17 Hakihea 2025

17 December 2025

Newsletter No 219

Items in this newsletter

New Items

Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
PSNA condemns terrorist attack on Bondi and the people exploiting it against Palestinians
Two excellent commentaries on Bondi massacre
A great BDS image to share
A Middle East Solution
Deloittes applauds the genocide enablers
Government abandons 71 years of NZDF work for Israel
“Get a spine” for quote of the year
2025 marks ‘deadliest and most destructive year’ for Palestinians, Israeli rights groups say
A few recent pics from around the country
Shadow-banning Palestine and what to do about it
Xmas gifts for Palestine

REGULAR ITEMS

Join the ICC Watch
Designate Israel as a terrorist state and the IDF as a terrorist group
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

We have discontinued the Rally list in the newsletter as it can be out of date as soon as the newsletter is sent.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

PSNA condemns anti-semitic terrorist attack on Bondi Beach and those trying to exploit this horrific act of race-hatred

PSNA was appalled and shocked at Sunday’s anti-semitic terror attack targeting the Jewish community in Australia on the first day of the celebration of Hanukkah.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-Chair John Minto says he’s thinking of the families who have lost loved ones in this most dreadful of circumstances.

“For those who would try to make out otherwise, we reiterate our condemnation of racism and race hatred of any kind – whether it is anti-semitism, anti-Māori racism, anti-Palestinian racism or white supremacy. There is no place for any of it anywhere in the world.

“The best antidote to race hatred is community solidarity and we stand with the Jewish community in the face of such horror.”

“For many decades, and the past two years in particular, we have protested and marched side by side with Jews and Jewish groups to condemn the genocide in Gaza and stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation,” Minto says.

“We have always made clear our campaign targets Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing. Jews are not responsible for these policies, despite Netanyahu claiming he is acting and speaking as ‘Prime Minister’ of all Jews.”

Minto says Palestine supporters were also appalled when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and leaders of the pro-Israeli lobby in Australia and New Zealand, tried to exploit the horror in Bondi by blaming it on condemnation of Israel’s genocide and the Australian government’s (largely non-existent) support for Palestinian rights.

“This blaming almost invariably comes from people who support Israel’s actions in Gaza. Their strategy is to exploit the killing in Bondi to help the Israel government carry on its genocide and ethnic cleansing without criticism.”

Minto says he’s concerned that the strategy will cross the Tasman to panic the New Zealand government into introducing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-semitism into New Zealand legislation.

“This definition is used to target people supporting Palestine. The Israeli government has managed to get it into government legislation, university rules and local government policy in many parts of the western world.”

“It’s all part of Netanyahu’s ‘Eighth Front’ to silence Israel’s critics.”

“It has no place here.”

Two excellent commentaries on the Bondi massacre

Antony Loewenstein on the Bondi massacre here

Israel Apologists Hasten to Use Bondi Shooting to Attack Anti-Genocide Activists here

A great image to share for the coming holiday period

A Middle East solution

Deloitte applauds the genocide enablers

Not surprising to see. . .

Government abandons 71 years of NZDF work for Israel

Media release from Peace Action Wellington – 8 December 2025

The NZ government has abstained from a UN vote to declare the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan illegal - the first time it has ever done this. This is despite the NZDF deployment to the Golan since 1954 as part of the United Nations Truce Organisation (UNTO), the UN’s longest peacekeeping mission.

Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights is illegal.

NZDF military observers patrol and monitor ceasefires and military activity in Golan Heights and Lebanon, as part of efforts to help preserve peace between Israel and its neighbours Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.

“The decision by the NZ government is a significant shift signalling very close alignment with the US and Israel, and against international law and against the work of the NZDF. NZ has not yet voted with the US and Israel against the resolution, but this abstention at this time is a clear signal that NZ is on their side. This government has fully bankrupted itself of any international credibility following on the failure to recognise the state of Palestine in September, in direct contravention of explicit advice. This vote simply cements NZ’s total loss of moral standing in world affairs,” said Valerie Morse, member of Peace Action Wellington.

“More than 26 countries changed their position compared to last year and have come out in support of this resolution. NZ is moving in the opposite direction.”

“Will the longest ever NZDF deployment to a UN mission be terminated? The NZDF liaison officer position in Israel with US forces has just been extended.”

"If anyone needed any further evidence that Luxon's Coalition is prepared to greenlight Trump and Netanyahu's plans for Israeli annexations of the West Bank and Gaza, this is it."

During US president Donald Trump’s first term in 2019, he moved to unilaterally recognise the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. The US presidential proclamation marked the first instance of any country recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights; the territory is viewed as part of Syria under international law, though it has been under an Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. Trump’s decision was highly controversial and seen as a victory for longstanding aspirations for Israeli annexation

“Lack of spines” for quote of the year?

Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick’s calling our government MPs for their lack of spine in a finalist for the quote of the year. You can vote here

2025 marks ‘deadliest and most destructive year’ for Palestinians, Israeli rights groups say

Palestinian activist and ecologist Mazin Qumsiyeh reports on the 12 Israeli rights groups involved in the assessment of 2025 as the “deadliest and most destructive year” for Palestinians.

