PSNA Newsletter No 176- February 19 2025
19 Pēpuere 2025
19 February 2025
Newsletter No 176
PSNA launches judicial review of Superfund investments in companies supporting illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Earlier this week lawyers acting on behalf of Palestinian New Zealanders and the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa filed papers in the Auckland High Court for a judicial review challenging the decision of the NZ Superfund to keep investing in companies the United Nations has identified as supporting illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
We are arguing that the NZ Superfund should be taking notice of international institutions such as the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
The Superfund has taken some small steps in the past to divest from five Israeli banks and Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems for example but has steadfastly refused to develop policy in line with international law and New Zealand’s international obligations.
No date has been set for the hearing but we will keep you posted through future newsletters.
In solidarity with Palestine in Hawkes Bay
Last weekend PSNA National Chair John Minto attended two rallies in Hawkes Bay – Napier and Hastings – and also spoke at a fundraising dinner for Palestine at the Taradale Town Hall (pictured)
Minto describes it as a fantastic weekend of solidarity in action for Palestine. He says it was “a real pleasure to be asked to come and share this weekend in the area I grew up in”.
NATIONAL HUI: MOBILISING AOTEAROA IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE
22nd Feb – 23rd Feb 2025
Willeston Conference Centre, Level 11, 15 Willeston Street, Wellington Central
We will have a report on the national hui in next week’s newsletter!
The Doctor’s Wife - New Zealand international film festival film
Two things you can do now with just a few clicks…
Help promote Samah Sabawi’s tour by sharing the posters which are on our social media pages and details of her public meetings (see below)
Share on your social media pages details of the Paula Jones film (immediately above) and the Palestinian webinars later in the newsletter.
Remaining itinerary for Samah Sabawi – New Zealand Tour 2025
Wednesday 19 Feb – Dunedin
12pm, University of Otago, Richardson Building, Room 6N4: Seminar: Palestine: Justice, Peace & Art
6pm, Yours Cafe: Book discussion, and the pathway to Palestinian liberation, justice and peace.
Thursday 20 Feb – Christchurch
2.30pm to 4pm – Poetry reading with celebrated NZ poet Tusiata Avia
7pm Public Meeting at Transitional Cathedral (Scorpio Books will have a stall)
Friday 21 Feb – Nelson
3-4 pm Coffee & Korero with Samah, Elma Turner Library
6pm Evening at Trafalgar St Hall
7.30 pm Book signing + conversation
Saturday 22 Feb – Wellington
Keynote talk at PSNA national conference
Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!
Remember possible action for local groups
For groups affiliated to PSNA we suggest the following actions could be taken at any time in support of this campaign
Asking your local backpacker accommodation to display the poster and draw it to the attention of any Israeli soldiers here on “rest and recreation” from the genocide.
Pasting the hotline poster (use the version in this newsletter which includes a contact email) around the vicinity of backpacker venues in your local area. This is already happening in some areas.
Hand out flyers to people in the vicinity of your local backpackers
Contact us on the hotline if you come across Israeli soldiers
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 25 events around the Motu this week.
North Island
Kerikeri - Rally
First Saturday of the month
Whangarei – Rally
Friday 21st February
4:30 to 6:00 pm
Hospital shops, Maunu Rd, Te Mai
In support of Gaza hospitals, health workers and patients
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 Picket
Wednesday 19 February
12:00 mid-day
US Consulate - 23 Customs Street East, Auckland Central
Waiheke – Market Stall – hosted by Stand With Palestine Waiheke!
