The Battle of Grey's Avenue
"Hey Ruby- how do you do? The Revolution's coming for you"
Wrong Side of the World, Rubi.
On 3rd April 2010, the Auckland Jewish Council and Zionist Federation of NZ hosted an evening at the Greys Avenue Synagogue to celebrate the visit of Reuven “Rubi” Rivlin, all the way from the Israeli Knesset itself. A passionately disturbed man whose wealth of knowledge in the occupation and murder of Palestinians rights is truly deserving of an immediate arrest warrant. When the speaker in the Israeli parliament itself admits to the founders of Israel carrying out an ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, the illegitimacy and filth on which the Israeli state was founded is grounded and indisputable.
Kiwis may be known for their hospitality, but a warm welcome was not on everyone’s agenda. A number of organisations, including Global Peace and Justice Auckland and Socialist Aotearoa, banded together to show that the blood on Israeli’s hands can never be washed away. We may have been on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, but Rivlin was on the wrong side of the world. On this side of the world, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the destruction of their livelihoods, their olive trees, the building of the annexation Wall will forever be condemned, and forever fought against.
The right to the freedom of expressing these beliefs is one that is apparently afforded to New Zealanders, however when it comes to the pragmatic implementation of such a right, the police have more of a right to take it away. “Move to the other side of the road, move now or we’ll make you move,” barked the police officers. The injustice and indignity of being abused, shoved and dragged across the road, a road that is as much ours as it is the Synagogue’s, cemented just how much the world is under the Zionist spell. Never has it been excusable for a New Zealand police officer to shove around an innocent blind protester, who was, for the record, brandishing his cane in clear view but to no avail. Never until a Zionist was in town.
Our message is loud and clear. We will not be tarnished by Zionist’s and their dirty, racist politics. We will never forget, never rest, never surrender to the hate and prejudice on which the Zionist ideology is built upon.
Hala Nasr, SA
THE PLANTED SEED
I stand firm outside the Hebrew building against your staff,
planting my feet like the seeds on the footpath,
you tried to pull my roots off aggressively,
pushing and dragging me abusively,
You protect a war criminal,
While your respect for us is minimal,
Then the rain started dripping,
Symbolizing the tears of the children,
And while a man poked a fnger at me,
My response to you is with the 'v' peace sign sincerly,
As sirens started to screech with a piercing sound,
Words were getting louder within the crowd,
chanting, screaming, some were even like a song,
We stood tall, proud and strong,
words are still echoing my ears, particularly words of freedom,
freedom for Palestine and freedom for Gaza.........
by Naima
Comments
The police need to turn 180 degrees and see, not the protesters but the injustice of the Israeli regime.
I was encouraged to read a recent report of a police officer who testified against the violent actions of another officer.
Unfortunately, what I saw last night was a police force peopled by robots, drones and sometimes thugs who have given up their humanity for a salary and "better work stories" Ah hmmm....