PSNA Newsletter No 195 -2 July 2025

2 Hōngongoi 2025
2 July 2025

Newsletter No 195

Items in this newsletter

1.       Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week

2.       Yousef Aljamal’s final engagement in Aotearoa New Zealand tour

3.       Latest report from Francesca Albanese

4.       Something you can do now to make a difference for Palestine…

5.       Two things you can do now for Palestine…

6.       Zim Shipping quits New Zealand – BDS reasons?

7.       “We were the Nazis – they were the Jews” –

8.       Howick prayer walk for Palestine

9.       TVNZ is at it again…

10.   Call for sanctions on Israel from the World Council of Churches

11.   Meetings with National MPs

12.   Rakon enables genocide

13.   Environment Southland considers sanctioning Israel

14.   Important resource on Israel’s genocide in Gaza

15.   30 minutes with the godfather of human rights

16.   Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!

17.   Important stories from last week

18.   Merchandise for sale

19.   SodaStream stickers available


Nationwide rallies/marches/MP protests/vigils this week

New Plymouth Poster for 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. 

Or Scroll down to the bottom of this Newsletter to get to the detailed list of events around the motu this week.


Yousef Aljamal’s last engagement in Aotearoa New Zealand

Please share widely with your networks 

You can see the programme here


Latest report from Francesca Albanese

Read this damning new report and the actions governments should be taking here.

Report Summary

This report investigates the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory.

While political leaders and governments shirk their obligations, far too many corporate entities have profited from Israel’s economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now, genocide. 

The complicity exposed by this report is just the tip of the iceberg; ending it will not happen without holding the private sector accountable, including its executives.

International law recognizes varying degrees of responsibility – each requiring scrutiny and accountability, particularly in this case, where a people’s self-determination and very existence are at stake. 

This is a necessary step to end the genocide and dismantle the global system that has allowed it.


Two things you can do now for Palestine…

1.       Attend your local protests for Palestine this weekend – see the events earlier in the newsletter.

2.       Send the above link for Francesca Albanese’s latest report to your local MP. Ask them to read it and urge them to push for sanctions against Israel…


Zim shipping quits New Zealand – BDS reasons?

Israeli shipping company Zim Shipping which declared its primary objective was to ship arms and ammunition to the Israeli Defense Forces to attack Palestinians in Gaza has quit New Zealand for the third time – this time for good we hope. Read the story here


“We were the Nazis – they were the Jews” – confessions of an Israeli soldier


Howick prayer walk for Palestine

Howick Prayer Walk for Palestine this Sat 5 Jul at 10am.

Meeting at the Crawford Reserve on the corner of Picton Street and Ridge Road, just below Stockade Hill.

We will open with prayer, then walk down Picton Street as far as Old Saints, reflect with prayer and return to Crawford Reserve, concluding with prayer. 

All welcome. 

For details or bad weather cancellation, please contact Steve  021 0229 7975


TVNZ is at it again

1News, the channel which prides itself on being the best news team in the entire country, is again showing off its bias towards the Israeli narrative.

For us, any cursory reading of anything other than the mainstream news will reveal that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ‘aid stations’ (sic) setup is a cynical IDF and US corporate PR stunt to pretend aid is getting into Gaza again. 

You can also easily find that Israel is using these sites not only to lure Palestinians in sets of biometric monitors for selective arrests, but also to force Palestinians to migrate south to vacate land for Israel to more easily occupy.

But on top of that, the IDF, and probably the criminal gangs of Palestinians it has recruited, have been regularly firing on starving Palestinians going to the sites to try to get food.

1News reported frequently on this in early June.  The thrust of many reports was to report the totally implausible Israeli and GHF denials that they had any responsibility for the killings at all.  1News played the same Israeli sourced drone footage twice, to suggest it was Hamas shooting Palestinians instead, in order to loot food.

This past week, 1News revisited the story, with the same IDF imbedded BBC reporter.  The story was designed to continue the increasingly absurd denials of the IDF as factual.

In particular, 1News was anxious to provide IDF and GHF denials of the continuing massacres, which most news agencies have now abandoned.

But the story 1News most wanted to discredit was this;

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-27/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-soldiers-ordered-to-shoot-deliberately-at-unarmed-gazans-waiting-for-humanitarian-aid/00000197-ad8e-de01-a39f-ffbe33780000

1News couldn’t bring itself to name Haaretz.  For 1News Haaretz it is just ‘local media’.

The item certainly did not mention the detailed admissions of IDF forces in the Haaretz story and how it appears to be actual IDF policy to go about a ‘squid game’ spree of shooting each time the GHF sites are open.

