Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
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.
We are forming a group to go view this documentary on Sunday June 16. If you’d like to join up, call our Wellington Regional Coordinator, Joanna Moss on (022) 154 7865.
“…by the end, Keane and McConnell are tugging so hard at heartstrings that most viewers will be unable to resist, even the ones who can see the puppeteers in constant motion.” – Hollywood Reporter
It’s hard to imagine anybody living a normal life in the Gaza Strip. Frequently labelled as the world’s largest open-air prison, it makes an appearance on news reports every time a confrontation erupts between Israel and Hamas. On TV sets thousands of miles away, this tiny piece of land has been reduced to an image of violence, chaos and destruction.
The Gaza which is seldom seen is ordinary, everyday Gaza, a coastal strip smaller than Lake Taupō and home to an eclectic mix of almost two million.
So what do the people who live there do when they’re not under siege?
Gary Keane and Andrew McConnell’s atypical approach to their subject matter yields unexpected, unfamiliar stories of people plagued by conflict but not defined by it.
“We don’t wanna be killed or injured. We simply want to live.”
– Paramedic in Gaza
Gaza cannot be understood in a purely political context or by analysing tragic sound bites during conflict. It can only be understood by immersion, by living amongst its people and by recognizing and exploring its rich social diversity and cultural subtleties.
As the filmmakers travel through the physically broken and battered landscape, they allow their subjects to speak for themselves.
Through them, we gain a nuanced understanding of what life is really like for Gaza’s citizens. In Keane and McConnell’s tender portrait of beleaguered humanity, we experience familiarity and affinity with this unique community.
100% on Rotten Tomatoes
A kite with an incendiary device is readied for its launch
Folks
The NZ Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) has invited us to their event:
Title: Who lives behind the Gaza blockade, and what can Aotearoa NZ (and we) do?
Speaker: Marilyn Garson
Date: Tuesday, Feb 25
Time: 5.30p-6.30p
Venue: South Arts Lecture Theatre A6, University of Canterbury Campus
Abstract: Marilyn Garson worked for 18 years with excluded communities affected by war. She has established locally owned social enterprises with Cambodians with disabilities, Afghan women and others.
In 2011, she was invited to move to the Gaza Strip. As the economic director of a large NGO programme, she led an ambitious Gazan team. In 2013, she became a consultant to the office of UNRWA’s then-Gaza director. They set about launching the GGateway enterprise to create technology-related jobs behind the Gaza blockade. Marilyn volunteered to stay in Gaza as part of the UN emergency response team that prepared to shelter 35,000 displaced Gazans – but 293,000 people needed shelter through 50 days of bombardment.
Marilyn recently published Still Lives – a memoir of Gaza, chronicling four years of work (2011 – 2015), and the lives being lived behind the Gaza blockade.
As a Jew, Marilyn has skin on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. She discusses the conflict, and NZ’s aid policy, in the unifying language of law and human rights.
She asks, who really lives behind the Gaza blockade, and what can we do about it?
Shalom
NZ Friends of Israel Assoc Inc
Box 37 363
Halswell
Christchurch
New Zealand 8245
+64 (27) 433 9745
contact@nzfoi.org
www.nzfoi.org
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
Iron Dome SAM missiles on the left, rise up to intercept Hamas’ rockets on the right.
CHRISTCHURCH: IN THE WAKE OF THE LATEST GAZA-ISRAEL CONFLICT, WHAT’S NEXT?
20 June 2021, 2.30pm
Halswell Community Centre, 328 Halswell Rd, Christchurch.
GPS coordinates: -43.581902, 172.568741
- Why did the police storm the Temple Mount?
- What is Sheikh Jerrah?
- How was the conflict conducted by both sides?
- What was the reaction in NZ to the conflict?
- Why was there no public rally in support of Israel in Christchurch?
Please bring a plate of finger food. No seafood or pork based products, thanks.
