Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
JIFF is the home of the most comprehensive range of Israeli and Jewish-themed films in Australia and New Zealand. The films premiere in our annual three-week film festival in November or our newly established Holocaust Film Series in March. JIFF is building on the long and proud 24-year history of Jewish film festivals in Australia.
Sabena Hijacking (2015)
Sabena Hijacking My Version is a powerful, suspenseful docu-drama based on previously undiscovered audio recordings of the former pilot, Captain Reginald Levy. Captain Levy (now deceased) was in command of the Sabena Flight 571 from Brussels, Belgium to Tel Aviv, Israel on 8 May 1972, when it was hijacked by four members from the “Black September”, the armed wing of Fatah or Palestine Liberalization Organisation.
The film finally shares the untold story of what exactly took place on the flight throughout 30 hours of nerve-wrecking captivity. It channels the English pilots impartial view of the events and elaborates on them with exclusive access to three revered Israeli political leaders who were in charge of the rescue effort, as well as the only surviving hijacker, who tell their own story.
Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu featured, alongside the other key political decision makers at the time, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former Prime Minister, President and Nobel Prize winner Shimon Peres.
Therese Halsa, one of the four hijackers who was a girl of just 18 at the time, gives her version of events, following release from a 220 year prison sentence of which she served 13 years. Sabena Hijacking My Version fuses candid interviews with archive material and dramatic reenactments of the tense scenes inside the aircraft and the control tower as Captain Levy was held at gunpoint.
It takes viewers into the aircraft to witness the events first-hand as the hijackers threatened to explode hand grenades unless 300 prisoners were released. It also gives insight to the tense negotiations which eventually led to a heroic rescue operation during which a special unit of soldiers (disguised as technicians) stormed the plane.
The result is a captivating, fast-paced film full of suspense, which poses significant political and historical questions that are not only still important, but have shaped the Israel of today.
104 minutes.
CANTERBURY UNIVERSITY: RAPHAEL WEIN AND NAFTALI GROSS
Tuesday October 25, 12 noon
THE NZ INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS INVITES YOU TO WHAT PROMISES TO BE AN ENGAGING AND FASCINATING ADDRESS
Ethical Dilemmas of Serving in the Israeli Defense Forces: Israel’s war against terrorism.
About the Speakers:
Raphael is a Business Administration and Political Science Student at Ariel University and is a reservist in the IDF. Naftali is a medical student at the Hebrew University and a volunteer paramedic for Magen David (the equivalent of St John’s Ambulance Service in NZ) and is also a reservist in the IDF. Both were combatants in the 2014 Gaza War.
Venue: Logie 104, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch.
A map showing the location of the venue may be obtained by clicking this link.
Admission is free
Feel free to pass this notice on to anyone else you feel may be interested.
THE STORY OF THE JEWS
(Part I)
CHRISTCHURCH:
SUNDAY, 2PM, 18 NOVEMBER 2018
Northwood Villa Clubrooms, O’Neill Ave, Christchurch (Note the change in venue, being different than that in the newsletter, please advise your friends and other members if you know they are interested in coming).
Simon Schama presents an epic five-part series exploring the extraordinary story of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day. Drawing on original scholarship and Sharma’s own family history, this is a story that is at once deeply historical and utterly contemporary, taking viewers on a journey from the biblical past to tomorrow’s front pages. Travelling the globe from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, from New York and Burlington to Cairo in Jerusalem, the story unfolds with the help of a dazzling cast of historical characters, vivid storytelling, stunning location photography, and encounters with people who live with the passions and perplexities of the Jewish story today. At the heart of the story of the Jews is a compelling argument about distinctiveness and difference, separation and isolation, tolerance and prejudice, but it is also a celebration of the ways in which Jewish thought, Jewish imagination and Jewish achievement have transformed the world for us all.
In a review for The Daily Telegraph, Neil Midgley described the first episode as a “resounding success”, saying: “Schama told the story efficiently and evocatively – and deftly picked out stories that would illustrate his overarching thesis about how Judaism managed to survive…In Schama’s view, to be a Jew is to be verbal…By the end of this first episode, Schama had given the title of his programme an intriguing double meaning. Over its four remaining parts, The Story of the Jews promises to be not only a chronological history, but also a common narrative of what unifies and fortifies Jewish people”
Part 1 starts with Creation
Where: Northwood Villa Clubrooms, McNeill Ave, Northwood, Christchurch. Please note the venue is different from that published in our newsletter.
When: 2pm, Sunday November 18.
Admission: A plate of finger food. Please no pork or seafood products.
THE STORY OF THE JEWS
(Part II)
CHRISTCHURCH:
SUNDAY, 2PM, 17 February 2019
Northwood Villa Clubrooms, O’Neill Ave, Christchurch
Simon Schama presents an epic five-part series exploring the extraordinary story of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day. Drawing on original scholarship and Sharma’s own family history, this is a story that is at once deeply historical and utterly contemporary, taking viewers on a journey from the biblical past to tomorrow’s front pages. Travelling the globe from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, from New York and Burlington to Cairo in Jerusalem, the story unfolds with the help of a dazzling cast of historical characters, vivid storytelling, stunning location photography, and encounters with people who live with the passions and perplexities of the Jewish story today. At the heart of the story of the Jews is a compelling argument about distinctiveness and difference, separation and isolation, tolerance and prejudice, but it is also a celebration of the ways in which Jewish thought, Jewish imagination and Jewish achievement have transformed the world for us all.
In a review for The Daily Telegraph, Neil Midgley described the first episode as a “resounding success”, saying: “Schama told the story efficiently and evocatively – and deftly picked out stories that would illustrate his overarching thesis about how Judaism managed to survive…In Schama’s view, to be a Jew is to be verbal…By the end of this first episode, Schama had given the title of his programme an intriguing double meaning. Over its four remaining parts, The Story of the Jews promises to be not only a chronological history, but also a common narrative of what unifies and fortifies Jewish people”
Part 1 starts with Creation
Where: Northwood Villa Clubrooms, McNeill Ave, Northwood, Christchurch. Please note the venue is different from that published in our newsletter.
When: 2pm, Sunday February 17.
Admission: A plate of finger food. Please no pork or seafood products.
THE STORY OF THE JEWS
(Part III)
CHRISTCHURCH:
SUNDAY, 2.30PM, 31 MARCH 2019
Northwood Villa Clubrooms, O’Neill Ave, Christchurch
Simon Schama presents an epic five-part series exploring the extraordinary story of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day. Drawing on original scholarship and Sharma’s own family history, this is a story that is at once deeply historical and utterly contemporary, taking viewers on a journey from the biblical past to tomorrow’s front pages. Travelling the globe from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, from New York and Burlington to Cairo in Jerusalem, the story unfolds with the help of a dazzling cast of historical characters, vivid storytelling, stunning location photography, and encounters with people who live with the passions and perplexities of the Jewish story today. At the heart of the story of the Jews is a compelling argument about distinctiveness and difference, separation and isolation, tolerance and prejudice, but it is also a celebration of the ways in which Jewish thought, Jewish imagination and Jewish achievement have transformed the world for us all.
In a review for The Daily Telegraph, Neil Midgley described the first episode as a “resounding success”, saying: “Schama told the story efficiently and evocatively – and deftly picked out stories that would illustrate his overarching thesis about how Judaism managed to survive…In Schama’s view, to be a Jew is to be verbal…By the end of this first episode, Schama had given the title of his programme an intriguing double meaning. Over its four remaining parts, The Story of the Jews promises to be not only a chronological history, but also a common narrative of what unifies and fortifies Jewish people”
Where: Northwood Villa Clubrooms, McNeill Ave, Northwood, Christchurch. Please note the venue is different from that published in our newsletter.
When: 2.30pm, Sunday March 31.
Admission: A plate of finger food. Please no pork or seafood products.
