PSNA Newsletter No 212 - 29 October 2025

29 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2025 2025
29 October 2025

Newsletter No 212

Items in this newsletter

Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
End BlackSky satellite launches from Mahia Peninsula
Something you can do now for Palestine with just a few clicks
Workers for a Free Palestine
Why we need to build Palestine House in Aotearoa New Zealand
Voices for Palestine – Tāmaki fundraiser
Quotes for the week
Designate Israel as a terrorist state and the IDF as a terrorist group
Two new reports condemn Israel for genocide and New Zealand for complicity
Taking sides with teachers alongside Palestine
A pic from Tāmaki
Al Rafiq – translations of contemporary political writing by Arab scholars, journalists, and organic intellectuals
Would you like to join Judith Collins for morning tea?
Complicit with Genocide
Sitting on the Fence
Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!
Important stories this week
Merchandise for sale
Nationwide events

Nationwide rallies/marches/MP protests/vigils this week

Cambridge poster adapted from Christchurch poster

We have discontinued the Rally list in the newsletter as it can be out of date as soon as the newsletter is sent. We have added a page to the PSNA website which is posted on Wednesday afternoon and then updated as any moves adds and changes are available. See first option.

To view events around Aotearoa. Options:

There is now a page on the PSNA website where you can see the coming events for the week. It is updated on Wednesday afternoons for coming events. It is also updated with any late events or if an event needs to be changed. See here. Check back on Fridays to see if there are any changes. Give it a try right now. Email Admin@PSNA.nz if there are any events missing or a change is required.
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” and Click the button. Check back on Friday for any moves, adds or changes
Or go directly to events on the PSNA Facebook events page here
There is also a QR code which will take you to the PSNA events page on the PSNA website

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

End BlackSky satellite launches from Mahia Peninsula

After what PSNA calls the shocking TVNZ interview with Minister of Defence Judith Collins on Friday, it has written to the Prime Minister today (Tuesday this week)

PSNA has requested Luxon direct Collins to withdraw approval for forthcoming Rocket Lab satellite launches for BlackSky Technology from Mahia, which could be used by Israel in Gaza.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-chair John Minto says Collins ‘can’t be trusted to uphold New Zealanders’ values’.

“She went for any excuse to justify approving the launches, and the Prime Minister must rein her in.”

“She said the UN Security Council does not encourage sanctions, so she believes New Zealand has a free hand to be militarily complicit in Israel’s resumed genocide in Gaza.”

“But New Zealand has complained for decades about the veto powers of one country in the Security Council. Then, our government uses the very same US veto, which it opposes, to justify licencing the launch of spy satellites to target Gaza.”

“In particular, the New Zealand government is ignoring the International Court of Justice, which directs countries to do what they can to prevent Israel’s occupation from continuing.”

“Signing off on delivering the technology, which the IDF uses for its bombing runs on a civilian population, can hardly be interpreted as helping Israel end its occupation of Gaza.”

Minto says Collins’ alternative excuse, that New Zealand is not at war with Israel, so can’t sanction it, is equally nonsensical.

“It may come as news to the Defence Minister, but New Zealand is not at war with Iran or Russia either. Yet the government routinely imposes sanctions on both of these countries, with putting new sanctions on Iran just a few days ago.”

“Luxon obviously thought, in the TVNZ interview, that the New Zealand Export Controls regime should apply to the satellite launches.”

“If the launches have not been tested against this legislation, then they should be, and Collins should be told to keep her pen in her pocket.”

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The PSNA message to the PM says:

Tēnā koe e Christopher Luxon,

We were shocked at the interview with Minister of Defence Judith Collins on TVNZ last Friday where she justified approving satellite launches for BlackSky Technology from Mahia Peninsula despite human rights warnings from government officials.

BlackSky Technology has a lucrative contract with the Israeli Occupation Forces to provide high resolution images for use in Israel’s targeting of Palestinians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza.

Since the initial approvals by Ms Collins the situation in Gaza has become catastrophic for Palestinians. So bad that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for trial on charges of using starvation as a method of warfare as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Collins’ approvals mean New Zealand is directly implicated in Israel’s Gaza genocide.

This is a moral outrage to the big majority of New Zealanders.

We are urging you as Prime Minister to direct Ms Collins to decline all future satellite launches for BlackSky Technology.

