Union for Progressive Judaism

Annual Report

2017-2018

5778-5779

Mission Statement The Union for Progressive Judaism exists to honour our tradition, inform the present and guide the future of our communities in the Australian, Asian and New Zealand region. This mission is fulfilled through: § The establishment, strengthening and promotion of synagogues, schools and youth groups wherever there are Jews in this region searching for meaningful access to and expression of their modern Jewish values and life; § Recruitment, training and placement of Jewish professionals; § Sponsorship of programs and publications for youth, education, leadership development, and all aspect of community building; § The pursuit of social justice and equal rights for all Jews, here and in Israel; § Connecting and working with Progressive Jewish communities and organisations around the world to derive strength from one another.

UPJ Executive:

Va’ad Committee members Roger Mendelson, President Alison Dwyer Brian Samuel, Vice-President David Knoll Sharon Davis, Honorary Secretary Joel Mendelson Sally Castle, Honorary Treasurer Helen Shardey Franklin Tate Staff Ex Officio Committee members Rabbi Fred Morgan, Movement Rabbi Steve Denenberg (ARZA President) Jocelyn Robuck, Executive Officer Rabbi Kim Ettlinger (Moetzah Chair) Dudu Gotlieb (NSW Community Shaliach) Jess Harrison (Netzer Federal Mazkira) Sharene Hambur (WUPJ Representative) Rabbi David Kunin (Moetzah Vice-Chair

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CONTENTS

Greetings from the World Union for Progressive Judaism Page 5 Greetings from the European Union for Progressive Judaism Page 6 Message from the UPJ President Page 7 Message from the UPJ Executive Officer Page 10 Message from the UPJ Movement Rabbi Page 13 Message from the UPJ Honorary Secretary Page 16 Message from the UPJ Honorary Treasurer Page 17 Moetzah Chairperson’s Report Page 18 Constituents’ Reports

Australia

New South Wales Central Coast Shalom Progressive Jewish Congregation Page 20 Woollahra Emanuel Synagogue Page 22 Chatswood North Shore Temple Emanuel Page 23

Queensland Brisbane Beit Or v’Shalom Page 24 Gold Coast Temple Shalom Page 26 Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast Jewish Community Page 27

South Australia Adelaide Beit Shalom Synagogue Page 28

Tasmania Hobart Hobart Hebrew Congregation Page 31

Victoria Armadale Kehillat David Hamelech (Kedem) Page 32 Bentleigh Etz Chayim Progressive Synagogue Page 33 Kew Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism Page 34 St Kilda Temple Beth Israel Page 36 Bendigo Kehillat S’dot Zahav Goldfields Congregation Page 37

Western Australia Perth Temple David Congregation Page 40

New Zealand Auckland Beth Shalom Page 41 Dunedin Dunedin Jewish Congregation * Wellington Temple Sinai Page 42

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Asia Beijing Kehillat Beijing Page 44 Hong Kong United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong Page 45 India Jewish Religious Union, Rodef Shalom * Shanghai Kehilat Shanghai Page 48 Singapore United Hebrew Congregation Page 50 Tokyo Jewish Community of Japan Page 52

Affiliates’ Reports Progressive Congregation of the ACT Jewish Community Page 53 ARZA Page 55 Board of Progressive Jewish Education Page 57 Emanuel School Page 58 Netzer Australia Page 60 The King David School Page 65

UPJ Awards Page 66

2015-2016 Financial Report Page 67

* indicates reports not received

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MESSAGE FROM THE WUPJ

October 2018/Tishrei 5779

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The last year has been a traumatic one for the entire world, but our work becomes even more important in times like these. Our nurturing of emerging Jewish communities of meaning is an ongoing process, the mission of the World Union of Progressive Judaism since its founding in 1926.

In January 2018, we attended the Asian Progressive Jewish Summit in Hong Kong and met with the leaders of our Asian congregations. Most exciting was the energy emerging from several start-up communities. Who knows where the Jewish centers of the 21st century will ultimately be? Who could have predicted 100 years ago that Jewish life would now be thriving in Australia and New Zealand? Jews move, and the WUPJ makes sure that Progressive Judaism moves with them.

