On Saturday evening, April 8, Christians from 33 communities all over New Zealand gathered to endorse the Bible’s promises regarding Israel and to declare their support for Israel and the Jewish nation through prayer and worship.

The main event was held at Victory Convention Centre in Auckland and was attended by over 800.  The other 32 centres were linked by live video feed.

Hosted by Rachel Afeaki, the event was attended by a number of dignitaries, including Natanel Nikolas, Alfred Ngaro (MP, Nat), Willie Jackson (MP, Lab), Princess Mele Siu‘ilikutapu of Tonga, Tatau Rameka, Winkie Pratney and other local Rabbis, Ministers and Pastors.

Earlier that day, over 60 groups from all over New Zealand gathered in their respective communities to sound the Shofar and to pray for Israel.

The moving story of Holocaust Survivor, Leo Pomeranz, an excerpt from the Shadows of Shoah exhibition was presented.

The convener of the event, Jane Troughton, said that people had called from all over the country, saying that they felt a part of it no matter where they were.

Others said they felt a connection to the Jewish people that made them quite tearful.

Still others said it helped them to understand the deep roots that the Jewish people had with the land of Israel.

“The event took many steps toward an understanding of Israel’s position in the hearts and minds of Christians,” said Troughton.

“It is about taking responsibility in the spirit for NZ-Israeli relations.”

“Through this event, many people who had had no previous connection with Israel support groups became aware of organisations such as NZ Friends of Israel and ICEJ.”

Princess Mele Siu‘ilikutapu of Tonga prayed “The Lord calls us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may we honour him as we do so.  Thank you Lord that all Israel will be saved in the name of Jesus Christ so Romans 11:26 says.

Thank you Lord that Israel will hope in the Lord, for with you is loving kindness, and with you Lord, there is abundant redemption.  And you will redeem Israel from all inequities, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord that you will give Israel rest from war, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord that you will give Israel help against their adversaries for deliverance by man is in vain.

Through God Israel will do valiantly and it is you who will tread down their adversaries, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord for the people who you formed for yourself, will declare your praise in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord that Israel, the ransomed of the Lord, will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion with everlasting joy upon their heads, they will find gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing will flee away in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord that you will not hide your face from Israel any longer, for you shall pour out your spirit on the house of Israel, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Saviour, Amen.”

Dr David Cumin, a member of the Jewish Council, texted “Thank you for the massive effort.  Very moving.”

NZ Bless Israel Event – Livestreamed 8 April 2017 from Promise Keepers on Vimeo.

Douglas Myers was born in Auckland in 1938, the son of Kenneth and Margaret Myers. Kenneth’s family had lived for generations in the area around Poznan, now in West Poland, but then in Prussia. His great grandfather came to New Zealand in the 1860s by way of the Australian gold-fields and joined a small Jewish community in their new country.

Kenneth’s grandmother was from the Ehrenfried family, a Jewish family of Hamburg, Germany. By contrast, Margaret Myers (nee Pirie) was born in Canada although she was raised in Costa Rica. Kenneth and Margaret lived in the eastern outer-reaches of Auckland, overlooking the Tamaki estuary.

After schooling at Auckland’s King’s College, Douglas followed in his father’s footsteps and went to Caius College at Cambridge University. He stayed abroad for four years after graduating and was reluctantly drawn home in late 1965 to work with his father in the family hospitality business, Campbell & Ehrenfried.

Following several years of restlessness Douglas Myers developed an ambition to succeed in business not seen in the family since great uncle Louis Ehrenfried’s pioneering days.

Read more: Paul Goldsmith on Sir Douglas Myers – Business – NZ Herald News

Long-time chief executive of Lion Breweries, business advocate and philanthropist Sir Douglas Myers has died.He had battled cancer and died in a London hospital yesterday aged 78.He was one of New Zealand’s richest men and was long-time chief executive of Lion Breweries and Lion Nathan. He also played a key role in shaping economic debate in the 1980s in his role as vice-chairman of the Business Roundtable.He is survived by wife Barbara and children Jessica, Laura and Campbell.

Read more: Business leader Sir Douglas Myers dies – Business – NZ Herald News

Megaphone diplomacy and lecturing others is not the New Zealand way to conduct foreign relations, says outgoing Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

New Zealand’s default position is to be respectful, he said tonight on an independent foreign policy in a farewell speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs in Wellington.

“In pursing principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, we try to be constructive and ask ourselves whether others who might be the focus of critical scrutiny need a lecture, or need some help.

“The New Zealand way should always be to offer help.”

NZFOI:  Yet NZ in co-sponsoring UN Resolution 2334 would suggest the opposite.  In not crowing about it, is he acknowledging that it was in fact, a diplomatic gaffe?  NZ has had a longstanding policy of being even-handed when approaching the Arab-Israeli conflict.  R2334 was a significant departure from that longstanding policy.

Source: Megaphone diplomacy not the New Zealand way says outgoing Foreign Minister Murray McCully – National – NZ Herald News

Britain on Friday placed the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) “on notice”, announcing that it would vote against all future UNHRC resolutions criticizing Israel until the body ends its “disproportion and bias” against the Jewish state.“Israel is a population of eight million in a world of seven billion,” said a statement from the British government, quoted by The Jewish Chronicle.“

Yet since its foundation, the Human Rights Council has adopted 135 country-specific resolutions; 68 of which against Israel. Justice is blind and impartial. This selective focus on Israel is neither,” added the statement, which pointed out that that “Israel is the only country permanently on the Human Rights Council’s agenda.”

Read more: Britain puts UNHRC ‘on notice’ over Israel – Israel National News

The professor daughter of a famed Jewish leader of the Civil Rights Movement told The Algemeiner on Friday that the current anti-Israel climate on college campuses is reminiscent of the fight for racial equality in the US.

Susannah Heschel, who teaches Jewish studies at Dartmouth College and is the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel — who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, AL — said, “The Civil Rights Movement was in large measure about coming to know people. America had to come to know Martin Luther King, and when it did, the country respected him and was inspired by him. Today, people need to come to know Judaism, Israel and Jewish history in a positive way.”

“I always think that every single human being on the planet has some connection to Israel. Be it the technology in their phone or computer, or a generic drug that they take — everyone is touched by Israel in some way. They just aren’t necessarily aware of it,” Heschel said. “We have to teach them that Israel is extraordinary. That it has and is contributing incredible things to humanity, that the country is about so much more that a conflict with the Palestinians.”

Read more: Daughter of Famed Civil Rights Leader Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: Anti-Israel Climate On Campus Reminiscent of Fight for Racial Equality | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com

A New Zealand secondary school history teacher has had a “life-changing” experience on a recent trip to Israel.The experience has revolutionised how the Holocaust is currently taught in New Zealand secondary schools.

Dr Jill Hartland currently teaches history studies at Timaru Boys High school. Her trip to Israel was from January 14 to February 2, 2017 and sponsored by the The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre Yad Vashem and Wellington-based Holocaust Museum of New Zealand. The trip offered teachers the opportunity to consider different perspectives on how to educate students about genocide.

Read more: New Zealand history teacher visits Israel to immerse in Holocaust perspectives » J-Wire

A senior U.N. official resigned on Friday over the withdrawal of a report accusing Israel of imposing an “apartheid regime” on Palestinians, saying “powerful member states” pressured the world body and its chief with “vicious attacks and threats.”

United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Rima Khalaf, announced her resignation at a news conference in Beirut after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked for the report to be taken off the ESCWA website.

ESCWA, which comprises 18 Arab states, published the report on Wednesday and said it was the first time a U.N. body had clearly charged that Israel “has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole.”

Israel fiercely rejects the allegation and likened the report to Der Sturmer – a Nazi propaganda publication that was strongly anti-Semitic. The United States, an ally of Israel, had said it was outraged and demanded the report be withdrawn.

Read more: Senior U.N. official quits after ‘apartheid’ Israel report pulled | Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked the U.N. regional commission that represents most Arab countries to remove from its website a report accusing Israel of practicing an “apartheid regime” against Palestinians, a U.N. official said on Friday.

The report for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, which comprises 18 Arab states, concluded that “Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole”.

The accusation – often directed against Israel by its critics – has never before been made by a United Nations body. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday the report was published without prior consultation with the U.N. secretariat.

Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman likened the report to a Nazi propaganda publication that was strongly anti-Semitic and described it as “despicable and a blatant lie”.

Read more: U.N. chief wants report on ‘apartheid’ Israel taken off web | Reuters

The artist behind a sign that appeared to warn people to “Beware of Jews” has said he was “sorry for any offence caused”. Featuring a black silhouette of an Orthodox Jewish man inside a red-triangle warning, the sign was attached to lamppost in the north London district of Stamford Hill – known for its large Hassidic Jewish population.

Reported as a hate crime by a Jewish neighbourhood watch group, Scotland Yard said they were investigating the incident as a “religiously aggravated hate crime.”

Shadow Home Secretary and MP for Hackney North Diane Abbott called it was “disgusting” and “unacceptable”.

But Franck Allais, the man behind the sign, has come forward to claim the sign was part of an art project about “identity” and was not intended to be anti-Semitic.

Read more: Man behind ‘Beware of Jews’ sign in North London says it was just part of art project on ‘identity’ | The Independent