Sing As One, Jointly For Israel” concert at Kehillat Kadimah synagogue (see page 8)
AROUND THE COMMUNITY
DORON LAZARUS CEO JNF
JNF Australia is committed to 23 individual projects to heal Israel’s south. They include mental health support, rehabilitation trauma therapy and resilience programs.
The organisation’s vision is to ensure a strong, secure and prosperous future for the land and people of Israel. This vision is the driving force behind every project JNF undertakes.
For decades, it has directly supported life-changing projects for communities on Israel’s borders, helping them thrive, despite ongoing challenges.
In previous years, JNF Australia has deployed the funding to several projects. However, with the scale of the devastation following October 7, 2023, it identified multiple needs on the ground, with a core focus on healing Israel’s south.
True impact isn’t just about responding to crises. It’s about rebuilding for the future. It means restoring homes, schools and vital services, and creating safe, thriving spaces for families and children.
The JNF Australia funded projects contribute to strengthening Israel’s pioneering spirit, ensuring it can return and flourish.
They focus on wellness, education, restoration, trauma therapy, protective building reinforcement and agriculture. They support hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the southern communities.
Every project JNF undertakes is in close collaboration with those on the ground, to ensure they address the most urgent priorities. JNF is also committed to its donors who receive full visibility into the impact they create.
JNF Australia confirms major investment in Israel’s future
Together, and with the community’s support, JNF Australia is not just rebuilding what was lost, rather creating something stronger.
JNF Australia National President Steven Salamon praised the generosity of the community in helping the organisation achieve such impact.
“For decades, JNF Australia has been dedicated to the development of Israel’s peripheral communities. This has been crucial for the agricultural, economic and technological growth of the country, whilst, at the same, being vital in Israel’s security and defence interests,” Mr Salamon said.
As JNF Australia continues to fundraise for Israel, this month it starts its 2025 Pesach Blue Box campaign, which will support two vital projects: the restoration of a communal music centre in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in southern Israel and the creation of emotional therapy spaces in Kiryat Shmona in the north. These initiatives are crucial for the whole community, including children and youth who have suffered displacement, insecurity and the trauma of the 18 months.
Looking ahead, JNF Australia’s annual campaign 2025 will continue to address projects that impact Israel’s north and south. The campaign will be launched in coming months, culminating in annual events across the country in the first week of September.
To donate to JNF Australia, go to www.jnf. org.au or call 1300 563 563.
Holit playground
Nir Am wheat sower
Rishpon Healing Village
Be'eri maintenance program
Emek Hefer Healing Place
JNF Australia Impact Announcement 2024 Healing Israel’s South
Our deepest thanks and gratitude to our loyal supporters, whose trust enabled JNF Australia to fund vital projects which directly impacted the lives of families in Israel’s border communities.
JNF projects & partner communities 2024
• Nir Am Multi-purpose Building
• Nir Am Wheat Sower
• Rishpon Healing Village
• Nahal Oz Multi-Use Sports Complex
• Emek Hefer Trauma Treatment Program
• Nirim Diagnosis and Therapy Centre
• Be'eri Maintenance Program
• Magen Resilience Centre
• Ein HaBesor Sports Complex & Community Club
• Yad Mordechai Shikma Educational Institute
• Beit Nova Village
• Nir Yitzchak Children's Education Facility
• Nir Oz Combine Harvester
• Holit Children's Playground
• Kfar Aza Medical Clinic
• Be'eri Sculpture Garden
• Kfar Aza Home for Adults with Autism
• Kfar Aza Children's Therapy Program
• Sderot Meitar Centre for at Risk Youth
• Ofakim Hagivah School ImagineBox
• Sderot Alomin School ImagineBox
• Sdot Negev Therapy Clinic in Nature
• Be’eri Forest Replanting and Renewal and other vital projects…
Your impact in numbers
23 major impact projects funded
Over
20,000 families received assistance
18 communities directly supported
500 wellbeing and resilience activities More than
+80,000 hours therapy and counselling
ANNE-MARIE ELIAS CONSIDERED OPINION
What is belonging? The American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology defines it as the feeling of being accepted and approved by a group or by society as a whole. The term relates to a yearning for connection with others, the need for positive regard and the desire for interpersonal connection.
Whilst Seder is all about the retelling of the freedom of Jews from slavery and their journey to the promised land, it is also a time to reflect on our sense of community and where we belong. The slaves were a community that banded together and left Egypt as a collective.
In modern times, psychologists have known about the need for individuals to be accepted by a community, to have meaningful attachments and essentially to ‘belong’ in all the environments that we inhabit, be it family, friendship groups, work, sport and so on.
In 1995, US psychology researchers Baumeister and Leary’s landmark paper “The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation” identified belonging as a universal human need, ingrained in our motivation as a species, stemming from our ancestral roots.
From the moment we are born, we strive to connect to our primary caregivers.
CROSSWORD
Belonging
Biologically this makes sense, as they are the same people that ensure our wellbeing and provide food, safety and shelter. Therefore, belonging and being accepted is critical to our survival.
Most people need frequent, non-aversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. We form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. This can result in people staying in damaging relationships too long, as we often fear rejection and loneliness more than remaining in harmful relationships.
Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on thought processes. Lack of attachment is linked to a variety of ill
Multigrains
effects on health, adjustment and wellbeing. The need to belong is a powerful and fundamental. However, our personal level of the need to belong shapes how motivated we are to join groups, catch up with family and friends, and to engage with others in general. Belonging is important throughout our lives, irrespective of culture, race or geography.
In certain circumstances, especially in older age, people do think of belonging as something that they can be at risk of losing, due to reduced physical and cognitive capacities or the death of peers. Also, the older we get, the more we, understandably, turn our gaze to the past, nostalgically reflecting on experiences of belonging long gone.
Belonging comes from a perception of quality, meaning and satisfaction with social connections. Belonging may also relate to a sense of belonging to a place or even an event. It is therefore a complex and dynamic process unique to each person.
It is the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion and identity. It results in gains and stimulates motivation. We can often produce better results when we have the support of a group rather than going it alone.
Medical and psychological professionals recognise this and endorse the concept of rehabilitation, including cardiac rehab, drug and alcohol recovery, in a group setting. A positive outcome for improved health in these settings is well documented.
US professor, clinical social worker and author Brene Brown says “belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us.
Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”
Anne-Marie Elias is a psychologist in clinical practice for 25 years.
7. Aviary sound
8. Broke into, in a way
9. Citrus cooler ending
10. Alternative to Captain Morgan
11. Delighted in
12. "Open wide" letters
17. It means "Irish" in Irish
20. Onset
21. Home of the Seminoles, for short
22. Linemen, for short
24. You can build the Beit Hamikdash with it...in your living room
25. Sets for med. dramas
27. Creature of comfort
Stroud and Uzomah of the NFL 19. Completely crazy 20. "Paulo" start 21. Egyptian woe, once 23. Sounded out P-A-S-S-O-V-E-R like a brit?/It can be Jewish
26. The greatest actress, possibly 28. Less lively, as a party
29. Ship letters
30. Have some matzah, e.g.
33. Crosswords have them 34. Half of 16-Across enjoyed by some on Passover
37. Apportioned, as cards 40. Tishby of note
41. Victrola company 44. Open with a key
46. An athlete's might be exercised 49. Pareve milk/Part of a biblical dream 52. Ms. Morgenstern of TV
Many yrs.
His poetry inspired "Cats"
8 1/2 x 11, for short
31. Cape in Massachusetts
32. Spanish relative
34. Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky is one
35. Allergic reaction, maybe
36. Giant Ming
37. Shimon and Levi, in a sense
38. Put into law
39. Made some changes
41. Reprimander's "reading"
42. Cape in Massachusetts
43. You may get it for effort
45. Mother of Midian
47. Arrogant, superior sort
48. Prickly items
50. Liam Neeson voices him in the "Narnia" films
51. "Four" before a word
55. Schreiber of "Defiance"
56. Big Apple airport code
57. Issue on a stand, informally
58. Rose-rose link
59. MetLife Stadium team, on scoreboards
YONI GLATT KOSHER
AROUND THE COMMUNITY
ALAIN HASSON CEO JCA
As we approach the official launch of the JCA 2025 campaign on May 11th, there has never been a more crucial time for our community to unite. Recent months have brought with them a disturbing surge in homegrown antisemitism – an ugly force that continues to show its face within our city, a place many of us have long considered immune to hate and racism. In light of this, JCA remains resolute in its commitment to protect and uplift our community, funding vital organisations like the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and Community Security Group (CSG). These organisations have been on the frontline of advocating for and safeguarding Jewish life, working tirelessly to shield us from the growing threat of hostility that we face.
