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- Community Message
OUR PAIN. AUSTRALIA'S SHAME. AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
From Nina Bassat's powerful testimony to Gen26 and JCCV Giving Day, there are ways for all of us to help shape what comes next.
Dear friends,
What will you find in this newsletter?
Our pain. Australia's shame.
There have been many emotional moments during the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s months of public hearings. But watching Nina Bassat AM speak so eloquently was an emotional peak.
For those who do not know, Nina was JCCV President from 1996-1998 and again from 2011-2014. She was also President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry from 1999-2001. She continues to hold communal roles with the Melbourne Holocaust Museum Foundation and Dor Foundation.
Nina is a Holocaust survivor, and the only surviving member of her father’s large extended family. She is also a proud Australian.
On the final day of hearings, Nina spoke of antisemitism as our community’s pain, but as “Australia’s shame”.
She made a stark comment about watching footage of anti-Israel and antisemitic protests in the days after the October 7 massacre: “I was going to say it frightened me, it didn’t frighten me on a personal level, I know that we can survive, I have. But it frightened me as to what it was doing to our country.”
My strong hope is that the recommendations, now being developed by Commissioner Virginia Bell AC and her team, help ensure no Australian ever again has to witness such hatred.
I wish to personally thank Nina for her evidence. Nina should be enjoying a quiet retirement with her wonderful family, but instead stands on the frontlines as one of our community’s finest warriors.
Gen26 is now open.
The Gen26 national survey of the Jewish community is now open. A joyful launch event was held at Monash University on Tuesday night, with great representation from community and philanthropic leaders. Thank you to Professor David Slucki for declaring the survey open and to Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus for ongoing support of this incredible initiative.
Gen26 will be the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken with a target of 10,000 participants.
The survey is open to Jewish Australians over 18 and is being conducted by Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation in conjunction with the Jewish Communal Appeal in NSW. The JCCV is leading the survey distribution in Victoria.
Keep an eye on your inbox during the week. The JCCV – and other Jewish organisations – will be sending out key information and links.
If you are keen to dive straight in, the survey is now open.
JCCV Giving Day
The JCCV depends on your support to continue our important work.
You can help to shape a thriving future for Jewish Victoria by supporting JCCV this Giving Day, September 8.
Supporting the JCCV is not funding a single program. It is investing in:
- A voice for our community;
- A stronger future for Jewish Victorians;
- Greater understanding of our community;
- Community-wide leadership and coordination.
We invite you to support the JCCV this year, because our organisation was built for moments like this.
