PSNA Newsletter No 171 - January 15 2025
15 Kohitātea 2024
15 December 2024
Newsletter No 171
PSNA national conference February 22/23 in Wellington
PLEASE NOTE: If you are booking travel to come please note the conference will begin at 9am on Saturday 22 February and finish at 3pm on Sunday 23 February.
Palestinian playwright, scholar, commentator and poet, Samah Sabawi, will be a keynote speaker at the PSNA national conference in February. Samah is based in Australia and will be at our conference as part of a short speaking tour of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mark the date 22/23 February to be in Wellington. More details of the programme will follow in future newsletters.
We will arrange billeting in Wellington for people from out of town and we will be able to help out with petrol costs to get there and airfares for those too far away to drive easily.
It will be a fantastic uplifting conference - looking forward to seeing you there!
The face of the BBC’s racist pro-Israeli propaganda which fills TVNZ and RNZ broadcasts
We have been appalled again and again at the blatant propaganda which masquerades as journalism from the BBC and which is uncritically reported by TVNZ and Radio New Zealand in particular. This is the face of Raffi Berg – the BBC’s Middle East Editor and chief Israeli propagandist at the state broadcaster.
“A senior BBC editor at the center of an ongoing scandal into the network’s systematic pro-Israel bias is, in fact, a former member of a CIA propaganda outfit, MintPress News can reveal. Raffi Berg, an Englishman who heads the BBC’s Middle East desk, formerly worked for the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service, a unit that, by his own admission, was a CIA front group. Berg is currently the subject of considerable scrutiny after thirteen BBC employees spoke out, claiming, among other things, that his “entire job is to water down everything that’s too critical of Israel” and that he holds “wild” amounts of power at the British state broadcaster, that there exists a culture of “extreme fear” at the BBC about publishing anything critical of Israel, and that Berg himself plays a key role in turning its coverage into “systematic Israeli propaganda.” The BBC has disputed these claims. Berg came to public attention in December after Drop Site News published an investigation based on interviews with 13 BBC staffers who present him as a domineering figure, systematically blocking coverage critical of Israel and manipulating stories to suit pro-Israel narratives. The 9000-word report, written by popular journalist Owen Jones, is extensive and well-researched. However, one aspect of the story it almost completely avoids is Berg’s connections to the U.S. national security state, which MintPress News can now reveal”
The full story is here:
Raffi Berg: BBC Middle East Editor Exposed as CIA, Mossad Collaborator here
(See “Action you can take now” later in the newsletter)
Free Ismail Lghazaoui – BDS international appeal
From BDS National Committee:
We call on you to take immediate action to pressure the repressive Moroccan authorities to immediately release Moroccan human rights defender and agricultural engineer Ismail Lghazaoui, who is unjustly imprisoned for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of expression. His tireless advocacy for Palestinian rights has made him a target of repression by the authoritarian Moroccan regime, which is complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people through its shameful normalization and military alliance with apartheid Israel.
Ismail’s crime? Calling for protests against the docking of ships carrying American military equipment for Israel’s genocidal forces—ships that were denied entry by the Spanish state but welcomed by Moroccan ports.
On December 10, International Human Rights Day, Ismail was sentenced to a year in prison, following an unfair trial aimed at silencing voices of dissent against the Moroccan regime’s complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide. His next appeal session is scheduled for January 15, 2025, it is crucial to intensify our pressure now.
(See actions you can take later in the newsletter)
Colonisation and Resistance - Webinar
Three actions you can take now with just a few clicks…
1) Write to RNZ and TVNZ to ask they refuse to broadcast any more racist propaganda from the BBC
Phil O’Sullivan
New Editor
TVNZ
Phil.osullivan@tvnz.co.nz
Paul Thompson
Editor in Chief
Paul.Thompson@rnz.co.nz
Kia ora kōrua,
Request to refuse to broadcast any more racist propaganda on the Middle East from the BBC
After 16 months of Israeli genocide of Palestinians – a genocide confirmed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Medecins Sans Frontieres – Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand are still broadcasting BBC reports on Israel’s war on Gaza which are blatantly anti-Palestinian, pro-Israeli propaganda.
The bias has been exposed by BBC employees and reveals the BBC’s Middle East Editor – the now notorious Raffi Berg – has been identified as “turning its (BBC) coverage into “systematic Israeli propaganda.” Unsurprisingly Berg has been further identified as a CIA, Mossad collaborator.