For generations, our community has stood strong, facing adversity with resilience. While we’ve always sought to live in peace, recent events have reminded us that even in a city as diverse as ours, no group is entirely free from the scourge of hate. But this is not new territory for us as Jews. Throughout history, we have confronted hatred, discrimination and violence – often in places where we thought safety would prevail. And yet, time and again, we’ve emerged stronger, united by our shared identity and our unwavering commitment to one
Through solidarity we will continue to endure
JCA CEO Alain Hasson
another. With Pesach fast approaching, it is a poignant time to reflect on the journey of the Jewish people, especially as we recall the Exodus from Egypt. Just as our ancestors faced persecution and hardship in Egypt, we too face challenges today. But, as we know, the story of Pesach is not one of despair; it is one of hope and strength in unity. The Jewish people fled Egypt not as isolated individuals but as a united nation,
standing together to overcome the trials of the time. It is through this unity that we gained the strength to persevere and it is through this same solidarity that we will continue to endure in the face of rising antisemitism today.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, once said, “The Jewish people were not born in freedom. They were born in slavery. They were not born in a land of milk and honey, but in a desert. Yet
they became, in time, a great people. And that is because they understood the power of memory, the power of community, the power of hope.” These words ring true today as we confront rising antisemitism and the challenges before us. Our strength as a people is not only in our individual resilience but in the collective power of our community and the hope that binds us.
As we look toward the future, we are hopeful that things will improve, but we know that the journey ahead will require continued effort and unity. The JCA 2025 campaign is an opportunity for all of us to stand together, support our community and ensure that we continue to thrive in both good times and bad. With years of experience in directing resources where they are needed most, JCA remains dedicated to ensuring that our community is supported, protected and empowered. Now, more than ever, we must come together to face these challenges with strength, hope and the resolve that has defined us throughout history.
JCA is here for you, always. Together, we will emerge stronger.
CONSIDERED OPINION
DR YVETTE ALT MILLER COURTESY: AISH.COM
The new film explores the proliferation of antisemitism and support for Hamas after the October 7 massacre.
On October 7, 2023, veteran film producer Wendy Sachs was visiting her daughter Lexi at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when news began pouring in about Hamas’ massive attack on Israel. Together, they sat glued to their phones, watching images of thousands of Hamas soldiers rampaging through dozens of towns and villages in southern Israel.
They heard shocking reports that Hamas terrorists were going door to door in villages and shooting entire families and burning houses down with their residents still inside.
Over 1,200 people had been murdered and 250 kidnapped and taken into Gaza.
“We saw the images coming out of Israel, children, babies, grandparents, young people being kidnapped, being livestreamed and murdered,” Wendy recalled.
“And then it was October 8 when I saw the protests in Times Square, the protests against Israel, supporting Hamas as freedom fighters, rather than as terrorists.” She could scarcely believe what she was seeing as college campuses erupted into hate, celebrating Hamas’ attack and blaming Israel for the massacre and kidnapping of its own citizens.
“I saw what was happening the next day on October 9 and at Harvard, where more than 30 student groups signed onto a letter blaming Israel for the attack on itself. And then we saw the same thing happen from campus after campus, from Columbia to NYU, to Tulane, to MIT, Cornell, Penn. It just felt like the world had lost its mind. The silence, the dismissal, the denial.” Wendy realised she was seeing something different from anything she’d previously witnessed in the US. This sort of raw hatred of Israel felt new – and terrifying. Wendy knew she had to do something. She decided to use her filmmaking skills to fight back and began working on a documentary about the tsunami of Jew hatred that followed the October 7, 2023 attack.
October 8 is the masterful result, showing how students, human rights agencies, politicians and celebrities have all embraced Hamas talking points over the past year and a half. It is a must-see for anyone who cares about the global spike in antisemitism and in the future of Jewish life in the United States and elsewhere around the world.
Documenting Hamas’ attacks
The film opens with footage from the October 7, 2023 attack, including scenes that were filmed by Hamas terrorists. We meet Irit Lahav, a resident of Nir Oz, who shows us around her ruined town. (Over a hundred Nir Oz residents were murdered and kidnapped by Hamas.) Irit no longer lives in the village, she explains, and is still terrified of terrorists every time she goes back.
She describes the terror of October 7, as she hid in her home’s safe room, in the dark with her daughter for over 12 hours, making no noise, while she heard her neighbours being massacred outside. Safe rooms were meant to protect residents from bombs and missiles, so most did not have locks. Irit survived by rigging a door lock out of her vacuum cleaner and barricading herself inside.
This footage reminds us just how deadly October 7 was. Hamas videos show terrorists confidently walking and driving through the streets of Israeli towns, shooting down everyone they come across. After showing these atrocities, the film abruptly shifts to scenes of wild celebration in the West.
Campus protests
In Times Square, over a thousand people attended a rally organised by the Democratic Socialists of America New York chapter on October 8, 2023; participants defended Hamas’ ongoing massacre with slogans including “resistance is justified”, “by any means necessary” and “resistance is not a metaphor.”
“It was October 8; there were still Hamas terrorists in communities in southern Israel”, author and podcast host Dan Senor explains in the film. “There was still fighting going on. Israel was still counting the numbers of the
October 8: a must-see documentary
dead and the mutilated and the raped and the kidnapped. And there’s a protest against Israel in Times Square. Rather than the outrage being directed against those slaughtering the Jews, the outrage was being directed against the Jews for objecting to being slaughtered.”
The film shows how this glorification of Hamas spread to college campuses and includes footage of students defending Hamas’ massacre at myriad schools, including Harvard, Tufts, MIT, University of California Los Angeles, University of California Santa Barbara, Cornell, Columbia, Cooper Union, City College of New York and many others.
We watch footage of students announcing that parts of campuses are “Zionist-free zones”, yelling in Arabic “from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Muslim” and calling for attacks on their American Jewish Zionist students peers. The film details the tent cities that sprang up on campuses across the world, dedicated to being “anti-Zionist” spaces and fomenting yet more anti-Israel activity.
Hamas links
“We are seeing protests glorifying the actions of the ‘resistance’, which is sort of a code word for Hamas”, Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, explains in the film. “It became apparent … from the get-go that there was a core of individuals nationwide that were pushing a pro-Hamas narrative.”
He explains that many campus groups are using Hamas words and imagery in their protests, either unwittingly or not. Calls to “flood” campus with anti-Israel protests, for instance, echo the language Hamas used for its October 7 attack, which it named the “Al Aqsa (Arabic for Jerusalem) Flood.” The film shows footage of countless student protestors holding posters with an inverted red triangle, a symbol that Hamas uses in its propaganda videos to denote a Jewish target they are about to bomb or shoot.
This is no accident, Dr Vidino explains. He points to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) as the source of much of the language and organisation behind seemingly spontaneous campus demonstrations. He and other experts note that SJP operates in the shadows, never disclosing its funding sources and obscuring its links with student groups. Despite widespread perception that it operates as a 501(c)3
videos are outnumbered by anti-Israel videos on Tik Tok by a whopping 1 to 54.
Rep. Richie Torres, the young Democrat from New York’s 15th Congressional District and a staunchly pro-Israel voice in the US Congress, wonders aloud if most Americans would mind if many of our major outlets, from The New York Times to the Associated Press, were controlled by China. Well, for young people, TikTok is as important as those other august news organisations, Rep. Torres points out – and it's controlled by China, a country that is openly hostile to the USA and often publicly aligned with Israel’s enemies, such as Iran.
Feeling “completely betrayed”
Actress Debra Messing co-produced October 8 and appears in the film describing a petition she tried to launch after October 7, 2023, condemning Hamas’ vicious assault. Despite the fact that Hollywood stars are no strangers to political statements and often speak out on issues such as Ukraine, Nepal, Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and other topics, nobody wanted to go on the record of condemning Hamas and standing with Israel. “I felt completely betrayed by Hollywood”, Messing says in the film. “I thought the entire globe would be in mourning. And not only was it silent, there was jubilation.” Actor and comedian Michael Rappaport appears in the film too, reminiscing about appearing at the massive pro-Israel rally held on the National Mall in Washington DC on November 14, 2023. He notes that he and Debra Messing were the only two Hollywood stars there and says that it’s shocking no other actors or famous entertainers were willing to appear.
Human rights organisations
charity, it is not incorporated as a nonprofit and does not post its finances. No one can prove that SJP has any links at all with Hamas or any other group designated as a terrorist organization – yet the chants, iconography and toolkit for organising against Israel do happen to echo Hamas talking points.
In one of October 8’s most fascinating sections, Dr Vidino shares a secret FBI recording of a 1993 meeting that 25 Hamas leaders held in Philadelphia. The Hamas officials outlined a plan of “infiltrating American media outlets, universities and research centres. The main goal they discussed was how to present what Hamas was doing and make it palatable to Americans.” Over 30 years ago these Hamas officials realised that they could best sway Americans by couching their struggle to eliminate Israel and kill Jews in the language of human rights. Today, by framing Hamas’ desire to kill Israelis and destroy the Jewish state as “liberation”, Hamas’ goal has come to fruition.
