The Moriah Foundation 2024 Trusted Advisors Network Lunch

What a great privilege it was to hear from Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia and Partner at Arnold Bloch Leibler, one of our valued corporate sponsors, at our third annual Moriah Trusted Advisors Network Luncheon, warmly hosted by the Lowy Institute.

In welcoming our guests, Foundation President Judy Lowy OAM shared that the Trusted Advisors Network was launched in 2022 to enable The Moriah Foundation to engage with practitioners and keep them updated about the very real needs of Moriah. This includes assisting hundreds of children each year whose parents do not have the financial means to send their children to Moriah, as well as our planned giving opportunities which are so critical to Moriah’s sustainability.

In introducing Jeremy, one of the leading mergers and acquisitions lawyers in the country, Judy noted the Leibler family’s stellar reputation for standing against racial hatred of all forms. “Successive generations of the Leibler family have contributed significantly to the law and to public policy, vigorously standing up for indigenous rights, and Jewish causes here and around the world.”

It was a privilege to hear Jeremy’s insightful personal and professional reflections regarding the trauma, antisemitism, and challenges to bipartisan support for Israel, that are facing our community.

Jeremy provided well-considered guidance as to how we navigate and respond to this devastating time.

On being Jewish:
It’s not easy being a Jew, particularly now, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, because that sense of peoplehood and connection can’t be valued and can’t be priced, and is incredibly powerful.

On Jewish peoplehood:
We need to make sure we take this feeling of Jewish peoplehood and transform it to focusing not on antisemitism, because we don’t want to be defined by our enemies, but with the positive aspects of being Jewish, such as Jewish values and Jewish tradition.

On October 7
October 7 changed the Jewish world, but we cannot let it define our Jewish identity. While remembering what has happened, we are doing our children a disservice if we allow ourselves to be defined by suffering and misery.

On resilience
Resilience is surviving in spite of the challenges, and in spite of the trauma. One of the greatest challenges facing the Jewish people today is not to find comfort in our ability to survive through these abnormal, outrageous circumstances that we constantly find ourselves in, but to imagine a future that doesn’t necessitate this recurring resilience and to act to bring about that future.

On Moriah’s building project and Jewish education
Moriah’s proposed building project is a manifestation of a campus of Jewish learning, Jewish knowledge and Jewish values. If you want to equip the next generation to be able to withstand antisemitism, make them educated Jews.

Make them Jewishly literate and give them the skills and inspiration to be self-learners, and a deep belief that we are on the right side of history and that the Jewish people have a critical role to play in the world.

On combatting antisemitism
The biggest protection against antisemitism in this country is a strong Israel and strong Jewish education. This was, of course, totally aligned with Moriah’s ethos, vision and mission.

We are fortunate to have a spokesperson of Jeremy’s exceptional calibre leading the Zionist Federation of Australia and advocating on behalf of Israel and our community and wish Jeremy continued success in his distinguished leadership roles.