Hi Folks,

Happy New Year.

We are having another sausage sizzle at Shirley Bunnings on Marshland Road this weekend. Each sausage sizzle has been a wonderful opportunity to meet the public, raise awareness of Israel, the middle East and Jewish culture.

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

A unique New Zealand-Produced Holocaust Exhibition, will be launched on 25 January. Shadows of Shoah is an artistic educational project, communicating the gravity and significance of the Holocaust in a unique way. Using photography and original music, selected episodes from survivors’ experiences are presented in a brief, compelling format designed to reach a generation for whom the Holocaust holds little historical relevance, significance, or true understanding.

See also:  http://shadowsofshoah.com/

Go to http://25january2013.com/ to apply for free admission ticket.

To all our friends in the Auckland Region; bring along your friends and family to Silo Park this weekend to enjoy Tel Aviv DJ Ariel Tagar, AKA “Kalbata” who will be playing at Auckland’s ‘World Together’ Festival at Silo Park. At night, Ariel will be playing at ‘Cassette 9’ on Auckland’s Vulcan Lane.

To all our Wellington based friends, Ariel will be playing at Havana Bar on Wigan Street. Come and join the Embassy staff for a real slice of Tel Aviv!

Mark your diaries for the 12/12/12 to be at the Civic Square, Wellington City.

Come and celebrate with the Jewish Community and the Embassy of Israel, our wonderful Jewish festival of lights.

There will be live music, (by the Klezmer Rebs), Hora dance, food, drinks, kids’ activities and more.

This family-friendly event is free, and everyone is welcome! Please invite your friends.

In case of bad weather than a rain day is planned for the next day (13th Dec).

All proceeds goes to the Wellington Free Ambulance!

Come and celebrate Chanukkah with us.

Chanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש‎, “attendant”) and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves is forbidden.

This year we are having a Chanukkiah making workshop together with a wonderful afternoon tea with traditional Jewish food.

Be’ad Chaim (Pro Life) is a registered Israeli non-profit
organization dedicated to the protection of mothers and unborn children.  Registered in 1989, it is a national organization with offices and Hotlines throughout Israel.

The preservation of life is one of the highest priority values in traditional Israel culture, yet over 40,000 reported abortions are carried out in Israel every year.

Suzette McLachlan brings to us an interesting presentation on the work of Be’ad Chaim and the state of the pro-life v pro-choice debate in Israel today.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Suzette McLachlan is a Christchurch based educator and writer.  She has lived in Israel and joined the NZFOI governing committee in 2012.

Folks Inbal Megiddo (cello), Paul Altomari (Bass) and Donald Maurice (Biola) are giving a memorial concert in memory of Daniel Pearl, an American Jewish journalist murdered by the Taliban.

The programme will include works for cello and bass by Jewish and Israeli composers, as well as pieces by Bach and Rossini, and the Klezmer Trio for cello, viola and bass by Wellington composer Ross Harris.

A great opportunity to call friends in Wellington if you can’t make it yourself.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Cellist Inbal Megiddo brings to her performances and teaching years of experience, the influence of master teachers, and praise from influential musicians. Maestro Zubin Mehta describes her as “an extremely talented, very musical musician.” At her New York debut at the Lincoln Center her playing was hailed by the press as having “magical expression and technical expertise.” She has a “warm lustrous communicative way… the performance was sincerity personified!”