Media bias
October 8 also examines the fact that news outlets have been eager to cast Israel as the aggressor in its war with Hamas. Take the massive explosion in the courtyard of the alAhli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on October 17, 2023, in which it was reported that 500 people were killed. Newspapers and media outlets around the world immediately reported that Israel had targeted the hospital deliberately. Yet as the hours passed, it became obvious that initial media reports were completely wrong.
The death toll was, luckily, much lower than 500 and more notably, it turned out that Israel had not bombed the hospital at all. A rocket launched by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist group affiliated with Hamas, had tried to send a bomb into Israel – targeted at civilians – but accidentally hit the Gaza hospital instead. October 8 documents how journalists and human rights activists seized on this hospital bombing as “proof” of Israeli malfeasance, revealing their underlying hostility to the Jewish state.
One of the more chilling segments in the film is about how most young people get their news from TikTok, which is extremely antagonistic to Israel. The app’s algorithms steer users to anti-Israel content; pro-Israel
Danielle Haas, the only Jewish Israeli employee of the group Human Rights Watch (HRW), describes how the human rights community has become willing to side with Hamas and reflexively view Israel as the enemy. After watching HRW fail to extend empathy to Israeli victims after Hamas’ attack, she resigned a week later, wiring a scathing resignation letter: “Following the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7, years of institutional creep culminated in organisational responses that shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness and surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all. HRW’s initial reactions to the Hamas attacks failed to condemn outright the murder, torture, and kidnapping of Israeli men, women, and children …”
Personal toll
Perhaps the saddest aspect of October 8 is the way it gives voice to Jewish students whose faith in the goodness and impartiality of their friends and community has been shattered. Take the case of Tessa Veksler, who was Student Body President at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in October 2023. A proud Zionist, Tessa was vilified by anti-Israel protestors who covered the campus with graffiti and flyers denouncing her by name. She eventually faced – and barely survived –a recall vote. She speaks movingly of the way her faith in her fellow students was broken. Her parents fled the Soviet Union because of antisemitism, Tessa explains; she can’t imagine how painful it must be for them to watch their daughter subjected to antisemitism as well. That’s a sentiment echoed by Cornell student Talia Dror, whose parents fled antisemitism in Iran, only to watch their daughter be yelled at and threatened by anonymous posts on Cornell social media, threatening to kill Jews after October 7. She describes Cornell’s Jewish students hiding in their rooms after the threats.
Another perspective is offered by Barnard student Noa Fay. A proud Black Jew, Noa describes her pain at being asked to justify her feelings of being threatened by antisemitic rhetoric on campus. No one would question her identity or feelings as a Black woman, she notes, yet when it comes to her Jewish identity, anti-Israel activists seem comfortable demanding that she not be so sensitive to their hateful anti-Jewish chants.
October 8 is also warning the world where support for Hamas will lead. It’s an urgent film that is required viewing for anyone who cares about Israel, the United States, and the essential battle of good against evil.
THE COMMUNITY
CECILIA SUMMER SAJE
Since I was born, Judaism has been such a huge part of my life. My father was Israeli and Jewish, and I always grew up with a strong Jewish identity. However, despite this deep connection, my path to Jewish conversion was filled with stops and starts. I wanted to complete the process, but without structure, consistency and guidance, I struggled to reach the end goal. I would start private classes, only to lose momentum and stop, repeating this cycle for years. While my desire to convert never wavered, I often felt lost, lacking a clear framework and the support system necessary to keep me accountable.
That all changed when I joined the Sydney Academy of Jewish Learning (SAJE). The transformation was immediate and profound. Unlike my previous attempts, where I lacked a structured, monitored learning routine, SAJE provided a clear, well-organised program with weekly classes that kept me engaged, motivated and on track. It was no longer just about studying alone. It became a journey filled with routine, discipline and community.
Cecilia Summer AROUND
My journey to conversion: how SAJE transformed my experience
One of the most significant differences was the enjoyment and excitement that came with learning. Before SAJE, my studies often felt isolated and overwhelming, but attending weekly classes in a group setting made all the difference. The process was no longer just
about reaching the end goal. It became about embracing the experience itself. Meeting new friends, connecting with teachers and engaging in lively discussions made learning fun and fulfilling. Wednesday nights became the highlight of my week and I never missed a class all year.
SAJE’s structured program provided exactly what I had been missing. Every class was planned and we received handouts and materials that took us
through the entire Jewish cycle. There was no confusion about what to study next or how to progress. The path was clearly laid out, making it easier to absorb the material and integrate Jewish teachings into my daily life.
Beyond the classroom, SAJE created a sense of belonging by inviting us to special events throughout the year. These experiences helped solidify my understanding of Jewish traditions and allowed me to immerse myself fully in
Jewish life. Whether it was celebrating a holiday or engaging in community gatherings, these moments added depth and meaning to my conversion process.
Perhaps the most impactful aspect of SAJE was the unwavering support system it provided. Having someone like Candice Wermut (SAJE manager) available for guidance made an incredible difference. Whenever I had questions or doubts, she was there to listen, encourage and offer clarity. Unlike my previous experiences, SAJE made sure that I never felt unsupported.
Converting to Judaism is not easy. It requires commitment, lifestyle changes and deep personal growth. From the way I presented myself on social media to my daily actions and mindset, every aspect of my life evolved. SAJE provided the tools, knowledge and community I needed to succeed.
Now that the program has ended, I find myself wondering what I will do with my Wednesday nights. “I move forward with confidence, knowing that I have gained not only the education and support needed to complete my conversion, but also lifelong connections and friends in the Jewish community.
SAJE didn’t just help me convert. It transformed the way I experienced and embraced Judaism. For that, I am forever grateful.”
SARAH PACHTER COURTESY: AISH.COM CONSIDERED OPINION
Lieutenant Colonel Itai Naamat, a brave and humble leader, says his wife Shimrit is the real hero.
As reserve commander of the Operational Support Battalion of the 460th Armor School Brigade, Itai Naamat is responsible for transporting crucial supplies to the combat forces fighting inside Gaza.
“It’s our responsibility to supply them with much needed weapons, gas, water and food”, Itai said in an interview with Aish. “Not only is this necessary for their survival, but it also boosts their morale.”
Itai retired from active duty more than 20 years ago and serves as a reservist. After October 7, he felt he had to fight again.
“On October 7, no one understood what was happening. I had to bring 350 soldiers to the base in the South. All my soldiers were looking to me for answers and I didn’t have any.”
On Friday, October 27, 2023, Itai led his 350 soldiers into battle. They sang Hatikvah, made Kiddush and entered Gaza.
Even though at his age Itai is not required to serve, he feels a responsibility to his country. “This is my country. If I won’t do it, no one will do it. Consider this: If I had told my great-grandfather from Afghanistan 80 years ago that I would be an officer in the Israeli Army, he would have said, ‘You are out of your mind!’ It is incredible that today the Jewish people have an army and can protect themselves. I am one in the chain of the Jewish people. If I don’t do it, then in 20 or 30 years the Jews will be forced to go back to where they came from – Afghanistan, Morocco, Lebanon … They won’t take us and we won't have a place to live. The Jewish people do not have any country. We have no choice but to fight.”
Fear in battle
While Itai puts on a brave face, it hasn’t always been easy. “My scariest moment was when I lost three soldiers during a Hamas ambush. They put explosives near the road on which we were travelling and they were shooting at us. I lost one officer and two soldiers, Uri Moshe Bornstein, Netanel Hershowitz and Zvi Matitiyahu Maranz. It was devastating.”
The real heroes of the IDF: the wives of Israeli soldiers
After that tragedy, Itai needed to go back to the same area to bring supplies to the troops that were inside.
“You know you need to be the first Hummer on the road. You have about 20 soldiers behind you and a lot of trucks with food and fuel and supplies. As I was in the car approaching, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought about what happened just earlier that day in the same spot. This was my most frightening moment.”
Itai describes the gamut of emotions he experiences when fighting. “We have high hopes, devastation and fear. I know that if I don’t arrive, my brigade won’t complete their mission. You can literally feel the eyes of your soldiers on your back. All of us are afraid, some more and some less. We all have to get over it and perform our mission. As a Commander, I have a lot of people trusting that I will do the job in the best way possible.”
My wife is the brave one
Itai maintains that the real hero of his story is his wife, Shimrit. “I’m a reservist, it’s my job. But my wife is the brave one. She works crazy hours as an attorney in a large Israeli law firm. She also takes care of our young kids. In the recent 18 months she does it all alone. She is the bravest woman ever.”
On Wednesday October 4, a few days before the massacre, Shimrit was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“On October 7, the day of the horrible attack, I was called to fight”, Itai explained. “It was such a huge surprise and shock that I almost forgot about my wife’s cancer. I knew she would eventually need to have surgery, but we didn’t know when it would be.”
Itai had to handle the imminent danger in front of him first. “I have a lot of soldiers. I have to take care of them and keep them safe.”
