MELBOURNE: Two New Zealand pro-Palestinian activists have raised NZ$14,000 ($9,108.40) as of Sunday for charity after being fined by an Israeli court for their alleged role in persuading pop star Lorde to cancel a concert in Tel Aviv last year.
Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab said last week they would not pay the fine of 45,000 shekels ($12,423.05) awarded to three Israeli teenagers, calling the court’s ruling a “stunt” intended to intimidate Israel’s critics.
Instead, they asked people to donate money through website “givealittle.co.nz” to the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, a volunteer group that raises funds for mental health and women’s empowerment groups in the Gaza Strip.
As of Sunday, they raised NZ$14,000, according to the website.
“Given that we’ve actually had this kind of push upon us – we felt that it was expedient to actually recenter the issue back on Palestine,” Abu-Shanab told Radio New Zealand.
The case arose from an open letter that Sachs and Abu-Shanab wrote to Lorde, a New Zealander, on the website “thespinoff.co.nz” in December urging her to call off her planned concert.
Lorde canceled her concert in Israel that same month after a campaign by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) group, which campaigns for Palestinian rights, that included the open letter published by Sachs and Abu-Shanab.
New Zealand activists raise funds for Palestine charity after fine by Israel
New Zealand activists raise funds for Palestine charity after fine by Israel
Syrian government sends more humanitarian aid to civilians in Ayn Al-Arab
- 5-truck convoy delivers essential supplies including food, medicines for children and people with special needs, blankets and drinking water
- The previous day, 24 trucks delivered aid for civilians in Kurdish-majority town affected by conflict between the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces
LONDON: Syrian authorities said they sent a second humanitarian convoy to the northern town of Ayn Al-Arab in the Aleppo countryside on Tuesday, as part of ongoing efforts to help civilians affected by the conflict between the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Farhad Khurto, deputy head of the Central Committee for Aleppo Response, said five trucks delivered essential supplies including food, medicines for children and people with special needs, blankets and drinking water.
Amin Hababeh, the director of Aleppo’s Emergency and Disaster Management Center, said representatives of the organization accompanied the convoy to ensure the critical humanitarian assistance reached the people who needed it.
The operation was organized by the Central Committee for Aleppo Response in coordination with Civil Defense teams, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
On Monday, 24 aid trucks delivered medical supplies, heating materials and other relief items to Ayn Al-Arab, a Kurdish-majority town also known as Kobani. The response committee said the operation was carried out in coordination with the UN to provide aid for civilians despite the security risks from landmines planted by SDF militants in the area.
