Jewish Community Archives - NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc

→ 23 July 2019
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Long-serving Wellington and Jewish politician Ruth Gotlieb dies aged 96 | Stuff

Wellingtonian of the Year Ruth Gottlieb declares the event open. New Zealand Age Group Swimming Championships at Wellington Aquatics Centre, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand on Tuesday, 1 March 2011. Photo: Dave Lintott / lintottphoto.co.nz

Prominent Wellingtonian Ruth Gotlieb has died.

Gotlieb, who was 96, is remembered as a veteran of Wellington local government, and for her long-standing dedication to public service.

She passed away at Wellington Hospital on Tuesday morning, surrounded by family.

She had a long and successful career serving the people of Wellington on councils and boards for 27 years.

Born in England and raised in Cork, Ireland, Gotlieb moved to Brisbane, Australia, as a teenager with her family, when her father became the city’s chief rabbi.

During World War II, Gotlieb joined the Signal Corp and became a Morse operator.

Gotlieb later moved to Wellington with her second husband Gerry in the 1940s, the two went on to start a successful pretzel business and have four children, David, Kim, Jake, and Marilyn.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Jewish Community, New Zealand

→ 22 July 2019
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An important connection between communities in the wake of terror | Stuff

By Juliet Moses and Anwar Ghani

Juliet Moses

Many New Zealanders have apparently been surprised by the warm and respectful relationship between the Muslim and Jewish communities of Aotearoa New Zealand that has become evident in the wake of the horrific events of March 15.

It is understandable that New Zealanders who are neither Muslim nor Jewish have been unaware of and are surprised by this relationship, given certain geopolitical matters and other events in the news. But our communities have a shared, if unarticulated, understanding that those matters are to be left on the other side of the world; that we are New Zealanders first and foremost. We embrace a harmonious society and the Kiwi way of life.

Anwar Ghani

Our community members have celebrated together the inauguration of a new Torah (sacred scrolls) in our Auckland synagogue, we have grieved together at the loss of Dr Hashem Slaimankhel, a friend of the Jewish community who was killed by a suicide bomb when visiting his homeland of Afghanistan, we have broken bread together and collaborated on interfaith initiatives.

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: Jewish Community, New Zealand

There are a number of ways you can support us in our fight against racial intolerance through raising awareness of Jewish history and culture.

We are looking for volunteer regional coordinators to organise regular meetings of supporters so that they can learn about Jewishness and Israel affairs.

Contact us to find out whether your region has a coordinator, and if you’re up for it, we can have a discussion about your background and relevant skill sets. We may also need to talk to some referees.

We are also currently raising funds toward:

An electronic billboard campaign: To raise awareness of the plight of the October 7 hostages.
Fighting Christian Anti-Semitism: Creating a library of bible study courses for Christians to re-acquaint them with the Hebraic roots of their faith.
A Marquee speaker program. We would like to introduce a colloborative program whereby Marquee speakers from the Jewish world could carry out an Australasian lecture tour, covering issues relating to aspects of Jewish society that would be relevant to the rest of the world. A marquee speaker could be R Jonathan Sachs, Alan Dershowitz or Ehud Barak.
Fighting anti-semitism: The recent conflict between Israel and Gaza reminds us of the connection between Anti-Semitism and the Middle East conflict. Anti-Semitism is gathering momentum in Europe once more. The need is great if history is not to be repeated.
Anti-Semitism Monitor: We are supporting the NZ Jewish Council’s longitudinal study of Anti-Semitic attitudes in NZ society.
A scholarship for Teachers to study how to teach about the Holocaust and Anti-Semitism at Yad Vashem

We are a registered charity under the Charities Act 2005 (No. CC43880). If you are a New Zealand tax payer, your donations are tax deductible. Leave us your details and we will ensure a receipt is sent promptly to you.

You can make a donation by electronic funds transfer or via Paypal:

Bank: Bank of New Zealand

Account Name: NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc

Account Number: 02 0820 0569411 000

Code: Donation

Reference: Your initials and surname

Be sure to email us your contact details if you wish to receive a tax receipt: contact@nzfoi.org.

If you’re in New Zealand you can also make a donation or join up via internet banking to the following account:

Account name: NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
Account number: 02 0820 0569411
Code: “Membership” or the project you are donating towards like “Billboards”
Particulars: your Initial and Surname

If you wish to become a member, put Membership in the Code field. It’s just NZD 40 per year. Then send an email to contact@nzfoi.org with your contact details so that we can send you our newsletter and other announcements.

If you wish to receive a tax receipt, then email us at contact@nzfoi.org with the details of your donation and contact details. We’ll cross check it against our bank records and if it all corroborates, then we’ll issue you with a tax receipt.

Under Inland Revenue rules: Tax receipts are only available for donations not for membership.

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NZ Friends of Israel Association Inc
P O Box 37 363
Christchurch
New Zealand 8245

M +64 (27) 433 9745
E contact@nzfoi.org
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NZ Charities Registration Number: CC 43880