Every Saturday
8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Ostend Market, Waiheke Island
Auckland – Banners around Tamaki Makaurau
Every Saturday
This week
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Carrington Road overbridge in Point Chevalier
Auckland – Gathering for Palestine
Saturday 22 February
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
No event this week
Hamilton – Flag Waving for Palestine
Saturday 15 February
1:00 pm
Flynn Park, Cnr Wairere Drive & Naylor, Hamilton
Hamilton - Stall at the Malaysian cultural day event
Saturday 15 February
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Claudelands event center, Hamilton
Raglan
No Event 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
Napier - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 22 February
11:30 am
Marine Parade Soundshell Roundabout
Hastings – Rally for Palestine
Sunday 23 February
1:00 pm
Hastings Town Clock – Hastings CBD
Palmerston North - Rally
No event this Sunday
New Plymouth – Flags at the Council
Friday 21 February
No Flags this week
New Plymouth
No Rally this Saturday
Whanganui - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 22 February
11:00 am
Riverside Market, Whanganui
Carterton – Gathering for Gaza
Every Tuesday
12:00 midday
Memorial Square.
Martinborough – Vigil for Palestine
First Wednesday of the month
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
7:15 – 8:15 am
Hill Street bridge Overbridge, Wellington
Wellington – Rally
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective)
Moving to Third Saturday of the month. Next Rally Saturday 15 March
Check out https://www.instagram.com/falastin_tea_collective for details
Wellington – National Hui
Saturday 22 February – 9:00 – 5:00 and then shared meal
Sunday 23 February – 9:00 – 3:00 pm
Registrations closed
South Island
Nelson – Samah Sabawi
Friday 21 Feb
· 3-4 pm Coffee & Korero with Samah, Elma Turner Library
· 6pm Evening at Trafalgar St Hall
· 7.30 pm Book signing + conversation
Nelson
No Rally this weekend
Blenheim - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 22 February
11:00 am
Blenheim Railway Station
Picton – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Picton Foreshore
Christchurch - Samah Sabawi at the Library
With acclaimed NZ poet Tusiata Avia
Thursday 20 February
2:30 – 4:00 pm
Tūranga central library 2.30 to 4pm
Christchurch – Samah Sabawi Public Meeting
Thursday 20 February
7:00 pm Public Meeting
Transitional Cathedral (Scorpio Books will have a stall)
Christchurch – Flags for Palestine
Friday 21 February
4:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch
Christchurch – Rally for Palestine
Saturday 22 February
1:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch
Dunedin – Rally
Moved to once a month
No Rally this weekend
Dunedin - Seminar: Palestine: Justice, Peace & Art
Wednesday 19 February
12:00 noon
University of Otago, Richardson Building, Room 6N4
Dunedin – Samah Sabawi - Book discussion
And the pathway to Palestinian liberation, justice and peace
Wednesday 19 February
6:00 pm,
Yours Café, 43 Moray Place, Dunedin
Dunedin - Fundraiser Gig for UNRWA
Resistance v2 - Fundraiser Gig for UNRWA
Saturday 22 February
4:30pm onwards
Yours Cafe - 43 Moray Place
Invercargill - Rally for Palestine
No rally this weekend
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
Call to boycott Captain America
The full story is here and here.
Sign the BDS petition here
On Wednesday night, protesters disrupted the red carpet Hollywood premiere of the movie, and the livestream was cancelled, with mainstream Hollywood media covering the protest.
Watch the powerful new short video on Marvel and Disney’s complicity in genocide on Instagram and X!
BDS is also calling on audiences to boycott Disney's Snow White movie, Disney+ subscriptions, and Marvel merchandise.
Gal Gadot, depicting the Evil Queen in Snow White, has organized screenings of an Israeli military propaganda movie that attempts to justify Israel's genocide.
Our movement has shown that even the largest entertainment corporations like Disney are susceptible to grassroots pressure when they harm Palestinians.
Given the urgent need for accountability amid the rise of the global far-right, let's make sure Marvel and Disney hear us loud and clear: we won't stand for whitewashing Israel's genocide and apartheid!
Sign the petition, and watch and share the video on Instagram and X.