The international Progressive Jewish community owes a special debt of thanks to the UPJ and the supporters of the UIA Progressive Appeal campaign. Australian Jewry is the Jewish world’s second greatest financial supporter of WUPJ and IMPJ projects in Israel and the Russian Speaking countries, contributing far more per household than North America. The commitment and generosity of the UPJ communities is legend. If you are not yet a support of the UIA Progressive Appeal campaign, we urge you to make a commitment in 2019 to join this extraordinary community of supporters.

Thank you for being Klal Yisrael role models. We look forward to celebrating with you in Melbourne.

With warm wishes,

Rabbi Daniel Freelander Carole Sterling President Chair of the Board

633 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-6778 • Tel.: 212-452-6530 • E-mail: [email protected]

אליהו שמאע 6, ירושלים 9410806, ישראל Eliyahu Shama Street, Jerusalem 9410806, Israel 6 Tel: 02-6203447 www.wupj.org E-mail: [email protected] 5

MESSAGE FROM THE EUPJ

19 October 2018

To all our friends at the UPJ

We are delighted to send you greetings from all the members of the Management Committee and the Executive Board on behalf of the European Union for Progressive Judaism

It is a real privilege for all of us to know that there are members of our Progressive Jewish family in literally all corners of the world and it is with the greatest of interest that we appreciate all the news of the growth and development in your region and, in particular, in Asia.

We are very happy that our Chairman Emerita, Miriam Kramer, will be able to join you for your Biennial, so very appropriately themed "Making Progress“. She will be bringing our very best wishes for a successful and inspirational gathering and we look forward to her report with great anticipation.

Gordon Smith Sonja Guentner President Chair

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MESSAGE FROM THE UPJ PRESIDENT ROGER MENDELSON OUR REGION Our region covers a huge slab of the world, from Dunedin in New Zealand, the most southerly Jewish congregation, up through New Zealand, all major Australian cities, through South East Asia and up to Shanghai and across to Mumbai.

Our congregations are almost as diverse as our region is large.

Apart from the major cities, many are Jewish outposts, which can often feel isolated and unsupported.

MY ROLE I have now almost completed my third year as President of UPJ.

IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC REVIEW In 2015, an 18-month, in-depth strategic review was conducted by Susan Kadar, a professional facilitator, which led to recommendations that were ultimately approved by congregational presidents.

The resultant Business Plan has been approved by the Executive and was presented to the 2017 AGM.

In summary, we moved from a high-cost model, led by a full-time and experienced professional (Steven Denenberg), to a much lower-cost model, requiring greater lay-leader input.

My immediate focus was to build our team and during the second 12 months, which has been focused on improving communication with our community and improving services to our affiliates. In my third year, the focus has been on the Machzor project, assisting emerging communities and making contact with more people.

MOVEMENT RABBI A major step forward during the first 12 months was the appointment of Rabbi Fred Morgan as Movement Rabbi. Unfortunately due to budgetary restraints, the official period is restricted to two days per week, but his input is significantly greater than that.

The appointment is universally accepted by our constituents as being an important step forward and his input has had a major impact, in terms of direction, lifting the profile of our Movement, providing a voice for our Movement, lifting our involvement in interfaith work and providing confidential support to many of our affiliates, especially the smaller ones.

An issue we have to face is that two days per week and minimal travel budget are real limiting issues.

OUR BUDGET Our operational budget is approximately $300,000 and we are operating within it. Whereas we were previously going through cash-burn, we are now building up financial reserves. Apart from covering our operational budget, we have an allowance for financial support to Netzer and also provision of other grants.

WHO WE SUPPORT We have 24 affiliated (or close to affiliated) congregations within our region and there are a further 12 unaffiliated, but associated, kehillot. Affiliation processes are underway with congregations from Indonesia, Bangkok, Sunshine Coast, ACT Progressive Congregation and Shanghai.

OUR TEAM I see myself very much as a team leader and am delighted with the collegiality and involvement that has developed from our Executive. We work together in a cohesive, constructive and friendly manner and most of the tasks that were

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previously undertaken by the executive director have now been passed through to individual members of the Executive. This delegation of roles musts continue if we are to build on the level of services we provide.

