Kiwi mayor warned about jews, so he bans Palestinian display

[yankeedoodle]

Palestinian commemoration ruled out after Wellington mayor pulls pin
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/128648310/palestinian-commemoration-ruled-out-after-wellington-mayor-pulls-pin

Wellington mayor Andy Foster vetoed a plan to light up the Michael Fowler Centre in the colours of the Palestinian flag after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) expressed concerns about Israeli sensitivities.

The projection, driven by Wellington City councillor Tamatha Paul, was to mark a national commemoration of Palestine, and had been ready to go ahead on Monday until Foster took advice from Mfat and was told the act "could be construed as state recognition" of Palestine.

Nakba​ Day, which means catastrophe in Arabic, commemorates the estimated 700,000 people who fled or were driven from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war. New Zealand does not officially recognise Palestine as a state.

Foster stood by his decision on Sunday and said Mfat told him displaying the Palestinian colours could result in complaints from the Israeli ambassador and other Israeli groups. Mfat made it clear it was his choice but strongly urged him to cancel the projection.

Foster confirmed he did not seek outside advice during recent decisions to light the centre in Ukrainian and trans colours.

"It is very weak-kneed," said Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa national chairperson John Minto. "I would urge the council to look at this again."

On Sunday, Minto emailed Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta to ask her to override the "outrageous" Mfat interference.

"Aotearoa New Zealand is bigger than the venal, self-serving advice of cowardly Mfat officials," his email said.

Mahuta's office referred questions to Mfat, which sent a statement saying New Zealand took a "principled and balanced approach" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Mfat's recommendation was that support for the day would not align with Aotearoa New Zealand's commitment to a two-state solution and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike, nor would it support the Middle East peace process."

An Mfat spokesperson said the ministry had been approached by Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington city councils.

Minto confirmed events on council property in Auckland and Christchurch went ahead as planned on Sunday.

Nadia Abu-Shanab​, a founding member of Justice for Palestine, said Israel's treatment of Palestinians was apartheid. Lighting the Michael Fowler Centre up was one way to show support for Palestine, but "we continue to get censured".

"My cousins and young people in Palestine are not able to live a life of dignity. They live under the threat of violence constantly. They can't move freely," she said.

Wellington had a separate event on Sunday at Cuba St's Thistle Hall, which is owned and partially funded by the council but is independently run by a board of trustees.

Paul said the Michael Fowler Centre event was initially approved by council-controlled organisation WellingtonNZ.

But she got a call from Foster on Saturday saying the event was cancelled.

"We are more than comfortable to recognise injustices in Ukraine, but we are reluctant to show solidarity with Palestine," Paul said.

This year's event carried extra significance after the fatal shooting of Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank, she said.

The embassy of Israel in Wellington could not be reached for comment but Zionist Federation of New Zealand president Rob Berg said having the flag displayed on a public building in the capital city would cause distress to Israeli people.

"It doesn't help promote peace," he said, though confirmed that the action in New Zealand in itself would be highly unlikely to have any actual impact in Palestine or Israel.




Activists in New Zealand defy capital's ban on Palestinian colors
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/activists-new-zealand-defy-capitals-ban-palestinian-colors

Activists staged a "guerilla projection" in Wellington on Monday, after the New Zealand capital's mayor banned a planned illumination of a prominent building in the Palestinian colors. (Justice for Palestine)

The mayor of New Zealand's capital vetoed plans to light up one of the city's iconic buildings in the colors of the Palestinian flag, after he was told by the government that it might upset Israel.

The Michael Fowler Centre, a concert and convention hall in central Wellington, was lit up with the colors of Ukraine's flag days after Russian forces invaded in February.

It was also illuminated last year in support of trans rights.

But when city councilor Tamatha Paul spearheaded an initiative to light up the building with the Palestinian colors ahead of Nakba Day, Mayor Andy Foster nixed the plan.

