22 Paenga-whāwhā 2026
22 April 2026

Newsletter No 237

Shockwave win for PSNA against Superfund policies - congratulations to our legal team!

PSNA Co-Chairs John Minto (left) and Maher Nazzal (centre) with the legal team which won the case: Frances Joychild KC (second from left), Rodney Harrison KC, (second from right) and Ben Mugisho (right)

(see story later in newsletter)

Items in this newsletter

New Items

Nationwide rallies/marches/vigils this week
Shockwave win for PSNA Against Superfund policies
Something to do with just a few clicks
From solidarity to liberation: PSNA National Hui in Rotorua – Friday May 1 to Sunday May 3
Happening around the motu this week
Spotted in Christchurch
On ANZAC Day – no rest for Taranaki soldier in his Gaza grave
Palestine Prisoners Day – letter to government from a supporter
A must read – Israel’s plans for Gaza
Cole Martin online this week
Last chance to send a note: Holocaust education yes, but the Palestinian genocide must be included
Something more you can do now with just a few clicks…
“Put your soul on your hand and walk”
Fundraising raffle
Important stories this week
Regular items

Join the ICC Six watch
MPs Complicit with Genocide
Keep spreading the message about the Genocide Hotline!

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.

High Court Superfund decision a victory for Palestinian rights

After many years of frustration with the New Zealand Superfund investing in companies involved in war crimes against Palestinians, crimes against humanity and gross violations of international law, PSNA launched legal action against the Superfund.

Last Thursday the Auckland High Court ruled the so-called responsible investment policies of the Superfund were “unreasonable and unlawful” and didn’t include any direct references to human rights standards.

Our media release on the decision:

(Embargoed by the High Court to 11am Thursday 16 April)

The High Court in Auckland has found policies of the NZ Superfund are ‘unreasonable and unlawful’ and fail to properly address human rights issues, when the Fund considers excluding companies from its portfolio of investments.

The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa issued judicial review proceedings against the Superfund for its failure to divest its investment in Israeli companies which the UN says are complicit in the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

The Court’s just released judgment found:

“The Guardian’s policies fail to meet the basic requirements of the Act (New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001) so far as exclusion from the fund for alleged breach of human rights standards is concerned. They are unreasonable and unlawful. (para 86)

The Guardians have a duty to reformulate the policy documents.

Once legally compliant policy documents are in place the Guardians will inevitably have to make decisions about the challenged investments in accordance with these policy documents. (para 102)”

“This is an important and timely win for Palestine”, says PSNA Co-Chair John Minto. “We are certain if the Superfund now does its job properly, it will quickly divest from the four companies it holds investments in which are on the United Nations Human Rights Council list of companies involved in building and maintaining illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.”

“As things stand, the Superfund is raking in money from the most appalling breaches of international law by Israel in the OPT, that is Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

“New Zealanders expect the highest of standards from our leading sovereign wealth fund, which should be setting the benchmark for all New Zealand investment funds.”

“No New Zealander on national superannuation in the future wants to have money in their pocket made from Israel’s war crimes and massive human rights abuses of Palestinians in the OPT.

Minto says of extreme concern to PSNA, is the revelation from the judgment, that in June 2022, a year after the Fund had divested from five Israeli banks, it gutted its exclusions policy and removed all direct references to human rights standards.

In particular, the new abbreviated policy removed the reference to the human rights standard in the UN Global Compact. The High Court said the new policies are now

“materially less clear and specific than previous iterations and there is no practical benchmark for those applying the policy in relation to alleged breaches of human rights standards” (para 60)

The High Court judgment also says:

“The current policy documents no longer link exclusion directly to any human rights standards”

“This is beyond outrageous” says Minto. “Our largest sovereign wealth fund, owned by the government on behalf of the people of New Zealand, has no specific references to human rights standards in its investment exclusions policy.”

Previously the Fund used policy documents, such as the United Nations Global Compact, an internationally recognised investment guideline which specifically includes human rights standards.

“But it removed the Global Compact and gutted its policy of any other direct reference to human rights, after it had made a previous principled decision on the five Israeli banks.”