Ms Megiddo has given many concerts in Europe, Asia and America. Among these are a recital in the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Carnegie Hall in New York, her Berlin debut with the Berlin Symphony with Maestro Lior Shambadal at the Philharmonie and a recital at the Staatsoper. She has had performances and radio broadcasts with the Jerusalem Symphony under the direction of Sergiu Comissiona, live recital broadcasts in several countries including Israel, Germany, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, the USA  (Chicago – the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series – and New York’s Bob Sherman Show on WQXR) and the Mishkenot Shaananim Music Center in Jerusalem. She has performed and toured extensively with recital partner, pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar. A champion of contemporary compositions, Ms Megiddo has made a recording of Israeli composer Hanna Levy’s works, a recording of works by Douglas Lilburn for the Atoll label, and premiered works of composers including Ezra Laderman, Dave Brubeck, and Ofer Ben Amots . She has also regularly recorded and performed with the Grammy Award nominated group, The Yale Cellos. Other recent and upcoming engagements include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the Lithuanian Philharmonic Society, and concerts at the Lincoln Center in New York and at the Israel Music Festival.

Inbal Megiddo began her cello studies at the age of two, and gave her first performances a year later.  She holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Yale University, where she studied with Professor Aldo Parisot.  She also worked and performed with Erick Friedman, Jesse Levin, Ben Verdery, Peter Oundjian, Boris Berman, Peter Frankl, Claude Frank, and the Tokyo String Quartet. Among her other cello teachers were Prof. Uzi Wiesel, at the University of Tel-Aviv and Sydney Conservatorium, Prof. Shmuel Magen, at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, and she received private lessons from Mstislav Rostropovich. She later performed as part of Maestro Rostropovich’s cello ensemble to mark the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. She performed in master classes with such artists as Janos Starker, Heinrich Schiff, and Michel Strauss.  Ms Megiddo has participated in the Manchester, Banff, Rolandseck (Bonn) and West-East Divan festivals as a soloist and chamber musician where she performed in the master classes of Daniel Barenboim, Pinchas Zukerman and Yuri Bashmet.

Ms. Megiddo taught at Yale University for five years as assistant to Aldo Parisot, has given master classes at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin, University of North Texas, University of North Carolina, the La Salle School for the Arts, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Dublin International Master Classes Festival, and the Israel Cello Festival.  She has received many awards and prizes. Since the age of six, she has been a recipient of the America Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship, under the patronage of Isaac Stern.  She also won the William Waite Concerto Competition, the Max Varon Fund competition, and was selected by the Stradivari Society as a rising star.

PAUL ALTOMARI

Paul Altomari hails from Columbia, Missouri where he began studying double bass at age 12. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, studying with James Van Demark and Jeffrey Turner, and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, studying with Donald Palma. He has performed with several orchestras throughout his career including the Missouri Chamber Orchestra (assistant principal), Yale Philharmonia and Yale Players (principal), the Waterbury Symphony (assistant principal) and is currently principal of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra under Gustav Meyer. He also performs in chamber music groups throughout the tri-state area, and regularly performs in a duo with cellist and wife, Inbal Megiddo. Mr. Altomari is the recipient of many awards and scholarships, including the Eastman Arts Leadership award, and Yale’s Sterling Memorial scholarship. He currently resides in Stamford, Connecticut and works in New York City for Decca Label Group, a division of Universal Music Group.

DONALD MAURICE

Born in Nelson, Donald didn’t begin his musical studies until moving to Christchurch at age eleven. In addition to his first violin lessons, he took up the Banjo. He supported himself by playing in a dixie band from the age of fifteen. His first violin teacher was Lois MacDonald. After taking up the viola, he learned from Elizabeth Rogers.

At age nineteen, he made the decision to go to London to further his studies. Initially, a job as a truck driver in Christchurch financed his airfare, his fees at the Guildhall and a few months worth of living expenses.

In the U.K., his teachers included Nannie Jamieson at the Guildhall school of Music and Max Rostal at the Aldeburgh Festival. He later travelled to North America to study with Donald McInnes in Washington and with William Primrose in Banff.

He established a significant free-lance career in Europe, touring far and wide on his motorbike. He played with many major orchestras including the Bournemouth Symphony, the London Mozart Players, the Belfast Symphony Orchestra (as principal viola), Ballet Rambert, The Berne Baroque Orchestra, Sadlers Wells and numerous touring ballets. During this time he also taught viola at Cambridge University.

He has played with all of the major orchestras in New Zealand and has toured extensively as a chamber musician in the capacity of both a violist and a violinist. In 1995, he gave the premiere performance of the Anthony Ritchie viola concerto with the Dunedin Sinfonia.

He has a special academic interest in the music of Bela Bartok. His revision of the Viola Concerto has attracted international attention and has earned him invitations to give seminars in Switzerland, the United States and Australia. In 1997, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Otago for his dissertation on this work.

More recently, he was instrumental in bringing the International Viola Congress to Wellington. He has been invited to become a member of the presidency of the International Viola Society. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Conservatorium of Music at Massey University in Wellington and enjoys a busy teaching schedule.

We are running another sausage sizzle as part of our project to further Holocaust Education.

We generally work in two shifts, Morning and Afternoon.  If you could help out for a shift please let us know:  contact@nzfoi.org or Ph 027 433 9745.

The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

The war began when the coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which happened to occur that year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Israeli-held Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights respectively, which had been captured and occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War. Both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war, and this led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers.

Barry Thompson will be giving a talk about the events that led to the war and how it shaped the Middle East.  Its influence is still felt to this day.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Barry is vice-President of NZFOI, former President of NZFOI and has been a member for over 20 years.  He has been an active correspondent when Israel has been unfairly criticised in the Press.

Language revival expert: Professor Ghil’ad Zuckermann from the University of Adelaide will speak at Waikato University on Monday 10 September.

A world-renowned expert on language revival says the loss of language is more damaging than the loss of land for indigenous peoples, and governments are likely to come under increasing pressure to compensate indigenous peoples for this loss too.

Professor Ghil’ad Zuckermann is Chair of Linguistics and Endangered Languages at the University of Adelaide, and an authority on the Hebrew revival movement, which turned an historical sacred language into the national language of Israel with millions of native speakers, including Professor Zuckermann himself.
Lecture on language retivalisation

He’ll be giving a free public lecture at the University of Waikato on Monday 10 September, where he’ll discuss the importance of revitalising languages and the establishment of a new universal discipline – revival linguistics.

“There’s a huge underestimation of the role of language,” he says. “Language reclamation is becoming increasingly relevant as people seek to recover their cultural autonomy, empower their spiritual and intellectual sovereignty and improve their well-being.”

Oceania, he says, ought to be the world leader in the field of revival linguistics.
Language loss

Professor Zuckermann is currently working with the Barngarla Aboriginal people of South Australia to restore what he calls “native tongue title” after the tribe suffered linguicide (language killing) and the forcible removal of children.

“Language is the mouth of the land in Aboriginal culture, so it seems appropriate to give it rights too. It’s very much a Western idea to give money for the loss of land but not language, and I predict that in the future there will be compensation for language loss as intangible intellectual property.”
Te Reo Māori

He says Māori communities are among the very few to have already understood the importance of this, with the submission of claims to the Waitangi Tribunal relating to language loss.

“Māori is a fascinating and multifaceted example,” he says. “There was a period of linguicide, when Māori were forbidden to speak their own language in schools, but there were and still are native speakers.

“Hebrew did not have that – there were no native speakers of Hebrew from the middle of the second century AD through to the late nineteenth century. The Hebrew revival in fact created a hybrid language reflecting not only Hebrew but also the Yiddish mother tongue of the revivalists as well as other vernaculars.”

But Professor Zuckermann warns against complacency.

“It’s very easy to check if a language is safe, you just need to look at the percentage of native-speaking children. And on that basis Māori is still unfortunately an endangered language.”
Free public lecture

Professor Zuckermann will deliver his lecture “Sleeping Beauties Awake – Towards the Establishment of Revival Linguistics” at 12-1pm on Monday 10 September at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts at the University of Waikato.

The lecture is sponsored by Te Pua Wananga ki te Ao (School of Māori and Pacific Development) and Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato.