NZ Friends of Israel will be taking part in the Holy Trinity Avonside Church community day.

10am-1pm Saturday 14^th April 2012, 168 Stanmore Rd.  We would love to see you there if you’re free.

David Rutherford, the Chief Human Rights Commission will be opening the new Holocaust Centre of New Zealand.

We are operating a stand at the Shirley Bunnings Community Fun Day, which only runs from 10am to 1pm on Saturday 17 March.  There are going to be all sorts of interesting cultural activities.

It’s a great time to find out more about the Association and what it does while meeting other members.

Thanks to Rock Ha Shalom, there will be an Israeli folk dancing demonstration where members of the public may join in. Come along and join in the fun.

If you’d like to help out, call Tony 027 433 9745.

We are running another sausage sizzle as part of our project to further Holocaust Education.  This months’ funds will go toward our NCEA professional development course for teachers.

We generally work in two shifts, Morning and Afternoon.  Its a great way to get to know other members and to interact with the public about our work.  If you could help out for a shift please let us know:  contact@nzfoi.org or Ph 027 433 9745.

The Ambassador of Israel will be joining with the people of Christchurch and New Zealand at a memorial service in North Hagley Park, Christchurch to commemorate those who were killed in the February 22, 2012 earthquakes.  On that day, 3 young Israeli tourists were tragically killed by falling debris.

However that shared tragedy has brought the two countries closer together.

Israel was quick to offer aid and expertise to assist in the rescue and recovery effort.

We have the pleasure of bringing Mary Hurst to speak to you in March.  We often hear about how the Palestinians suffer at the hands of Israel.  For many years, Mary worked as a volunteer medical professional for an eye hospital in Israel.

During her tenure, many Palestinians were treated for various eye diseases and injuries.  She saw firsthand, Jewish attitudes toward Palestinian welfare and well-being.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:  Mary is a qualified [nurse] and after returning from Israel has settled in Rakaia.

We are running another sausage sizzle as part of our project to further Holocaust Education.  This months’ funds will go toward Moriah College in Wellington as they build on their Buttons project.

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.

We have the pleasure of bringing Dr Rony Berger to speak to you in February. He will be speaking about the impact and treatment of traumatic stress disorders on children and communities.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Rony Berger is a senior clinical psychologist and a family and child therapist who is an internationally recognized expert in dealing with the psychological preparation for and aftermath of terrorism and other major disasters. Dr. Berger is on the faculty of Emergency Medicine at Ben Gurion University as well as on the faculty of the Stress, Crisis and Trauma program at Tel Aviv University. He is the Director of Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Unit at Brit Olam, an International Relief organization, and also a Fellow in Psychology Beyond Borders, a humanitarian organization aims at alleviating the psychological suffering in the aftermath of traumatic events.

Dr. Berger has been on the advisory board of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University where is help design compassion cultivation programs as well collaborate with Prof. Philip Zimbardo (The Stanford Jail Experiment) on developing manuals to enhance community resiliency, promote pro-social behavior and tolerance toward the other.

From 1999-2010 he was the director of the community services at Natal Trauma Center where he designed community programs to deal with the impact of war and terrorism and trained thousands of professionals in treating trauma survivors.

During the period of 1997-2000, Dr. Berger was a Visiting Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Medicine at Al Quds University where he taught medical and graduate students and co-directed the Palestinian Center for Traumatic Stress Studies. Additionally, he served as a senior researcher at the Harry Truman Center for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In training professionals and in leading emergency relief and medical teams, Dr. Berger has been involved in many major disasters including the Oklahoma City, 9/11, Katrina, the Tsunami in Asia, the terror attacks in Sri Lanka and Thailand, and the earthquakes in Turkey, Indonesia, China, Samoa, Haiti, and most recently in Japan.

During his presentation he showed the following video: