ZFA broadens the tent
This reflects what president Jeremy Leibler describes as fundamental changes in Jewish communal life since October 7 last year.
The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) has voted to create a new partnership structure aimed at widening representation across the Jewish community.
This reflects what president Jeremy Leibler describes as fundamental changes in Jewish communal life since October 7 last year.
Speaking after the historic vote at Sunday’s ZFA biennial conference at Beth Weizmann Community Centre, Leibler explained the initiative was designed to provide “a meaningful way for other organisations who are Zionist, who sign onto the Jerusalem program to be a part of the conversation”.
“Even before the 7th of October, there was a recognition within the ZFA for many years that we needed to broaden the tent if we are going to have legitimacy as a truly representative roof body for the Jewish community,” he said.
The new structure aims to incorporate a diverse range of organisations, including Israeli expatriate groups, grassroots initiatives and newly energised communal bodies.
Leibler specifically mentioned potential partners including Project A, J-United, the Jewish Climate Network and 5A, the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism.
Addressing concerns about the potential for extreme groups to influence the organisation, Leibler believes the changes won’t alter the ZFA’s fundamental governance structure.
“People may need to be prepared to hear views that they don’t necessarily like or agree with all the time, but that’s also okay, because as long as it’s within the framework of the Zionist movement … the fundamentals of Zionism have to be there,” he said.
Leibler hopes this will help engage Israeli expatriates, saying, “It’s been a challenge for the Jewish community for decades. I think we as a community made many mistakes a long time ago and made Israelis that came here feel unwelcome and uncomfortable and as a result … they never have felt fully integrated into the community.”
The ZFA president noted increased community engagement since October 7, observing the presence of new faces at Sunday’s conference who “want to give up a beautiful … Sunday afternoon, to sit inside Beth Weizmann for a full day to connect with their community”.
Describing the initiative as a first step, Leibler emphasised the need for communal adaptation to new challenges.
“The world has changed for Jews and we are not going back to the way in which I grew up … the environment that we’re living in, the issues and the challenges are not going to be the same, and we need to adapt and to be ready to face these ongoing challenges,” he said.
comments