“Not only was the Superfund in breach of its statutory obligations, but it was setting an illegally based template for KiwiSaver schemes and major private companies, such as those who sell Israeli products here, such as Sodastream.”

“We don’t believe it is a coincidence that the Fund dropped the policy after heavy pressure from the pro-Israel lobby, following the divestment decision on the five Israeli banks which profit from funding illegal Israeli settlements.”

“The Superfund replaced a principled policy with an entirely vague and subjective assessment of companies which meant they could resist pressure from human rights groups such as PSNA. The Fund was entirely making up legal sounding excuses as it went. It meant they could now keep on their books other companies which abuse the human rights of Palestinians.”

“Opting out of policies, which the High Court found were meant to be a statutory requirement, appears to be a cowardly backdown to backdoor bullying, which is standard operating procedure by the pro-Israeli lobby everywhere in the world. The Fund’s obligation is to stand up against human rights abuses without fear or favour,” says Minto.

“The Superfund owes us all an apology – and in particular an apology to Palestinians here and in Palestine, whose suffering is helping pay the price of the Fund’s increasing wealth.”

Most media outlets reported the decision well.

Radio New Zealand here, here and here
Stuff newspapers here
The Daily Blog here
New Zealand Herald (paywalled) – see pic of printed report below

TVNZ the notable exception – they ignored the ruling!

The notable exception to the reasonable reporting of the High Court ruling was TVNZ which ignored the ruling. TVNZ is the most pro-Israel media outlet in New Zealand with regularly appalling reporting on Palestine. TVNZ regularly centres Israeli narratives, Israeli explanations, Israeli justifications, Israeli propaganda with barely a passing reference to Palestinians. This was exemplified most graphically in the 40-minute Q and A interview with former Israeli Ambassador Ran Yaakoby in April 2024 when interviewer Jack Tame allowed an uninterrupted stream of racist propaganda from the apartheid state’s representative in New Zealand.

Something you can do now with just a few clicks…

Copy and paste this email to the TVNZ Head of News

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nadia Tolich
Chief News and Content Officer
TVNZ
nadia.tolich@tvnz.co.nz

Kia ora Nadia,

Why did TVNZ ignore last Thursday’s High Court ruling on the Superfund’s “unreasonable and unlawful” responsible investment polices under which it invests in companies involved in war crimes and serious breaches of international law against the Palestinian people?

The story was well reported across other media but was ignored by TVNZ.

Over a long period of time TVNZ has been the most pro-Israel media outlet in New Zealand with regularly appalling reporting on Palestine. TVNZ regularly centres Israeli narratives, Israeli explanations, Israeli justifications, Israeli propaganda with barely a passing reference to Palestinians. This was exemplified most graphically in the 40-minute Q and A interview with former Israeli Ambassador Ran Yaakoby in April 2024 when interviewer Jack Tame allowed an uninterrupted stream of racist propaganda from the apartheid state’s representative in New Zealand.

Looking forward to hearing your answer to the question in the first paragraph.

(your name)

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Or you can send this email by clicking here.
Please remember of fill in your name.
And, please consider BCC'ing your email to Admin@PSNA.nz so we can track how many emails were sent.

From solidarity to liberation

PSNA National meeting in Rotorua

We are holding our National Hui in Rotorua from 5.30pm on Friday 1st of May to lunchtime Sunday 3rd of May. The venue is a marae with accommodation for everyone and meals provided on site.

PSNA is covering the cost of meals and accommodation.

This is less than three weeks away and available places are filling up quickly so please register with our Secretary Anne secretary@psna.nz as soon as possible to help with planning.

We imagine most people coming from the South Island and lower North Island will need to fly and others will come by car. Either way if you need help with a travel subsidy please let Anne know.

If you are flying we advise to BOOK NOW to get reasonably priced airfares.

It may be cheaper for people to fly to Tauranga or Auckland and carpool with Auckland or Bay of Plenty supporters from there. If you’d like to do this please be in touch with Anne in the first instance and we can work out details from there.

Please note there will be a Mihi Whakatau (welcome) late on Friday afternoon so please try to arrive by 5pm on the Friday.