THE WIDER JEWISH COMMUNITY The UPJ is represented on the major communal bodies in Australia, such as Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) and Zionism Victoria. Due to our size, our affiliation fees are amongst the largest for many of those bodies.

We are accepted fully into the wider community, we are respected and our voice is listened to and acted upon.

It is of note that the incoming ZFA president reached out to us and sought our support.

POLITICAL ORIENTATION Our policy is not to make political comments wherever possible; exceptions are in the case of events such as the Same Sex Marriage (SSM) Plebiscite in Australia, where we already had an established position (of support for SSM) and we were vocal in expressing this.

EVENTS Our 2018 Biennial will be held in Melbourne in November 2018. We will be attracting a large and diverse attendance from within our own community in our region, but also key leaders of our Movement from around the world. I expect it to be a seminal event and am thrilled that Rabbi Larry Hoffman will be our scholar-in-residence.

UPJ AMBASSADORS We have appointed several more UPJ Ambassadors to undertake specific roles with specific congregations. These are usually carried out, working closely with our Movement Rabbi.

During 2019 our aim is to recruit, train and appoint more UPJ Ambassadors, being senior, committed and experienced members of our community.

SPECIFIC PROGRESSIVE ISSUES The major issue involving our community during the year related to the political backing for the Chief Rabbinate in Israel, resulting in a real setback for the cause of religious pluralism in Israel. We have worked with ARZA on this issue and have taken the view that our best approach is to support Progressive Institutions in Israel, with the intention being to solve this issue politically through the Israeli political system. However, we have made our views strongly known and have been greatly encouraged by the support for religious pluralism from almost all streams of Judaism (except those which benefit from the current situation).

ROLE OF YOUTH This has been a highly successful year for Netzer. We support Netzer financially, as well as working closely with them.

Over the year, their attendance at camps has been at 10- year record highs. There are 45 active and enthusiastic leaders within Australia, and our Shaliach, Dudu Gotlib in Sydney, has done a wonderful job. There has been significant outreach and we are helping them with their fundraising campaign. On many measures, they are the leading youth organisation in our region. Our concern is that Uri Levin, the former Melbourne Shaliach, has not been replaced, due to visa issues.

MOETZAH I feel that the UPJ and Moetzah have worked closely together, respect each other and have made real progress this year. Many thanks to Rabbi Kim Ettlinger (Chair) and Rabbi David Kunin (Deputy Chair) for their wise counsel and for listening to us.

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ARZA The strategy plan included the recommendation that ARZA be completely separated from UPJ, and that UPJ focus on domestic issues and ARZA focus on Israel issues.

Unfortunately, the situation with ARZA is difficult and we are working on a plan to help them recruit new office bearers.

There is no question that ARZA is an important institution for the Progressive Movement and I see that the key role it has is to ensure that membership of ARZA (which costs only $18 per year) is not only maintained, but increased. This has significant implications for the funding of our movement internationally.

UIA PROGRESSIVE APPEAL Supporting the annual UIA Progressive Appeal takes up a great deal of time and effort each year. However, we are committed to this appeal for a variety of reasons and promote it through the simple tag line that “Progressive Jews in our region should make support of the UIA Progressive Trust their number-one priority for giving to Israeli causes.”

The 2018 appeal concludes at the end of the year, and is very close to being finalised. As at date of preparation of this report, the amount raised is $988,769.

MACHZOR A major project undertaken in our region has been the development of Mishkan T’Shuvah. This is based on the CCAR Press’s North American version, but with very substantial editing and changes made by an editorial committee of rabbis and one lay person (Dr Linda Stern). The committee members are: Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black, Rabbi Dr John Levi, Rabbi Kim Ettlinger, Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio and Cantor Michel Laloum. The machzor project was initiated by the Moetzah, and the UPJ has handled the business end. Orders have been placed for 6,000 copies, substantial deposits have been raised and the two-set books will be ready for use for the 2019 High Holy Day services.

ASIA We have active rabbi-led congregations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, and enthusiastic kehillot in Shanghai, Java, Bali and Bangkok.

Asia is a growth area and we are encouraging a degree of autonomy by them. There will be a meeting of leaders from Asian communities in Singapore in January 2019.

NEW ZEALAND There are established congregations in Auckland and Wellington, and a smaller one in Dunedin, as well as a kehillah in Hamilton and a non-affiliated congregation in Christchurch.

They are working more closely together under the guidance of Paul Blaschke and Paul Wilton.

CHALLENGES Our biggest challenge is in providing support to the very small, isolated congregations.

SUMMARY There are so many to thank, but in particular, I wish to especially thank Jocelyn Robuck, Rabbi Fred Morgan and our office bearers, Brian Samuel (Vice-President), Sharon Davis (Honorary Secretary) and Sally Castle (Honorary Treasurer), and our Executive members Joel Mendelson, Alison Dwyer, David Knoll, Helen Shardey and Franklin Tate.

A special thank you to our Biennial Chair, Dr Rob Sward.

I see that the Movement in our region is very active, innovative, generous, friendly and relevant. Its success relies on the enthusiasm and energy of many hundreds of volunteers. 9

MESSAGE FROM THE UPJ EXECUTIVE OFFICER JOCELYN ROBUCK Challenges, Communication and Creativity … these three “Cs” all relate to my role at the Union for Progressive Judaism. In April 2019, I will mark my 10th year of service at the UPJ, and feel honoured to serve as Executive Officer. The following is a brief synopsis of some of the tasks that have kept me busy during the past year:

Board management

• Working with UPJ Honorary Secretary Sharon Davis to prepare agendas for Executive meetings; • Transcribing recorded Executive Committee and Va’ad meetings and preparing minutes.

Engagement with member congregations and organisations

• Communications (email and telephone) with congregational administration, leadership and members; • Regular online meetings with World Union for Progressive Judaism and Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism leadership.

Event coordination

• 2017 President’s Meeting (Gold Coast), including program and speaker planning and event management; • Moetzah meetings in November 2017 (Gold Coast) and June 2018 (Geelong); • Rabbi Gilad Kariv’s visit in November 2017; • Professor Anthony Luder’s visit in March 2018; • Coordinating pre-planning meetings for Shir Chadash 2019 (12-14 July in Geelong).

Biennial 2018 This project has, as always, consumed a large portion of my attention. Here are just a few of the many tasks involved:

• Coordinated 20+ committee meetings; • Created content and design of the Biennial website and app; • Created publicity flyers and distributed throughout region, website and Facebook posts; • Composed 8 email registration invitations sent to 3000+ database; • Managed communications to registrants, including 8 pre-Biennial informational emails; • Recorded registrations and processed fee payments; • Liaised with hotel conference staff about all aspects (AV, sessions, menus, hotel bookings, transportation); • Worked with the Biennial Chair Dr Rob Sward and Biennial Committees, including add-on tours, budget, music, publicity, program content. logistics, shuk, social, sponsorship) to coordinate all aspects of the Biennial); • Liaised with our scholar-in-residence Rabbi Larry Hoffman, about his presentations and assisted with his itinerary and travel bookings … and the list goes on.

I offer my sincere thanks to our hard-working Biennial Steering Committee: Dr Paul Blaschke, Sally Castle, Sharon Davis, Roger Mendelson, Rabbi Fred Morgan, Helen Shardey and Sam Zwarenstein, and our incredible Biennial Chair, Rob Sward, who has brought energy and commitment to his role, and has provided tremendous support to me in carrying out the immense work load involved in bringing the Biennial to fruition.

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Financial administration

• Preparing monthly spreadsheets of payments made and received for UPJ cheque account; • Coding of monthly credit card statements; • Overseas payments via ANZ F/X facility; • Working with UPJ Honorary Treasurer Sally Castle on affiliation fees and annual financial review; • Setting up payments and seeking authorisations; processing of credit card payments; • Liaising with bookkeeper for invoice generation; • Follow-up with outstanding debtors.

General administration

• Preparation and posting of more than 150 b’mitzvah certificates for all UPJ congregations; • Preparation of annual Consumer Affairs Victoria and ACNC annual statements; • Scanning of conversion certificates and database management; • Preparation of annual reporting to insurance company for association liability and management liability; • Monthly updates to UPJ Directory.

Correspondence

• Letters of congratulations for Australia Day Honours and Queens Birthday Honours; • Letters of condolence, and mazel tov letters for births and weddings; • Responses to website queries and Facebook posts.

Public relations and marketing

• Preparation of ads, composing/coordinating editorial content for 25+ ads in the Australian Jewish News; • Preparation of ads and editorial content for j-Wire, WUPJ and +61j; • Promotion of WUPJ seminars (e.g. Bergman and Beutel); • Management of UPJ Facebook Page and Facebook Groups (e.g. Music Network); • Coordinated content, writing articles and preparation of Weekly News & Drash e-newsletter sent to more than 3,000 subscribers on the UPJ website database; • Regular online meetings with WUPJ Marketing and Communications Director Ziva Haller Rubenstein.

Special committees’ management

• Awards Committee (coordinating annual meeting for committee to consider nominations, subsequent order of engraved awards and scheduling presentations); • Biennial Committee (coordinating 20+ meetings, transcribing and preparing minutes, action items); • Mishkan T’shuvah (machzor) Business Committee project management, including business committee coordination (transcribing and preparing minutes), serving as the liaison between the publisher at the CCAR Press and the editorial committee, working with Sally Castle and Neil Samuel on invoicing; • UIA Progressive Appeal Committee (coordination of meetings, preparation of materials, campaign planning and coordination, strategy and planning); • UPJ Financial Assistance Committee (assisting Honorary Treasurer with funding requests and payments).

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Support for Moetzah

• Elul Reflections: Management of subscriptions, preparation of e-newsletters and coordination relections’ assignments, with the help of our generous and patient coordinator, Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky; • Coordination of Parashat Hashavua assignments (annual preparation of assignments and weekly follow-ups to receive drashot and post on UPJ website and include in Weekly News & Drash e-newsletter); • Coordination of Moetzah meetings held twice a year, including following up on bookings, liaising with venue, providing all administration required for payments to venue and invoicing of congregations; • Management of beit din costs (invoicing and reimbursals); • Collecting and posting High Holy Days sermons on UPJ website.

Support for Netzer

• Management of Shnat finances with UPJ Honorary Treasurer (including quarterly generation of invoices, receipt of payments and transfer of payments to Netzer Olami); • Assistance with promotion of camps and appeals, as well as international transfers of funds.

I am truly grateful to the hard-working members of the UPJ Executive, who provide friendship and valuable advice, and volunteer many hours to assist whenever asked. My deep admiration goes to our hard-working Va’ad (office bearers) – Roger Mendelson, Brian Samuel, Sally Castle and Sharon Davis – who generously devote countless hours to further the growth and vibrancy of Progressive Judaism in our region. And finally, thank you to the members of our region for the opportunity to serve in this challenging and rewarding role.

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MESSAGE FROM THE UPJ MOVEMENT RABBI RABBI FRED MORGAN This has been a full and productive year for the UPJ. There have been many exciting initiatives undertaken on behalf of and in conjunction with the constituent communities, culminating in this weekend’s Biennial Conference in Melbourne. The Biennial gathering represents the broadest attendance we have ever had at a UPJ Conference, with participants from nearly every affiliate in the region as well as a number of overseas guests and a world-class scholar in residence in the person of Rabbi Professor Larry Hoffman from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. The MR’s input into the Biennial includes suggesting the theme for the Conference and Rabbi Hoffman as scholar in residence, facilitating Rabbi Hoffman’s acceptance, consulting with him in depth and with others to format the Friday and Shabbat workshops and the Sunday panels, creating new programming ideas such as the Saturday night “Tevye Talks”, and participating actively in the practical execution of the conference. In the course of my involvement with the Biennial Planning Committee, I have interacted with dozens of people across the region who otherwise may not have been engaged with the Progressive movement in this dynamic way. This focus on engagement and empowerment is really at the heart of the MR role.

The MR is employed to serve the UPJ and the Progressive Movement in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, for two days a week. I’d like to report on my activities under four headings: • working with the constituents, • working with the UPJ Executive and Va’ad, • working with the Moetzah, and • working with the wider Jewish and civic communities.

Working with the constituents of the UPJ This is a central feature of the MR role. It involves engaging not only with the congregations but also with individuals in our congregations who provide strength and direction to our Movement. The better I come to know the communities across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, the more effectively I can perform my role. For example, • I have helped to place rabbis and others with leadership skills in our congregations over Pesach and the Yamim Nora’im; to this end I also negotiated with the World Union to provide financial assistance for visiting rabbis. Handling these placements centrally was a great help to the region, providing oversight and enabling follow-up. It also enabled us to make the best use of limited resources, ensuring that leaders were placed most effectively. • I have also been able to act as shadchan enabling longer term relationships to grow between rabbi and congregation, for example, between Rabbi Robuck and the ACT Progressive community. • I have been able to provide guidance and mentoring to a number of congregations, for example, with rabbinic search at Beth Shalom Auckland and North Shore Temple Emanuel. Some consultations have involved confidential matters and sought to resolve internal points of conflict. I have also supported communities seeking membership of the UPJ, advised UPJ Ambassadors in their dealings with congregations, and initiated useful contacts for emerging communities. • I’ve provided hands-on support to the Singapore Progressive congregation, North Shore Temple Emanuel, Temple Beth Israel, Etz Chayim and Kedem, and maintained regular communication with the professional staff in a number of smaller communities such as Shanghai, Kedem and Wellington.

Working with the UPJ Executive and Va’ad I see myself as a bridge between the constituents and the governing bodies of the UPJ, the Executive and the Va’ad. The Executive, a larger body, is responsible for making policy and setting strategic direction within the UPJ as a whole. It is answerable to the constituents and so must be in touch with the requirements and goals of the Progressive movement as a whole. The Va’ad is made up primarily of the Officers of the UPJ and the Moetzah. Its role is to ensure the day-to-day 13

running of the UPJ, taking care of specific needs as they arise. The Va’ad is more hands-on than the Executive. In an organisation such as the UPJ, which has only two staff, the Executive Officer and the Movement Rabbi, both part-time, it is essential to have a hands-on group such as the Va’ad to ensure continuity and efficiency.

I have supported the governing bodies in the following ways: • I have reported back on the situation and needs of our diverse congregations, especially when it has appeared that help is required. Liaising with the UPJ Ambassadors is part of this activity. • I have tried to ensure that policy made by the Executive is carried out by the Va’ad, for example, following up on decisions of the Executive in its strategic planning. • I set the program for and coordinated the Executive’s annual Strategic Planning Day, which was held this year at the Emanuel Synagogue in Sydney. • On behalf of the UPJ, I attended the Asian Summit in Hong Kong in January, a very successful and informative meeting which enabled me to make face to face with a number of leaders from our Asian communities. This has sparked a much deeper relationship between the UPJ Executive and the Asian communities, a relationship also enriched by the connections built between the MR and the Tokyo and Singapore rabbis in particular through the Moetzah. • In the MR role, I also had a major input into the programming and execution of the UPJ Presidents/Executive/Rabbis meeting held in the Gold Coast last November. • I have supported the Executive Officer by taking on unexpected tasks that come into the UPJ office, for example, requests from the Australian Jewish News for contributions to their supplements that highlight the Progressive Movement. I also provided replies to a number of queries that reached us through the UPJ website.

Working with the Moetzah The Moetzah is an extremely important and valuable resource for the UPJ as a whole. Over the years it has provided many services for our constituents. The weekly drash published in the UPJ News bulletin is a particularly visible example, but there are many others, including providing Consulting Rabbis to guide and support communities without rabbis, responding to questions (she’elot) of a general nature, providing policies for the region in religious matters and matters of Jewish status, maintaining and convening the Progressive Bet Din (which runs out of Melbourne and Sydney, and now has an Asian branch, as well; and is convened in other cities as required), publishing occasional articles on contemporary issues from a Progressive perspective, and playing an active role in the Biennial Conference through the workshops, Shabbat and daily services and Torah shiurim. In this regard, • I have worked closely with the Chair of the Moetzah, Rabbi Kim Ettlinger, on matters relating to the well-being of the UPJ constituents and the input of the rabbis, ensuring high standards are observed and promoting Progressive Jewish values in the wider Jewish world. • I have supported colleagues in outreach to Masorti colleagues. • I have sat on the Progressive Bet Din and on the Da’at vaDin Committee of the Moetzah that considers internal issues. Regarding Jewish status, I have updated and circulated a set of Guidelines for the Conversion Process to enable our constituents, especially those without rabbinic leadership, to observe common standards for their conversion candidates. I have also been consulted on a number of conversion issues that have arisen over the year. • I have worked with the Chair in organising rabbinic involvement with UPJ events, including the Biennial Conference. • I prepared the Torah lectionary for 2018 and helped Jocelyn prepare the roster for UPJ drashot, as well as following up with rabbis in this regard. • I’ve also kept the rabbis informed of developments within the congregations, in this way directly liaising between them and the UPJ, and sought their input into key issues around the region.

