It has been an honour to serve
Reflecting on what has shaped our community, what has sustained us through challenging times.
In A few short months, my six-year term as president of JCA will come to an end.
As I prepare to hand over the reins, I find myself reflecting on what has shaped our community, what has sustained us through challenging times, and why I remain optimistic about our future.
JCA was born from a simple but powerful idea: that our collective future depends on shared responsibility. The organisation was established in 1967, when the Six-Day War galvanised the Jewish community to come together in support of 10 founding organisations. The first campaign raised $340,000. Nearly 60 years later, JCA supports 24 organisations serving Jewish life across New South Wales and the ACT, helping fund education, aged care, security, advocacy, welfare, engagement and cultural life.
That growth did not happen by accident. It happened because generations of leaders, volunteers and donors believed that a strong community requires collective investment.
My own involvement with JCA spans more than two decades. Serving as CEO from 2006 to 2013 gave me a deep appreciation of what JCA truly does. It is not simply a fundraising organisation. It is a planning and allocation body that helps ensure resources reach where they are needed most and that no member of our community is left behind.
When I was invited to become president in 2020, I could not have imagined the challenges that lay ahead. Within months, the world was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The gatherings, celebrations and connections that define communal life disappeared almost overnight. Yet even in isolation, I witnessed extraordinary resilience.
I saw volunteers supporting vulnerable community members, organisations adapting services at remarkable speed, and countless acts of generosity and kindness. The experience reinforced a lesson that has stayed with me ever since: community is not defined by proximity, but by commitment. By showing up for one another when it matters most.
Then came October 7, 2023.
Like Jews around the world, we watched in horror as events unfolded in Israel. The grief was immediate and profound. What followed was another painful reality: a surge of antisemitism that many Australian Jews never imagined they would witness in their lifetime.
On our streets, on university campuses and across public life, many members of our community suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable. We had long believed Australia was immune to the oldest hatred. Recent years have shown us otherwise. Yet they have also revealed something remarkable.
Faced with uncertainty and fear, our community responded with courage, dignity and unity. We supported one another, stood proudly as Jews and refused to retreat.
That same spirit was on display following the December 14 Bondi terror attack, which targeted members of our community simply because they were Jewish. What I will remember most from that tragic day was not the fear, but the response. We are a community that thrives on debate and diversity of opinion. We do not always agree on politics, religion, Israel or communal priorities. Yet when crisis struck, those differences faded into the background. Everyone came together with compassion, determination and a shared sense of responsibility. The response reminded us of something fundamental: when it matters most, we are one community.
That lesson has informed some of the most significant changes at JCA during my presidency. In recent months, we have modernised our structure through the establishment of a corporate trustee model and the creation of the Jewish Community Foundation as a DGR1 charity. These changes position JCA to support not only our core beneficiary organisations but also the broader network of communal organisations that contribute to Jewish life. They reflect the growing understanding that collaboration and collective action are essential to meeting the challenges ahead.
Having seen this community from many perspectives, as a volunteer, committee member, CEO, president and community member, I can say with confidence that we are among the strongest Jewish communities in the world. Not because we have been spared adversity. We have not. But because of how we have responded to it. Time and again, we have met challenges with generosity, resilience and unity. We have invested in our future, cared for our most vulnerable and strengthened the institutions that sustain Jewish life.
As my term comes to an end, I do so with genuine optimism. The incoming president, Myra Salkinder, together with our board, executive committee and professional leadership team, are deeply committed to the future of our community. JCA is in excellent hands.
My belief in the future of Jewish life in Sydney and across Australia has never wavered. Not during COVID. Not after October 7. Not after Bondi.
From the first JCA campaign in 1967 to the tens of millions raised today, one thing has remained constant: we are a community that shows up for one another.
To every donor, volunteer, professional and communal leader who has contributed to that legacy, thank you. It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to serve.
Am Yisrael chai.
Ian Sandler is the president of JCA NSW.