PSNA Newsletter No 213 - 5 November 2025

5 Whiringa-ā-rangi 2025
5 November 2025

Newsletter No 213

Items in this newsletter

Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
Join the ICC Six Watch!
A week of action on SodaStream – 22 Nov to 30 Nov
PSNA condemns the deployment of NZ Liaison officer in Israel
A few pics from around the country – including Whaingaroa children’s shoes installation!
Will and Ava interview on freedom flotilla to Gaza
Movie night at Muriwai
Silence on Gaza
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
Al Rafiq – translations of contemporary political writing by Arab scholars, journalists, and organic intellectuals
Complicit with Genocide
Sitting on the Fence
Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!
Important stories this week
Merchandise for sale

Nationwide rallies/marches/MP protests/vigils this week

We have discontinued the Rally list in the newsletter as it can be out of date as soon as the newsletter is sent.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.

Join the ICC Six Watch!

Join the ICC Six watch – be on the lookout for the six people PSNA has referred to the International Criminal Court for Investigation.

Share this poster below on your social media pages. We want to make sure these six people are held accountable to the New Zealand public for their complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

When you contact us we will alert our supporters and mobilise to protest any events where these six genocide deniers appear.

A week of action on SodaStream – 22 Nov to 30 Nov

Get ready for action at Noel Leemings later this month!

Noel Leemings are a major stockiest of SodaStream products. The company is owned by the Warehouse Group which has refused to respond to any of our letters requesting they stop stocking this product of Israeli genocidal and apartheid policies.

Auckland supporters will be protesting outside the Warehouse Group AGM on Friday 28 November (more details next newsletter) and PSNA is encouraging action targeting SodaStream in the week from Saturday 22 November to Sunday 30 November.

Let’s get stuck in with protests, pickets and stickers targeting Noel Leeming this month. (No problem if you want to start earlier than the week of action!)

And is this a sign of the boycott beginning to bite? – Briscoe’s offers huge discount to move them off the shelves.

PSNA condemns the deployment of NZ Liaison officer in Israel

PSNA has condemned the New Zealand government's decision to deploy a “liaison officer” to Israel to work with the US and Israel to implement the Trump ‘peace’ plan for Gaza.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-chair Maher Nazzal says it is ominous
that the liaison officer will be based inside a US military office.

“Instead, we should be working with the United Nations in the region. Trump plans to perpetuate the Israeli occupation under a fig-leaf of it being multinational. That is what we are supporting.”
“This is more of the same complicity with the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza.

For two years, our Foreign Minister has joined New Zealand at the hip to a country whose Prime Minister is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

‘There have been no sanctions on Israel, but we frequently impose new sanctions on Russia and Iran.”

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction for New Zealand to send in the troops to the Middle East to back Israel and the US,” Nazzal says.

“The NZDF was there in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government sent the army up to the Red Sea to fight with the Americans early last year to keep Israeli sea lanes open.”

Nazzal says the government should focus on aid, ensuring Palestinians' rights and representation, and fact-finding.

“There should be a cross-party Parliamentary fact-finding mission assembled urgently, which could get into Gaza safely before Israel ramps up its murderous assault again.”

“MPs should see for themselves, instead of signing off on a soldier whose job it is to ‘implement’ the Trump plan.

“The King of Jordan has recently rejected the US proposal to join in patrolling Gaza to implement Trump’s vision.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge5ngz11xpo

“A liaison officer deployment is political cover to assist and reward Israel for its genocide in Gaza. The US makes bombs and bullets for Israel to fire.”

“It’s a shameful betrayal of Palestine and the Palestinian steadfastness in the face of unbelievable depravity and cruelty.”

“Palestinians have no say in the Trump plan. Trump decides who is going to implement it. He’s picked Tony Blair. When he was British Prime Minister, Blair, and US President Bush, invaded Iraq to destroy the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. More than a million Iraqis died.”

“In Gaza, more than 20,000 children have now been murdered by Israel in
indiscriminate killing across Gaza.”

“It says all we need to know that the Minister of Defence has never uttered a single word of condemnation of Israel.”

“The New Zealand people stand with Palestine – the government stands with Israel.”

