A note from The AJN’s new editor
'I feel immense pride and heavy responsibility in equal measure'
Little did that awkward 12-year-old, drawing his “Bridge to Israel”, know back in 1988 that one day he would work for this publication. The rebellious teenager of a few years later – who spent too much time outside then Moriah College vice-principal Morrie Finberg’s (z”l) office – seemed even less destined for such a path.
Yet here I am, just shy of 12 years since I first joined the paper, writing in it for the first time as editor.
It’s been quite the journey to get to this point. Despite 12 years of Jewish schooling (Moriah-Emanuel-Moriah), I drifted away from the community a few years after graduating in 1993. I went on AUJS Academy and was subsequently involved with AUJS for a time in the mid-1990s, and had a brief dalliance with UIA Young Leadership in my late 20s after participating in an Israel mission. But for the most part I had little involvement in the Jewish community, even though I always remained fiercely supportive of Israel.
It was when I was at the midpoint of completing my Masters in Journalism in 2010 that an opportunity arose (after two previous unsuccessful job interviews, no less) to join The AJN.
I thought it would be a good opportunity to gain valuable experience in a new career path. It has been so much more.
My journey at The AJN has been nothing short of a homecoming. Our vibrant, thriving community has embraced me with open arms.
I have had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most intelligent, dedicated people, both at the paper and in the community. Their passion is infectious. Their love for the community and tireless work on its behalf is a source of pride.
I now cannot imagine a version of my life without this community and its people in it.
And so working for The AJN up to this point has given me far more than a profession. It has given me an extended family – and I don’t say this lightly – it has given me my identity.
And so, as I take the reins of this 127-year-old publication, I feel immense pride and heavy responsibility in equal measure.
The role that The AJN has played in and for our community cannot be understated. It has documented Jewish life in Australia – and indeed, the contributions of Jews and our community to wider Australian society – for well over a century. It has advocated fearlessly on behalf of Australian Jewry. It has shone a light on both issues of concern to our community and issues within it.
Not everyone has agreed with every story we’ve run – but to do what is right, rather than what may necessarily be popular, is at the core of this paper’s integrity.
It is this ethos that will guide my custodianship of The AJN. I learned from two of the best in the late Joshua Levi (z”l) and former AJN editor Zeddy Lawrence.
Josh was driven by a desire to make the community that he loved dearly the best it could be – to hold its institutions to account for the betterment of all. Zeddy always juggled the competing demands of different facets of the community with fairness and grace. I will be forever grateful for the guidance both demonstrated, without which I would not be writing this now.
I take the helm at a fraught time for Australian and worldwide Jewry and the State of Israel. Antisemitism is on the rise around the world, festering in both far-left and far-right circles. It manifests on social media, on our campuses and sometimes in our streets.
International campaigns to delegitimise Israel are gaining traction and becoming emboldened, as evidenced by the bilious campaign to boycott the Sydney festival earlier this year. Meanwhile, student councils pass motions condemning Israel while Jewish university students find themselves pressured to answer not for Israel’s actions or policies, but its very existence.
Our community faces other local challenges. Inflation and cost of living means young Jewish families are having to move further afield from Jewish hubs to afford a home while they struggle to pay Jewish day school fees. The rates of secularisation and assimilation are growing.
As a microcosm of wider Australian society, the Australian Jewish community is also not immune to the many societal issues that affect us just as they do others; the scourge of domestic violence, child abuse, addiction, mental health, LGBTQI issues, the list goes on. As The AJN has always done, it will continue to tackle all of these issues and more under my editorship.
But it’s not all bad news. There is also much to celebrate. There are communal celebrations such as the wonderful and inclusive In One Voice festival that I had the pleasure of attending in Melbourne last Sunday. There are many achievements by members of our community that benefit wider society. We have interfaith harmony programs, Jews reaching out to help others, Jewish art and culture, sporting achievements, schooling achievements, there are too many to name. Add to that Israel’s contribution to science, medicine and humanitarian causes.
And as we do all of that, I remain cognisant that as a community we harbour a wide range of views, which The AJN will always endeavour within reason to represent.
I thank Zeddy for recommending me as his replacement, and our CEO David Redman and publishers Robert and Ruth Magid for believing I’m up to the task.
I make the same promise to them as I do to all of you: I will not let you down.
Gareth Narunsky is national editor of The AJN.