PSNA Newsletter No 131 - April 10 2024
10 Paenga-whāwhā 2024
10 April 2024
Newsletter No 131
Kia ora koutou,
Winston Peters’ bluff and bluster at the United Nations
PSNA issued the following media release in response to Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ speech at the United Nations early this week:
Winston Peters’ bluff and bluster in his General Assembly speech at the United Nations yesterday are a classic case of doing one thing at home and saying another for overseas audiences.
Peters’ described the war on Gaza as an “utter catastrophe” and labelled Gaza a “wasteland”. He went on to say Israel could “not be under any misconceptions as to its legal obligations”.
These were strong words but meaningless in the context of what the government has failed to do at home.
Mr Peters did not tell his international audience that the New Zealand government has:
Refused to stop New Zealand military exports which support Israel’s war on Gaza
Refused (and still refuses) to condemn Israel for any of its war crimes such as collective punishment, the mass slaughter of over 33,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – the targeting of aid workers and deliberate starvation of Gaza’s Palestinian population
Refused (and still refuses) to call for an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza
Refused (and still refuses) to reinstate funding for UNRWA (let alone doubling its funding and bringing forward payments which the government has been urged to do)
Refused (and still refuses) to withdraw from the US war to target Yemen which is acting to oppose Israel’s genocide of Palestinians
Refused (and still refuses) to support or join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice
Refused (and still refuses) to shut down the Israeli Embassy
Refused (and still refuses) to grant humanitarian visas for Palestinians with family in New Zealand.
Winston Peters stands with the US/Israel on Gaza in every important respect but has tried to give a different impression to the United Nations.
There is nothing in his speech which holds Israel to account for its war crimes – not even a single punctuation mark.
It was a Janus-faced performance at the United Nations.
John Minto
National Chair
PSNA
National rallies, marches and vigils around the country this week
To view events around Aotearoa:
Go to the PSNA Homepage – www.PSNA.nz
Scroll down to the button “For a list of events Nationwide, please click here - Check back often for updates”
Click the button
Check back on Friday for any moves, adds or changes
North Island
Opononi – Gathering for Palestine
Sunday 14 April
5:00 pm
Outside the Four Square, Opononi
Kerikeri, Bay of Islands - Rally
Saturday 13 April
9:00 – 11:00 am
Kerikeri roundabout, State highway 10
Whangarei – Rally
Saturday 13 April
10:00 am
Whangārei Town Basin in front of Hundertwasser Building
Auckland – Eid Day
Thursday 11 or Friday 12
Confirmation on Wednesday evening
10:00 am onwards
Eden Park
Check out here - https://www.facebook.com/events/1080612146326727/
Auckland – Banners around Tamaki Makaurau
Saturday 13 April
10:00 am
Potters Park. Dominion Road
Text Steve on 021 256 511 For further details
Auckland – Rally
Sunday 14 April
2:00 pm
Te Komititanga – Britomart Square
Tauranga – Rally
Sunday 14 April
11:00 am
Coronation Park, Mount Maunganui
Hamilton - Rally
Saturday 13 April
1:00 pm
Flynn Park, Hamilton
Rotorua – Flags for Todd McClay
Thursday 11 April
4:00 pm
National MP Todd McClays Office - 1301 Amohau St, Rotorua
Napier - Rally
Saturday 13 April
11:30 am
Marine Parade Soundshell Roundabout
Hastings - Rally
Sunday 14 April
2:00 pm
Hastings Town Clock – Hastings CBD
Palmerston North - Rally
Sunday 14 April
2:00 pm
The Square, Palmerston North
New Plymouth – Flags on the Bridge
Friday 12 April
4:30 pm
Paynters Ave Bridge, New Plymouth
New Plymouth – Rally
Saturday 13 April
1:00 pm
The Landing, 1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth
Whanganui - Rally
Saturday 13 April
11:00 am
Riverside Market, Whanganui
Carterton
Every Tuesday
12:00 midday
Memorial Square.
Martinborough – Gathering for Palestine
Every Wednesday
11:00 am
The square at the top of Kitchener St, Martinborough
Featherston
Every Saturday
11:00 am
The Squircle (opposite the op shop).
Wellington
No Rally this weekend
South Island
Nelson – Rally
Check out the Te Tau Ihu Palestine Solidarity Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/TeTIPalestine/
Blenheim
Saturday 13 April
11:00 am
Blenheim Railway Station
Christchurch – Rally
Saturday 13 April
1:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street
Dunedin - Rally
Saturday 13 April
2:00 pm
Otago Museum Reserve to the Octagon, Dunedin
Invercargill - Rally
Friday 12 April
5:30 pm
Wachner place Invercargill
Something you can do now with just a few clicks…
A wee bit of history – from a Rakon protest in Auckland in 2006 (see letter below for context)
Copy and paste this letter to the Prime Minister and copy in your local MP. To find the email address of your local MP go here.
Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Christopher.luxon@parliament.govt.nz
Kia ora Mr Luxon,
We are seeking an assurance from you that New Zealand military export orders to the US and Israel have been halted following Friday’s United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling for a halt to all arms sales to Israel.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip, and demanding a halt to all arms sales to the country.
Friday’s vote marked the first time that the UN’s top rights body has taken a position on the nearly six-month war, highlighting warnings of “genocide” in the conflict that has killed more than 33,000 people.
New Zealand has significant exports of military equipment to the US, in particular via Auckland firm Rakon which provides crystal oscillators to the US military which incorporates them into weapons which are provided to Israel. The Rakon website indicates clearly its products are used for “defence purposes”. Previously it has been widely reported Rakon products are purchased by US defence contractor Rockwell for incorporation into guided missiles and guided artillery shells.
All exports orders from Rakon to the US and/or Israel must be stopped immediately.
The wanton killing of over 33,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – by the Israeli Defence Force has been widely described as a likely genocide by the International Court of Justice and human rights groups around the world.
We look forward to a swift and clear response from you today.
Ngā mihi.
(your name)
PSNA National meeting 18/19 May 2024 in Auckland
Our 2024 national meeting will be in Auckland on the weekend of 18/19 May. The venue is Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road, Grey Lynn. The keynote speaker will be Mazin Qumsiyeh from the Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University.
To register to come please email our National Secretary Neil Scott at secretary@PSNA.nz to let him know you are coming and if you need help with travel costs or billets for the Friday/Saturday nights.
The meeting is long overdue. It was planned for early December but the Gaza genocide meant we needed to prioritise the protests. Everyone is welcome to our annual meeting – book early to come to keep the costs down. We’d love to see you all there!
The global impact of BDS
Palestine’s Boycott, Divest and Sanctions policy towards Israel is biting. Follow this link to show the indicators of the BDS movement’s global impact and find the Aotearoa New Zealand example cited in the report.
BDS for Aotearoa New Zealand
Remember our big six BDS targets for Aotearoa New Zealand?
Obela Hummus
Ahava skin care products
Sodastream
HP (Hewlett-Packard)
BP and Caltex
McDonalds
The BDS pressure tells on McDonald’s
McDonald's to buy back Israeli restaurants after boycotts here
MLN – doing more for Gaza!
Germany – making Palestinians pay for German war crimes of the Holocaust
An important story from Germany about a campaign to “Boycott Germany” for forcing Palestinians to pay for German war crimes here
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza ready to go – your support needed!
The next Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza. Kia Ora Gaza will have a medical team on board. Please donate to this mission to break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza with our international solidarity flotilla.
Suspend apartheid Israel from international sports
To FIFA, FIBA, International Olympics Committee, and all other global and European sports governing bodies.
We urgently demand:
An immediate suspension of Israel from participation in all international sports until it fully complies with international law and sports regulations
For global and European sports governing bodies to immediately uphold their statutory obligations – especially their own rules on human rights and non-discrimination given Russian, South African and other precedents. This would include, inter alia, a ban on Israel competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and UEFA’s EURO.
