28 Kohitātea 2026
28 January 2026

Newsletter No 225

Items in this newsletter

New Items

Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
Rock through window latest escalation of violence against Palestinian rights supporters
The long arm of the Israeli Embassy
Toitū Te Aroha
A few pics from around the country this week
Sarcasm from Craig Mokhiber in response to Trump’s “Board of Peace”
Gaza Great Minds – a story of resilience and hope
Quotes of the week
Last week’s Protest at today’s National Party caucus retreat

REGULAR ITEMS

PSNA National meeting - May 1 to May 3, 2026 - in Rotorua
Join the ICC Six Watch
MPs Complicit with Genocide
Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!
Important stories this week
Annual Palestinian Solidarity Dates
How to Donate
Palestine Solidarity Groups around Aotearoa

Nationwide rallies/marches/MP protests/vigils this week

To view events around Aotearoa:

We have an events page on our website as well as a Facebook events page

PSNA Website events page:

You can find it here – www.PSNA.nz/Events

The QR code for the PSNA website events page is this:

It is updated on Wednesday afternoon and ongoing as events are notified to us. Please check back on Friday afternoon to see if there has been Additions or Changes.

Or 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

PSNA Facebook events page

Go to the PSNA Facebook events page here

There are more than 30 events around the Motu this week.

Rock through window latest escalation of violence against Palestinian rights supporters

PSNA has requested an urgent meeting with Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, appealing for cohesive police action against an escalating spate of attacks by Israeli followers, against Palestinians and Palestinian rights supporters, around the country.

Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa says a rock was hurled through the window of well-known New Plymouth activists Kate and Grant Cole last week.

PSNA Co-Chair Maher Nazzal says attacks from Zionist backers have become more frequent and dangerous over the past year.

“In the case of the Coles, the rock through their window was just the latest in a series of targeted attacks on them and their property.”

“They have twice endured spraypainted Israeli flags on their fence. Their car tyres were slashed on four different occasions. They had vile lies about them delivered in letterboxes around their neighbourhood.”

“This time, it was a rock flung through their window with the message “Snap Action - REQ” attached.”

Nazzal says local police have failed to take these attacks seriously and instead have suggested to the Coles they should spend a lot of money on security systems.”

Read the full release here.

The long arm of the Israeli Embassy

**Police Commissioner Richard Chambers**

It has come to our notice recently (and included in our media release above) that it was the police responding to direct pressure from the Israeli Embassy in Wellington which caused them to launch a criminal investigation into an attack on an IDF soldier on holiday in Christchurch.

When the police brought the case to court they claimed it was an anti-semitic hate crime (it was nothing of the sort!) and argued for bail to be refused. Bail was refused and the attacker eventually received an unprecedented 28-month jail sentence for a first-time assault. The police had asked for seven years!!

As we said in our media release above:

“The police are keen to pull out all the stops for the Israeli Embassy to defend Israeli soldiers fresh from a genocide in Gaza but can’t find the time to take attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian supporters seriously.”

With some notable exceptions by individual police offers, the rule seems to be, ‘hit an Israeli and it’s reported as a hate crime and you go to jail. But hit a Palestine supporter and police look the other way”

This politicisation of the police will be welcomed by the pro-Israel lobby whose supporters can rest assured their violent attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian rights supporters will be ignored while the police will hammer anyone assaulting an Israeli soldier fresh from a spell in the genocidal IDF.

Toitū Te Aroha event

Information from the organisers in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland

“On January 31 there is an event called Toitū Te Aroha that is being organised by a core group of Māori with support of Tangata Tiriti and allies from communities who have been impacted by hate. The event is centered in aroha and mana, and is a stand against hate, racism, bigotry and the weaponisation of our culture and haka against marginalised communities. The event starts at 11am on Saturday 31 January. We will be marching from Britomart to Miers Park at 12pm along Queen St and then dispersing from there”.

A few pics from around the country this week

**Maritime Festival in Picton Jan 17th**

**Occupy Brandon Street group on the job in central Wellington (Brandon Street was the former site of the Israeli Embassy in Wellington)**

**A bleak day in Tamaki Makaurau before the rally. People still came.**

Sarcasm from Craig Mokhiber in response to Trump’s “Board of Peace”

Craig Mokhiber sarcastically wrote: “Mussolini has announced that he is establishing a ‘Board of Peace’ to rule over the survivors of the holocaust and to take over their property, and he has invited Hitler to be a member of the board.

The plan has been endorsed by the League of Nations”!

Craig Mokhiber

Gaza Great Minds – a story of resilience and hope

Message from Julie Webb-Pullman:

Gaza Great Minds are a legitimate group of Palestinian teachers in Gaza, who're trying to keep teaching kids despite the horrendous situation in Gaza. One of the teachers is a good friend of mine, for almost 8 years now.

