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.
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.
If you’ve not heard of Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, you’ll wonder how that could have been once you’ve seen what he does in this film. For dance aficionados, this is surely the most anticipated artist portrait since Wim Wenders’ Pina.
“A spectacular and celebratory investigation of a modern dancer’s creative process, this documentary tracks the four decades-long career of renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company. Thoughtfully and painstakingly researched, the film is packed with visually arresting archival footage from every stage of Naharin’s professional (and personal) life…
Choreographed pieces move in kinetic bursts from the rehearsal studio to the stage and, in interviews, dancers who’ve worked with him and colleagues from different periods offer insights in terms both admiring and blunt. Naharin is similarly expressive – about… the joys of physical expression, his struggles to convey his vision to those tasked with embodying it and the dance-world backdrop against which he developed his singular choreographic style and movement language, known as Gaga.
Heymann, a veteran documentarian whose filmography includes an earlier work about Naharin, skillfully constructs a portrait from these elements, methodically adding layers and sometimes revisiting previously seen footage, arming the viewer with new revelations and a more complicated understanding.” — Lynn Rapoport, San Francisco International Film Festival
Investigative journalism meets conspiracy thriller as Alex Gibney (Going Clear, NZIFF15) goes on the trail of Stuxnet, the extraordinary computer virus that metastasised around the world before it arrived at its target, Iranian nuclear facilities, and performing its mission: exploding uranium-enrichment centrifuges.
Undeterred by muzzled officials, the indomitable Gibney shows how Stuxnet – or ‘Olympic Games’, as its architects called it – was cooked up covertly by the US and Israel, creating a new level of virus complexity and a new class of weapon. One of Gibney’s sources, dramatised as a composite individual and played by a digitally reconstituted actor (one of many striking visual effects), says the worm may never have come to public attention had it not been for a unilateral Israeli move to recalibrate Stuxnet’s code and accelerate its impact. A wider operation had to be abandoned, and Tehran retaliated in kind, attacking US institutions with malware and parading its own burgeoning ‘cyber army’.
Gibney manages not only to illuminate in plain terms how Stuxnet worked, but to also issue a powerful warning about the Pandora’s box it opens. Echoing ideas explored in his WikiLeaks documentary We Steal Secrets, Gibney argues that in the face of an emerging cyber-conflict threat, which is analogous to that of nuclear weapons many decades ago, international norms and rules of engagement must be developed outside the shadows of secrecy and denial. — Toby Manhire
“Zero Days is reminiscent of that scene in Skyfall when Q tells 007 that he can do more damage with his laptop before his morning cup of Earl Grey than Bond can do in a year.” — Nicholas Barber, BBC
The German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt left her indelible imprint on 20th-century thought by coining the concept of the ‘banality of evil’ when reporting on the 1963 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann. This spirited documentary illuminates that often abused idea and draws a larger picture of Arendt’s often conflicted engagement with the defining phenomena of her era – and maybe ours too.
Richly illustrated with historical footage, Vita Activa offers an intimate portrait of Arendt’s life and work – both deeply informed by the aftermath of World War I, the rise of Nazi Germany and its systematic elimination of European Jews.
“Directed by Israeli documentarian Ada Ushpiz, who has degrees in philosophy and history as well as filmmaking experience, Vita Activa closely examines Arendt’s ‘active life’ with the goal of putting us inside her formative experiences, the better to reveal who she was and where her attitudes came from. There are interviews with old friends and academic experts and extensive use of filmed interviews Arendt herself gave, as well as the effective reading of excerpts from her essays and letters by actress Alison Darcy. Though the talk is smart and constant here, Vita Activa also benefits from the director’s sharp eye for effective, often rarely seen newsreel and home-movie footage.” — Kenneth Turan, LA Times
“There are moments in Vita Activa, an urgent and often startling documentary from Israeli director Ada Ushpiz, where I could feel her trying to reach across the decades and talk to us.” — Andrew O’Hehir, Salon
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.
