Workers Party (NZ)

Date: 30/09/2010

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Solidarity Campaign is happy to announce the release of the first part of an interview with Leila Khaled. PFLP Solidarity Campaign co-ordinator Mike Walker conducted the interview via Skype with Leila at her home in Amman, Jordan on the 6^th April this year.

Leila Khaled is often referred to as a terrorist by her enemies, the United States and the State of Israel. But in the Occupied Territories, the Gaza Strip and the countless refugee camps scattered throughout the Arab world she is a revolutionary hero, a freedom fighter and the embodiment of the Palestinian militant struggle against Zionism and Imperialism in the Middle East and for freedom and self-determination.

Leila Khaled and the PFLP shot to international attention when Leila became the first woman to hi-jack a commercial airliner on August 29^th 1969. Leila made the pilot divert the plane over Haifa, where she was born but has never been allowed to visit, eventually allowing the plane to land in Damascus, Syria. The passengers were disembarked and the plane was blown up in front of the international media. Golda Meir had stated that June that “There was no such thing as Palestinians”, but Leila Khaled and the PFLP had put the Palestinian struggle firmly onto the world stage, where it could no longer be ignored.

Today Leila is a core member of the PFLP and serves on its Politburo, dealing primarily with the ‘right of return’ for Palestinian refugees. Walker stated that “Leila is a true revolutionary woman that has dedicated her life to the struggle of Palestinians for their right to self-determination, and to return home.” “Leila is an inspiration to us all,” he continued.

Leila Khaled finished the interview by stating that she had “a message for the New Zealanders.” She then warned that we should all “beware Zionism. Nazism caused humanity twenty two million casualties and the destruction of Europe. What do you think that Zionism will do, do we need a third world war? We have to stop the expansion of the Zionist ideology and policy.”

The interview is available at http://wpnz-pflp-solidarity.blogspot.com/p/leila-khaled-interview.html

A full transcript or audio is available on request.

The Workers Party on Campus in conjunction with the the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Solidarity Campaign presents a Palestine benefit gig, featuring David Rovics and Don Franks.

Its all happening on Friday the 20th of August, Bentley’s Bar, Canterbury University. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with door sales available on the night or pre sales available via Paypal at http://wpnz-pflp-solidarity.blogspot.com/p/david-rovics-don-franks.html

You can check out info about other shows David is doing in New Zealand at http://davidrovicsnz2010.wordpress.com/

David Rovics grew up in a family of classical musicians in Wilton, Connecticut, and became a fan of populist regimes early on. By the early 90s he was a full-time busker in the Boston subways and by the mid-90s he was traveling the world as a professional flat-picking rabble-rouser. These days David lives with his family in Portland, Oregon and tours regularly on four continents, playing for audiences large and small at cafes, pubs, universities, churches, union halls and protest rallies.

He has shared the stage with a veritable of who’s who of the left in two dozen countries, and has had his music featured on Democracy Now!, BBC, Al- Jazeera and other networks. His essays are published regularly on CounterPunch, and the 200+ songs he makes available for free on the web have been downloaded more than a million times.

Most importantly, he’s really good. He will make you laugh, he will make you cry, he will make the revolution irresistible. David provides his songs free of charge from www.davidrovics.com

In Christchurch he will be joined by folk stalwart Don Franks. Addressing issues relevant to people in New Zealand today, Franks builds on the tradition of political folk, adding an air of spontaneity and healthy dose of tounge-in-cheek humor. Listeners will be treated to a selection from Franks’ sizeable repetoire, including hits from his 2009 album ‘Safer Communities Together Blues’. The gig is being held in conjunction with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine SOlidarity Campaign.

David Rovics had the following to say about the PFLP: “The criminalization of the PFLP and other organizations by various governments is sheer hypocrisy. These same governments are signatories to UN conventions that make it clear — the PFLP and the Palestinian people generally are not criminals. They are resisting a criminal occupation — it is the militaristic, apartheid state of Israel which is the criminal here, which needs to be treated as such, not the PFLP.” – David Rovics, singer-songwriter So come along and show your support for the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist state of Israel, and be treated to a night of entertainment by two of the best ‘rabble rousers’ around