By royal appointment

A whopping 43 Jewish Australians have been recognised for their contributions in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.

Five members of our community were made Officers of the Order of Australia (AO), 11 Jewish Australians were honoured as Members of the Order of Australia (AM), while 27 received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Jews accounted for almost five per cent of the 919 recipients in the General Division of the Order of Australia, despite making up only 0.4 per cent of Australia’s population.

And while this year’s honours are for the first time in 70 years named after a male monarch, more Jewish women than men have been recognised, 22 to 21.

Notable honourees include businessman and philanthropist Alan Schwartz, oncologist John Zalcberg, pharmacy academic Louis Roller and artist Wendy Sharpe.

Schwartz told The AJN, “You feel thrilled to be acknowledged by your peers. But it’s not why you do it. It’s a sense of duty as well … a sense that you’ve got to make a contribution.”

Said Sharpe, “It certainly is a lovely feeling. And because quite often the arts are overlooked, being recognised in this way means a lot.”

Communal identities including former Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Anton Block, Melbourne community stalwart Elly Brooks, former JCA president Stephen Chipkin, Rabbi Jonathan Keren Black and Parramatta Synagogue president Michael Morris have also been recognised, the latter receiving congratulations from federal MP Julian Leeser.

Making it a family affair, child Holocaust survivor Peter Halasz and his daughter-in-law, Thread Together founder Andie Halas, both received honours.

“It’s very special to be sharing it with my father-in-law,” Andie Halas said.

“We both like to give back, try make a bit of a difference and do the best we can.”

Meanwhile, while not Jewish, Courage to Care Victoria CEO Mike Zervos has been honoured for his work in and on behalf of the community.