Marked every year on 15 May, Nakba Day commemorates the 1948 ethnic cleansing of approximately 800,000 Palestinians before and after the State of Israel was declared over the ruins of Palestine's villages, towns and cities.

According to The Dominion Post, the mayor stopped the initiative, "after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) expressed concerns about Israeli sensitivities."

The illumination "had been ready to go ahead on Monday until Foster took advice from MFAT and was told the act 'could be construed as state recognition' of Palestine," the newspaper added.

The mayor "confirmed he did not seek outside advice during recent decisions to light the center in Ukrainian and trans colors," according to the newspaper.

https://twitter.com/DomPost/status/1525955426159775744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1525955426159775744%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Felectronicintifada.net%2Fblogs%2Fali-abunimah%2Factivists-new-zealand-defy-capitals-ban-palestinian-colors

City councilor Paul condemned the "double standards" by politicians, adding that the mayor "is democratically elected by all people including Wellington Palestinians who have been personally affected by the Nakba and have a right to remember their history."
The ban would appear to be another example of Palestine and Palestinians being treated as an exception in the supposedly democratic "West." On Sunday, police in Berlin attacked and detained activists merely for wearing traditional Palestinian scarves, amid a sweeping ban on demonstrations in support of Palestine.

Activists in Wellington, just like those in the German capital, decided not to take it lying down.

On Monday evening, the solidarity group Justice for Palestine carried out a "guerrilla projection" onto public structures.

"The flag of Palestine and Shireen Abu Akleh lit up Te Whanganui-a-Tara tonight on the side of Te Papa museum," Justice for Palestine said on Facebook, using the Maori name for the city.

"Mayor Foster with advice from MFAT stopped us from lighting up the Michael Fowler Centre with the Palestinian colors. But we did it anyway," the group added.

Alternative Jewish Voices New Zealand condemned the government and city action for silencing Palestinians.

"Again, Palestinian expression was forbidden because someone might complain. Forget the validity of the complaints – there were none to evaluate," the solidarity group said. "The mere prospect of Palestinian stories or the display of a Palestinian flag was problematized in advance."

John Minto, chair of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, wrote to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta asking her to "rescind the advice of MFAT officials and remove objection to the Wellington City Council lighting up the Fowler Centre in the colors of the Palestinian flag."

But according to correspondence seen by The Electronic Intifada, no response was received either from Mahuta or her officials.

Despite the ban in Wellington, Palestine solidarity events did proceed on public property in Auckland and Christchurch.

https://twitter.com/UnPressed/status/1525704772849807361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1525704772849807361%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Felectronicintifada.net%2Fblogs%2Fali-abunimah%2Factivists-new-zealand-defy-capitals-ban-palestinian-colors

There has also been criticism of the lackluster response from the government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.

https://twitter.com/antihobbes/status/1525935540335300608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1525935540335300608%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Felectronicintifada.net%2Fblogs%2Fali-abunimah%2Factivists-new-zealand-defy-capitals-ban-palestinian-colors

On Sunday, days after it happened, Mahuta tweeted that "Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply saddened by the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin and the violence at her funeral."
Aotearoa is the Maori name for the country.

"We call for an independent, transparent and thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death," the foreign minister added.

https://twitter.com/NanaiaMahuta/status/1525969882495430656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1525969882495430656%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Felectronicintifada.net%2Fblogs%2Fali-abunimah%2Factivists-new-zealand-defy-capitals-ban-palestinian-colors

Mahuta, the first Indigenous woman to hold New Zealand's top diplomatic post, failed to mention who killed Abu Akleh – all evidence overwhelmingly points to Israel – or who attacked her funeral – again Israel.

https://twitter.com/whittlekirsten/status/1526079305918189569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526079305918189569%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Felectronicintifada.net%2Fblogs%2Fali-abunimah%2Factivists-new-zealand-defy-capitals-ban-palestinian-colors

The overwhelmingly negative reaction to Mahuta's belated statement drew media attention.
"It's embarrassing that after five days, this lukewarm statement is the best Aotearoa could do," one of many critics wrote.