BBC reporting under Berg centres on Israeli narratives, Israeli reasoning and Israeli justifications while Palestinian voices, if they appear at all in these broadcasts, are marginalised and sidelined.
I want a commitment from both TVNZ and RNZ that you will immediately end the broadcast of BBC reports from the Middle East. There are many more news sources available to you which give balanced, accurate and unbiased reporting on the Middle East.
I look forward to your response.
(your name)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2) Write to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and copy in your local MP, urging them to announce an increase in funding for UNRWA. You can write your own letter or copy and paste this one and copy in your local MP as well.
Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister
c.luxon@ministers.govt.nz
Winston Peters
Foreign Minister
w.peters@ministers.govt.nz
Kia ora Mr Luxon kōrua ko Mr Peters,
URGENT: New Zealand Government action required by 29 January to prevent Israel’s ban on UNRWA
On 28 October 2024, Israel’s Parliament passed two Bills banning the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and instituted a “no contact” policy with the Agency. If implemented by Israel’s Government when they come into effect on 30 January, in 17 days’ time, UNRWA will likely be obliged to halt its work throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
These measures constitute an attempt to destroy an indispensable United Nations Agency which our government supports financially and politically. They will compound what is already a humanitarian catastrophe, with long lasting consequences for the entire region. UNRWA is the essential lifeline for humanitarian aid to Gaza. Under normal circumstances, it also provides education, health and social services usually provided by states to 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in the OPT. The ban constitutes an attack on the international rules-based system of international law that New Zealand has pledged to uphold.
The position in law
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures in January, March, and May 2024, ordering Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid. The order of 28 March 2024 specifically required Israel to ensure the delivery of urgently needed assistance in cooperation with the United Nations. Banning UNRWA would violate these measures. On 21 November 2024 the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against two Israeli Ministers, citing deprivation of “objects indispensable to survival” as a reasonable ground for prosecution. The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 affirmed that Israel’s 1967 occupation is unlawful, and urged third states, including New Zealand, to cease economic ties that sustain illegal settlements and ensure compliance with international law. The opinion highlighted the role of third states in preventing and halting grave breaches of the law, including acts with genocidal implications.
Israel, as the occupying power, bears responsibility for the welfare of Palestinian refugees under international humanitarian law. The Knesset Acts include no provision for the continued delivery of essential services, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza exposed to starvation, disease and further displacement. As the UN Secretary General Antόnio Guterres noted in his letters to the Security Council and General Assembly of 9 December 2024, if UNRWA is obliged to cease its work in the OPT, Israel will have the legal obligation to maintain those services. Banning UNRWA will destabilise further the wider region, specifically Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Action required
New Zealand has historic and legal obligations to act decisively to address this crisis. Our government must pull out all the stops to dissuade Israel from banning UNRWA.
We urge the government to announce an INCREASE in funding for the UNRWA and declare we will sanction Israel should the ban on UNRWA go ahead.
Decisive action now is needed to prevent an irreversible, intentional humanitarian catastrophe that could have severe consequences for our own future security.
Ngā mihi.
[Your Name]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3) Write to the Moroccan Ambassador to New Zealand (based in Australia) calling for the immediate release of Ismail Lghazaoui
Ms Wassane Zailachi
Moroccan Ambassador to New Zealand
emb.aus@maec.gov.ma
Kia ora Ms Wassane Zailachi,
Release Ismail Lghazaoui
I am urging Morocco to immediately release Ismail Lghazaoui.
Ismail has been imprisoned by your country because he opposed Morocco providing port facilities to ships carrying arms and weapons for Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. These same ships were denied entry to Spanish ports – a double shame on the government of Morocco!
We urge Morocco to stand with the people of Palestine instead of standing with the racist, apartheid genocidal state of Israel.
Please free Ismail Lghazaoui immediately!
I wait for you quick response to this appeal.
(your name)
Nationwide rallies/marches/MP protests/vigils 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
Or events are on the PSNA Facebook events page here
There are more than 30 events around the Motu this week.
North Island
Opononi - Shared Palestinian themed lunch
Saturday 18 January
1:00 pm
Outside Opononi four square
Kerikeri - Rally
First Saturday of the month
Whangarei – Rally
No Rally this week
Waiheke – Market Stall – hosted by Stand With Palestine Waiheke!