Sonny Bill Williams stands with Palestine
Sonny Bill Williams pictured with senior member of the New Zealand Palestinian community Maher Nazal
Webinar with Mouin Rabbani
Through a child’s eyes: Genocide of the Palestinian people of Gaza
omlink will be shared with registrants only. Register here
Beyond the Ceasefire: Reconstructing Gaza After Genocide – Al Shabaka webinar
Wednesday, February 26th, 2025 | 11am ET / 6pm Palestine Time
The ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile as Israeli calls to resume the genocidal assault persist. Even if it holds, Gaza faces a new phase of uncertainty. In addition to killing tens of thousands of Palestinians over the last year and a half, Israel has destroyed much of Gaza in a deliberate attempt to render the land uninhabitable and “thin out” the population. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump continues to breathe life into Israel’s ethnic cleansing fantasies with repeated threats of a US takeover and transformation of Gaza into a luxury beachfront metropolis. Despite the threats, Palestinians in Gaza remain steadfast in their commitment to stay and rebuild their land.
What will it take to reconstruct Gaza, both physically and politically? What role will external actors play in facilitating or obstructing this effort? Can meaningful reconstruction happen under continued siege and occupation? In this policy lab, Dena Qaddumi and Jehad Abusalim join host Tariq Kenney-Shawa to discuss what the ceasefire in Gaza means for Palestinians and the state of the physical and political landscape that determines what comes next. Register here.
Film screening: Burin under fire
Prisoners Reject Israeli Imposed Uniforms, Burn Them in Protest
Two quotes this week
“Achieving lasting and just peace is impossible without the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights in accordance with international resolutions, as has been previously clarified to both the former and current US administrations. The whole ship is going in the wrong direction now”.
--Ali. Shihabi; Saudi Commentator, close to Royal Court
____________
“[Netanyahu is a] Zionist and the son of a Zionist . . . who inherited extremism in his genes. Occupation does not have a good face or an ugly face. It has only one face and it is Benjamin Netanyahu.”
--Al Akhbariya, Saudi State News Channel
Dr. Abu Safiya Reports Torture and Severe Abuses in Israeli Custody
Dr. Abu Safiya Reports Torture and Severe Abuses in Israeli Custody here
Important stories from last week
Editor’s Pick’s
Disrupting genocide on Ōtepoti/Dunedin here
Wardrobe malfunction as soldiers go dressed to kill here
Winston Peters and Gideon Sa'ar speak on importance of Gaza ceasefire here
In the quest to appease Israel the media undermines our basic rights here
Hamas report to mediators accuses Israel of pervasive Gaza ceasefire violations here
Israel police cite children’s colouring book in raid on Palestinians bookshop here
Trump didn't invent the Gaza ethnic cleansing plan. It's been US policy since 2007 here
Just 9% of democrats sympathise more with Israelis than Palestinians here
Trump’s plan for Gaza heralds an age of naked fascism here
Israeli court sentences Palestinian child for 18 years in prison here
Egypt developing plan to rebuild Gaza without forcing out Palestinians here
Other Stories
Explosive Remnants in Gaza Cause Dozens of Casualties here
RSF demands White House restores AP access and let the press do its job here
How would Israel respond if Trump called for death camps in Gaza here
Chris Hedges – the US empire self-destructs here
Trump and foolish old men who redraw maps here
Israel’s marking of Palestinians Draws Comparisons to the Nazi Era here
Israel tortures Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, extends arbitrary detention hereHind Rajab Foundation pursuing Israeli soldiers worldwide for war crimes here
Israel used an 80-year-old Gazan as a human shield. Then they killed him here
Israel remains in five locations in Lebanon despite withdrawal deadline here
A Jewish man in Florida shot two Israelis he thought were Palestinian. What is going on? here
Trump says Palestinians won’t be able to return to Gaza under his plan here
The Palestine Laboratory documentary series is now traversing the globe here
‘Apartheid on Steroids’: South African Ambassador on Gaza, Musk, and Trump Cutting Off Aid here
Jordan’s Abdullah At White House, Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun here
The liberal establishment is finally criticizing ethnic cleansing in Gaza now that they can blame Trump here
One month into Israel’s West Bank offensive, violence and uncertainty are the new normal here
The stickers keep going on… and on…
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)
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!
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.
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)