Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
TWO MILLENNIA ago the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate derisively declared, “Ecce Homo” – “Behold the Man!” Today Christians around the world are being quickened to look afresh at the Jewish Sage, Jesus of Nazareth. With the restoration of Israel, the remarkable advances in archaeological discoveries and biblical studies, and the unprecedented cooperation of Jewish and Christian scholars investigating the Hebraic background to the life and teachings of Jesus – all this gives fresh and impressive glimpses into his life.
“Behold the Man!” is a 12-part bible study that reconstructs the historical and cultural context in which Jesus lived. This study is ideal for those just starting out in understanding the Hebraic roots of Christianity.
The study is written by Dr Dwight Pryor, founded the Centre for Judaic-Christian Studies in 1984 and served as its president until his death in 2011. He was a founding board member of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research in Israel. Dr Pryor held a Bachelor of Arts degree, with Special Distinction, in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma, extensive postgraduate studies in Philosophy and Judaism from the University of Texas, and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Centre for the Study of Biblical Research.
The study will be held every Wednesday, beginning on 21 May at 7.30pm at 5 Oaktree Lane, Bishopdale, Christchurch. The subsidised workbook will cost $10 per copy. Call 359 7937 or (027) 433 9745 for more details.
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.
The Prime Ministers (2015)
The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers, examines Ambassador Avner’s experiences with Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres as well as his service as Israel’s Ambassador to England. The early efforts at negotiating agreements with Egypt, the raid on Entebbe, Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem, the Camp David Accords, the bombing of Iraq’s nuclear facility, the war in Lebanon, the Oslo Accords and the ongoing struggle to make peace with Israel’s Arab neighbors and the Palestinians are some of the topics covered as The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers builds to its dramatic and emotional conclusion.
Weaving a rich tapestry of history and personal testimonies, The Prime Ministers brings some of the most important events of the 20th and 21st centuries to life. Starring the voices of Sandra Bullock as Golda Meir, Michael Douglas as Yitzhak Rabin, Leonard Nimoy as Levi Eshkol and Christoph Waltz as Menachem Begin, The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers is written, produced and directed by Academy Award winner Richard Trank and co-written and produced by two-time Academy Award winner Rabbi Marvin Hier. Grammy and Emmy winner Lee Holdridge composed and conducted the films’ original score. 115 minutes.
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.
The Kind Words (2015)
Follows three brothers who are going to discover the greatest secret of their late mother. This trip is going to change their lives.
118 minutes.
Israeli film Academy: Nominated for: this film, Best Dir, Best screenplay, Best actor, Best actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Editing, Best Casting, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Sound.
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.
Atomic Falafel (2015)
Two girls from nuclear towns in Israel and Iran spill their countries most valuable secrets on Facebook while trying to prevent a nuclear crisis. 100 minutes.
Awards of the Israeli Film Academy 2015
Nominated Award of the Israeli Film Academy |
Best Supporting Actress Mali Levi |
Best Casting Limor Shmila Levana Hakim Maayan Habani |
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Best Costume Design Chen Gilad |
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Best Music Ran Shem-Tov |
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.
A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015)
A drama based on the memoir of Amos Oz, a writer, journalist, and advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
95 minutes.
Nominated Golden Camera |
Natalie Portman |
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.
Censored Voices (2015)
The 1967 ‘Six-Day’ war ended with Israel’s decisive victory; conquering Jerusalem, Gaza, Sinai and the West Bank. It is a war portrayed, to this day, as a righteous undertaking – a radiant emblem of Jewish pride. One week after the war, a group of young kibbutzniks, led by renowned author Amos Oz, recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The recording revealed an honest look at the moment Israel turned from David to Goliath. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing the kibbutzniks to publish only a fragment of the conversations. ‘Censored Voices’ reveals the original recordings for the first time.
84 minutes.
Awards of the Israeli Film Academy 2015
Won Award of the Israeli Film Academy |
Best Documentary |
DocAviv Film Festival 2015
Won Israeli Competition |
Yafo Award for Best Debut Film Mor Loushy “It’s rare to see a film from a young filmmaker that treats a complex subject with such depth, … More |
Research Award Mor Loushy “Bringing together a wealth of previously unseen and unheard archive materials and combining them … More |
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Nominated Israeli Competition |
Best Israeli Film Mor Loushy |
London Film Festival 2015
Nominated Grierson Award |
Documentary Film Mor Loushy |
Sundance Film Festival 2015
Nominated Grand Jury Prize |
World Cinema – Documentary Mor Loushy |
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.
Steve Lightle of Ebenezer Emergency Fund is the bestselling author of Exodus II and Operation Exodus II.
Steve, a former businessman from Seattle, has lived in Israel and, as a keynote speaker, now travels the world extensively. Being an onsite intercessor, he has witnessed the breakup of Communism in the former Soviet Union, the rebuilding of Israel, and current turmoil in many nations. For 25 years since its start, Steve has been actively involved with Operation Exodus assisting Jewish migrants return to Israel.
Steve has a message for both Christians and the Jewish people today. He will be sharing insights into the deep current issues in the Middle East, the re-gathering of the exiles of Israel, the spiritual battle entailed, and the importance of intercessory prayer. Also, amazing testimonies of the Lord’s valiant intervention on behalf of His Jewish people.
It’s that time of the year again folks.
Please submit nominations for Committee members and President one week beforehand, being 5pm Sunday 14 August.
After the formalities are over, we will be showing the movie “The Concert.”
“The Concert” is a 2009 French comedy-drama film by Radu Mihăileanu, starring Aleksei Guskov, Mélanie Laurent and Miou-Miou.
It is about the redemption of a former world-famous conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra, known as “The Maestro,” Andrey Simonovich Filipov, who had had his career publicly broken by Leonid Brezhnev for defending Jewish musicians and is reduced to working as a mere janitor in the theatre where he once conducted, becoming an alcoholic in the process.
It won the Best Original Score and Best Sound awards at César Awards 2010. It was also nominated for two Magritte Awards in the category of Best Film in Coproduction and Best Editing for Ludo Troch in 2011, and Best Foreign Film at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.
Please bring a plate of finger food. We’d be grateful if you avoided pork or seafood products.
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.