EMAIL TEMPLATE TO ERICA STANFORD - Grant the visas!

Dear Erica Stanford,

I am extremely concerned about the stance our government is taking in response to Israel’s indiscriminate attack on Gaza. We have obligations to take measures to prevent and to punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation. As the ICJ has recently ordered six provisional measures I would expect to see our country doing something to uphold these obligations and not be a complicit party in this attack on the Palestinian people. I would also expect our politicians to take the orders extremely seriously and not accuse the ICJ of being ‘casual’ or ‘lazy’ or ‘misusing the word genocide’.

Israel’s flagrant disregard for international law highlights the urgent need for effective, unified pressure on Israel to stop its onslaught against Palestinians. The stakes could not be higher – the ICJ’s provisional measures indicate that in the court’s view, the survival of Palestinians in Gaza is at risk and you still have not actioned a special Palestinian Visa — at the very least! Palestinian New Zealander Nehad Al Battniji has lost 74 members of his family since Oct 8th, the youngest was 8 months old, a baby. Nehad’s story was on Newshub in early December, at that time it was only 71 members — 3 lives could have been saved if the you had opened special visas for Palestinians at that time. This is a New Zealander who is completely and irreversibly affected by the actions of the Israeli government and he is not the only one.

The 2022 Special Ukraine Visas open on the 15th of March 2022 — 20 days into Russia’s attack on Ukraine. We are at 131 days of the war on Gaza. Where is the meaningful action? Are you and your colleagues doing anything to stop this plausible (as ruled by the International Court of Justice) genocide? Action looks like sending home diplomats, like boycotting Israeli companies, like sanctions and divesting. Actions do not look like meet and greets with the consulate of a state that is committing war crimes on mass every day on a population who are not responsible for the actions of the few involved in Oct 7th.

use this template as a guide to email Erica Stanford on erica.stanford@parliament.govt.nz