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Dennis McLeod once led Hamilton-based Christian Friends of Israel and has been a staunch supporter of Israel and a strident enemy of anti-Semitism in the church. We’re pleased to have him as our guest speaker at our November meeting to talk about the church’s responsibility towards Israel and the Jewish people.  He recently published his memoir “Small Beginnings” which is available online on amazon.com.

“That weekend, we went to visit the very dear friends in the coastal town… They had visited Israel and 1991 and had attended a meeting in Hamilton on Israel before they had left. As I too was interested in Israel, I’d gone to the meeting with them and encountered my very first anti-Semitism teaching within the church. The speaker, who was from a church based in Israel, went to great lengths to tell the audience why Israel should not be there and even tried to use ancient building methods to prove his point. The Bible was not mentioned. One cannot discuss Israel without the Bible, and you cannot discuss the Bible without discussing Israel.”

– McLeod, D (2015). Small Beginnings. Balboa Press.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

DENNIS R. MCLEOD grew up on a farm in the central north Island of New Zealand and joined the Regular Force Cadets at the age of just fifteen and by the time he graduated into the Regular Force had become the head cadet. Before leaving the army at age twenty-seven he became a qualified mechanic and instructor.

McLeod was a top teacher at a local trade school, where he taught for over thirty-five years. McLeod also served as president of a local school committee and president of the Hamilton Harriers club he belonged to. He has served as a church synod representative. He and his wife, Penny, have served as missionaries in several countries, including Israel, Philippines, Benin, Malawi and America.

Along with Penny, they pastored a church in their hometown of Hamilton New Zealand. He has four grown children and nine grandchildren.

“Great things can come from small beginnings,” McLeod says. “They happened to me, and they can happen to you, too.” At some point in their lives, many people feel they have been rejected and forgotten. They may see friends and family go on to lead fulfilling lives and believe such a life will never come to them. Their lives are filled with a sense of rejection, whether real or imagined. Author Dennis R. McLeod understands that feeling and shares it in Small Beginnings. Because of the verbal abuse he suffered as a child and being told he would never amount to anything, plus a marriage and divorce at the age of thirty-three, he suffered very badly from rejection. This is the story of the journey that started at the age of fifteen when God started training him for the future and the work God had for him to do.

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.

Son of Saul (2015)

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival upon trying to salvage from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son. 107 minutes.

Cannes Film Festival 2015

Ghent International Film Festival 2015

Hamburg Film Festival 2015

Hawaii International Film Festival 2015

London Film Festival 2015

Sarajevo Film Festival 2015

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

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.

We are having another sausage sizzle at Shirley Bunnings on Marshland Road.

Each sausage sizzle has been a wonderful opportunity to meet the public, raise awareness of Israel, the Middle East and Jewish culture.

The funds will go toward furthering Holocaust Education and fighting prejudice.

Either way, if you have a moment, drop in and make yourself known.  We always appreciate a friendly face.

If you can help out for a morning or afternoon, then feel free to email us on contact@nzfoi.org or call (027) 433 9745

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

DocAviv Film Festival 2015

London Film Festival 2015

Sundance Film Festival 2015

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.

Felix and Meira (2015)

Making the most of the family home while her parents are away, Nicole, 22 years old, is enjoying a peaceful summer with her best friend Véronique. When Nicole’s older brother shows up with his band to record an album, the girls’ friendship is put to the test. Their vacation takes an unexpected turn, punctuated by a heatwave, Nicole’s growing insomnia and the persistent courtship of a 10-year-old boy.

105 minutes.

Chicago International Film Festival 2014

Haifa International Film Festival 2014

RiverRun International Film Festival 2015

San Sebastián International Film Festival 2014

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2014

Toronto International Film Festival 2014

Warsaw International Film Festival 2014

Whistler Film Festival 2014

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.

To Life! (2015)

Fate has taken its toll on the aging cabaret singer Ruth and the young but terminally ill Jonas. Yet despite their great age difference and their entirely opposite experiences in life, they form an intense bond and give each other a reason and purpose to live.

90 minutes.