We have complained again…


Call for sanctions on Israel from the World Council of Churches Central Committee

Call for sanctions on Israel from the World Council of Churches Central Committee last week here

The report includes:

  1. Naming the Reality of Apartheid: We recognize and denounce the system of apartheid imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people, in violation of international law and moral conscience.

  2. Implementing Sanctions and Accountability: We call on states, churches, and international institutions to impose consequences for violations of international law, including targeted sanctions, divestment, and arms embargoes. Full support must be given to the International Criminal Court and UN mechanisms investigating potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.

  3. Affirming Palestinian Rights and Freedom: We uphold the inalienable human rights of Palestinians to freedom, justice, return, and self-determination. We demand the end of the occupation and the lifting of the unlawful blockade on Gaza.

  4. Support for the resilience and witness of Palestinian Christian churches and communities, upholding their right to remain on their land and to freely practice their faith.


Meetings with National MPs

Meetings with National MPs are continuing around the country to encourage them to support the Green Party’s “Unlawful Occupation of Palestine” Sanctions Bill

In the picture above Bay of Plenty MP Mr Tom Rutherford MP (National Party - in centre) met with a delegation from Tauranga Moana 4 Palestine Dr Ron Lopert, Dr Dave Offner, Dr Brian Dwyer and Mr Peter Archer to discuss the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the proposed private member’s bill ‘Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill'


Rakon enables genocide

Rakon leads the Auckland march last weekend


Environment Southland considers sanctioning Israel

A good presentation to Environment Southland here – Watch this space - more to come! 

Meanwhile local activists have complained about Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark refusing to allow a pro-Palestine presentation at the council meeting and used his casting vote as chair to defeat a motion to change the council’s procurement policy to exclude companies involved in illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

The story as reported in the Otago Daily Times is here


Important resource for information about Israel's War on Gaza:

Violent and Nonviolent Death Tolls for the Gaza War: New Primary Evidence  here
Abstract

High-quality war mortality estimates, such as those that were produced for Kosovo, Iraq, and Darfur play a critical role in illuminating the human cost of war. During the tumult of war they are, however, challenging to obtain due to the conflicts themselves. The Gaza Ministry of Health (GMoH) has provided regular updates to their post-October-7 violent death tally for the Gaza Strip. However, GMoH reports have attracted both criticism and support. Here, we present results from a large-scale household survey, the Gaza Mortality Survey (GMS), which provides independent estimates of war-related deaths between October 7, 2023 and January 5, 2025. Our findings suggest that violent mortality has significantly exceeded official figures. Our central estimate for the extent of GMoH undercount closely matches a separate estimate made using capture-recapture methods. We also find that nonviolent excess deaths, often overlooked in conflict assessments, also represent a substantial burden. These results underscore the feasibility of mortality surveillance methodologies in some highly challenging war-affected settings and provide a crucial empirical foundation for assessing the true human cost of the war.

 


Watch 30 minutes with the godfather of Human Rights Ken Roth on genocide in Gaza

You can watch the programme  here


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

The Silence of the Sultans: Muslim Regimes and the Holocaust of our Time here

Israel and Iran - what next? here

The Folly of A War With Iran here

Twyford condemns weak action by NZ over Israel’s ruthless apartheid here

Jews Speak Out: Israel’s Genocide “Worse Than Nazis” here

Egypt's Crackdown on the Global March to Gaza here

The real reason Israel attacked Iran here


Important stories from last week

Editor’s picks

  • Gaza’s Grassroots Effort to Ensure Humanitarian Aid Reaches Starving Palestinians here

  • Let baby milk into Gaza here

  • Israeli Soldiers Killed at Least 410 People at Food Aid Sites in Gaza This Month here

  • Is a Glastonbury chart the real problem? here (Jonathan Cook)

Other stories

  • Time for immunity – Israel’s war on Iran here

  • The killing of 13-year-old Rimas Amuri in Jenin refugee camp here

  • Israel Halts Gaza Aid Deliveries as UN Appeals to ‘Stop Shooting People Trying to Get Food’ here

  • Israel's failure to subdue Iran shows it can no longer dictate the regional order here

  • Zohran Mamdani wins here

  • German-Israeli priest says Israel’s actions in Gaza are genocidal here

  • Israeli strike on cafe in Gaza kills at least 33, medics say here

  • After the Smoke: Israel’s Post-War Strategy Redraws the Middle East 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 stickering is going gangbusters…

Spitfire Square Woolworths in Ōtautahi Christchurch – plastering red tape over our “Boycott Sodastream” stickers – they are too hard to get off!

