PSNA Newsletter No 181 - February 26 March 2025
26 Poutū-te-rangi 2025
26 March 2025
Newsletter No 181
Items in this newsletter
1. Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
2. What you can do now with just a few clicks
3. Webinar with Dr Yara Hawari
4. Devastating critique of Radio New Zealand’s reportage on Palestine/Israel
5. Exposing Maersk’s role in arming Israel: we’re turning up the pressure
6. Winston Peters challenged for complicity with genocide in Gaza
7. Palestine Exhibition request for items
8. Biggest response yet to overbridge flag waving
9. Report on silent vigil in Whaingāroa/Raglan
10. Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!
11. Important stories from last week
12. Merchandise for sale
13. SodaStream stickers available
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
Hokianga
No event this weekend
Kerikeri - Rally
First Saturday of the Month
April 5th
Whangarei
No event this week
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 @ British Consulate
Wednesday 2 April
12:00 mid-day
151 Queen Street, Auckland CBD
Tāmaki Makaurau - 10km Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages
These 10km pilgrimages (3 hours) will continue to take place once a week until Thursday 17th April, the day before Good Friday.
Next one is Thursday 3rd April @ 4:45pm
Tuesday 8th April @ 3:45pm (earlier time because daylight savings has ended)
Thursday 17th April @ 3:45pm.
Starting Location: Outside Onehunga Library, Onehunga
Ending Location: Auckland International Airport arrivals gate
See here for further details
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
Join the team – text John on 021 899 659
Auckland – Rally and Walk into the Viaduct
Saturday 29 March
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.
April 5
Tauranga - Flag wave
11am Sunday 30th March
Coronation Park Mt Maunganui
Tauranga – Convoy to Support Cambridge
Saturday 22nd March
Leave Tauranga 9.30 am
Cambridge 11am – 12:00
Hamilton 1.30 pm -2.30 pm
Tauranga 4 - 5 pm
Tauranga - Flag wave
Sunday 30th March
11:00 am
Coronation Park Mt Maunganui
Hamilton – Silent Protest at Waikato Hospital
Thursday 27th March
4.30 - 5.30pm
Corner of Lorne Rd and Ohaupo Rd, Hamilton
Hamilton – Letter writing to push for sanctions
Saturday 29th March
12.30 - 2.30pm
Auaha Meeting Room, Hamilton Central Library
Hamilton – Flag Waving for Palestine
Saturday 29 March
1:00 pm
Flynn Park, Cnr Wairere Drive & Naylor, Hamilton
Hamilton
No rally this weekend?
Raglan
No event 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 McClay’s Office - Cnr Amohau and Ranolf St lights, Rotorua
Napier - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 29 March
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Marine Parade Soundshell Roundabout
Hastings – Rally for Palestine
Sunday 30 March
1:30 – 3:00 pm
Hastings Town Clock – Hastings CBD
Palmerston North - Rally
Saturday 29 March
2:00 am
The Square, Palmerston North
New Plymouth – Flags at the Bridge
Friday 28 March
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Paynters Ave Bridge, New Plymouth
New Plymouth – Rally for Gaza
Saturday 29 March
1:00 pm
The Landing, 1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth
Whanganui - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 29 March
11:00 am
Riverside Market, Whanganui
Martinborough – Vigil for Palestine
Every Wednesday
11:00 am
Memorial gate Martinborough Square, at the end of SH53
Masterton - Gathering for Gaza
Every Sunday
9:30 am
Town Hall Lawn, Masterton
Wellington – Flags on the Bridge
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective)
Every Friday
7:15 – 8:15 am
Hill Street bridge Overbridge, Wellington
Wellington
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective - third Saturday of the month)
No Rally this weekend
Check out https://www.instagram.com/falastin_tea_collective for further details
South Island
Nelson
No event this weekend
Blenheim - Rally for Palestine
Saturday 29 March
11:00 am
Blenheim Railway Station
Picton – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Picton Foreshore
Christchurch – Flags for Palestine
Friday 28 March
4:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch
Christchurch – Rally for Palestine
Saturday 29 March
1:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance
Dunedin - writing bee to support Swarbrick's sanctions bill.