CANCELLED: Folks, unfortunately recently implemented visa requirements have meant that Stan does not have the necessary visas required to enter Australia. This has meant that the NZ leg of his speaking tour has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
The Coming of the Kingdom of Heaven: How God used the ANZAC nations to help prepare the way for the King.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stan has lived in Israel for half of his life even though he was born to a Gentile couple serving on the mission field in the small kingdom of Swaziland. Following three years volunteering on Israeli collective farms in the 1980s, he worked as a political reporter for the South African newspaper, The Daily Dispatch – where his pen had its training during apartheid’s waning years. He has traveled to various nations, speaking to Christians about developments in Israel. In 2011 he was accredited by the Israel Ministry of Tourism as a tour guide, and takes individuals, small groups, families, busloads and helicopter-loads of Christians around God’s Land. Stan has lived in Israel for half of his life even though he was born to a Gentile couple serving on the mission field in the small kingdom of Swaziland. Following three years volunteering on Israeli collective farms in the 1980s, he worked as a political reporter for the South African newspaper, The Daily Dispatch – where his pen had its training during apartheid’s waning years. He has traveled to various nations, speaking to Christians about developments in Israel. In 2011 he was accredited by the Israel Ministry of Tourism as a tour guide, and takes individuals, small groups, families, busloads and helicopter-loads of Christians around God’s Land.
Operation Entebbe after 40 Years: A personal recollection
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
In 1976, when an Air France place was hijacked and rerouted to Entebbe, Rami was the Operations Officer of the unit, under the command of Yoni Netanyahu.
In his capacity as Operations Officer, he was in involved throughout the week, preparing the unit for the Operation.
Among other things, he coordinated with Dan Shomron, the Commander of the Operation, and the Israeli Air Force.
Within the Operation, Rami was part of the 33 officers and soldiers who freed the hostages at the Entebbe terminal. He arrived with the first Hercules that landed in the airport, and was in the car that was driving behind the famous Mercedes.
After Yoni Netanyahu was injured, he drove him to the Hercules, where a team of medical professionals were waiting, but unfortunately they could not save Yoni’s life.
Later, Rami was the commander who led the rescued hostages to the Hercules.
Upon returning to Israel, Rami continued to serve in the unit, and was a Special Operations Commander until 1980.
After he was released from active duty, he helped establish the reserves unit.
Rami Sherman was born on 4 April 1953. His parents were Holocaust survivors and came to Israel in 1945.
Rami grew up on Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, which is in the north of the country and was on the Syrian border until the Six Day War in 1967. He was educated in the Kibbutz system.
In 1972, Rami enlisted in the army and was accepted into an elite special forces unit, which today is allowed to be named – Sayeret Matkal (the Chief of Staff’s Special Forces). He successfully completed the combat soldier course and was sent to Officers’ School in order to return and receive command of a squad within the unit.
At age 50, he was released from doing reserve service.
Rami is married, has two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.
In 1990, Rami finished his studies in physiotherapy at the University of Tel Aviv, and since that time he has worked as a physiotherapist in various positions, including, among other things, as a physiotherapist for the Israeli Olympic team.
In 1993, Rami and his family moved to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where they still live today.
Operation Entebbe after 40 Years: A personal recollection
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
In 1976, when an Air France place was hijacked and rerouted to Entebbe, Rami was the Operations Officer of the unit, under the command of Yoni Netanyahu.
In his capacity as Operations Officer, he was in involved throughout the week, preparing the unit for the Operation.
Among other things, he coordinated with Dan Shomron, the Commander of the Operation, and the Israeli Air Force.
Within the Operation, Rami was part of the 33 officers and soldiers who freed the hostages at the Entebbe terminal. He arrived with the first Hercules that landed in the airport, and was in the car that was driving behind the famous Mercedes.
After Yoni Netanyahu was injured, he drove him to the Hercules, where a team of medical professionals were waiting, but unfortunately they could not save Yoni’s life.
Later, Rami was the commander who led the rescued hostages to the Hercules.
Upon returning to Israel, Rami continued to serve in the unit, and was a Special Operations Commander until 1980.
After he was released from active duty, he helped establish the reserves unit.
Rami Sherman was born on 4 April 1953. His parents were Holocaust survivors and came to Israel in 1945.
Rami grew up on Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, which is in the north of the country and was on the Syrian border until the Six Day War in 1967. He was educated in the Kibbutz system.
In 1972, Rami enlisted in the army and was accepted into an elite special forces unit, which today is allowed to be named – Sayeret Matkal (the Chief of Staff’s Special Forces). He successfully completed the combat soldier course and was sent to Officers’ School in order to return and receive command of a squad within the unit.
At age 50, he was released from doing reserve service.
Rami is married, has two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.
In 1990, Rami finished his studies in physiotherapy at the University of Tel Aviv, and since that time he has worked as a physiotherapist in various positions, including, among other things, as a physiotherapist for the Israeli Olympic team.
In 1993, Rami and his family moved to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where they still live today.