ISRAEL FOCUS GROUP
**
20 July 2025 Meeting**
The Café, Gracecity Church 17 Marewa Rd, Greenlane, Auckland
Family & Likeminded Friends Welcome
2pm Meet & Greet
2.30pm Meeting to Commence
Guest Speaker
SIMON O’CONNOR
Simon has recently returned from Israel. He will share with us about his time in Israel, together with a power point of photos etc from the Israel visit.
to be followed by Q & A
See Simon's Bio below
Simon shared a lot of detail from his trip to Israel and the gut-wrenching encounters he had with both the places and people who had been so deeply scarred by the events of Oct 7, and not just those who had been personally attacked but every Israeli - all felt the wounds and loss personally, and their grief was palpable. He also discussed the shallow and uninformed attitudes of many of the world’s and New Zealand’s political class and the obvious (to this audience anyway) tropes of antisemitism and Jew hatred which followed the Oct 7 pogrom against Israel.
An animated discussion followed which was also very instructive.
Shulamit and Mike Porteous followed up with covering prayers for Israel and her suffering people.
Mike also introduced his son, Chris, who is now Lead Pastor at Grace City Greenlane.
A time of Praying for Israel will follow
Refreshments will be served
AM ISRAEL CHAI
The People of Israel Live
Ps 122 v 6
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem:
They shall Prosper that Love Thee.
Ps 121 v 4
Behold, He that keepeth Israel
Shall neither Slumber nor Sleep
SIMON O’CONNOR : Bio
“Simon is a husband, step father,foster carer, & student of philosophy.
He was an electorate Member of Parliament for 12 years (2011 – 2023). He initially chaired the Health Committee & then was Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade Committee.
He keeps a particular interest in Foreign Affairs & Defence matters, including being part of an international group of legislators called the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).
Recently it was made public that he was the target of Chinese Communist Party (CCP)hacking attempts & also named in a Hong Kong court case for being someone supporting human rights & democracy activists.
He has a number of Degrees from the University of Auckland, including a Masters in Political Philosophy & a Batchelors Degree in Theology.
He currently runs his own small consultancy which includes hosting various commentary & radio shows for clients. This includes
Family First & Reality Check Radio.
He also assists clients with strategy,campaigning & media.
Alongside all of this Simon keeps busy on Facebook, Instagram & Linkedin & writes a regular column on Substack called On Point.”