Happy 71st Birthday Israel!
Check out the Saudi dude, brave man!
Bless Israel on May 12
NZ Bless Israel has morphed into Nations Bless Israel with events happening all over the world.
This year the event has been scheduled for May 12.
Nations Bless Israel is a Christian organisation and is the event manager.
L’shanah Tovah from NZFOI!
Folks a new Jewish year begins on the weekend. May you be blessed with wonderful experiences over the coming year that bring you much honour and make for warm memories.
AUCKLAND, Feb 14, Free Admission: An audience with leading litigator, Prof. Alan Dershowitz
Esteemed American lawyer, academic and dynamic speaker, Professor Alan Dershowitz will present at an exclusive event in Auckland next month.
Proudly presented by MinterEllisonRuddWatts and the Raye Freedman Trust, the one-off lecture will explore the erosion of civil liberties in ‘liberal’ societies and examine how extremism is undermining law.
A scholar of United States constitutional law and criminal law, and a leading defender of civil liberties, Professor Dershowitz spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where he became the youngest full professor of law in its history. He held the Felix Frankfurter professorship there from 1993 until his retirement in December 2013. Today he is a regular CNN and Fox News contributor and political analyst.
Dershowitz was involved in several legal cases, and is a commentator on the Arab-Israeli conflict. As a criminal appellate lawyer, he won 13 of the 15 murder and attempted murder cases he handled, and has represented a series of celebrity clients, including Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, and Jim Bakker. His most notable cases include his role in overturning the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of his wife, and as the appellate adviser for the defense in the OJ Simpson murder trial in 1995.
A political liberal, Professor Dershowitz has authored a number of books about politics and law, including the best-selling The Case for Israel.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of America’s pre-eminent legal minds.
What: An audience with leading litigator Professor Alan Dershowitz
Where: Fisher & Paykel Lecture Theatre, Owen Glenn Building, University of Auckland, 12 Grafton Road, Auckland
When: 6pm – 7pm, Wednesday 14 February (registration opens at 5.45pm)
Click here to reserve your seat at this free event.
CHRISTCHURCH: Hanukkah in the Park: 14 December
Just in: Shalom and happy Hanukkah!
We would be delighted to have you and our NZFOI etc join us later today for the Menorah Lighting!
We will be staying at approximately 4:30pm and running for 1 hour plus.
We will be located in Hagley Park, near the children’s play ground area (swings and swimming pool)…
Looking forward to see you and all our friends there, and celebrating together!
Warmest regards!
R’ Mendy
NZ Friends of Israel applauds US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
Jerusalem
NZ Friends of Israel applauds the President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that the US embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is an acknowledgement of Israel’s historical and cultural ties to the city and also the modern day reality. Jerusalem has been the seat of the Israeli government since 1949. The State of Israel annexed East Jerusalem and it has been under Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration since 1967.
This decision finally fulfils the intentions of Congress which passed the Israeli Embassy Act in 1995, requiring that the embassy be moved to Jerusalem. Apart from President Trump, every president since then has avoided obeying this law by signing national security waivers.
“President Trump’s announcement firmly rebuts the recently passed UNESCO and UN General Assembly resolutions which sought to undermine Israel’s authority to govern Jerusalem,” says Tony Kan, President of the NZ Friends of Israel.
“New Zealand is out of step with reality in supporting these resolutions.”
“It is about time that Israel’s connection to the city which spans thousands of years is finally acknowledged. Arab calls that the move will derail the peace process are absurd because there is no observable peace process in play. Repeated attempts to convince the Arab Palestinians to enter negotiations have failed, while Israel has frequently confirmed its willingness to talk.”
“Whose Land?” DVD
On Sunday, NZFOI held the Christchurch premier for Hugh Kitson’s highly informative documentary “Whose Land? Part I”.
Hugh’s documentary covers the history behind the Balfour Declaration and why it continues to have authority in International Law today.
Part I covers its history until the 1948 War of Independence.
Unfortunately we quickly sold out of the DVDs, if you want one we are arranging for a special shipment.
If you’d like a copy, email us at contact@nzfoi.org with your quantity, and delivery address, they are $25 + $5 p&p. Delivery within New Zealand only.
Payment can be made via
Internet banking:
Bank: Bank of New Zealand
Account Name: NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Account Number: 02 0820 0569411 000
Code: LAND DVD
Reference: [your surname]
Or
Post us a Cheque, together with your quantity required and delivery details in the mail:
NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Box 37 363
Halswell
Christchurch
New Zealand 8245
Thanks in advance.
Peter Gaspar Holocaust Survivor Talk video now available
On September 3, Peter Gaspar a survivor of the Terezin Concentration Camp gave his moving story at the Villa Maria College Auditorium, to a full house.
Many expressed their disappointment that they were unavailable to attend the talk. Fortunately we recorded this moving event and here is the video.
In 1942, 40 of his family were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz, never to return. Peter survived the war by going into hiding. Along with his parents, Peter was hidden for three years and then during the last six months,
Peter and his mother were interned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. His father was enslaved at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and was forced to endure the 248 km Death March to Lubeck in the Winter of 1944/1945.
This was the camp where the Germans printed counterfeit British currency and conducted medical experiments. The family found refuge in Australia in 1949.
His parents were never the same again. His mother never stopped grieving for her lost family and felt deep guilt for surviving.
Peter currently volunteers with the Courage to Care program in Melbourne inspiring young people to be more accepting and tolerant. This year he will also be travelling to schools throughout New Zealand, through the HOPE Project.
Many thanks to Mikaela Hood for her volunteering Villa Maria College as a venue and to David Allan for recording the video.