Two weeks after the war began, when Itai went back to his jeep, the driver told him to call his wife. When Itai spoke to her, he heard that something was not right in her voice.
Shimrit told him, “I wanted to let you know that ten hours ago I had my surgery”.
Itai couldn’t believe it. He had no idea that she had undergone the operation, all by herself. He gained permission to go to the hospital and see her. “I arrived at midnight to give her a hug and comforted her.”
Shimrit insisted that Itai immediately go back to his soldiers, despite his concern for her health. “This is my wife. She is the brave one between the two of us.”
Focus on the war, not me
Shimrit explained that after Itai left on October 7, she didn’t inform him of anything regarding her illness. She wanted him to be focused on the battle and the safety of his soldiers.
Shimrit’s friend, Anat, was a top surgeon at the same hospital where she was receiving her cancer treatments. Anat arranged an appointment for Shimrit to meet with a cancer surgeon. The doctor was supposed to fly to Poland the week after October 7 but because of the war his flight was cancelled, leaving him a last-minute slot for Shimrit’s surgery. He asked her if she wanted to take it.
Shimrit hesitated because she knew her husband would probably be in Gaza at that time. She thought it over and realised, I have to do it, and I have to
do it now. Otherwise, the surgeon won’t be available later and my health could decline. “I wanted Itai to focus on the war and the soldiers. After all, he is not the one undergoing the surgery. He won’t be a big help to the Jewish people if he’s sitting next to me.”
Shimrit wasn’t afraid about going into surgery. “I didn’t have the time to be afraid. Plus, the doctor told me it was relatively mild type of cancer.” Shimrit also made the difficult choice to hold off telling her children about the cancer. She didn’t want to worry them, since they already had a father fighting in Gaza.
On October 17 Shmirit went into the hospital with her sister and had the surgery. “I was saying my usual morning prayers and hoping for the best. My sister and I were joking to keep our morale high.” The surgery was successful and she called her husband’s driver afterward to inform him. “I told him, ‘Tell Itai I’m looking for him, but it’s not that urgent.’ That same night when Itai came to visit me at the hospital, he was crying. Don’t tell anyone – commanders don’t usually cry.” Shimrit’s journey to recovery did not end with the surgery. “The real fear came when I had to do the CT scan afterwards. The surgery wasn’t scary to me – it was the aftermath.”
Shimrit and Itai recently found out that she has been completely healed. Before learning she was in remission, Shimrit didn’t have time to dwell on her health status. She and her girls were busy volunteering, preparing and packing food for soldiers, as well as packages for the families of the battalion. Shimrit organised a special day for the families of Itai’s soldiers. There was food and activities for both the mothers and their children.
Itai proudly shared, “It was a great day for my soldiers and their families. There was a moon bounce, air hockey table, video games, cotton candy and popcorn. While the kids were entertained, the women were able to enjoy a concert. All the children and mothers were given prizes and gifts. Shimrit arranged everything.”
The wives graciously told Itai, “This event gives us the assurance that you are taking care of our husbands, because if you remember the kids and us, and remember there is a family behind each soldier, we know our husbands are in good hands.”
There are many Israeli women who are carrying a huge burden at home while their husbands are fighting. Itai believes they are the real heroines of Israel and the beacons of light for the Jewish people at this challenging time. “We have to remind ourselves why we are here and how the State of Israel is a miracle.”
Shimrit and Itai are among the quiet heroes that are holding up the Israeli Army and the Jewish people today.
Itai and Shimrit Naamat
AROUND THE COMMUNITY
JDC (THE JOINT) AUSTRALIA
As the global Jewish community contends with ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine and increasing antisemitism, The Joint is working to ensure that Jews across the world can gather and celebrate Passover. It is orchestrating classes and craft events on holiday traditions, hosting Seders and distributing matzah and food packages to vulnerable Jews.
Larisa Domanskaya, 74, is among the tens of thousands of Jews in Ukraine whom The Joint is helping to find hope this Passover. Living alone on a monthly pension of $153, The Joint provides her with essential food, medicine for multiple illnesses and community engagement through its Hesed Besht social service centre. For Pesach, Domanskaya will receive a box of matzah – which she loves with jam and a glass of milk – and will participate in holiday activities.
“Instead of being alone, I look forward to celebrating Passover at Hesed with the community. It makes me feel better and helps me look forward,” she says.
Throughout Ukraine, The Joint will distribute more than 39,000 boxes of matzah to the most vulnerable – the elderly, children, internally displaced and other community members. In addition, more than 10,000 people of
Celebrating Passover
all generations will participate in inperson and online Passover programs that include more than 100 Seders at The Joint’s Jewish community centres and Hesed social service centres, which continue to be a source of humanitarian aid and Jewish life during the ongoing, devastating conflict.
In Israel, The Joint is helping hundreds of thousands of the hardest-hit to recover
Blue Box campaign
Each year, the JNF Blue Box campaign supports urgent projects in Israel. This year, as Israelis begin healing, the Blue Box initiatives focus on communities in both northern and southern Israel.
The 2025 Blue Box Pesach campaign will support two major projects: restoring the communal music centre in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (southern Israel) and creating therapy spaces in Kiryat Shmona (northern Israel).
In Kiryat Shmona, after the "Iron Swords" war, many children and youth face emotional trauma. The Blue
Box campaign will fund the creation of five therapy spaces across key neighbourhoods, offering therapy and empowerment programs to help children regain stability. These spaces will also serve senior citizens and parents.
In Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, the music centre will be restored and enhanced with new equipment, including a recording studio. The centre will provide therapeutic musical activities for residents of all ages, supporting healing after the trauma of October 7, 2023.
Donations can be made at https://jnf. org.au/bbp25/ or by calling 1300 563 563.
engaged in intergenerational activities that will enable their communities to celebrate Passover.
Matzah is being delivered to the homebound elderly, while The Joint helps seniors sell their hametz and will host a Seder.
In India, dozens of Jewish families will receive support, so they can celebrate the eight days of Passover at home.
Mumbai’s JDC holiday programming includes online classes about the Festival of Light’s history and traditions and, for women, a special Rosh Chodesh Nissan session with a Pesach focus.
Cuba’s Jewish community can participate in a Seder, while holiday food packages will be provided to more than 300 vulnerable Jewish families in Venezuela.
and rebuild in the wake of October 7, 2023 and the continuing war. At the House on Mishor, a community centre in Ofakim, in southern Israel, established by The Joint, that offers programming to help the neighbourhood heal, holiday activities will be provided for children.
In Kazakhstan’s local chapters of The Joint’s Active Jewish Teens, a program in partnership with BBYO, young Jews are
The Joint’s Passover activities – including distribution of matzah by its Hesed social service centres and Jewish volunteer corps in Ukraine – are supported by the organisation’s partnerships with the Claims Conference, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the Jewish Federations of North America and the UJA-Federation of New York.
To donate to JDC (The Joint) Australia, go to https://thejoint.org.au
Larisa Domanskaya in Lutsk, Ukraine with a Joint volunteer
Children at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai
CONSIDERED
I joined J-AIR 88FM in May 2024 because I needed my Jewish voice to be heard. Before I ever thought to start a show interviewing Jewish and Israeli activists, as I do now (The Dignity of Difference, Sundays 5pm), my first instinct was to combine my two greatest passions in life: music and Judaism. In the months between October 7th, 2023 and May 2024, I had noticed an increasingly disturbing trend of Jewish and Israeli exclusion taking place in the local Melbourne music scene. For me, it started in December 2023 when a number of Australian venues signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, with no mention of October 7th or the release of the hostages. After that, local bands began writing in their gig descriptions “no Zionists allowed”, followed by “Jews welcome”. What they failed, or perhaps neglected, to recognise was that to the Jews in the room, Zionist and Jew were synonymous. It wasn’t long before I started receiving messages from Jewish musician friends that had stopped going to gigs after seeing one too many multicoloured keffiyehs being sported on stage by a guitarist who was the furthest thing from middle eastern that you could get. At that point, I too stopped going to gigs.
Enter: Personality Crisis: The Jewish Rebels of Rock ‘N’ Roll (J-AIR, Wednesdays 7pm)
My intention for Personality Crisis was to explore the history of Jewish musicians in (mostly) Western music and the juxtaposition between their Jewish upbringing and the music they went on to create. And of course, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to find out which members of my favourite bands were Jewish. We’ve all been to jewornotjew.com a few too many times. What I’d noticed with some of my Jewish heroes like Lou Reed, Bob Dylan or Randy Newman was that they always seemed to have a foot in both the Jewish and the non-Jewish worlds, yet never quite fitted in to either of them. That’s how Newman could go from writing a satirical song about short people to an introspective song questioning the existence of God. It was this mess of influences, this personality crisis if you will, that I most identified with having myself grown up with a foot in each door. I’ve discovered over the past months that this personality crisis is often a result of growing up in an incredibly traumatising environment, which follows you even as you venture outside the Jewish world. Many Jewish musicians in the west in the 1960s and ‘70s were the children of Holocaust survivors or the descendants of immigrants who fled persecution.
