The Student Protest Movement for Palestine
“It has been a little less than a year since I started attending these protests […] At first I marked them out by numbers: the first protest, the second. Then by location: Tauranga, Palmerston North, The Embassy, Parliament. Still more passed and they started becoming milestones: the first time I led the chants, the time […]
Palestine – No Rest Until Liberation
At the time of writing, a ceasefire deal has finally been agreed to between Hamas and the Israeli government. This in and of itself is welcome of course, and frankly the deal is much better for Hamas than it is for Israel. Israeli journalist Yossi Yehoshua asserts “There’s no need to sugarcoat the reality: the […]
Processes versus People: The Clocktower Protest for Palestine
On Wednesday 9 October around 200 students, staff, and members of the Dunedin public marched from the Otago Museum Reserve, through the Link (the University of Otago’s primary ‘hub’) and to the University of Otago Clocktower, singing and chanting as they went – calling for Boycott, Divestment and Sanction action against Israel. The action was […]
Strawberries, Olives, Oranges: Israel’s War as Ecocide
North Gaza is famous for its strawberries. Harvest season, in the northern hemisphere, is from December through to March. Normally thousands would be employed gathering the fruit to bring it to market across Palestine. This year, as they were killing thousands of Palestinian civilians in their ongoing attacks, Israeli forces also used bulldozers and heavy […]
Capitalism is the Connection
The following was delivered as a speech at a rally for Palestine in Dunedin on July 6, 2024. Kia ora tātou, my name is Oscar Bartle, I’m a socialist activist and member of the International Socialist Organisation. I’ve been involved in Palestine solidarity work since October 7th and have been an organiser for these rallies. […]
Healthcare workers in solidarity with Palestine
On 11 October, the fifth day of the war on Gaza, emergency services at Al Shifa Hospital received a call from a nearby neighbourhood. The assault by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) had caused mass casualties in the vicinity of the Karni Crossing. Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances had to wait to receive clearance from Israel. The […]
The New Movement for Palestine in Aotearoa New Zealand
All out April 7! Justice for Palestine have called this day for a major mobilisation in Wellington in solidarity with the Palestinian people. As the genocidal destruction in Gaza enters a new, even more horrifying, phase, it is essential we sustain the pressure. Publicise, mobilise, act: let’s make this next demonstration as big as we […]
Union Response to the War on Gaza
Palestinian unions are urging global unions to show solidarity and refuse to support the ongoing destruction in Gaza, including hospitals, ambulances, and refugee centres. Calling on unions internationally: To refuse to build weapons destined for Israel. To refuse to transport weapons to Israel. To pass motions in their trade union to this effect. To take […]
Boycott Divest Sanction: From Capetown to Gaza
The oppression of the Palestinian people continues. Since October 7th, the response to Hamas’ attacks has been Israeli airstrikes, a vicious media campaign condemning communities that are being flattened by Israeli rockets, and the threat of an attempt to force over two million Palestinians from some of the last of their land. There has been […]
Imperialism, capitalism, colonialism: The Israeli state and occupied Palestine
The following is based on an introduction given to an educational discussion in Te Whanganui-a-Tara branch of the ISO on October 31st 2023. The recorded talk is also available here. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire, centred on the Mediterranean, reached its zenith. Before the Romans there were many empires in human history based […]
