1 July 2026
Ref: OIA-2025/26-0721
R.D.B.
[FYI request #34344 email]
Tēnā koe R.D.B
Official Information Act request relating to Jewish organisations
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request, which was received by the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) on 22 May 2026. This is a follow up
request to OIA-2025/26-0686. You requested:
I find it concerning that SIS / GCSB would say that, given tracking foreign interference
and espionage is one of the core functions, I would like to give the good people at SIS
another opportunity to contribute to this request.
In any case let's focus on NZ Friends of Israel, Zionist Federation of New Zealand, NZ
Jewish Council for the groups, also include anyone individual(s) with an Israeli dual
citizenship, any person with an affiliation to the IDF or affiliate groups, and any
person(s) that has accepted a trip to Israel on behalf of any charitable organization and
is in a lobbying position.
On 2 June 2026 your request was clarified and refined to the following:
Any advice or correspondence held by DPMC, for the period 27 November 2025 to
11 May 2026, that is from or about:
[1]. NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc (NZFOI);
[2]. Zionist Federation of New Zealand (ZFNZ);
[3]. New Zealand Jewish Council (NZJC);
[4]. individuals holding an Israeli dual citizenship; and/or
[5]. any person with an affiliation to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).
We also advised you that if you are seeking material that you believe may be held by the
New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and/or the Government Communications Security
Bureau, to make your request to these agencies directly.
As per your clarified request, this response covers information held by DPMC.
The time frame for responding to your request was extended under section 15A of the Act by
14 working days because consultations were needed before a decision could be made on
the request. Fol owing this extension, I am now in a position to respond.
Searches have been completed of our Information Management Systems for any advice or
correspondence that is held by DPMC and relevant to the five groups identified as above.
Decision on your request
Parts [1], [2] and [4] of your request are refused under section 18(e) of the Act, as no
documentation held by DPMC exists.
5159068
Executive Wing, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand 6011
64 4 817 9698 www.dpmc.govt.nz
In relation to parts [3] and [5] of your request, searches were completed by using the names
of the two groups you have listed, and we received over 300 results. To identify any advice
or correspondence that meets part [3] and [5] of your request would involve the manual
checking of each result to determine whether it is in fact in scope of your request or not.
Taking into account the amount of information that would need to be assessed for relevance
and the resources available to undertake that work, I believe to answer parts [3] and [5] of
your request would involve substantial collation and research. Accordingly, I am refusing
these parts of your request under section 18(f) of the Act.
In reaching this decision, I first considered the factors contained in sections 18A(1) and 18B
of the Act. However, I did not consider that taking any of these steps of charging you for the
information, extending the time limits or consulting further with you, would allow the request
to be answered.
A further search was completed using the search term ‘
@newzealandjewishcouncils.org.nz’ and I have decided to release the two email trails identified as listed below, subject to
information being withheld as noted.
Item
Date
Document description
Decision
1
1 September
FW: CSG Report - Analysis of Antisemitism in
Release in part
2025
New Zealand (7 Oct 2023 - 7 Oct 2024) -
Confidential Release to NZ Government &
Agencies
2
16 April 2026
NZJC Annual Report on Antisemitism in New
Release in part, some
Zealand in 2025
information withheld
under sections 9(2)(a),
9(2)(g)(i )
The relevant grounds under which information has been withheld are:
• s9(2)(a), to protect the privacy of individuals
• s9(2)(g)(i ), to prevent improper pressure or harassment.
Some information is not in scope of your request and is marked accordingly.
In making my decision, I have considered the public interest considerations in section 9(1) of
the Act. No public interest has been identified that would be sufficient to outweigh the
reasons for withholding that information.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision under
section 28(3) of the Act.
We do not intend to publish this response on the DPMC website.
Nāku noa, nā
Jeremy Clarke-Watson
Deputy Chief Executive
National Security and Resilience
5159068
2