Every Saturday
8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Ostend Market, Waiheke Island
Auckland – Stand for Palestine
Monday – Friday
3:00 – 4:00 pm at the US Consulate - 23 Customs Street East
4:00 – 5:00 pm at Te Komititanga Britomart Square
Auckland – Joining Marika at Stand for Palestine (see above)
Wednesday 15 January
3:00 – 4:00 pm at the US Consulate - 23 Customs Street East
4:00 – 5:00 pm at Te Komititanga Britomart Square
Auckland – Banners around Tamaki Makaurau
Every Saturday
This week
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Sunnynook Road overbridge, North Shore, Auckland
Text John on 021 899 659 for more details
Auckland – Rally for Palestine – The BDS Series
Saturday 18 January - Divest
2:00 pm
Te Komititanga - Britomart Square, Tamaki Makaurau
Thames – Vigil to Stop the war on Children
(Hosted by The Basket – Social and Environmental Justice - Hauraki)
First Saturday of the month
Tauranga – Picnic in the Park
Friday 17 January
6:00 pm
Gourmet Night Market, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui
Tauranga - Flags
Sunday 19 January
11:00 am
Papamoa shopping center, Domain & Gravatt Rd, Papamoa
Hamilton – Flag Waving for Palestine
Saturday 11 January
1:00 pm
Flynn Park, Cnr Wairere Drive & Naylor, Hamilton
Raglan
Sunday 12 January
Nothing this week
Cambridge - Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
11:00 am
Cambridge Town Hall
Rotorua – Rally for Palestine
Every Thursday
4:30 pm
National MP Todd McClays Office - Cnr Amohau and Ranolf St lights, Rotorua
Gisborne - Farmers Market - Vigil to Stop the war on Children
Every Saturday
9:30 – 11:30 am
Gisborne Farmers Market
Napier - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 18 January
11:30 am
Marine Parade Soundshell Roundabout
Hastings – Rally for Palestine
Sunday 19 January
1:00 pm
Hastings Town Clock – Hastings CBD
Palmerston North - Rally
Every Sunday
2:00 pm
The Square, Palmerston North
New Plymouth – Flags at the Council
Every Friday
4:00 – 5:30 pm
New Plymouth District Council, 84 Liardet Street
New Plymouth – Flags for Gaza
Saturday 18 January
1:00 PM
The Landing, 1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth
Whanganui - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 18 January
11:00 am
Riverside Market, Whanganui
Carterton – Gathering for Gaza
Every Tuesday
12:00 midday
Memorial Square.
Martinborough – Vigil for Palestine
Every Wednesday
11:00 am
The square at the top of Kitchener St, Martinborough
Masterton - Gathering for Gaza
Every Sunday
9:30 am
Town Hall Lawn, Masterton
Featherston – Gathering for Gaza
Every Saturday
11:00 am
The Squircle (opposite the op shop).
Wellington – Flags on the Bridge
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective)
Every Friday
7:45 – 8:45 am
Hill Street bridge Overbridge, Wellington
Wellington – Vigil for Palestine
(hosted by Aotearoa Healthcare Workers for Palestine)
Every Friday
6:00 pm
In front of Wellington Hospital, 49 Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington
Wellington – Rally
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective)
Saturday 18 January
1:00 pm
Check out https://www.instagram.com/falastin_tea_collective for details
South Island
Nelson – Flag waving for Palestine
Saturday 18 January
10:30 am
Tahunanui Beach, Rocks Rd, Nelson
Blenheim - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 18 January
11:00 am
Blenheim Railway Station
Christchurch – Flags for Palestine
Friday 17 January
4:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch
Christchurch – Rally for Palestine
Saturday 18 January
1:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch
Timaru
No Rally this weekend
Dunedin – Rally
Saturday 18 January
No Rally this weekend
Queenstown
No rally this weekend
Invercargill - Rally for Palestine
Sunday 19 January
1:00 pm
Wachner place Invercargill
Keep your ear to the ground
Pass on to us any news you have of government MPs at public events so we can hold them to account. Send messages to Secretary@PSNA.nz
A decent headline in a mainstream New Zealand Newspaper
The Otago Daily Times puts the other papers around the country to shame with its much better balanced coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza. This recent feature in the paper “Billions to Israel to bomb children” is the unvarnished truth of the genocide in Gaza.