Maher Nazzal
Co-Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa - PSNA

A few pics from around the country – including Whaingaroa children’s shoes installation!

**PSNA Administrator Neil Scott and friends on the Parnell overbridge for the Auckland marathon – huge positive response from the thousands taking part**

Video of the 685 children’s shoes installation is here – and the lessons from the installation follow:

Feedback from Whaaingaroa Raglan Labour Weekend Installation 25-26 October 2025.

"20,000 Palestinian children killed. 40,000 spare shoes."

I suggest that you install in a place where people pass through and see it, rather than having to come to view it. The surprise element of 'coming across it' is part of its impact. Our site was perfect as it was at a busy intersection and a pedestrian crossing where people had to pause and couldn't help but be confronted with the image of the kids' shoes. Information signs were important as well. We also had coloured photos of kids now dead with a bio of each of them and how they died. Mostly photos when they were alive rather than of dead children to honour their lives (and protect our own kids viewing them) This was also impactful. And it attracted children and adults to stop and look.

Try and do it on a fine day or two, as getting 685 shoes dry is not an easy task, and they shouldn't be stored wet. And especially after spending a chunk of money to buy them. Kids shoes smell, mouldy shoes even worse.

It was important to have people present to engage with people stopping to look as many had questions. Have at least two people volunteering. Some people can be aggressive and will be more so if there is only one person to deal with. Lots more hara these days since Peters has given permission for Zionists to speak loudly.

We also sold PSNA merchandise and gave away stickers, fliers, sanction petition, info on what you can do, and lists of Israeli products to boycott.

We were there 8am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday 9am to 4pm. Food shops in Whaaingaroa Raglan close between 3pm and 4pm so foot traffic decreased. Times depend on foot traffic in your area.

As far as we could tell, no-one vandalised the shoes Saturday night. I think the more public a place you place the shoes the less chance of vandalism as I don't think people would want to be seen stealing kids shoes. We did take our big signs, flags and laminated photos home with us over night though. Depends on how much you trust your community.

Hope this is useful. We handed out heaps of fliers/ info re Palestine/Gaza/ sanctioning Israel and BDS and sold nine T-shirts.

Other PSNA groups in the country maybe interested in having an installation. I envisage that they can be used and re-used throughout the motu, as long as we all take care of them and use them with care. And keep on adding to the shoes from your area. Thanks.

Gillian Marie
Whaaingaroa Palestine Solidarity.

For more information and to get the 685 pairs of shoes for your area contact whaingaroapalestinesolidarity@gmail.com

Local report of the Whanganui protest in the Whanganui Chronicle is here

Will and Ava interview on freedom flotilla to Gaza

Josephine Varghese speaks to William Alexander and Ava Mulla of PSNA about their experiences being part of the Global March to Gaza and the Freedom Flotilla Movement here

Movie night at Muriwai

Silence on Gaza

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

“We live in a time of drunkards staggering around parroting slogans about "civilisation" and "barbarism", and their bedfellows “antisemitism”, “terrorism”, and “the defence of sacred values”, along with other depictions of the civilised and the barbaric.

Since I am classified as a barbarian, I find myself comforted by a feeling that I belong to the group causing unease among the people of civilization.

So come, barbarians, let's proclaim: Death to civilization! Long live the barbarians!

--Tarif Khalidi; Palestinian Historian

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places - and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

--Howard Zinn (You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A personal history of our times, p. 208)

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

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.

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

Not A Ceasefire: The International Community Takes Over the Gaza Genocide here
Dr Agnes Callamard from Amnesty International interviewed on TV3 about Palestine here
Israel’s top military lawyer arrested after she admitted leaking video of soldiers abuse of Palestinian detainee here
NZ is now in sphere of Israeli influence – we risk being seen as a ‘genocide ally’ here
Britain’s act of ‘colonial arrogance’ created living injustice for Palestinians, says PSNA here
PSNA accuses NZ of giving ‘political cover’ to genocidal Israel over Gaza here
Weaponising media – National Press Club and its arms industry sponsors here
Death to Civilization! Long Live the Barbarians! here
Is the US reclaiming the wheel from a self-destructive Israel here
Arab Leaders Are No Longer Buying Washington's Iran Story 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