THE STORY OF THE JEWS
(Part V)
CHRISTCHURCH:
Thursday, 7.00 PM, 24 October 2019
Woolston Community Library Hall, 689 Ferry Rd, Christchurch
Simon Schama presents an epic five-part series exploring the extraordinary story of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day. Drawing on original scholarship and Sharma’s own family history, this is a story that is at once deeply historical and utterly contemporary, taking viewers on a journey from the biblical past to tomorrow’s front pages. Travelling the globe from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, from New York and Burlington to Cairo in Jerusalem, the story unfolds with the help of a dazzling cast of historical characters, vivid storytelling, stunning location photography, and encounters with people who live with the passions and perplexities of the Jewish story today. At the heart of the story of the Jews is a compelling argument about distinctiveness and difference, separation and isolation, tolerance and prejudice, but it is also a celebration of the ways in which Jewish thought, Jewish imagination and Jewish achievement have transformed the world for us all.
In a review for The Daily Telegraph, Neil Midgley described the first episode as a “resounding success”, saying: “Schama told the story efficiently and evocatively – and deftly picked out stories that would illustrate his overarching thesis about how Judaism managed to survive…In Schama’s view, to be a Jew is to be verbal…By the end of this first episode, Schama had given the title of his programme an intriguing double meaning. Over its four remaining parts, The Story of the Jews promises to be not only a chronological history, but also a common narrative of what unifies and fortifies Jewish people”
Where: Woolston Community Library Hall, 689 Ferry Rd, Christchurch. Please note the time, date and venue is different from that published in our newsletter.
When: 7.00pm, Thursday October 24.
Admission: A plate of finger food. Please no pork or seafood products.
NATIONS BLESS ISRAEL
CELEBRATING ISRAEL’S RESTORATION
I will bless those who bless you, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:1-3)
You are invited to join with us and Nations Bless Israel Melbourne to celebrate the restoration of the State of Israel.
THURSDAY 9:45PM (NZST) ON MAY 14TH 2020
This Thursday evening we are invited to join the Aussies in celebrating Israel’s 72nd birthday. It will be a special event featuring a range of distinguished speakers from various walks of life in Israel and elsewhere. It starts 9.45pm NZ Time, but can be viewed later on Facebook.
This event is a fundraiser for the Rambam hospital and is in honour of the late Peter Kentley. Peter was a Messianic Jew who lived in Melbourne and led the planning for the Australian San Remo commemorations before he became too unwell. He loved Israel dearly and I have happy memories of our times together over there. Sadly he went to be with the Lord earlier this year following a brain tumour diagnosis.
The Guest Speakers include:
- Yuvat Rotem – Director General of Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (and former Israeli Ambassador to Australia and NZ pre 2010) He now runs the foreign ministry and played a key role in brokering the resumption of our diplomatic relations and the return of Ambassador Gerberg.
- Mark Sofer – Australia’s current Israeli Ambassaor; who was born in London.
- Andrew Tucker – distinguished lawyer and Israel legal advocate (ex C4Israel in the Hague)
- Zac Waller – Ha Yovel the organisation that encourages gentiles to help harvest crops in Israel fulfilling biblical prophecy.
- Rabbi Tuly Weisz – an American rabbi who made Aliyah a few years ago seeking to build knowledge and bridges between those who love Israel and Israel itself via his Israel365 website.
This is a free virtual event hosted on Zoom in tribute to the late Peter Kentley who, in partnership with Rabbi Riesenberg, established the inaugural Melbourne Nations Bless Israel last year.
The event may also be viewed on Facebook HERE
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.nzfoi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Limmud-NZ-2020.png?resize=822%2C513&ssl=1)
NZ Governments and Israel
4.30pm, Sunday, October 11
Hao Room, Halswell Centre, 341 Halswell Rd, Christchurch
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ashley Church is a current director of the Israel Institute of NZ and has a business partnership with ex-network newsreader and public relations consultant, Rawdon Christie. He also provides consulting and management services to Membership Organisations, Associations and Business Coops.
The Israel Institute of New Zealand is an independent think tank dedicated to providing New Zealanders with a better understanding of the State of Israel through accurate analysis, insightful commentary, and effective advocacy.
He is an NZME correspondent, for Energy, and Business issues and has appeared on My House My Castle, NZ Open Home, ASB I Want to Buy a Home and TVNZ Breakfast.
ADMISSION
Please bring a plate of finger food, no pork or seafood products. A collection will be taken to help defray travel and other event-related costs.