she says.

“I see this as the present-day Vietnam War moment. I was involved in Vietnam War protests and it was people power that changed American policy.” 

Future events include an art exhibition and auction, and the group are calling for artists and craftspeople to donate an artwork – money raised goes directly to PANZMA.

PANZMA is a non-profit organisation providing medical relief and support to Palestinians in need, regardless of their location, religion, or political affiliation. 

For more information contact whaingaroapalestinesolidarity@gmail.com or check them out on Facebook Whāingaroa Palestine Solidarity.