Personality Crisis: Part I
This was true for people like Tommy Ramone, who founded the punk band The Ramones. As a child, he fled Hungary with his parents after the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. And for Mick Jones of The Clash, whose mother and maternal grandparents fled pogroms in Russia and ended up in the United Kingdom. Having grown up with stories of persecution and survival, many ran from their family traumas and the antisemitism they experienced growing up, towards the supposedly liberal world of rock and roll, where they thought they would finally belong, only to find that, even
there, they were outsiders, forever the “Jews” of the industry.
This dichotomy of both belonging and not belonging is an experience that Jewish artists in the diaspora have understood for centuries. Jewish identity is so deeply rooted that even if you try to escape it, you never truly do. Bob Dylan’s journey with religion is a testament to this.
Dylan grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community, attending Hebrew school and Jewish summer camps. In the late 1970s, to everyone’s surprise, he publicly “embraced” Christianity and released several Gospel albums, yet not long after, by the early 1980s, he was celebrating his son’s Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel in Jerusalem.
While Personality Crisis was a great excuse for me to spend an hour a week sharing my favourite music with the J-AIR community, it was not simply an exercise in nostalgia, but a way of creating a safe space for both identities to exist, at least in Australia. When it became clear that anyone who was proudly Jewish or a Zionist was being excluded from local music spaces, I made it my mission to seek out the local Jewish musicians and bring them together. In the coming months in this series, I will be sharing with you the experiences of Jewish Australian musicians because it’s
essential that their stories be told and that the Jewish community understands our experiences during these difficult times. While you may well be aware of Debra Conway’s reality, understanding the experiences of local Jewish musicians that are only starting their careers or trying to build them, are just as important, for they illustrate what is happening today.
My fear is that Jewish musicians will succumb to the peer pressure of the local scene and feel the need to suppress their Jewish identities. What I hope to instil with this series is the idea that you don’t have to compromise one world for the other in order to create your art. If I’ve learnt anything from the Jewish rebels of rock and roll, it’s that often the space between those two worlds is where you find a place for your art to exist. And yes, it may feel uncomfortable or isolating at times, but as Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera once said, ‘they call us lonely, when we’re really just alone’. And the artist knows the difference.
If you’re a Jew in a local Australian music scene and would like to share your experiences since October 7th in a future segment of Personality Crisis, please reach out on Instagram @ personalitycrisis.rad
DAHLIA D’ONGHIA
Dahlia D’Onghia hosts The Dignity of Difference and Personality Crisis on J-AIR 88FM
In every generation they try to destroy us, so what makes this generation different?
If there is one theme that has characterised the Pesach tradition since Temple times, it’s questions. “Mah Nishtanah?”, the youngest member of the family sings, “why is this night different from all other nights?”, “Why do we lean?”, “Why do we drink four cups of wine?” Inevitably, “when can we eat?” is asked by at least one member of every household. Yet, even though the same traditions and customs that have been followed for thousands of years will again be followed by Jews around the world, this Pesach feels different.
This year, Israel is in a state of emergency. Thousands of people have been displaced, injured and killed. Jewish people feel threatened, frightened and insecure about our future. This year, the words in the Haggadah seem even more poignant – “not only one arose and tried to destroy us, rather in every generation they try to destroy us”. We know that
What makes this year different?
unfortunately all too familiar. While the enemy may have different names, their aim is always the same.
There is, however, something else that is different – we are. More than ever, we have a strong and united diaspora
challenges has become clearer. These require long-term, national solutions to rebuild lives and strengthen communities. Our role in the diaspora is also becoming clearer – to respond to this crisis and continue creating a stronger, more resilient Israel for the
a lasting impact across the country. For now, the most urgent priorities in Israel are Youth Futures, Shavim and Aliyah. The UIA-supported Youth Futures project is the official national program to support youth at risk across all Israel. Shavim, a newly created UIA-supported project, provides critical mental health support and PTSD prevention to the 40,000 Israelis transitioning back into civilian life.
Aliyah also remains a national priority, with more than 300,000 new immigrants (Olim) expected to arrive in Israel over the next three to five years.
At the same time, the Victims of Terror Fund, which has doubled its support in just 18 months, remains committed to standing with families for the long haul.
This Pesach, in lieu of gifts, we ask you to consider sending a UIA e-card to your family and friends.
Funds from these e-cards ensure that UIA can continue assisting with these initiatives, ensuring lasting impact across the country.
The responsibility is vast but knowing that we have each other to turn to will get us through. Am Yisrael Chai!
Every initiative that UIA supports operates at a national scale, ensuring
To buy an e-card, go to https:// uiaaustralia.org.au/e-cards
NOMI KALTMANN COURTESY: HA’ARETZ
When Velvel Lederman steps off the plane in Tel Aviv this June, it will mark the realisation of his lifelong dream of making Aliyah.
The retired schoolteacher and Orthodox father of eight – three of whom live in Israel – will be leaving behind the comforts of life in Sydney to spend his retirement in a new country, still shaken by the worst disaster in its history. A son of Holocaust survivors, Lederman, 71, says he always planned on doing so. But it was the recent and unprecedented rise in antisemitism in Australia that convinced him this was the time.
Like many young Australians, Elishevah – who asked that her last name not be published – has been shocked at the recent calls for violence against Jewish people on Australian campuses and the slow response from law enforcement officials.
“The fact that people in Australia can say ‘resistance by any means necessary’ and mean it – there needs to be action taken against that,” she says. “To watch a whole generation turn into Hamas, Hezbollah and jihad supporters, all because they don’t like Jewish people –that has to stop for me to stay.”
She first opened a request to emigrate back in 2022, but says that since the October 7 Hamas attack, her desire to leave Australia has taken on greater urgency. Referring to her Gen Z peers, Elisheva says: “For Australia to be safe, they need to change their behaviour, as they are the generation who will lead us. If this is how they think, it will only get worse from here.”
Over the past year and a half, Australian Jews have been shocked by the unprecedented and troubling rise in antisemitism. This has included arson attacks against synagogues, the doxing of hundreds of Jewish creatives, attacks on Jewish businesses and schools, and an arson attempt on the former home
The desire to make Aliyah now
of the co-chair of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (the country’s top Jewish body).
This tight-knit community of some 120,000 Jews had never before experienced significant antisemitism in this country. But since the Hamas attack and ensuing war in Gaza, incidents of Jew-hatred have skyrocketed, even spreading to isolated communities in Queensland and Adelaide.
Hearts set on Aliyah
Retired schoolteacher Lederman holds little optimism for the future of Jewish life in Australia. “I believe antisemitism here is being fuelled by overseas influences, with people being paid to spread fear and intimidation,” he says.
Although he is fully aware that Israel, with the ongoing war, is still potentially far less safe a place for Jews today, he says: “I do not think you will see ‘F**k the Jews’ graffitied on houses while walking down a street in Tel Aviv.”
Jews have always felt welcome and appreciated in Australia, being home to one of the largest concentrations of Holocaust survivors in the world. However, over the past year and a half the ground has shifted.
Indeed, a quick scroll through Jewish Australian Facebook groups reveals a noticeable rise in posts about leaving Australia since October 7. And these people are not just toying with the idea.
According to Jewish Agency figures, 193 Australians emigrated to Israel in 2024 – up 45 percent on the previous year. However, Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto cautions against seeing this trend as a direct result of antisemitism.
“We do not want to fuel a false narrative that Australian Jews are making Aliyah to flee antisemitism, as this is not the motivation for the vast majority,” he says.
“Anecdotally, the vast majority would object strongly to their Aliyah being characterised as being driven by antisemitism.”
It is quite likely, in fact, that most of these Australian Jews who are making Aliyah had their hearts set on doing just that before the explosion of antisemitism that followed the October 7 attacks.
Still, Paul Baram, a 65-year-old lawyer from Sydney, was born in Australia to grandparents who fled the Russian pogroms more than a century ago. While he says he is not yet ready to move to Israel, rising antisemitism in Australia has prompted him to reconsider his family’s future in the country.
“My wife and I discussed for the first time in our lives the possibility of having to leave Australia because of the extent of antisemitism, which in my view is now entrenched,” he says. Among other options, he is considering a move to Britain – where his daughter lives –although he notes that “the antisemitism is just as bad there.”
Liana Levin finds herself in a similar position. “I have been worried and I am abundantly aware of history repeating itself,” says the 62-year-old, Canberrabased public policy adviser, who was born in Israel to parents who fled Europe. She says she is watching the situation closely, noting that at her age, relocation can be challenging.
“It’s not something I want to do,” says Levin. “I have a very comfortable life in Canberra: a beautiful home, career opportunities and the advantage of language. My Hebrew is at a child’s level – the age I left.”