We hope every centre around the country will be able to be represented at the national meeting – please don’t let cost be a barrier to being represented – email Anne secretary@psna.nz if you are having problems with the cost to get there.

This national gathering will be a critically important vent for people from around the country to come together to build the campaign to isolate genocidal, apartheid Israel and build the campaign for Palestinian liberation.

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.

Upcoming local events around the motu

**Whaingaroa/Raglan on Palestine Prisoners Day**

**Street Theatre in Whaingaroa/Raglan on Palestine Prisoners Day**

**After another community outreach in Lyttelton last weekend**

Spotted in Christchurch

On ANZAC Day - no rest for Taranaki soldier in his Gaza grave

Media Release from Palestinian Solidarity Taranaki

ANZAC day in 2026 will have special significance for Waitara resident Janice Liddle.

In February of this year she learned that the Gaza grave of her great uncle, Trooper Alfred Eric Bishop, had been bulldozed by the Israeli military in March 2025, along with the graves of 100 other ANZACS from WW1 and WWII.

“This news was very upsetting’ said Janice, “ My great uncle was not only buried on a foreign shore, victim of a foreign war, but he has also suffered the further indignity of having his resting place destroyed during another Gaza war over one hundred years later.”

Born in New Plymouth, Alfred Bishop served in the New Zealand Mounted Machine Gun battalion during WWI as the Palestinian city of Gaza was captured, lost to the Turkish opposition and then captured again, leaving the city in complete ruin. Eric died on 16 August 1918, at just 21 years of age and within a few short weeks of war’s end, victim to an illness contracted during his service. He was buried in the Gaza War cemetery, administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The grave of another Taranaki soldier, that of Charles Hughes from Kapuni, was also destroyed by the bulldozers of the Israeli Defense Force. The systematic destruction of the cemetery is a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law which commands respect for the dead, their graves and burial records. In addition, the denial of the rights of family members to know the fate of their loved ones is considered an 'outrage against personal dignity.'

"NZ officials should have been more forthright in bringing attention to these crimes. And why did it take so long for this to come to light?” asked Janice.

The graves were dutifully and impeccably tended since the 1920s by generations of one Palestinian family. Like his father and his grandfather before him, former Gaza cemetery caretaker Essam Jaradah tended the graves for decades, passing on the responsibility to his son Ibrahim before the start of the Gaza War in 2023.

“The cemetery was considered one of the most beautiful archaeological sites in Gaza. Pain and bitterness grip my heart over the cemetery, just as deeply as the pain of losing my home entirely.”

The Jaradah family have been divided by the war with some members forced to leave including Ibrahim. It is understood that Essam has remained.

A special wreath will be laid at the New Plymouth Cenotaph on ANZAC Day this year to commemorate Troopers Eric Bishop and Charles Hughes, and to recognise the work of the Jaradah family in the century-long care of their graves.

References:

Palestine Prisoners Day

Letter to NZ government from a PSNA supporter

Kia ora

I am writing to you to express my outrage at Israel’s recently passed law which imposes the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners.

The law will allow Israel to hang prisoners convicted of terrorism-related murders who are tried in military courts. The death penalty will become the mandatory, or ‘default’, sentence for those convicted of such charges as it will only be waived if ‘special circumstances’ apply. There is also a very limited time to appeal such a grave and irreversible penalty, and only a simple majority of the bench is required to enact it, rather than a unanimous bench. These courts have a conviction rate of 96%.

This law is applied solely to Palestinian prisoners, as only Palestinians are tried in military courts whilst Israeli citizens (including settlers) have their criminal cases heard in civil courts.

Multiple countries, including our allies Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany, and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have collectively condemned the de facto discriminatory nature of this law and have stated that it is in contradiction of the international laws of occupation and the prohibition of racial discrimination.

It is further concerning that the law was passed less than a month after Israel dropped all charges against its military officers accused of mass raping Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman detention camp. Again, in the last month, there have been 7,300 violations of Palestinians in the West Bank with Israelis raiding Palestinian residential areas, killing and attacking Palestinians, and destroying their property.

It is highly concerning that Aotearoa New Zealand continues to have diplomatic and economic ties with Israel, which has proven itself to be a racist ethnostate with a complete disregard for upholding the rules of law and protecting civilian life as Israel continues its genocide in Gaza and its illegal attacks in South Lebanon and committing multiple crimes against humanity. Israel has become a pariah, rogue state operating outside international law and widely shunned by the international community and global public opinion.

We call upon you, as our elected representatives, to strongly condemn the enforcement of Israel’s death penalty law, which is directly against our values of justice, the rule of law, racial equity, and due process.

We also request the complete severing of ties between Aotearoa and Israel: enough is enough.

Ngā mihi,

Dr Ron Lopert
Tauranga

A must read – Israel’s planning for Gaza

All they will find is sand here

Cole Martin online next week

Enrol for the webinar here

Final opportunity to make a short submission

Holocaust education yes, but the Palestinian genocide must be included

The government is consulting on a new draft Social Studies curriculum which for the first time makes Holocaust education compulsory in New Zealand schools.

The curriculum can be read here

PSNA supports including Holocaust education in the compulsory curriculum but it must be seen in the broader context of genocide, crimes against humanity and international law.

Six million Jews were killed by Germany’s Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s along with six million others who did not fit the Nazi view of European racial purity. All these 12 million people must have their memories honoured along with the numerous other more recent genocides such as those of Rwanda, Rohinga and Sudan genocides.

And most importantly, the current, on-going genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel.

Just as the Nazi Holocaust was the defining human rights issue of the 20th century, Palestine is the defining human rights issue for the 21st century. Any credible curriculum must include all these as examples of “the crime of crimes” – genocide.

It is simply not appropriate for the curriculum to centre genocide of Europeans while bypassing the numerous genocides of people of colour throughout colonial history and up to the present day.

The New Zealand curriculum needs to put the message of “never again” from the Nazis Holocaust to the test in the modern world where “never again” is being ignored and genocide normalised by European powers.

Of clear concern to PSNA is the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, which is lobbying hard for Holocaust education in the curriculum while refusing to condemn Israel’s genocidal rhetoric or the mass killing and mass starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. The Holocaust Centre is part-funded by the Israeli Embassy and hard-pressed teachers will likely use “exclusive” material from the Centre in their social studies classes.

We need to broaden the scope of what is taught.

Something you can do now with just a few clicks…

Note the deadline for submissions is 24 April 2026.

Send the following message to nationalcurriculum.refresh@education.govt.nz

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Kia ora,

Genocide education must examine “never again” in the present day

I support including Holocaust education in the compulsory social studies curriculum but for its message to have meaning for our students, it must be seen in the broader context of genocide, crimes against humanity and international law.

Six million Jews were killed by Germany’s Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s along with six million others who did not fit the Nazi view of European racial purity. All these 12 million people must have their memories honoured along with the numerous other more recent genocides such as those of Rwanda, Rohinga and Sudanese people.

And most importantly, students must understand the current, on-going genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel.

Just as the Nazi Holocaust was the defining human rights issue of the 20th century, Palestine is the defining human rights issue for the 21st century. Any credible curriculum must include Palestine and the other modern-day examples of “the crime of crimes” – genocide.

It is simply not appropriate for the curriculum to centre genocide of Europeans while bypassing the numerous genocides of people of colour throughout colonial history and up to the present day. People of colour have been, and are currently, the vast majority of the victims of genocide. Our students must learn this.

The New Zealand curriculum needs to put the message of “never again” from the Nazis Holocaust to the test in the modern world where “never again” is being ignored and genocide normalised by European powers.

(your name)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You can send this email by clicking here.

Please remember of fill in your name.

And, please consider BCC'ing your email to Admin@PSNA.nz so we can track how many emails were sent.

“Put your soul on your hand and walk”

Details of screenings around the country are here

Fundraising Raffle – Flightless in Gaza

Important stories this week

Editor’s picks

NSW protest laws brought in after Bondi Beach attack deemed 'unconstitutional' by top court here
Italy suspends renewal of defence agreement with Israel here
Tell the EU: suspend the EU-Israel trade deal — stop these executions before they begin here

Regular items

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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.

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

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