Sign the petition here
Rebuilding the Gaza Centre for Human Rights
Damage to the Gaza Centre of Human Rights Office after an Israeli air attack in 2021
PSNA has been a long-time supporter of the Gaza Centre for Human Rights. The Centre is making an appeal for funds to rebuild at the earliest opportunity. New Zealander Julie Webb-Pullman worked at the centre for several years as an international expert on gathering evidence of Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
Before the latest Israeli attacks the centre had sent over 2000 claims of war crimes relating to Israel’s attack on Gaza in 2014 and its targeting the Great March of Return protests in March 2018.
We will have more about the centre in future newsletters.
In the meantime, people can donate to:
Account name: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-02 (Please put GCHR in the reference)
A few pictures from the protests last week
A wet day in Nelson
Napier activists ready to march
Ngāmotu/New Plymouth
Ōtepoti/Dunedin
West Auckland
Ten myths about Israel
Watch out for this man promoting racism and apartheid
Here he is – the Israeli ambassador – watch out for him around Aotearoa New Zealand – if you hear of any planned appearances or speaking engagements please contact us urgently: Email apartheid-Israel@PSNA.nz or text 027 4 APARTHEID or 027427278.
Israeli ambassador Ran Yaakoby
Important stories from the Web
Editor’s picks
Ban Israel from Eurovision – sign the petition here
NZ doctors of Arab descent prepare to head to Gaza here
From Gaza to West Papua: The long struggle for justice and freedom here
Investigation: The Palestinian struggle for Labour rights in Israel here
APR editor criticises NZ media coverage of war in Gaza here
Who is the superpower – the US or Israel: Al Jazeera on the absurdity of airdrops in Gaza here
UN Human Rights Council calls for arms ban on Israel: Resolution highlights “plausible risk of genocide” here
Anatomy of a genocide here
Egypt has betrayed Palestinians in their time of greatest need here
Other stories
Pressure mounts on Israel to explain deaths of aid workers here
Free Doctor Ahmed Muhanna and the AWDA medical staff! here
Israel’s Al Jazeera ban alarms media watchdog on free press stranglehold here
Indonesian miliary deny bombing Papua district in bid to free NZ pilot here
Mehdi Hasan on genocide in Gaza and the silencing of Palestinian voices in news media here
Green-Left fights another Facebook ban without warning over Gaza here
Caitlin Johnstone: The plan is to turn Palestine into an historical footnote so its too late to save it here
Caitlin Johnstone: Imagine if Russia or China did the things Israel is doing in Gaza here
Annelle Sheline: Why I’m resigning from the US State Department here
The Gaza genocide in western media: Culprits of complicity here
‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 182: Israel says it will ‘temporarily’ allow aid into Gaza here
Israeli inquiry blames WCK aid killings on grave errors by military personnel here
RNZ interview with Nathan Thrall, Jerusalem-based American journalist, here
Ali Abunimah: How World Central Kitchen serves Israel’s genocidal agenda here
It Is Indifference of the Israelis That Is Killing People here
US, UK and Australian aid workers killed by Israel here
We all live in the Palestine Laboratory here
The nuclear explosion that makes US aid to Israel illegal here
Watermelons and red triangles – symbols of Palestinian resistance here
Atrocity propaganda Vs the testimony of atrocity here
Al Jazeera journalism debunks New York Times piece on Hamas weaponising rape on October 7th here
Exposing the lie of the beheaded babies here
Reminder: Dates for Palestine Solidarity during the year
Israel apartheid week has been added to the dates for likely local and national Palestine solidarity activity this year.
28 Mar – 4 Apr Israel Apartheid Week
30 Mar Land Day Palestine
5 Apr Palestinian Childs Day
9 Apr Deir Yassin massacre - Irgun Terrorism - 107-120 Palestinian men, women and children massacred
17 Apr Palestinian Prisoners Day
11 May World Kufiya Day
15 May Nakba Day – marking the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestine in 1948
5 Jun Nakba Day - Start of 1967 War - Land Grab – Invasion of Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza, Egypt and Syria - 5 June 1967 – 10 June 1967
20 Jun Attack on Gaza - 6–21 May 2021 (2 weeks and 1 day)
16-18 Sep 40th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres
28 Sep Second Intifada - 28 Sept 2000 – 8 Feb 2005
2 Nov Balfour Declaration
29 Nov United Nations - International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
8 Dec First Intifada - 8 Dec 1987 – 13 Sept 1993
Are you able to donate a cup of coffee a month to the campaign?
