New strategy to meet changing needs

Stand Up was established over 30 years ago and has become one of the Australian Jewish community’s leading social justice organisations. In the aftermath of October 7 and the Bondi massacre, Stand Up has launched an updated strategy that focuses on “activating emerging leaders” and builds on “allyship in action”.

Speaking to The AJN about its new approach Stand Up’s CEO Gabe Freund said it was needed as some former friendly organisations became hostile, and as young progressive Australian Jews found themselves ostracised.

“We have a very strong legacy of contributing to social change in this country, and yet, almost overnight, these places became unsafe for Jewish people … We’ve also seen what I would describe as a haemorrhaging of a cohort of passionate … young Jewish people who want to go out there in Australian society and make a difference,” he said.

In response, Freund said Stand Up is seeking to “support a generation of young Jewish leaders who are proud of who they are and know where they come from”, saying they are building a “movement of young Jewish change makers” who can be proudly Jewish while addressing inequities and social challenges.

Discussing Stand Up’s relationship with organisations it had once supported, Freund said that Stand Up’s true allies spoke up after the Bondi massacre. “It became clear who the groups were that stood beside us and loudly and vocally supported us and rejected the hatred that we’ve been experiencing, and those were communities that we’ve been working with for a really long time.”