Rabbi Smukler to leave Moriah

MORIAH College Principal Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler has announced that he will leave the school at the end of the 2023 academic year.

Having had a lifelong ambition for his family to live together in Israel, Rabbi Smukler, who replaced John Hamey as principal in 2019, has accelerated plans for the move.

“As passionate Zionists, our family’s lifelong ambition is to make aliyah. After deep refection, we have made the challenging decision to bring forward our aliyah plans,” he said in a letter to the Moriah family.

“The catalyst for this decision has been our eldest children moving to Israel sooner than anticipated, compounded by a difficult covid period. To balance our family’s needs with the best interests of the College, our move to Israel will be a two-year process,” he continued.

“My wife and younger children are moving in time for the 2022 Israeli school year, which commences in a few months, and I will remain college principal until the end of 2023.”

Rabbi Smukler added that he is “a passionate believer in Moriah College as the bedrock of the current and future Sydney Jewish community”.

College President Stephen Jankelowitz said that while Rabbi Smukler will be “leaving Moriah sooner than we all would have preferred, he has generously agreed to continue as college principal until the end of the 2023 academic year and does so with the full support and confidence of the board of directors”.

“This arrangement will provide ample time for the college to arrange a smooth transition to new leadership and ensure a continuation of the already-successful academic and communal foundations Rabbi Smukler has put in place,” he said.

Since re-joining the school in 2019 as principal, Rabbi Smukler has steered Moriah College through several difficult challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under his strong leadership, Moriah said, the school had set the benchmark for online learning excellence, with student wellbeing at its core, and the school has emerged on a strong upwards trajectory.

“We are enormously grateful for all that Rabbi Smukler has achieved,” Jankelowitz said.

“Our plan for the college is clear and is making an impact and Rabbi Smukler remains committed to continue to deliver on that plan over the balance of his tenure.

“We will begin immediately to work with Rabbi Smukler to conduct an extensive global recruitment process to ensure that we find the right person to take over as college principal at the beginning of the 2024 academic year.”