Anzac service’s record crowd
Major General Jeffrey Rosenfeld described VAJEX as “more relevant than ever”.
The Victorian Association of Jewish Ex & Servicemen & Women Australia (VAJEX) held its annual Anzac commemoration service at Glen Eira Town Hall on Sunday to unprecedented attendance.
Numbers nearly doubled compared to last year’s event.
“The positive feedback was overwhelming, mostly relating to the speeches, tone, orchestration and dignity of the Anzac service,” said VAJEX president Janice Furstenberg.
“Community engagement was very high, from politicians, veterans, first responders, police, RSL and Jewish organisations, including roof bodies, schools and synagogues.”
In his keynote address, Major General Jeffrey Rosenfeld, the organisation’s patron in chief, described VAJEX as “more relevant than ever”.
“We are not a group of old dinosaurs. I believe strongly that VAJEX is an important bulwark against antisemitism,” he said.
“Antisemitism has flourished almost unchecked since that horrendous Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023,” Rosenfeld stated.
He emphasised the historical significance of Jewish military service, noting that in World War I, the numbers of Jews serving were well above the proportion of other groups.
He highlighted that nearly 2000 Australian Jews voluntarily enlisted in WWI from a total Jewish population of just 20,000.
“It is vitally important that immigrants integrate into Australian society.
The Jews have integrated well and have always stepped up to join in the defence of Australia when the nation calls,” he said.
Sara Lupton, president of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (Victoria), called it “truly an honour for students to be involved”.
The service featured participation across generations, from Jewish school students and university representatives to 101-year-old veteran Maurice Smith (Szmitler), who laid a wreath in memory of two cousins killed in WWII.
The ceremony included a bugler from the Royal Australian Air Force Band and a full orchestral recording of the Australian national anthem, which attendees noted added gravitas and importance to the occasion.
A record number of wreaths were laid, 60 per cent more than last year.
Rosenfeld detailed the contributions of two Jewish servicemen – Sergeant Issy Smith VC, who fought in WWI; and Dr Stanley Goulston MC, who was awarded the Military Cross during the siege of Tobruk in 1941.
The freshly laid wreaths were later moved to the Jewish Soldiers of Victoria War Memorial in Ripponlea, where they will remain on display for anyone to view throughout the week.
Full text of the speech by Major General Professor Jeffrey V Rosenfeld AC OBE KStJ (Ret’d), Patron in Chief of VAJEX
This might just be our most important VAJEX service yet.
We have been at risk of demise as an organisation as our membership declines.
And this occurring at a time of upheaval in Australian society and a momentous Federal election.
I believe with Janice Furstenberg as President, an active Board, a revised constitution which allows for a broader membership, and VAJEX having a larger voice in the community and fostering a renewed interest in our past, we can continue to grow.
We are not a group of old dinosaurs. I posit to you that VAJEX is more relevant than ever.
Indeed, I believe strongly that VAJEX is an important bulwark against antisemitism.
And I will explain why I believe this to be the case.
Antisemitism has flourished almost unchecked since that horrendous Hamas attack in Israel on Oct 7th, 2023.
Graffiti, vandalism, arson of a synagogue, harassment, shaming and denigration of Jews going about their lives in peace has become commonplace.
There has undoubtedly been a fracturing of our society since Oct 8th, 2023, where hundreds of Keffiyeh wearing, placard waving, chanting protestors congregated to spew hate against Jews, Zionists and Israel on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
We now have weekly Pro-Palestinian marches proclaiming hate for Zionists and Israel.
Their memes such as ‘All Zionists are terrorists’ and ‘from the river to the sea’ meaning the elimination of the State of Israel, permeate the brains of the vulnerable and easily manipulable.
These hatreds are poisoning the wellspring of our national character of tolerance and respect for fellow citizens.
Universities here and overseas have become hotbeds of antisemitism.
University leaders have been unwilling to distinguish hate speech from free speech.
Pro-Palestinian encampments have been an eyesore on university campuses and prevented free movement and discourse of Jewish and other students and staff.
Interruption of lectures by pro-Palestinian activists is unacceptable.
On Oct 9th, 2024 there was an invasion of office of the Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne, Stephen Prawer.
The insipid response of university administrations has been to set up safe zones to shield Jews from harassment.
There has been a shutting down of alternate views at institutions which claim to be bastions of free speech and exchange of ideas.
We desperately need a return to civil discourse and rational debate.
As if all this were not enough, we have Neo-Nazi thugs marching on our streets and only two days ago disrupting our Dawn Anzac Service at the Shrine in Melbourne.
Their disgusting behaviour exists in a time warp reminiscent of Nazi Germany of 1939.
Armed guards are now a fixture at our synagogues and Jewish Day schools.
Many Jews eschew wearing anything in public which identifies them as Jewish.
There is also the pervasive antisemitic trope that Jews are an isolated insular community and are not part of Australian society.
VAJEX is in a prime position to absolutely refute these lies.
There is also an attempt by some haters to deny or rewrite past events.
Their aim is to create a collective amnesia.
We also have seen attempts to deny the events in Israel of October 7th when Hamas invaded and raped, murdered and kidnapped Israelis.
Forgetting the past is a sure way to weaken our democracy and our way of life.
The schools and teachers have a responsibility to be part of the solution which is the remembrance of our history.
With all this going on, well might we ask what has become of our beloved Australia?
We are crying out for stronger leadership at all levels of government, university and civil administration.
This VAJEX ANZAC commemoration is all about remembrance of the service and sacrifice of all the Jewish men and women in past wars and also those who currently serve so that we may continue to live in a free society.
Now more than ever we need to remember the wars Australians have fought, why we fought them, and who fought for us and particularly those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
This history is sadly of little interest to many Australians who take for granted the freedom we have in Australia.
We should encourage all Australians to learn about and understand the sacrifices that have made to secure our way of life, and to help preserve it for our future.
I am sure we all fervently wish Australia to remain a vibrant democracy and a bastion of freedom in a troubled world.
It is vitally important that immigrants integrate into Australian society.
The Jews have integrated well and have always stepped up to join in the defence of Australia when the nation calls.
Jews have served in all our wars.
In World War I, the numbers of Jews serving were well above the proportion of other groups who were serving.
More than 7,000 Australian Jews have served in the defence of Australia and in all our military operations, including some 400 who have made the supreme sacrifice.
In 1914 there were 20,000 Jews in Australia.
Of about 10,000 males only about 3,000 would have been fit to serve. In fact, 2,000 Australian and 200 New Zealand Jews voluntarily enlisted in WW1.
This is an incredible contribution, as nearly every able-bodied young Jewish male enlisted.
We remember, honour, and pay our profound respects to our fallen in land combat, on the seas and in the air, particularly those Jewish soldiers, sailors and airmen who paid with their lives in the defence of Australia and our allies.
And we remember and celebrate those who made it back home and back to their families.
Some injured and disabled, many harbouring the terrible memories of war with the mental scars and torment that follows them always.
They will always be remembered.
That is why VAJEX maintains a memorial book which has the names of all the Jewish men and women who have served and passed away.
I would like to select two Jewish soldiers for particular remembrance today.
Sergeant Issy Smith VC, born Ishroulch Shmeilowitz on September 18,1890 to Russian Jews in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (present-day Istanbul, Turkey), was a remarkable individual who would become known for his extraordinary bravery.
He stowed away on a ship to England at a young age, and in 1904 he enlisted in the British Army, joining the Manchester Regiment.
He served in South Africa and India before eventually migrating to Australia.
However, with the outbreak of World War I, Smith, as a reservist, was called back to serve.
Issy Smith VC was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery on 26 April 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium.
His citation reads: As a Corporal in the 1st Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, Smith, on his own initiative, left his company and went well forward towards the enemy’s position to assist a severely wounded man.
He carried the wounded soldier a distance of 250 yards to safety while being exposed to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire throughout.
‘Subsequently Corporal Smith displayed great gallantry, when the casualties were very heavy, in voluntarily assisting to bring in many more wounded men throughout the day, and attending to them with the greatest devotion to duty regardless of personal risk.’
After being demobilised after the war, Issy Smith returned to Australia with his wife and daughter.
He became a prominent figure within Melbourne’s Jewish community.
Issy Smith died in Melbourne on 11 September 1940 and was buried with full military honours in the Fawkner Cemetery.
Dr Stanley Goulston AO MC was awarded the Military Cross for his exceptional service during the 8 month siege of Tobruk in 1941.
After the war, he went on to become an eminent gastro-enterologist.
Dr Goulston was born in Sydney on 26 July 1915.
He enlisted in the army in 1939 and was attached to the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC).
In1940, he married his childhood sweetheart, Jean Danglow (daughter of Chaplain Rabbi Jacob Danglow), at the St Kilda Synagogue in Melbourne.
Dr Goulston’s Battalion moved to Tobruk, Lybia,on the 19 January 1941 into what would become the siege of Tobruk which was one of the critical battles of World War II.
The citation for his Military Cross records: ‘As Regimental Medical Officer of the 2/1 Battalion, Captain Goulston has set a splendid example of devotion to duty and courage under fire.
At all times during the operations in Libya he has carried out his duties without regard to enemy action’.
His citation elaborated on the attack and how Goulston stayed calm and collected and set an example for his fellow troops.
After the war he became an Honorary Consultant at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
He became involved with Legacy in 1947 and was active with the organisation for decades, also serving as president of Sydney Legacy.
To those who died in war including the most recent Jewish soldier, Private Greg Sher, who paid the supreme sacrifice while serving as a commando in Afghanistan in 2009.
We remember, thank and honour all of you.
Your deeds and courage are the reasons why we live in Freedom in Australia today.
May you all rest in peace and may your families all know that your sacrifice has not been in vain and that our precious way of life is preserved because of what you have done.
Lest we forget
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