John Minto

Co-ChairPSNA.nz

Something you can do now for Palestine with just a few clicks

Copy and paste this letter into an email to the Prime Minister and copy in your local MP.

c.luxon@ministers.govt.nz

Tēnā koe e Christopher Luxon,

We were shocked at the interview with Minister of Defence Judith Collins on TVNZ last Friday where she justified approving satellite launches for BlackSky Technology from Mahia Peninsula despite human rights warnings from government officials.

BlackSky Technology has a lucrative contract with the Israeli Occupation Forces to provide high resolution images for use in Israel’s targeting of Palestinians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza.

Since the initial approvals by Ms Collins the situation in Gaza has become catastrophic for Palestinians. So bad that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for trial on charges of using starvation as a method of warfare as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Collins’ approvals mean New Zealand is directly implicated in Israel’s Gaza genocide.

This is a moral outrage to the big majority of New Zealanders.

We are urging you as Prime Minister to direct Ms Collins to decline all future satellite launches for BlackSky Technology.

Please respond urgently.

John Minto
Co-ChairPSNA.nz

Workers for a Free Palestine

NOTE: The time in New Zealand for this workers’ assembly is 7.30am this Friday 1 November.

You can sign up here forms.gle/dC5gn6goeAA7gFEv8

And here's the insta post for more info! instagram.com/p/DQCiK1RjNAW/

Why we need to build Palestine House in Aotearoa New Zealand

Voices for Palestine – Tāmaki fundraiser

You can find the event on Instagram here and you can find the ticketing information here.

Quotes for the week

“It has thousands of employees, it has the data to distribute aid to Palestinians with dignity and in an orderly fashion. Nobody has that kind of infrastructure and history in Gaza.”
--Nour Odeh; Palestinian Journalist, Al Jazeera English

“The situation still remains catastrophic because what’s entering is not enough."
—Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Head of the World Health Organization

“For everything that happened on October 7, for every one of us who died on October 7, 50 Palestinians must die. It doesn’t matter now — children or not. I’m not speaking out of revenge but as a message for future generations. They need a Nakba now and then to feel the price.”
—Aharon Haliva; Ex-Military Intelligence Chief, Israel.

"By understanding each act of violence as a discrete task, from targeting a Hamas operative to securing a perimeter, soldiers could avoid confronting their role in the mass slaughter of civilians.

AI has, in effect, enabled Israel to turn a cornerstone of international law — the obligation to attack only military targets — into a tool that legitimizes and accelerates the very slaughter it was intended to prevent."
--Yuval Abraham; Israeli Journalist, +972 Magazine

“Today, the government prides itself on sadism, abuse and torture. It does so because it knows the souls of its citizens. The majority of Israelis are vengeful and approve of the abuse.”
—Gideon Levy; Israeli Journalist, Haaretz

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

Two new reports condemn Israel for genocide and New Zealand for complicity

1) New International Court of Justice advisory opinion

Last week the International Court of Justice (ICJ) released its Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Advisory Opinions of the Court comprise an authoritative interpretation of Israel's and other states' legal obligations, which are legally binding.

This Advisory Opinion was in response to a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution last year (A/RES/79/232) requesting the Court’s opinion on this question:

“What are the obligations of Israel, as an occupying Power and as a member of the United Nations, in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies, other international organizations and third States, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population as well as of basic services and humanitarian and development assistance, for the benefit of the Palestinian civilian population, and in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination?”

In its detailed Advisory Opinion, the ICJ found that Israel is required to “ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory [OPT] has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”

The Court held that:

Israel is bound by international humanitarian law and human rights law to respect and protect civilians in the OPT, ensuring that aid workers and medical facilities are safeguarded and that no civilians are forcibly transferred or deprived of food; and
Israel must respect the privileges and immunities of the UN and its officials, in accordance with the UN Charter. This includes “the inviolability” of all UN premises - including those managed by UNRWA.

The ICJ also reaffirmed Israel’s obligation to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to detainees in the OPT and to “respect the prohibition on the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.” Links to this Advisory Opinion, as well as for the July 2024 Opinion on Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (Case 186), are available below.

