JCCV history
In The Beginning
The JCCV’s predecessor, the Victorian Jewish Advisory Board, was formed in 1938. It was a representative body that brought together several branches of the existing Victorian Jewish community — the Melbourne Jewish Advisory Board (with representatives from the St Kilda, East Melbourne and Melbourne Hebrew Congregations), the Judean League (a merger of secular Jewish interest groups), the Kadimah, the Victorian Zionist Organisation and the Liberal Beth Israel congregation.
A Time of Transition
Prior to its reform in 1943, the Victorian Jewish Advisory Board acted with considerable secrecy and was only rarely mentioned in the Jewish press of the time. It met only when its Executive had something to discuss, and only about a dozen people were entitled to attend its meetings. Monthly meetings, attended by over 100 delegates, only became a reality at the end of the Second World War.
In 1944, the Victorian Jewish Advisory Board became a foundation constituent of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
By 1947, the Victorian Jewish Advisory Board had 18 constituents and, at this time, voted to become the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies in order to democratise the organisation. This vote was led by Maurice Ashkanasy, who was president for a record eight years, as well as serving five times as president of the ECAJ.
One of the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies’ earliest achievements was voting in 1947 to establish Melbourne’s first Jewish day school. In 1948, Mount Scopus Memorial College opened on St Kilda Road.
Among the early roles of the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies was presenting claims on behalf of local Holocaust survivors for German restitution and securing tax exemptions for restitution payments.
Diversity at Our Heart
By the mid-1960s, the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies had 37 constituents, including Orthodox and Liberal congregations, welfare and social justice organisations, Zionist bodies, educational and ex-servicemen organisations.
Another significant leader was Isi Leibler who joined the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies in 1957 and led the PR Committee for 11 years before becoming Vice President and President from 1972–1977.
A Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies delegate from the 1960s to the 1980s, Rabbi John Levi, noted that, for many years, the organisation was the only common meeting ground for Zionists, secularists, Bundists, Liberal Jews, Orthodox Jews, Modern Orthodox and Anglo Jews.
According to leaders at the time, the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies experienced something of a downturn in the 1980s, due to the community’s increasing sense of security and stability within Australian society.
Becoming The JCCV
In 1989, the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies changed its name to become the Jewish Community Council of Victoria. The intention of the name change was to break with the organisation’s Anglo-Jewish heritage and reflect the community’s increased diversity. In 1991, the JCCV created a Commission for the Future to gauge the future needs of the community and the role of the JCCV.
In 1997, Nina Bassat was elected as the JCCV’s first female president.
The JCCV continues to provide expert programs to support identified needs in the Victorian Jewish community.
In response to concerns about a growing youth alcohol culture in the early 2000s, the JCCV worked with other Jewish community experts, to develop and run the successful Youth Alcohol Project (YAP). This program was wound up in 2020 with many other educational programs becoming available to address youth issues.
Responding to Today’s Challenges
Around the same time, the JCCV boosted its Jewish Immersion Program. The JCCV brings expert facilitators to teach non-Jewish service providers to sensitively and effectively engage with the Victorian Jewish community.
In early 2020, in response to Victorian bushfires that burned 1.5 million hectares, destroyed 42 homes, many community facilities and had a devastating impact on rural communities, the JCCV led the Victorian Jewish Bushfire Relief Appeal, which raised $3.3 million. These funds were distributed by the Allocations Committee, coordinated by the JCCV, to help revive Victorian communities, particularly in the Upper Murray Region, with a focus on education and communal support services.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the JCCV was the valued conduit between the Victorian Jewish community and Victorian Government. This relationship helped to protect Jewish lives.
Today, the JCCV represents more than 50 affiliate organisations across the breadth of the Victorian Jewish community. The JCCV’s key focus is building connections so our community can achieve common goals: fostering collaborations to achieve great results for Jewish Victorians; connecting our community to remember the past and build a strong future; and advocating for Jewish Victorians at the highest level.
Presidents
Victorian Jewish Advisory Board
Isaac Herbert Boas
Archie Michaelis (late Sir Archie Michaelis Kt)
Dr Jacob Jona
Alex Masel
Maurice Ashkanasy
1938-39
1939-40
1940-Dec 1942
Dec 1942-Nov 1946
Dec 1946-May 1947
Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies
Maurice Ashkanasy
Ben Green
Bernard Cowen
Maurice Ashkanasy
Abraham Samuel Leibler
Trevor Rapke
Nathan Jacobson
Maurice Ashkanasy
Leon Lasky
Nathan Hirsch Beller OBE
Walter M Lippmann MBE AM
Isi Joseph Leibler AO CBE
Arnold Bloch AM
Phil Symons OAM
Robert Zablud
Phil Symons OAM
Shmuel Rosenkranz
May 1947-Oct 1950
Oct 1950-Aug 1951
Aug 1951-Dec 1951
Dec 1951-Dec 1954
Dec 1954-Dec1956
Dec 1956-Oct 1958
Nov 1958-Dec 1961
Dec 1961-Dec 1962
Dec 1962-Dec 1966
Dec 1966-Dec 1969
Dec 1969-Dec 1972
Dec 1972-Mar 1977
Mar 1977-Feb 1980
Feb 1980 -Apr 1980
Apr 1980-Dec 1986
Dec 1986-Dec 1987
Dec 1987-Oct 1988
Jewish Community Council of Victoria
Shmuel Rosenkranz
Joe Gersh AM
Leon Rosen
Geoffrey Green OAM
Nina Bassat AM
Dr Philip Bliss OAM
David Klein
Grahame Leonard OAM
Michael Lipshutz OAM
Anton Block
John Searle
Nina Bassat AM
Jennifer Huppert
Dr Andre Oboler
Frank Greenstein (Interim)
Daniel Aghion KC
Philip Zajac
Oct 1988-Dec 1990
Dec 1990-Mar 1993
Mar 1993-Aug 1994
Sep 1994-Dec 1996
Dec 1996-Dec 1998
Dec 1998-Nov 2000
Nov 2000-Mar 2001
Mar 2001-Mar 2003
Mar 2003-Nov 2005
Nov 2005-Nov 2008
Nov 2008-Nov 2011
Nov 2011-Nov 2014
Nov 2014-Nov 2020
Nov 2020-Jan 2021
Jan 2021-Apr 2021
Apr 2021–Nov 2023
Nov 2023–current
JCCV Community Recognition Awards
General Sir John Monash Award for Outstanding Service
to the Jewish Community
to the Jewish Community
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Shmuel Rosenkranz
Ann Zablud OAM
Rabbi John Levi AM
Nina Bassat AM
Phil Symons OAM
Sylvia Gelman AM OBE
Anton Block
Joey Borensztajn AM
Professor Louis Waller AO
Tony Levy OAM
Susi Ivany OAM
Johnny Baker OAM
Danielle Charak OAM
Dr Helen Light AM
Grahame Leonard AM
Rabbi Ralph Genende OAM
Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus AO
Pauline Rockman OAM
Sylvia Gelman Young Leadership Award
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2022
2023
Josh Back
Lauren Mandel
Jemima Hoffman
Shira Appelbloom
Alexandra Davis, Morgan Lincoln and Jainie Mills
Joel Kuperholz
Elana Forbes
Natalie Gunn and Eitan Meyerowitz
Noah Loven
