Ray Hadley thanked for ‘unwavering support’ at AGM

Longtime host of 2GB’s top-rated morning program, Ray Hadley, was personally thanked at the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ (JBD) 80th AGM at Moriah College on Tuesday night, for his unwavering support for the Jewish community.

JBD president David Ossip said, “In one of our darkest hours as a community, Ray used his voice to educate politicians, civil society leaders, and the public at large, at every turn, about the unique challenges facing our community.

“This was a year when the Jewish community very much saw the true face of our enemies, but also a year we learned the value of having good friends, and the Jewish community has no better friend than Ray.”

Delivering her CEO update report, Michele Goldman said in the past year, JBD’s team “has case managed 440 individual incidents of antisemitism across schools, universities, workplaces and public spaces, and many of these have required painstaking work”.

“On the political front, we’ve defeated BDS motions at councils across the state … we secured bipartisan support for stronger protections against criminal hate speech and to protect places of worship, we helped initiate the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism and we increased police visibility over the summer months around our neighbourhoods through our advocacy.

“We brought together over 20,000 members of our community at more than 16 major events to show solidarity, to demonstrate strength, to remember and to learn.

“Looking ahead, the work of the JBD has never been more vital.”

Ossip thanked two JBD directors, Sam Zweig and Michelle Filler, who have chosen to step down, for their “lengthy and meritorious service”.

Three new directors were elected – Garry Browne, Greg Joffe and Andrew Whitten.