​Each year on the closest Sunday to 17 January (the supposed date of the last sighting of Raoul Wallenberg, the City of Port Phillip hosts a commemoration service to help perpetuate the memory of Raoul Wallenberg and the work he did in saving tens of thousands (estimated 100,000) of Jews in Hungary during the later years of World War 2.
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This year on 13 January, Phil Symons, Co-Chair of Action Wallenberg of B'nai B'rith Raoul Wallenberg Unit chaired the gathering.  The meeting was addressed by: Mayor of City of Port Phillip, Cr Dick Gross, Councillor Marcus Pearl, Dr Frank Vajda, Holocaust survivor who has dedicated his life to honouring Raoul Wallenberg, Dr Peter Barta, Holocaust survivor, who gave a moving survivor testimony of his experience as a child in hiding in Hungary.  Approximately 100 attendees were present.  The vote of thanks was given by Simone Markus, Co-Chair of B'nai B'rith Raoul Wallenberg Unit.

Following on from the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting on 27 October, I reiterate that B’nai B’rith Australia/New Zealand shares in the grief suffered at the senseless loss of life of eleven Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh on Saturday morning. The rise of antisemitism is extremely troubling, and the perpetrator of this vile crime will be brought to justice, although the 11 lives lost cannot be recovered. 
 
Australia’s gun laws have prevented mass shootings since they were invoked in 1996 after the Port Arthur Massacre  where 35 innocent lives were lost. We have had gun deaths, but  usually not more than one death in any incident. I fail to understand why the US Congress cannot look to Australia for a fine example of gun management and overturn “The Right to Bear Arms.”
 
I am troubled by the rise in attempts to have our extremely effective gun laws overturned or even just watered down by political and other interests within our safe Australian community.
 
Please see the following links….
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-05/australias-gun-laws-are-being-watered-down-according-to-report/9019934
 https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/world/us-australia-gun-control/index.html
 https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/the-australians-who-want-less-gun-control
 
I am also concerned that gun theft is a major problem, as it is stolen firearms that are most likely to be used in violent crimes.
 
Please read:
https://www.guncontrolaustralia.org/gun_theft_skyrockets_over_ten_years
 
See also, Facebook post from Mark Dreyfus including responses….
https://www.facebook.com/1549894294/posts/10216839574172219/
 
Read more about it at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/23/gun-lobby-makes-no-mention-of-guns-in-victorian-election-ad-blitz

If you agree with my outrage, I implore you to write to your members of Australian parliament, both Federal and State.
 
Morris Tobias
President - B’nai B’rith Australia/New Zealand
Senior VP - B’nai B’rith International

On Sunday 21st October, the B'nai B'rith Israel Commission celebrated Israel's 70th Birthday and chose this very special year to honour the memory of a dedicated Zionist, Past President Sonia Kempler.
 
The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sally Capp, was the Guest of Honour and delighted the audience with her charm and wit.
 
Three Israeli scientists were invited by Mrs Danielle Schilling, Chair of the Israel Commission, to highlight the important role that Israeli technology plays in the world. Dr Yael Naaman from the Royal Women's Hospital (Gynaecology & Oncology departments) shared some technological advancements in medicine. Mr Ron Hoffman, Managing Director at Bio Nexus, discussed the importance of cyber security. Mr Levy Schneider, Managing Director of Netafim Australia, stressed how Israel's knowledge helps solve water problems around the world.
 
P/P Sonia Kempler's two sons, Leon and Geoffrey, were present at the event and Geoffrey, CEO of Prana Biotechnology, led the panel discussion after retracing the life of his mother.
A lavish brunch followed the discussion.

After eight years in rented office premises in Kooyong Road, B’nai B’rith Victoria’s President Dr Benny Monheit announced to members that B’nai B’rith Victoria is relocating its headquarters to the heart of the community, to become part of Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre in South Caulfield.

This decision has come after a long search for premises and a re-evaluating the needs of members and the aging Melbourne community explained Dr Monheit.  “We also looked at the data from the Gen 17 survey and discussed how BBVic could continue to have an impact in the community. We want to be able to continue to service our aging members, while ushering in a new change and forging new connections with the younger generations in our community.”

This move will also introduce a new focus, with B’nai B’rith being open to opportunities to work with and collaborate with other like-minded organisations on activations and projects that continue to bring value to our local and wider community.

We are extremely proud of what our organisation has achieved over the past 70 years, introducing projects and programs such as ‘Hillel’ at various university campuses in the 1970s and later the B’nai B’rith Anti Defamation Commission and the ‘Courage to Care’ program. These initiatives have transformed the lives of not just our community, but also the greater community around us, both locally and internationally.

However, it is now time we look at the future and what new initiatives we can create. These initiatives may reflect ways to encourage more social inclusion or support the health and welfare of our baby boomers age group. We hope that the relocation to  Beth Weizmann  will open new doors and bring us closer to community minded people who want to help us in our work.

Dr Benny Monheit, President of BBVic said, “It’s a major change in thinking and direction for the organisation.” He hopes it will lead to a more open and responsive organisation to meet the challenges Jewish people are now facing in Melbourne. “We really have too many competing organisations and too many stand alone buildings within our Melbourne Jewish community. It’s time to share our valuable but limited human and financial resources.”
The Chairman of the Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre, Sam Tatarka, added that he “is thrilled to have B’nai B’rith  join the BWJCC family and looks forward to working collaboratively in the future, as we continue to expand the hub of the community”