REPORT and THANKS re "IMPROPER MOTION" campaign ~ Window Into Palestine

Sonja Karkar

R E P O R T

AUSTRALIANS SAY: “NOT IN OUR NAME”

“Improper Motion” advertisement campaign

This week saw the culmination of a collective campaign waged against the
Prime Minister’s motion in the Australian Parliament honouring Israel’s
independence. On the morning of 12 March, an advertisement appeared in the
“The Australian” newspaper taking up more than half of the facing page 7.
Its design was an arresting white on black with the al-Nakba logo, designed
by Melbourne artist Dora McPhee, a central feature. But, it was the
impressive list of signatories - almost illegible because the font had to be
reduced to fit them into the space we had bought - that made every moment
spent on the campaign worth the effort. Some 37 Palestinian advocacy and
support organisations and other interest groups had backed it and some 400
names made it into print. There were many others, but they could not be
included because of space constraints and others simply arrived too late.
They have been added to our Australian al-Nakba website www.1948.com along
with all the letters, articles and news items covering the campaign and we
hope over the coming weeks and months, it will become a source of reference
for everyone.

The most positive outcome of that intense week is knowing that the
Australia-wide network of Palestinian supporters works, and the message is
reaching people not normally involved with activism. Within hours of
contacting the various groups in each state, emails began pouring in from
people alerted to the campaign by their group’s coordinators. People wanted
to add their names and they wanted to contribute if they could. The
generosity was overwhelming, so much so that the $16,500 cost of the
advertisement size we had decided on, was completely met by the donations.

Our intention behind this advertisement was simply to make a public
statement about the motion and show that many Australians share our
disapproval of the Government’s and the opposition’s actions. However, what
transpired in the last week or so was much more than that. This
advertisement triggered a tangible media interest and occupied much of the
public debate in the print media. It also showed the undisputed bias of The
Australian newspaper towards Israel and the Jewish lobby. The Australian
published a one-sided editorial on Wednesday and another in the Weekend
Australian, an opinion piece by the president of the Zionist Federation of
Australia, an opinion piece by the Israeli Ambassador and an on-line 5
minute video by Greg Sheridan (aka Jerusalem Greg). On the other side, the
Fairfax newspapers published three excellent articles two of which are by
Alan Ramsey. Also, SBS TV reported the motion, showed our advertisement and
interviewed our friends in Canberra who went to the Parliament to protest.
This media interest helped defeat the Government’s initial intention of
keeping this motion quiet. We are glad they failed and that the passing of
this bi-partisan motion without objection in our parliament was exposed.

There was no doubt that Australians saw this as a way of taking affirmative
action, where their names were confirmation of their protest, and their
contributions, a way of making it happen. As the momentum gathered and
people communicated with each other, the power of the ripple effect was very
evident. This is just the kind of grassroots action that is needed when so
many doors are closed to Palestine - and this year especially. A lot is
being planned in every state, and despite the distances between us, we have
no doubt that by supporting each other, Palestine will take on a new meaning
in Australia.

We believe that the prime minister, members of parliament and the media now
know that the voices for Palestine are increasing in number and from all
levels of society. Soon, it will be difficult for them to ignore decent and
honourable Australians who can see for themselves the injustices and the
truth of what is happening in Palestine.

We wish to thank Paul Heywood Smith QC, Chairperson of the Australian
Friends of Palestine, for drafting the text of the advertisement and
initiating this campaign. We also thank you all for participating and hope
that we have reached a new level of activism in Australia based on
cooperation, trust, and a belief that together we can create an effective
voice for the voiceless and an energy that can join with others around the
world, to finally bring peace and justice to the long-suffering
Palestinians.

Sonja Karkar WFP and AFP
BassamDally AFOPA

Report attached in pdf file