Still, if she were to pick up and leave, Levin says she knows where she would go. “Although I’m not in any way, shape or form religious, I have a profound and very real connection to Israel – as a Zionist and as someone who deeply, profoundly believes in Israel as the saviour of the Jewish world.”
‘Plan B for a lot of people’ Eva Hussain is the founder of Polaron, a company that helps citizens with roots in Europe – like many Australian Jews –obtain citizenship there. “The interest in having a second passport has stayed
steadily high as it gives people freedom to access 27 EU member states with no restrictions,” says Hussain, who is Jewish and serves as Austria’s honorary consul general in Victoria.
Demand for European passports among her clients, many of them Jewish, has increased more than 50 percent in the past six months, she says. “Many of them left Europe, or their ancestors left Europe, because of antisemitism, so it’s really quite tragic that they are seeking citizenship outside of America and Australia,” she says.
Hussain says her relatives, some of whom are Holocaust survivors, never imagined that a time would come when Australian Jews would be considering returning to the countries where they suffered terrible persecution. “It’s a plan B for a lot of people, but it’s also a safety net,” she says.
“You never know what’s going to happen in this world, so better to have it.”
She also adds that “Poland and Germany are making a big effort to make Jews feel safer.” Patrick works as a community service manager and lives in Melbourne. (He also asked that his full name not be published.)
He moved to Australia from Poland in the 1980s, after the fall of communism in that country.
Through Polaron, this 37-yearold Jewish man reclaimed his Polish citizenship about 18 months ago.
“With the way that things are unfolding in Australia, I found it critical not just to safeguard a future for myself but, more importantly, for my children who are very young,” he says. “I’m not packing up and leaving tomorrow, but it certainly gives me a greater level of comfort.”
Since the initial Hamas attack, Patrick says he has felt strengthened by his decision to keep his options open. “When I think back on it now, when I think about the environment and what has transpired since October 7, I feel even more comfortable that I have done my bit.”
CONSIDERED OPINION
RAMONA FREEDMAN
ALIYAH
ADVENTURES
In Israel now you are never far away from the reality of war on several fronts. Yet, if I step away from the macro madness and zoom in a little, there is something I see when I am out and about that just makes me so happy: the Australian eucalyptus tree.
No, it is not a mirage; no it is not a daydream – those trees do exist here. I smile and tell whoever is within earshot that the towering tree we are walking or driving by is from Down Under. I am always so proud to share. After all, as a born and bred Aussie, I feel that each is my friend and each makes me happy.
Varieties of eucalypts were originally brought to Israel to assist with drying out swamp regions, which were dangerous breeding grounds for mosquitoes spreading malaria. They are champions.
One day I was dropping off my daughter to Herzliya train station and, of course, I was admiring a cluster of Aussie trees to my left. To my right was a large highway and just adjacent to that was an Australian native red bottlebrush tree – birds were dipping and diving around it and yes, I was the only person surprised to see it so far from our Great Southern Land.
If I could personify that prolific plant, I would ask it what its Aliyah origin was. It somehow seems that we all have a tale to tell upon arriving in Israel, whoever and whatever we are.
Back in my university days I just loved sociology and now I love observing and sharing what I discover in Israel. During Winter and Spring, there is a brand of boots that is worn here with pride and purpose: the Australian Blundstones made in Hobart.
Each pair of boots has a couple of pull-tabs for easy manoeuvring and upon which the word ‘Tasmania’ is prominently printed. I can’t help thinking to myself that for all these Israelis with the word of our island state imprinted on their formidable footwear, would they even have a clue as to what the word means. I suspect not.
Though, to be fair, we have got to give them a break. Times are tougher than tough. When Israelis love someone or something, such as a brand, they are fiercely loyal. I quietly tested the theory the other day. All day, wherever I went, including in and out of the airport, I observed which footwear Israelis love beyond Blundstones.
When it comes to sport shoes, they adore the Swiss running brand
The real superheroes
‘On’. Legendary tennis player Roger Federer has co-designed sneakers within the range. When Israelis wear activewear, which is typically daily, this brand is prominent. Don’t forget, with Israel situated in the heart of the Middle East, its populace is passionate about so many things – from politics to purposeful footwear.
Let’s shift our focus now to the true heroes of our homeland. Shaina is a friend of mine and we see each other once a week at a women-only exercise class. Shaina is younger than me and doesn’t speak English, which, to be candid, is unusual for Ra’anana. She always looks exhausted. When we are doing stretches on our yoga mats, often Shaina is sprawled out and has simply given up on even attempting to follow the instructor. She is out for the count.
Now the class is on the gentle side and one night at the end of the session I asked her in simple Hebrew if she was okay and how many children she had. She looked at me and said one English
old baby boy. Her husband has been consistently serving in miluim too since her son was born.
I looked at her and asked, “Jessica, how do you cope?” She took a deep breath and replied that she literally gets through life in 15-minute increments. Her day is broken down into manageable portions. It is a masterclass on living and navigating the present. Another superhero.
Somehow this Eshet Chayil, this Woman of Valour, still finds the time to get to class to improve her Hebrew. In hindsight, I understand social responses I received in the first month after making Aliyah. Back then I thought it would be a good idea to put dates in the dairy approximately one month ahead to connect with families for Shabbat lunches.
One month ahead? I was clearly fresh off the proverbial boat, wasn’t I? One friend’s husband, who in the vintage Israeli way isn’t backward in coming forward, said to his wife after hearing me attempt to plan dates, “Honey, don’t worry, she’ll get it soon enough.”
Arriving in a time of war, I certainly did. In this regard I fear I am becoming more ‘Israeli’ about my calendar by the day.
And yet, things still make me smile daily. For example, in that exercise class with Shaina, when the teacher referred to the sides of our bodies. We know them colloquially as ‘love handles’. Well, that is not the phrase used in Israel.
word, her first to me: triplets. “Triplets? You have triplets?”, I exclaimed. Turns out shattered Shaina does have triplets who are four-and-a-half. She also has a three-year-old daughter. Whatever nationality you are, whatever hemisphere you live in, this is exhausting. But then she hit me with the kicker in Hebrew: “Ramona, my husband has been in miluim (a reserve soldier in the Israeli army) for over 200 days.” Shaina is a superhero … a superstar.
She is still in her late twenties. This is the untold toll the war takes on society. And yet she still gets to this one class, once a week. Do you know how many Shainas are out there across the length and breadth of Israel? So many. Too many. I wish I had the Hebrew vocabulary to express to her just how incredible I think she is, but I am still in Ulpan class learning the language. Recently, I started a new semester in a higher level and on day one sat next to a gorgeous ex-South African named Jessica. She has a 12-month-
Instead, they are labelled as unwanted ‘schnitzelim’. The class then got a stern but sweet little lecture on over-indulging on Shabbat gastronomically and the resulting kosher meaty addition, so to speak. We nodded in unison but all know we will still enjoy treats the next Friday night once again …
Thinking of those Aussie trees, I crossed the road to examine them a little more closely just to say g’day. I noticed that one was etched.
In this land of miracles, this land of making the desert bloom, who dares to deface said tree and with what? Well, I don’t know the culprit, but I do know what was carved. It was none other than a Star of David. Israelis are far from perfect; that anonymous graffiti artist is in that category for sure. But then I sighed and realised that he, she or they simply engraved our universal symbol of strength. In this time of war, a small part of me understood – next time little rebel, do not deface my beloved eucalyptus, okay?
For now, it is over and out from Ramona in Ra’anana.
YOASH DVIR CEO TECHNION AUSTRALIA AROUND THE COMMUNITY
Artificial Intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction. It has quietly embedded itself into our everyday lives. For instance, think about the navigation apps we rely upon to avoid traffic or the smart assistants in our phones that respond to our voices. Yet, despite its growing presence, many people remain uncertain about what AI truly is and what it means for the future.
At its core, AI is simply a tool that helps us process vast amounts of information and make better decisions. It does not think or feel like a human, nor does it have independent desires. Instead, it learns from data and follows patterns to generate results. AI comes in different forms, including rule-based systems that operate on strict logic, machine learning models that adapt based on experience and generative AI, which can create entirely new content, such as text, music and images.
Generative AI, in particular, has captured the world's imagination. Tools like ChatGPT can write essays, AIpowered software can generate original artwork and advanced models can compose music indistinguishable from that created by humans. But how does it work? These AI systems are trained on massive datasets, learning the structures and relationships within the data, so they can produce realistic and creative
The rise of AI: a tool for progress, not a threat
outputs. While they don’t possess human intuition, they can mimic patterns and generate innovative content in ways that were once thought impossible.
Nowhere is the promise of AI more apparent than in the field of medicine.
At Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, researchers are pioneering AI-driven innovations that are reshaping healthcare. One groundbreaking development is the AI-powered "NaNose", a device created by Professor Hossam Haick, that can detect diseases through breath analysis. Another initiative, the Technion-Rambam Medical AI collaboration, is harnessing AI to assist
doctors in real-time decision-making, allowing for more accurate diagnoses and personalised treatments. AI is also revolutionising medical imaging, with the Technion’s AIMLab developing patternrecognition algorithms that enhance the accuracy of scans, reducing the risk of human error.
The impact of AI in healthcare extends beyond research labs. AI-driven diagnostics are already improving patient outcomes worldwide. In drug discovery, AI helps scientists identify potential treatments faster, cutting down years of traditional research. In hospitals, AI assists in streamlining administrative
tasks, ensuring that doctors and nurses spend more time focusing on patients. Despite these advancements, misconceptions about AI persist. Some fear that AI will replace human jobs, while others worry about machines becoming too powerful. However, AI is not an autonomous entity seeking control – it is a tool designed to augment human capabilities. AI will never replace the expertise of doctors, but it will provide them with better insights. It won’t replace artists, but it will offer new ways to create. The future of AI lies in collaboration between humans and machines, where technology enhances rather than replaces human ingenuity.
Technion’s role in AI research extends beyond medicine. It has been ranked as the top institution in Europe for AI research and is globally recognised for its contributions to the field. As AI continues to evolve, institutions like the Technion will remain at the forefront, ensuring that innovation serves humanity rather than replacing it. Ultimately, AI should not be feared – it should be understood. With responsible development and ethical application, AI has the potential to improve our lives in ways we are only beginning to imagine.
To learn more about Technion and its use of AI, please visit Austechnion.com.
DAVID SOLOMON, CEO AUSTRALIAN FRIENDS OF TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
In a remarkable achievement for space research and education, Tel Aviv University (TAU) has played a central role in launching Israel’s largest-ever satellite constellation – designed and built by high school students. The Tevel 2 project, a collaboration between Tel Aviv University, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and nine municipalities across Israel, has successfully sent nine nanosatellites into space.
Each satellite, measures just 10 x 10 x11.3 cms. They were developed by students under the guidance of TAU’s Faculty of Engineering and launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California last month. The satellites reached an altitude of 500 kilometres in low Earth orbit.
Pioneering education through space
Tevel 2 is more than a space mission
– it is an educational breakthrough that provides hands-on scientific and engineering experience to high school students. Tel Aviv University established research and development centres in nine municipalities, bringing together students from Jewish, Arab and Druze communities.
"This project is a testament to the power of education and innovation,"
Tel Aviv University leads record breaking student satellite launch
said Professor Meir Ariel, Head of the Space Engineering Centre at TAU. "By guiding these students through the process of building satellites, we are not just teaching them about space; we are shaping the future of Israeli science and technology."
The initiative was funded by the Israel Space Agency and aims to promote equal opportunities in STEM education, inspiring students from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in science and engineering.
Advancing space science
While Tevel 2 is a powerful learning tool, it also carries an important scientific mission. The satellites will measure cosmic radiation, which consists of high-energy particles from the Sun and deep space events like supernovae. Understanding this radiation is critical for protecting astronauts and spacecraft.
"The constellation will provide a detailed radiation map of Earth’s orbit," said Professor Ariel. "The students will analyse this data alongside our
researchers, allowing them to contribute to real-world space science."
A tribute in space
Beyond science, the project carries deep emotional significance. One of the satellites, launched by students from Sha’ar HaNegev, will transmit the names of Israeli civilians and soldiers lost from October 7, 2023 to December 2024. This unique commemoration will be visible via the Israel Space Agency’s website.
Shaping Israel’s future in space
The Tevel 2 satellites will remain in orbit for approximately three years, gathering vital scientific data and inspiring future space scientists. Brigadier General (Res.) Uri Oron, Director General of the Israel Space Agency, emphasised the impact of the project. "This mission proves that when young minds are empowered with knowledge, they can achieve extraordinary things. Tel Aviv University and its partners are shaping the next generation of Israeli space pioneers." With this historic launch, Tel Aviv University continues to lead the way in education, innovation and space research, proving that the future truly belongs to those who dare to reach for the stars.
The gift of a lifetime.
No matter your stage in life, now is the perfect time to plan for your values to be represented long after you are gone. What do you want your legacy to be?
The things we care about don’t stop when we do.
Supporting Israel’s greatest natural resource - its people - and contributing to the education of future generations, is one of the most inspiring gifts you can give. It’s a promise today for Israel’s tomorrow.
Making a gift in your will to Tel Aviv University will ensure your legacy lives on with Israel, forever.
Tevel2 students testing environmental conditions at the satellite laboratory at Tel Aviv University (photo courtesy Ronen Horesh)
RABBI DR BENJI LEVY RABBINIC THOUGHT
A pivotal moment in the story of Exodus is when Pharaoh finally agrees to free the Israelites from centuries of servitude. With their request granted, the people rush into the wilderness, crossing the Red Sea and journeying toward Mt. Sinai. However, their newfound freedom comes with the acceptance of God as their Master and the commandments of the Torah. Was this not just a transition from one master to another? Yes, but the new system was incomparable with the old.
In Egypt, the Israelites were encouraged by Moses to hope for a better future, but the Torah tells us, "they did not heed Moses, because of shortness of breath and hard work" (Exodus 6:9). Their relentless toil left them unable to envision hope. Pharaoh hardly made things easy. "Pharaoh ordered the taskmasters: ‘You shall no longer give straw to the people to manufacture bricks. Let them gather straw for themselves. But the quota of bricks shall not be reduced …’"
Pharaoh’s goal was clear: to burden his slaves so completely that they could not imagine change.
Modern society also compels people to work tirelessly, often to the point of self-imposed servitude. The pursuit of a comfortable life can quickly spiral into an unrelenting climb up the corporate ladder. In Japan, known for its extreme work culture, there exists a term – karoshi –which translates to "death from overwork". This illustrates how work can consume life, leading people to live to work rather than
Once slaves in Egypt, now servants of God
work to live. Recent events, particularly the war in Israel, have shattered longheld paradigms. The need for survival has forced many to reassess what truly matters. Families have been separated,
communities displaced and the fragility of peace exposed. Yet, amid hardship, there has also been unity, reminding us that true fulfillment is found in purpose and connection, rather than in material
pursuits. The war has forced many to confront the reality that financial success pales in comparison to life’s deeper values, faith, family, and community.
However, not everyone has been able to shift their priorities. Many still struggle under financial pressures, career expectations and the constant demand to succeed. The blurring of boundaries between work and personal life has, for some, created a new form of servitude, making it harder to focus on what truly matters.
The Israelites in Egypt were blinded by Pharaoh’s demands, unable to see a greater meaning in life. Today, while we may not be bound by literal chains, many remain enslaved in the pursuit of success at great personal cost. The pressures of ambition, competition and self-imposed expectations have become the modern Pharaohs.
Since we will inevitably serve something, we must choose our master wisely. To be a servant of God – an Eved Hashem – is to transcend societal pressures that often lead to self-enslavement. Unlike servitude to ambition, which is fleeting, service to the Divine grants meaning, direction and true inner freedom. The Israelites' journey from Egypt to Sinai was not just about leaving one master for another. It was about finding a service that elevates rather than confines, granting purpose beyond worldly limitations.
Pesach has special significance this year
RABBI MOSHE GUTNICK RABBINIC ADMINISTRATOR THE KASHRUT AUTHORITY
Pesach is the festival that celebrates our birth as a nation and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The story behind it offers timeless lessons that can inspire hope and action in the face of adversity.
At its core, Pesach is a celebration of freedom. The Exodus from Egypt was not just a physical liberation, but a spiritual and moral awakening for the Jewish people. This theme of freedom is particularly poignant in the current struggle to defeat Hamas, an organisation that has perpetuated violence and oppression. The fight against such forces is a modern echo of the ancient struggle against Egyptian tyranny. Pesach reminds us that the pursuit of freedom is a sacred duty, one that requires courage, determination and faith.
The well-known song “Vhi Sheamda”, where we declare that in every generation they rise up to destroy us, and Hashem saves us from their hand, is the anthem of our ongoing struggle.
The story of Pesach also emphasises the importance of freedom, encompassing not just the leaders, but the people and their families. During the Exodus, the Israelites were commanded to come together as families to partake in the Passover meal. Pesach was not a political event in the halls of power, but freedom that permeated each
family home – a deeper more personal freedom. Of course, the most important aspect of Pesach is that we see the role of divine providence in human affairs. The ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea were miraculous events that demonstrated God’s intervention on behalf of our people.
While our modern struggle may appear not to involve overt miracles, an even cursory view of events shows us the veracity of our belief in a higher power.
It reminds us that even in the darkest times, there is a light that shines brightly as a force for justice and that can guide us toward victory and redemption. His hand is there, clearly there, for us to
see. In our long history, especially the times in exile, the miracle has been our very survival. Against all odds, Hashem has saved us from their murderous hand. We crawled out of the torture chamber, out of the auto-da-fé and out of the crematoria. Time and again we survived. Salvation, but not freedom, salvation but not redemption.