Sunday 30 March (Palestine Land Day)
2:00 pm
Yours Cafe, 43 Moray Place
Dunedin – Rally
Moved to once a month
No Rally this weekend
Invercargill - Rally for Palestine
Every Sunday
1:00 pm
Wachner Square, Invercargill
What can you do now with just a few clicks…
1. Come along and support your local Palestine solidarity protests – see list above!
2. Take action to get six government MPs to support the Green Party “Illegal occupation of Palestine” bill (see item later in the newsletter)
3. Sign the open letter to the government here https://www.psna.nz/letter-to-winston-peters
Webinar with Dr Yara Hawari
Wednesday 2nd April, 9pm New Zealand time
Just Six Government MPs Needed To Pass “Unlawful Occupation Of Palestine” Sanctions Bill
As we reported last week the Green Party bill calling for sanctions on Israel has gained support from Te Pāti Māori and Labour and needs support from just six government MPs for it to pass when introduced into parliament. The details are here.
The Green Party are looking for at least six government MPs to support the bill, which will give a majority in parliament, and we are calling on supporters around the country to book in meetings with their local MPs – either list or electorate MPs – to ask them to support the bill and support a conscience vote on the bill. A conscience vote means an MP would be free to support sanctions against Israel even if their party as a whole won’t support the bill. You can find your closest government MP here.
We can provide additional information to help you present this to your local government MPs – either electorate or list MPs – to get the bill debated in parliament. If you’d like more information please contact secretary@PSNA.nz
We ask all our supporters to contact their closest government MPs and urge them to support the Green Party bill being debated in parliament.
Devastating critique of Radio New Zealand’s reportage on Palestine/Israel
Journalist Mick Hall, formerly a sub editor at Radio New Zealand digital, has written a devastating critique of Radio New Zealand’s self-congratulatory “independent” review of its coverage of Israel/Palestine. Mick Hall points to the section of the report which excuses the bias in RNZ reporting like this –
“Israel, as a result of tourism, trade, ‘western’ alignment and language (with English a common first and second language there) have [sic] a greater ‘news proximity’ to New Zealand than do Palestinians and Palestine. Stories may be chosen for these reasons and the inevitable result is a stronger perception of news relevance of Israeli stories. Coverage of stories with a Palestinian angle will tend to be less often reported.”
In other words the RNZ report is saying Israel is full of people like us – Europeans (not Māori!) – while Palestine is full of non-Europeans and therefore their human stories and experiences are of less relevance to us. Does RNZ really believe that Palestinian humanity is of less importance and less relevant when considering how the Middle East should be reported?
PSNA has taken up this report with RNZ and are awaiting a response.
Exposing Maersk’s role in arming Israel: we’re turning up the pressure
Thanks to Ekō members, this ad was run in one of Denmark’s largest newspapers.
The Palestine Youth Movement’s campaign to end Maersk complicity in Genocide is stepping up. You can support the campaign through the actions on their website here.
In the meantime here is an update on the campaign:
Maersk has been caught red-handed, shipping millions of pounds of military cargo to Israel—directly fueling the atrocities in Gaza. They tried to keep their role in arming Israel under wraps, but thanks to Ekō members, we forced it onto the world’s stage.
To hold them accountable, we co-filed a shareholder resolution with a Danish investor, demanding they disclose their human rights due diligence and stop shipping weapons to Israel. That meant their Annual General Meeting—usually a polished PR moment—became a high-stakes confrontation.
We knew winning the resolution vote was impossible (the Maersk family holds the majority of shares!), but that wasn’t the point. The goal was to expose their complicity, force them to answer for their actions, and make it clear that enabling war crimes comes at a cost. And we did just that.
In the lead-up to the AGM, over 70 global civil society organizations, including Amnesty International and Oxfam Denmark, joined us in demanding accountability. The campaign dominated headlines, with coverage from Reuters, AFP, and top shipping industry news outlets.
On the day of the AGM, Maersk executives were confronted—live and on the record—by Ekō campaigners and multiple shareholders demanding answers. Despite their attempts to deny the evidence, Maersk was finally forced to admit, in front of their investors and the media, that they do, in fact, ship military cargo to Israel.
This is a massive breakthrough and none of this would have been possible without you. Thanks to Ekō members, we ran an ad in one of Denmark’s largest newspapers, reaching over 280,000 people, flooded Maersk’s social media with so many comments that they shut down their comment sections, and our incredible partners organized a protest of 1,500 strong outside their Copenhagen HQ on the day of the AGM. Protests also took place at Maersk offices in London, Oslo, and Sydney, making it impossible for them to ignore the growing global outrage.
Maersk thought this issue would fade. Instead, we’ve made sure the world knows the truth. The fight isn’t over, and we’re not backing down.
This is just the beginning. Every campaign, every petition, every action adds up—and together, we’re proving that people power can take on even the biggest challenges. No matter what 2025 throws our way, we’ll keep fighting, pushing— and winning— together.
Winston Peters challenged for complicity with genocide in Gaza
PSNA’s Ben Vorderegger disrupts Winston Peters over the genocide in Gaza
A deeply frustrated and angry Foreign Minister Winston Peters had his “state of the nation” address at a public meeting in Ōtautahi/Christchurch last Sunday repeatedly disrupted by numerous challenges asking why he was refusing to speak out against genocide in Gaza.
Meanwhile a large protest outside kept up a spirited protest for three hours, finally seeing off the Foreign Minister and hounding him to his car.
Some of the coverage, including video is here:
Pro-Palestinian protesters challenge Peters at state of the nation speech here
Watch Winston Peters deliver “state of the nation” speech here
Watch: ‘Disgrace to the country’ vs ‘left-wing fascists’ Winston Peters and protestors scrap at speech here
The State of Winston Peters here
Palestine exhibition
The Palestine Forum of New Zealand is organizing an exhibition at a venue in Auckland and are inviting the Palestinian community to lend items. Can you help?
Biggest response yet to overbridge flag waving
The Falastin Tea Collective samples the mood of motorists on Palestine
The Falastin Tea Collective in Wellington has been waving Palestinian flags from the Hill Street bridge over the motorway into Wellington early morning every Friday for the past year to protest Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
People in the vehicles below respond their support with toots, waves and flicking their lights.
Ever since mid-December, at 7.30am and 8am, a count has been taken on the number of responses averaged to a total of 200 vehicles.
In late January and early February the response rate began to fall to a low of 37. This presumably was a result of the ceasefire. A few motorists appeared then to believe Palestinians no longer needed expressions of support – the attacks were over.
But last Friday, the first after Israel’s resumption of full-scale genocide, the response count from the motorway hit an all-time high of 61 responses.
That represents an individual act to express sympathy or support for Palestinian rights at a rate of more than one in four.
It may be an unsophisticated measurement, but it is at a rate our political parties can no longer ignore.
Waving flags from the Hill Street overbridge
Paul Fisher filmed yelling at pro-Palestine protesters in Cambridge
The story is here.
Report on silent vigil in Whaingaroa/Raglan
We had a Silent Vigil for Palestinians on Saturday 22 March here in Whaaingaroa-Raglan. More than 50 people marched in silence twice down and around our main street, Bow Street at the busy time when people were having brunch at all our cafes. The town was full. Some people joined us as we passed them and most people were supportive which was great to see. Two of us wheeled empty pushchairs which had a big impact on people. We created a real buzz about Palestine in our small community of 3800 rate paying households.