They are very vocal on Insta. You can check "Gaza Great Minds" to see the work they do.

They are looking for Sponsorship, or for regular donors, to be able to keep teaching the kids. Please become a sponsor if you can,or just share the message so that others may sponsor their noble work.

You can also donate every now and then, or monthly, through their website gazagreatminds.org. You can contact them on Insta or through their website.

Kindly share until they get sponsors 🙏🏼 Thank you ✌🏼🇵🇸 #WeWillReadAgain #FreePalestine

Quotes of the week

“Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis because of the Israeli blockade.

There is hardly a household without someone infected.”

—Muhammad Abu Salmiyeh; Doctor, Shifa Hospital in Gaza

“All they could do was give her oxygen.

They could not even provide intravenous nutrition.

Perhaps they knew they could not save her.”

—Marwa Kalloub; Mother, Resident of Gaza

“This community being established in Rafah will form the blueprint

for how Israeli control could be deepened and rolled out further. After Gaza was razed, starved, and deliberately blockaded over the past years, these ‘new’ communities built on the rubble of peoples homes are not only governance labs to test ultimate control and subjugation, but they are also the reincarnation of refugee camps.

They are designed to contain a new generation of dispossessed Palestinians, effectively screened and corralled into shrinking Israeli-controlled zones in exchange for survival. Meanwhile, the so-called ‘red-zones’ remain under assault, increasingly cut off from a humanitarian system that is being deliberately obstructed.”

—Jonathan Whittall; Former OCHA Official & Executive Director of KEYS Initiative

Last week’s Protest at today’s National Party caucus retreat

**Picture from RNZ report of the caucus meeting**

PSNA Media release before the protest:

Palestine solidarity supporters will be outside the National Party caucus retreat this morning from 10am (Commodore Hotel, 449 Memorial Ave, Ōtautahi/Christchurch) to hold the party to account for complicity in Israel’s on-going genocide in Gaza.

“As election year opens we are determined to keep this issue before the government and the public”, says PSNA Co-Chair John Minto. “We will be continuing our demand for the government to sanction Israel for genocide”

In the face of mass killing and mass starvation of Palestinians in Gaza our Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Peters have been silent.

“This is the most important human rights issue of the 21st century – there is nowhere for National MPs to hide”

“The government has betrayed international law, the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice – the bedrock agencies of the government’s so-called “rules-based international order”

All those groups have called for action to hold the genocidal, apartheid state of Israel to account for its actions in Palestine but the government is looking the other way.

Regular items

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PSNA National meeting - May 1 to May 3, 2026 - in Rotorua

Our 2026 national meeting will be held in Rotorua from 5pm Friday May 1 to 2pm Sunday 3 May in Rotorua.

This will be a critically important event for people from around the country to come and evaluate what we have done over the past year and most importantly to plan for the future.

We are fighting the most important human rights issue of the 21st century and we need your help to shape, plan and organize for the future.

More details in coming newsletters.

Join the ICC Six Watch

Share the poster on social media – keep alert – email ICC6@PSNA.nz if you find where any of these six genocide deniers are due to show up.

Designate Israel as a terrorist state and the IDF as a terrorist group

Petition link: https://petitions.parliament.nz/5e5def5b-0658-4431-5edd-08ddfd8ffce6?lang=en

Petition title: Designate Israel as a terrorist state and the IDF as a terrorist group

You can share this petition via this QR code

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

Israel accused over ‘shameful whitewashing’ bid to sanitise soldier holidays in NZ here
Last year’s Sydney Harbour Bridge march for Palestine here (great video)
A world on its knees: Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ and the darkness it promises here
New Hate Speech Laws Pose a Grave Threat to Protest Rights and Palestinian Advocacy here
Revealed: Australian taxpayers subsidising the IDF, illegal settlements in Israel here
Israeli society has ‘become completely genocidal’, says B’Tselem head here
Caitlin Johnstone: On ‘leftists’ and ‘anarchists’ who cheer for regime change in Iran here
From Palestine to Minneapolis, ICE and Israel use the same violent playbook here
They're Trying To Sneak Israel's President Into Australia Without Anti-Genocide Protests here

Merchandise for sale - please check with your local branch and/or contact us Merchandise@PSNA.nz

**Recent new material – leaflets and stickers are free the bucket hats and caps are $25**

If your local branch does not have what you are after 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 large & medium ($10 or $7) and other items plus postage.

The watermelon and the fist stickers will be back in stock early next week.

See more on the PSNA website here.

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 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
Or Scroll down to the bottom of this Newsletter for the detailed list of events for this week.
We have added a page to the PSNA website where we now post the Events list. You can find it here – www.PSNA.nz/Events

The QR code for this is:

It is updated on Wednesday afternoon and ongoing as events are notified to us. Please check back on Friday afternoon to see if there has been Additions or Changes.

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