Finally, after thousands of years, we experience the second half of the miracle. Hashem has shown us his outstretched arm, not just to save us, but to give us victory. Not since the times of Joshua, King David and the Maccabees has a Jewish Army marched in victory. When we see the Israel Defense Forces,
we are not just seeing any army, but a Jewish Army, marching in victory for the first time in thousands of years.
Some of our critics have said the Jews have become too aggressive … become bullies.
To them I say blessed be Hashem who has brought us to this time. Finally, we no longer have to run and hide from our enemies, but they run in fear of us.
When we celebrate Pesach this year, we will not just be remembering the maror, the bitter times in our history, but we will be celebrating our nation risen. May all our captives be freed and may all the enemies of Israel be vanquished. Next year in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Dr Benji Levy welcomes the dawn of a new day
Apple kugel Strawberry rhubarb kugel
RABBI ARON MOSS RABBINIC THOUGHT
Ingredients:
4-5 Granny Smith apples
Question:
5 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup plain flour
1 cup white sugar (which can be adjusted, if you want less sweetness)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup orange juice
I am running our family Seder this Pesach, so I want to be prepared. One part where we always get lost is the eating of the egg. I have looked through the Haggadah and it doesn't say anywhere why we eat the egg. The matzah and bitter herbs are well explained, but the egg is not. So why do we eat it?
Cinnamon sugar
Method:
Why do we eat the egg?
Peel and slice thinly the granny smith apples.
Place them in two 9 x 9 inch baking dishes, or one 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl. When combined, pour over apples in the baking dish.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 50-55 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
Ingredients: Dough:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
teaspoon vanilla sugar
cup oil
Filling:
1 bag frozen strawberries 1 bag frozen rhubarb
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
Method:
Mix together dough ingredients. Press down half the dough mixture to line the bottom of a greased pan. Mix together filling ingredients. Pour on top of the dough and bake at 180C for half an hour.
Crumble remaining dough mixture on top and bake for another half hour.
hatched is the day I came out into the world. An egg is a birth yet to happen, but it is the start of something. So, I'd have a small party on the earlier date
Pesach is like the laying of an egg. It is when we were redeemed from slavery, when G-d took us out of Egypt
gave birth to me. But the day my egg
But that was just the beginning of a big story, the first step in a long journey The Jewish people are at the centre
of a global drama, the struggle to liberate the world from all negative energy and allow goodness to prevail. The struggle began in Egypt, continues today and will end in Jerusalem. On Pesach, when we eat the egg, we celebrate the laying of the egg of freedom and we pray for the complete redemption to be hatched. Next year in Jerusalem.
How many common words of five or more letters can you spell using the letters in the hive? Every answer must use the centre letter at least once. Letters may be reused in a word. At least one word will use all seven letters and have a direct Jewish connection.
How many common words of five or more letters can you spell using the letters in the hive? Every answer must use the centre letter at least once. Letters may be reused in a word. At least one word will use all seven letters and have a direct Jewish connection.
Proper names and hyphenated words are not allowed. Score one point for each answer and three points for a Jewish related word that uses all seven letters.
Proper names and hyphenated words are not allowed. Score 1 point for each answer and 3 points for a Jewish related word that uses all 7 letters.
Rating: 19 = Good; 22 = Excellent; 28 = Genius
Rating: 6 = Good; 10 = Excellent; 13 = Genius Yoni Glatt has published more than 1,000 crossword puzzles worldwide, from the LA Times and Boston Globe to The Jerusalem Post. He has also published two Jewish puzzle books: "Kosher Crosswords" and the sequel "More Kosher Crosswords and Word Games".
Yoni Glatt has published more than 1,000 crossword puzzles worldwide, from the LA Times and Boston Globe to The Jerusalem Post. He has also published two Jewish puzzle books: "Kosher Crosswords" and the sequel "More Kosher Crosswords and Word Games".
PAGE 19
PAGE 19
REBBETZIN ESTY GUTNICK
REBBETZIN ESTY GUTNICK
FOODIE CORNER
Ingredients:
1 kg red seedless grapes or other red variety – stalks removed
1/4 cup (60ml) water
45 g CSR castor sugar
30 ml honey
100 ml red wine (sweet is better) – if you don’t want the wine, replace it with water and the juice of two lemons
Method:
1. Put the grapes and water into a medium pot and bring it to boil with
Red grape sorbet
Chef’s tip: Make in advance and store in the freezer for three to six months.
Meaty Matzah Kugel
This is designed to serve as an inspiration to repurpose leftovers into a meal.
Ingredients:
2 cups shredded leftover meat/ chicken/tuna
1 tray brown mushrooms sliced 1 small pack baby spinach
2 teaspoons baking powder
REVIEW
What a powerhouse of a show this is. The music, the moves and magnitude of it all were certainly not lost on me.
The setting is the rehearsal room in the lead up to Michael Jackson’s Dangerous world tour, which kicked off in June 1992 and finished in November 1993.
Michael Jackson (Ilario Grant), ever the perfectionist, is looking to build on the success of his last tour.
Already a multiple Grammy winner, his focus is forever on the music and the spectacle.
His backing dancers are excellent, but he still wants to draw more from them.
He rides himself and them hard. It is all about upping the ante and giving the audience something they have never seen before.
He is most at home when he is on stage wowing the crowd.
Jackson is feeling the pressure and popping pills regularly.
Tour director Rob (Derrick Davis) is trying to reason with him, but Michael won’t hear of it, making frequent lastminute changes.
The latter visualises what he is after and won’t take no for answer, regardless of the cost. Truth be told, he is facing serious financial pressures.
An MTV reporter Rachel (Penny McNamee) and cameraman Alejandro (Yashith Fernando) have been given unparalleled access to Jackson for two days. Their assignment is to record a puff piece on the tour.
Slick and strong
But Rachel is determined to go further and ask Michael some hard questions, including probing him about rumours that have been circulating.
Jackson, who shuns the media, hasn’t given an in-depth interview for 14 years. He reflects upon what shaped him, scared him and scarred him (in so doing, the musical doesn’t shy away from highlighting his demons).
So it is that we learn about his controlling, womanising father Joseph (again Derrick Davis) and the emergence of the Jackson Five.
His mother Katherine (Shewit Belay) is forever defending Joseph’s harsh demeanour as a sign of love and him wanting to further the family.
As Jackson’s solo career begins to take off, he is taken under the wing of Motown record label founder Berry Gordy (Wonza
CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES
Johnson). Not content, Jackson teams up with another famed record producer in Quincy Jones (Conlon Bonner), before branching out again.
So it is that the action in MJ: The Musical moves back and forth in time as the Dangerous tour is imminent.
Allegations of improper sexual conduct by Michael Jackson are never mentioned.
With book by Lynn Nottage, this is a stunningly produced jukebox musical, skilfully directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon.
I witnessed an inspired performance from Ilario Grant, who does most of the heavy lifting in the lead.
His vocal proclivity is remarkable. His voice channels that of the King of Pop and that is high praise indeed. His limber dance moves, too, are something
Spelling bee answers
to behold. That takes me back to the choreography, which is flawless, including seamless transitions within scenes.
Liam Damons does a fine job as the teenage Michael and Daniel Makunike is accomplished as Little Michael.
Derrick Davis brings gravitas to hardnosed Joseph Jackson and longsuffering tour director Rob.
Shewit Belay has mellifluous pipes in realising Katherine Jackson.
Penny McNamee is prominent and polished as the go-getting MTV reporter, alongside her fanboy cameraman Alejandro. The latter is played in conciliatory fashion by Yashith Fernando. They are backed by a terrific ensemble and outstanding band, under music director Michael Azzopardi.
Derek McLane’s scenic design and Peter Nigrini’s projection design are a revelation – I was so impressed. Some of the pops of colour are truly dazzling and uplifting.
Evocative costuming by Paul Tazewell, a lighting showcase by Natasha Katz and striking sound design by Gareth Owen round out the pizzazz.
Close your eyes for a moment and I swear you can hear Michael Jackson at his brilliant best doing what only Michael Jackson can and did do.
Of course, the question that continues to hang in the air is what price fame? There are no half measures or shortcuts in MJ: The Musical – just musical excellence with spark and sizzle. It is playing at Lyric Theatre until 3rd August, 2025.
Jewish answer: YERAKOT. Here is a list of some common words (“yes”, we know there are more words in the dictionary that can work, but these words are common to today’s vernacular): KARAOKE, KARATE, KAYAK, KAYAKER, KOOKY, REEKY, RETAKE, RETOOK, ROOKERY, TAKER and YEREK.
Questions/comments, please email Yoni at koshercrosswords@gmail.com
Crossword answers
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Sweet moves and vocal excellence are the hallmarks of MJ: The Musical (photo by Daniel Boud)