So frustrated at being unable to remove boycott SodaStream stickers Spitfire Square Woolworths in Ōtautahi have taken to covering them with red stickers – the hassle factor here is working…

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)


Nationwide Rally list to 6 July 2024

 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

Rawene

No event notified for this Saturday

 

Kerikeri - Rally

First Saturday of the Month

Saturday July 5

9:00 – 11:00 am

Kerikeri roundabout, State highway 10

 

Whangarei – Going to Warkworth on Friday July 4

Call to action against Rocket Lab - Complicity with Israeli genocide

73 Woodcocks Rd, Warkworth
(Rocket Lab's equipment is built in Warkworth)
Friday 4 July, 1pm - 4pm

 

Whangarei

Saturday July 5

No Rally this weekend. Supporting Rocket Lab picket on Friday 4th.

 

Warkworth – Picket of Rocket Lab

Friday 4 July

1:00 – 4:00 pm

73 Woodcocks Rd, Warkworth
(Rocket Lab's equipment is built in Warkworth)

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 Rocket Lab on Friday 4

No Picket on Wednesday, Picket on Friday

Friday 4 July

1:00 – 4:00 pm

25 Levine Place, Mt Wellington

 

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

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Join the team – text John on 021 899 659

 

Auckland – Rally and March

Saturday 5 July

2:00 pm

Te Komititanga – Britomart Square

 

Thames – Vigil to Stop the war on Children

(Hosted by The Basket – Social and Environmental Justice - Hauraki)

first Saturday of the month

Saturday 5 July

10:00 am

Thames Market, 700 Pollen Street, Thames

 

Tauranga – Flag Waving

Sunday 6 July June

11:00 am

Bethlehem shopping center, SH2 Bethlehem

 

Hamilton – Flag Waving for Palestine

Every Saturday

1:00 pm

Flynn Park, Cnr Wairere Drive & Naylor, Hamilton

 

 

Hamilton – Dr Yousef Aljamal talk

Friday July 4

6:45 pm

Ethos Café Hamilton

 

Hamilton

No Rally this weekend

 

Raglan

Hosted by Whaingaroa Palestine Solidarity

No event notified for this weekend

 

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

 

Mahia – Picket @ Rocket Lab

Friday July 4

1:00 – 4:00 pm

Mahia Peninsular, Mahia

 

Napier - Rally for Palestine

Every Saturday

11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Marine Parade Soundshell Roundabout

 

Hastings – Rally for Palestine

Every Sunday

1:30 – 3:00 pm

Hastings Town Clock – Hastings CBD

 

Palmerston North - Rally

Every Sunday

2:00 pm

The Square, Palmerston North

 

Ngāmotu-New Plymouth – Stand with Gaza – Rally and Flag Wave

Saturday 5 July

1:00 pm

The Landing, 1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth

 

Whanganui - Rally for Palestine

Every Saturday

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 – Public Seminar with Dr Yousef Aljamal

Wednesday 25 June

5:30 pm

Victoria University, Vivian Street VSLT2, 139 Vivian Street, Te Aro.

 

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 at Wellington Hospital

(hosted by Aotearoa Healthcare workers for Palestine)

First Friday of the month

 

Wellington – ' Vivian Street Takeover For Gaza '

(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective with Teachers for Palestine)

Saturday July 5

No Rally on July 5

See https://www.instagram.com/falastin_tea_collective for further details

 

 

South Island

 

Nelson – Rally for Palestine

Saturday July 5

11:00 am

1903 Square, Upper Trafalgar St, Nelson

 

Blenheim - Rally for Palestine

Every Saturday

11:00 am

Blenheim Railway Station

 

Picton – Rally for Palestine

Every Saturday

1:00 – 2:00 pm

Picton Foreshore

 

Christchurch – Flags for Palestine

Every Friday

4:00 pm

Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch

 

Christchurch – Ceasefire Now in Gaza

Saturday July 5

1:00 pm

Bridge of Remembrance

 

Dunedin

Saturday July 5

No Rally notified for this weekend

Keep an eye out for July. . .

 

Invercargill – Documentary The Doctor's Wife

Saturday July 5

6:00 pm

The Pod, South Alive, 262 Ness St Invercargill

Booking online at https://whitioraproductions.com/the-doctors-wife

Free entry by Koha

 

Invercargill

(hosted by Invercargill Stands With Palestine)

No Rally on Sunday July 6

See Documentary above

 


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)