The collective assessment from these groups is here and links to the individual groups are listed below.

https://www.yesh-din.org/en/

https://hamoked.org/

https://gisha.org/en/about-gisha/

https://bimkom.org/eng/home-mobile/

https://www.english.acri.org.il/

https://stoptorture.org.il/en/

https://www.cfpeace.org/

https://ir-amim.org.il/en/

https://emekshaveh.org/en/

https://www.phr.org.il/en/

https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/

https://www.torat-tzedek.org/

also notable NGO B'Tselem which issued the report 'Our Genocide'

https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide

A few recent pics from around the country

**The US flag burns outside the US Embassy on last Wednesday’s national protest**

**Ben Vorderegger speaks at Carnival for Change in Ōtautahi/Christchurch**

**Some of the people behind the recently formed Palestine Action Waikato**

**PSNA co-Chairs John Minto and Maher Nazzal at the Palestine Action Waikato public meeting in Hamilton in late November**

**Cole Martin public meeting in Kerikeri**

**Keeping Palestine in front of Kerikeri**

“Shadow-banned” by Facebook and Instagram and how we’d like you to bypass it

We’ve noticed a significant slow-down in the growth of our PSNA National Instagram account (@psnaotearoa) since the Gaza ‘ceasefire’ and also a drop-off in engagement.

Because of the ‘ceasefire’ most New Zealanders think the worst is over in Gaza and the Palestinians are heading towards some sort of ‘peace’ with Israel. While this couldn’t be further from the truth – Israel has broken the ceasefire over 500 times since it was signed - the perception that things are improving has led to an inevitable lessening in attention given to Palestine-related material on Instagram and other social media platforms.

In addition to the ceasefire-related drop-off we also have to contend with the profoundly pro-Israel bias of Meta (the company that owns Facebook & Instagram).

Human Rights Watch have called Meta’s censorship of content related to Palestine on Instagram and Facebook systemic and global.

Leaked documents showed that Instagram increased its moderation of Palestinian user comments after October 7, 2023.

Many of those in high positions at Meta previously worked for the Israeli state or the Israeli army. A report by Mint Press found that dozens of them come directly from the elite Unit 8200 – a cyber intelligence group infamous for spying on Palestinians under occupation.

Meta have a special policy unit devoted to Israel (they don’t have anything like this for any other country). The head of this unit – Jordana Cutler – is a former senior Israeli government official who used to work for Benjamin Netanyahu.

In late 2024 Meta updated its policy to allow unrestricted authority to delete accounts supporting Palestine.

As Jewish-American historian Zachary Foster points out “the data show that Meta has complied with 94% of takedown requests issued by Israel since October 7, 2023. The world’s most genocidal country controls content moderation at the world’s most important social media company”.

All this is to say that PSNA is facing an uphill battle to get the message out via our Instagram account and that’s where YOU, our supporters, can help us.

If you could deliberately check in on us every day – and do the like and comment and share thing – that will help elevate us in the algorithm so more people see us. One way of making this easier is to set a daily reminder to check PSNA Instagram. It will only take a couple of minutes out of your day but it will help us continue to build a real and lasting Palestine solidarity movement here in Aotearoa – one that won’t stop fighting until Palestine is truly free.

PS: Here are the handles for some of our regional accounts – some of them have been under lengthy shadow-bans so give a little love to them too, especially if they’re in your region.

Main

@psnaotearoa

Regional

Give a Palestine solidarity gift this Xmas

If you wish to purchase any of these items, in the first instance please contact your local branch.

Earrings ($10 - $20), fridge magnets ($3), badges ($2), silicone wristbands ($5), string bracelet ($4), bumper stickers ($3), carry bags (kufiyah style, this is not a watermelon and Free Palestine) ($15), small change purses (on right in photo) ($8.50) Bucket hats and Baseball caps ($25) Back packs ($30)

Our standard lines are also available - see pictures on the PSNA website here.

T shirt (2 finger peace sign) XXXXL, XXXL, XXL, L, M, S, XS - $30

T shirt (Justice the seed) XXXXL, XXXL, XXL, XL, L, M, S, XS, 12, 10, 8, 6 yr old - $30

Long sleeved top XXXL, XXL, XL, L, M, S, XS - $35

Hoodies Justice the seed M, L, XL, S - $45

Palestine flags, large $10

Check with your local branch first and then contact us at Merchandise@PSNA.nz (Postage will also need to be covered in direct purchases)

Regular items

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

Christian Zionism in the Global South: The Case of South Africa here (Al Shabaka – The Palestine Policy Network)
How the world can resist the UN Security Council’s rogue colonial mandate in Gaza here
The "Tomorrow's Palestine: One Democratic State for All Its Citizens" here (Madrid conference)
Gaza named deadliest place for journalists in 2025 RSF report on dangers facing media globally here
Hamas says no Gaza truce second phase while Israel 'continues violations' here
200 Luminaries from the Arts and Business World demand release of “Palestinian Mandela” 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