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
Important stories from last week
Editor’s picks
Siwar and Mohammed al-Jamasi were among tens of children killed along with both their parents in the attack
Report from the Frontline of Israel’s War of Annihilation: Hossam Shabat’s Last Article here
The new fascism: Israel is the template for Trump and Europe’s war on freedom here
US ‘unleashed Israel’ with all the weapons it needs, says Trump deputy envoy here
Ramadan massacre obliterates west’s claim to moral leadership here
18 March 2025: The day 183 children in Gaza were massacred by Israel here
My Name is Mahmoud Khalil and I Am a Political Prisoner here
Israel Violated the Gaza Ceasefire From the Start. Why Won’t the Media Tell You That? here
Report reveals 5,350 Israeli settler attacks in West Bank over decade here
Other stories
PSNA calls on government to condemn Israeli air strikes on Gaza here
Palestinians under the peril of the gun and the star of David
Israeli attacks kill 2 more journalists in Gaza as death toll rises to 208 here
Would it be okay for Hamas to strike a hospital treating Benjamin Netanyahu? here
Oscar-winning Palestinian film director attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested here
Stop arms deliveries to Israel here (petition)
Netanyahu is lying here
Ramadan massacre obliterates west’s claim to moral leadership here
18 March 2025: The day 183 children in Gaza were massacred by Israel here
Gaza families wiped out entirely as Netanyahu 'clings onto power' with war here
Israel drops 'Quranic' leaflets saying 'no one will care' if Gaza people vanish here
WEOG: Western European and Others Group – New Zealand included – here
Day 531: The gates of hell here
Listen: 'Where was the UN?' asks freed Israeli captive. Its staff were busy being killed here
Amid global inaction, Israel intensifies its forced displacement campaign in the Gaza strip here
International community’s silence grants Israel carte blanche to escalate genocide in Gaza here
UN records highest number of Israeli checkpoints in 2 decades across occupied Palestinian territory here
Israel destroys Gaza’s specialised cancer hospital, attacks continue here
A child in Gaza watched his mother burn alive - then he died too here
Hamas says it has 'no ambition to rule Gaza' as talks continue here
Report reveals 5,350 Israeli settler attacks in West Bank over decade here
Israel blows up Gaza’s only specialised cancer hospital in massive blast here
Israeli TV hosts calls for a Nakba every generation here
The Last Chapter of the Genocide here (Chris Hedges)
Israel aims to kill a Palestinian football revolution along with its players here
First they came for Mahmoud Khalil…here
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 50,000 Palestinians since October 2023 here
Israel appoints body to oversee expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza here
Green Party’s Swarbrick calls for urgent NZ action over Israel’s crazy Gaza slaughter here
US and Israel have laid the groundwork for war with Iran – will Trump set it off? here
With Massive Airstrikes on Yemen, Trump Intensifies Undeclared War Against the Poorest Country in the Arab World here
Israel kills at least nine Palestinians, including journalists, in Gaza here
Australian doctors who visited Gaza recount harrowing scenes here
Death toll from US-UK airstrikes on Yemen rises to 31: Houthis here
End support for Israel, stop killing people of Yemen: Iran responds to Trump’s threat here
Israel airstrikes kill four in south Lebanon here
Israel invites Western far-right figures to conference on combatting anti-semitism here
‘I was a human shield’: What Israeli soldiers did to a Gaza father here
Professor at Center of Columbia University Deportation Scandal is Former Israeli Spy here
‘Racism requires ignorance’: How art and culture can help end racial discrimination here
BREAKING: Mahmoud Khalil Speaks With Attorneys for First Time Since Detention here
If Trump Can Deport Mahmoud Khalil, Freedom of Speech Is Dead here
New Gallup poll shows support for Israel at record low here
The Gaza Ceasefire Stalemate and the Case of Mahmoud Khalil: A discussion with Sami Al-Arian here
US-Zionist alliance resumes its genocidal bombing of Gaza: now is the time for action and resistance here
PSNA calls on NZ government to condemn renewed Israeli air strikes on Gaza – 230 killed here
New Zealand and Gaza: Confronting and not confronting the unspeakable here
Former US envoy slams air attacks on Houthis – NZ protesters recite poetry here
Free press under threat in US – Columbia J-School speaks out here
NZ rally honours ‘voice of Palestine’ poet and marks Christchurch massacre here
100 Christian leaders’ open letter calls for NZ humanitarian visas for trapped Gaza families here
PSNA open letter calls for New Zealand to condemn Israel’s weaponisation of Gaza humanitarian aid here
Even more assaults on free speech to silence criticism of Israel here
Massacre at 2 A.M.: Israel Resumes Indiscriminate Attacks Against Gaza, Killing Over 400 People here
Israel resumes its war on Gaza, killing over 350 people in one night here
“I couldn’t tell whether we were alive or dead and buried under the rubble” here
The case for taking campaigning away from social media here
The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan here
Massacre at 2 A.M.: Israel Resumes Indiscriminate Attacks Against Gaza, Killing Over 400 People here
Notorious far-right Israeli politician Ben-Gvir to return to Netanyahu government here
International community’s silence grants Israel carte blanche to escalate genocide in Gaza here
Legal coalition to pursue Israelis accused of war crimes around the world here
UN staff member killed in central Gaza blast, five others injured here
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.
SodaStream stickers now available
If you’d like some stickers for sodastream email your name and address to Merchandise@PSNA.nz and we will send them to you.
Reminder: Annual Dates for Palestine Solidarity
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.
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)