Gaza genocide on numbers
Keep those stickers getting onto Sodastream products…
If you’d like some stickers email your address to Merchandise@PSNA.nz and we will send them to you. (Note: we will have a specific Sodastream sticker available soon)
A couple of pics from around the country…
Near Waikato Hospital 5 December 2024
Whakatū/Nelson last weekend
What to boycott over Summer?
Watch out for the main BDS targets over summer – don’t buy them and spread the word to friends, family and workmates…
1) Sodastream
2) HP products
3) BP and Caltex petrol stations
4) McDonald’s
5) Ahava beauty products
On-line in Aotearoa
https://www.onceit.co.nz/
https://freshbeautyco.co.nz/collections/
https://www.cosmeticsnow.nz/about
https://www.pharmacydirect.co.nz/Ahava (they also have products under the brand 'Dead Sea')
https://www.recreateyourself.co.nz/ (based in Oz)
https://nz.cosmostore.org/catalog/brands/
Stores: Harvey Norman!
An evening with Gabor Mate in Auckland
Dr Gabor Mate is visiting Auckland in Feb. His talk will not focus on Palestine, but he is a strong opponent of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Tickets available at this link.
Merchandise for sale
We are ready to mail to you any of our t-shirts, long ($35) and short ($30) sleeved, hoodies ($45) bumper stickers ($3), Tino/Palestine pins ($3) flags ($10) and other items plus postage.
See more on the PSNA website here.
Email Merchandise@PSNA.nz with your order.
Important stories this week
Editor’s Pick’s
The American Historical Association condemns “Scholasticide” in Gaza genocide here
Abducted Gaza doctor’s life in danger due to torture – call for immediate international attention here
An indictment of NZ’s settler colonial and ‘Five Eyes’ spy paranoia over political critics here
Israeli forces kill 200 in three days in Gaza, overwhelming hospitals here
‘I refuse a cheap death’: Israel kills Palestinian journalist in Gaza here
Witnessing the Gaza war – massive database of a genocide here
Majed al-Zeer: Amid genocide, the tide is turning for Palestine but the fight is far from over here
Five Pacific region geopolitical betrayals in 2024 here
Dr Abu Safiya symbolised humanity in Gaza. Israel and the West are destroying it here
Other Stories
Australia’s double standards are by design here
U.S. House Votes to Sanction ICC Over Alleged Targeting of Senior Israeli Officials here
Blinded by political donations here
Netanyahu’s inevitable fate here
Israeli attacks damage nearly 1,000 mosques in Gaza, authorities say here
UN 'deeply concerned' over babies freezing to death from cold weather in Gaza here
Virtual reality: Providing injured Gazans an alternative space to heal here
Biden notifies US Congress of planned $8bn arms sales to Israel: Reports here
U.S. Defied Spanish Embargo on Arms Bound for Israel by Making Enforcement More Difficult here
Israel is killing civilians in Gaza on purpose, and it’s not even debatable here
EU Officials Will Claim Ignorance of Israel’s War Crimes. This Leaked Document Shows What They Knew here
Between a wall and a hard place here
The US is manufacturing doubt about Gaza’s famine here
Weaponising anti-semitism to silence criticism of Israel here
Biden administration finally declares a genocide is happening in Sudan here
Young Israelis don’t want peace warns former Israeli top diplomat here
Ghost of Suharto marks new phase in West Papua occupation here
Here are the propaganda leaflets Israel is currently dropping over Gaza here
Israel Blocks UN Probe Into Hamas Sexual Crimes From October 7 to Avoid Inquiry Into Abuse of Palestinians here
In defence of free speech about genocide in Gaza here
Israel’s total destruction of a whole healthcare system threatens us all here
Statement by Professor Katherine Franke exposing Harvard’s defence of genocide here
Tell companies like Carrefour, Hyundai ansd BNP Paribas: stop fueling Israel’s occupation of the Golan heights here (Petition)
In Gaza – a child’s simple impossible wish here
We all became ghosts – survivors recount Israel’s deadly siege of Jabalia refuge camp here
Why Jimmy Carter’s opposition to Israeli apartheid failed to secure peace here
Saturday’s Tāmaki Makaurau rally here
This week’s Auckland rally in pictures and video 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 - 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)