Community message
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- Community Message
STORIES WORTH SHARING
From Poland to Melbourne, and from the Royal Commission to Jewish Book Week, the stories shaping our community.
Dear friends,
Renewal, understanding and connection
One of the great strengths of the JCCV is the diversity reflected in our member organisations.
Recently, the Australian Society of Polish Jews and their Descendants (ASPJ), together with the Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM) and the Polish Embassy hosted Secretary of State of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski to speak about the revival of Jewish life in Poland since 1989.
I was also pleased to co-host a visit to the Jewish Museum of Australia (JMA), by representatives from the Centre for Migrant and Refugee Health. Through the JCCV’s Educate 10,000 initiative, we are pleased to connect Victorians with Jewish experiences, helping create opportunity for communities to learn from one another and build meaningful relationships.
For more information on Educate 10,000 visit:
Royal Commission updates
This week, barrister Gabi Crafti SC has been acting for the JCCV, AUJS and other Jewish community organisations at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
Gabi, a past-president of UJEB and founder of the Jewish Professional Women’s Network, is well known to many in our community. She took on the very difficult task of cross-examining the vice chancellors of Australia’s most prestigious universities about their failures to address antisemitism and their unwillingness to protect the safety of their Jewish students and staff.
While I am not a lawyer, I have heard from others that acting for clients where you have an emotional connection to the matters is incredibly challenging. I want to acknowledge and thank Gabi for her remarkable efforts this week on our behalf.
I also want to call out two young Jewish people who bravely gave evidence at the Royal Commission this week.
Paris Enten, former AUJS Vice President, has undertaken project work with the JCCV in recent years. Paris spoke bravely and eloquently of the antisemitism she experienced during her studies at Monash University. You can watch a small portion of her evidence here:
Jeremy Suss, current AUJS President, also gave evidence this week as a representative of all Jewish university students. Jeremy was a magnificent spokesperson for our community’s young people. You can watch a clip from his evidence here:
There are many ways to keep up to date with the progress of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
- Watch hearings live or review transcripts – ASC
- Keep-up-to-date during the hearings – AJN
- Watch clips from evidence – @ecajoz on Instagram
- Read summaries of each hearing block – ShareYourStory
Celebrating Jewish Stories
Stories connect us across generations, cultures and experiences. Jewish stories will be front and centre in early August.
From August 1-4, JCCV member organisation Melbourne Jewish Book Week will hold its 2026 festival. Across four days, the festival will feature Australian and international authors speaking on a wide-range of topics from romance writing to satire in Jewish writing. More information available here:
That same weekend in Sydney, the winners of the 2026 Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards will be announced. Regardless of who wins, the shortlist provides a great summary of the best local Jewish writing from the past year. Check out the shortlist for your next read here:
