Sydney community farewells Yuval Rotem
THE goodwill in the room was heartfelt and palpable on Sunday night as the Sydney Jewish community paid tribute to Israeli Ambassador Yuval Rotem, who will return home in October after six years in Canberra.
THE goodwill in the room was heartfelt and palpable on Sunday night as the Sydney Jewish community paid tribute to Israeli Ambassador Yuval Rotem, who will return home in October after six years in Canberra.
A who’s who of the community were joined by local, state and federal politicians to farewell Rotem at the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia’s Fanny Reading Council House.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Philip Chester said he realised “straight away” upon meeting Rotem in 2007 that he “was not going to be your conventional, reserved diplomat, but rather a passionate, emotionally committed activist who would set the diplomatic scene in Canberra and our community alight”.
“From day one you saw your role as not merely representing Israel in the usual formal diplomatic channels, but also to turn the Israeli Embassy into a beehive of activity, dealing with politics, culture, trade, commerce, sport, Jewish communal affairs and much, much more,” he said.
Chester also spoke of the challenges Rotem faced during his term, including the Dubai passport affair, the flotilla incident and the Ben Zygier affair.
“[They] were all very difficult diplomatic issues that Yuval handled brilliantly,” he said.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBOD) president Yair Miller spoke of the cooperation between JBOD and the Israeli Embassy under Rotem on media, overseas speakers, events and missions to Israel, the annual Yom Ha’atzmaut cocktail party, as well as the ceremony held in the NSW Parliament and human rights award honouring Raoul Wallenberg.
Miller also offered a personal tribute: “To be able to find someone of your calibre to truly count as a mentor and a trusted friend is something that’s helped me immensely over the last number of years.”
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) NSW president Paul Keen praised Rotem’s endorsement of the Rambam Fellowship Program, which has seen more than 500 politicians, journalists and other leaders visit Israel, and commended Rotem’s resolve against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“The impressive turnout tonight, standing room at the back only, is a sign of the affection that is felt in the Sydney Jewish community and its leadership and by opinion makers [for Rotem],” Keen said.
Rotem said the last six years had been an amazing journey for him and his family.
“We have felt as if we were part of your extended family,” he said.
He also paid tribute to the staff at the Israeli Embassy for their diligence, determination and persistence: “I was able to be a better ambassador because of them.”
GARETH NARUNSKY
Outgoing Israeli Ambassador Yuval Rotem.
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