We will need some serious money to make our campaign as effective as possible. For example, we will need somewhere in the vicinity of $25,000 to bring speakers to New Zealand over the next year and organise large public meetings to help spread the message.
You can help. Are you able to donate a cup of coffee a month to the campaign? In other words, can you afford to make an automatic payment of $5 per month to support the Palestinian struggle? (If you can afford more that would be great!)
Our account details are:
Account name: Palestine Solidarity Network
Account number: 38-9015-0849542-00
We are happy to provide a receipt upon request (however, we are not a registered charity so this is not tax-deductible)
In Occupied Palestine daily newsletter – an invitation to subscribe from Leslie Bravery
Because of mainstream news media complicity, daily headlines and commentary only occasionally ever mention the relentless Israeli violence in Palestine, not even the frequent air strikes!
However, daily news and statistics regarding the violence Palestinians are forced to live under are regularly reported on in the “In Occupied Palestine daily newsletter”, sourced and compiled for easy reading and correlation chiefly from the Palestinian Monitoring Group's daily situation reports.
The In Occupied Palestine daily newsletter continues to be circulated, by email, worldwide to subscribers only, as it has been over the last two decades.
Please contact lesliebravery@icloud.com if you also wish to become a subscriber.
Merchandise for sale
We have Merchandise you can buy including T-shirts from our website.
Go here - https://www.psna.nz/shop
More ways you can get involved
Forward this Newsletter – If you know people who may be interested in this movement, please forward this Newsletter to them.
Join in local activities in your area monthly Rallies - In Auckland at 2.00 pm on the first Saturday of every month. Please consider doing the same in your community. Contact Secretary@PSNA.nz if you would like to know where and how to get Flags and Banners
Help set up a Students for Justice in Palestine groups on your campus
Tell Your MP your opinions on Divestment and Sanctions of Israel.
Write Letters to Newspapers – Call Talkback Radio
Keep in touch with the campaign on social media
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network website: https://www.PSNA.nz
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/671376706283605/
o NZ Palestine Solidarity Network email: Secretary@PSNA.nz
The Palestine Human Rights Campaign produces the In Occupied Palestine newsletter. It is a regular daily newsletter on the daily situation in Palestine, compiled by Leslie Bravery and emailed to subscribers. If you would also like to become a subscriber, please contact Leslie at “lesliebravery @ icloud .com” (remove the spaces to use as an email address) for further information.
Keep Updated on our Facebook pages and websites (listed below)
Human rights for Uyghur refugees - In line with our support for human rights for the people of Palestine we have added our name to the petition in support of human rights for Uyghur refugees so they can be included in the government’s refugee quota. PSNA members who wish to also sign this petition can do so here - https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/open-letter-let-s-show-compassion-to-the-uyghur-community
PSNA Groups
PSNA National Committee
Website: www.PSNA.nz
Chair - John Minto: Chair@PSNA.nz
Secretary - Neil Scott: Secretary@PSNA.nz
Regional Groups
Bay of Islands PSN Bay of Islands (Email)
Whangarei PSN Whangarei (Facebook)
Auckland PSN Auckland – Tamaki Makaurau (Website)
Hamilton Palestine Human Rights Campaign Waikato (Facebook)
Tauranga Tauranga Moana 4 Palestine (Facebook)
Napier/Hastings Aotearoa Standing with Palestine (Facebook)
Palmerston North PSN Palmerston North (Email)
New Plymouth PSN Taranaki (Facebook)
Wellington PSN Wellington (Email)
Nelson Te Tau Ihu (Nelson) Palestine (Facebook)
Christchurch PSN Christchurch (Facebook)
Dunedin Dunedin for Justice in Palestine (Facebook)
Invercargill PSNA Invercargill (Email)