More details here:

ICJ media release, https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/196/196-20251022-pre-01-00-en.pdf
ICJ Advisory Opinion: Summary, https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/196/196-20251022-sum-01-00-en.pdf Full text, https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/196/196-20251022-adv-01-00-en.pdf
Watch the ICJ deliver the Advisory Opinion, https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1w/k1wxfveu86
UNGA Resolution requesting the Advisory Opinion (A/RES/79/232), https://docs.un.org/en/a/res/79/232

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2) ‘Gaza Genocide: a collective crime’

Also this week, ‘Gaza Genocide: a collective crime’, the latest Report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 Francesca Albanese was released with this summary:

“The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a collective crime, sustained by the complicity of influential Third States that have enabled longstanding systemic violations of international law by Israel. Framed by colonial narratives that dehumanize the Palestinians, this live-streamed atrocity has been facilitated through third states' direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection and, in some cases, active participation. It has exposed an unprecedented chasm between peoples and their governments, betraying the trust on which global peace and security rest. The world now stands on a knife-edge between the collapse of the international rule of law and hope for renewal. Renewal is only possible if complicity is confronted, responsibilities are met and justice is upheld.”

New Zealand’s failure to take real action to help prevent genocide being perpetrated by the state of Israel is outlined in the Report as follows:

"A bloc of Western states - Australia, New Zealand and Canada, sometimes joined by the UK, Germany or the Netherlands - appeared at times ready to pressurize Israel, such as in December 2023, when their statements added momentum for a ceasefire. Yet their introduction of the term “sustained ceasefire” produced a diluted UNSC resolution that delayed action. In February 2024, they criticized the planned invasion of Rafah while simultaneously withdrawing United Nations Relief Words Agency (UNRWA) funding. Such diplomacy created an illusion of progress while concrete actions were repeatedly stymied.

Sanctions served a similar function. In 2024, Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand and the UK sanctioned some extremist settlers and organizations, and in June 2025, Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were sanctioned by Australia, Canada, Norway and the UK. Yet such isolated actions effectively condone the Israeli state system and structures as a whole." - paras 22 and 23, Report of the Special Rapporteur, 20 October 2025 (full reference in link section below).

Why isn’t New Zealand, which is always going on about how important the rule of law is for small states, taking some real action to meet its legal obligations? It’s way past time to move past its double standards and:

Impose comprehensive sanctions against Israel
Expel the Israeli ambassador
Suspend Rakon’s export of g-hardened crystal oscillators for smart bombs used in Gaza
Suspend Rocket Lab launches for BlackSky Technology used by Israel to target Palestinians

The full report is here: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiopt/a-80-492-advance-unedited-version.pdf

(In addition, New Zealand could also usefully act on the detailed recommendations in the Special Rapporteur’s Report (paras 71 – 77)

Taking sides with teachers alongside Palestine

A pic from Tāmaki

Al Rafiq – translations of contemporary political writing by Arab scholars, journalists, and organic intellectuals

Al-Rifaq: We publish contemporary political writing by Arab scholars, journalists, and organic intellectuals every fortnight on Substack. https://alrifaq.substack.com/

We formed at the beginning of 2025, after our team members were seeing a big gap between what's published in Arabic about the war and what we can access in English, and wanted to do something about that.

We've created a slim but punchy book as a fundraiser – all proceeds go towards commissioning further work from translators living in and connected to Gaza. The six essays help us to understand the Palestinian question on terms consistent with their historic mission of liberation.

Pre-sales are live Of Weapons and Words | Al-Rifaq

We recommend PSNA supporters purchase a pre-sale book – see link above and support this important initiative.

Would you like to join Judith Collins for morning tea?

Why go? We recommend bringing some flags, loudhailers and demands for sanctions against the genocidal apartheid state of Israel.

Complicit with genocide

Sitting on the Fence

Daniel Cleary is making a documentary called “Sitting on the Fence” about NZ’s complicity in the genocide. It’s an independent self-funded film which needs financial support.

You can view a short segment from the film at this link and help to get the full film completed.

More details are on our website here https://www.psna.nz/sitting-on-the-fence which is at 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

Maccabi Tel Aviv row breaks Starmer’s cover story for colluding in genocide here (Jonathan Cook)
Hamas is NOT violating the ceasefire, Israel has violated the ceasefire 125 TIMES here
Internal Finding That Israel Killed Journalist on Purpose here
The Spanish government’s rhetoric and actions around the genocide in Gaza amid mass grassroots mobilization. Listen here on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts (Al Shabaka podcast)
Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti can unify Palestinians, says son here
PSNA slams Defence Minister over genocide dog-whistling here
Here’s a good analysis of the two-state BS and why the Zionist terror state must be totally abolished here (Mohammed Hassan)
“Welcome to Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps” here
Israeli settlers attack Palestinians harvesting olives here
PSNA slams Israeli politician over sneaking into NZ during Pacific friendship trip here

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

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