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Working with the wider Jewish and civic communities It behoves us in the UPJ to remain aware that we are not isolated in our work. We cannot be solely inward-looking, not as discrete congregations and not as a geographical region. It is important we recognise that we exist within broader frameworks. These frameworks – the extended Progressive Jewish community (the World Union), the Jewish world at large (including Israel), the “global village” of humanity – impact on our work and values, simultaneously challenging and enriching our efforts. How do we balance the range of forces impacting on us? The MR role must also take these forces into account. • I have aimed to maintain regular contact with the World Union (WUPJ), especially through Skype conversations with its president, Carole Sterling. I have also been in communication with the convenors of the British and European Batei Din to try to put in place guidelines for our common work across the globe. • I have provided articles, letters and op-eds for the Australian Jewish News and other publications on topics of current interest. The most recent was an op-ed, published on page 3 of the AJN, relating to how we bring human values of respect and love into dealings with those who differ, or are different, from us. Together with other Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders I also recently signed a statement calling for relief for the refugees who remain on Manus Island and Nauru. This statement received notice in several denominational publications and on ABC National radio. • I gave considerable support to Rabbi Leah Muhlstein of ARZENU during her visit to Australia, arranging her appearances in Melbourne and attending most of them, and as a result of Rabbi Leah’s visit I have been doing what I can to give new impetus to ARZA in this region. I have also been in regular communication with other progressive-minded groups that address issues relating to Israel, looking for connections between their work and ours in building greater awareness of Israel among our members. • I have spoken and broadcast about the importance of identifying Progressive Jewish values and applying them to contemporary issues in a large number of settings across the UPJ, including synagogues, churches and other public arenas, and in the media.

Where to go from here? I think it’s important to conclude every report to the AGM with a set of goals for the coming year. These are some of my goals for the MR: • Expand connections with constituents by contacting presidents, rabbis, other Board members on a regular basis to find out how things are going and respond wherever help can be offered. This has been happening with some constituents but not with all. • Expand our resources, both human and informational, so help can be offered in more areas, eg, with educational resourcing. • Publish more on theological topics, in a prophetic vein, so more people can hear what Progressive Judaism has to say about the world in which we live. • Develop a project that can bring our constituents together in prophetic action, eg, an ongoing social justice project, or a book club type activity that can be implemented right across the UPJ, with supporting materials provided. • Look at ways to revise our funding model so that the Movement Rabbi role can be made full-time. This would benefit everyone in the UPJ, since the possibilities for engagement across our region are unlimited, and all that’s currently lacking is an appropriate job structure for the position.

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MESSAGE FROM THE UPJ HONORARY SECRETARY SHARON DAVIS

It gives me great pleasure to deliver this report. As it is the first of its kind, I’ve chosen to outline some information regarding governance aspects of the Union for Progressive Judaism.

Firstly, to explain how our organisation is run. We have only two employees, both employed on a part-time basis: the Executive Officer and Movement Rabbi; the rest of the work is done by members of our Executive Committee, who are all volunteers. There are up to five Office Bearers: President, Vice-Presidents (two), Treasurer and Secretary (collectively known as the Va’ad). The Executive Committee is rounded out with four other member positions, and additionally we have Honorary Committee Members representing Netzer, ARZA, the Moetzah, the Sydney Day School Movement (Board of Progressive Jewish Education), our Immediate Past President and a UPJ appointed representative for the World Union for Progressive Judaism.

The staff and volunteers are working hard to provide value to you, the diverse membership of the UPJ. Our Business Plan, driven by Executive Committee member Alison Dwyer, encompasses four key themes:

• Marketing Progressive Judaism; • Developing emerging congregations and communities; • Youth development; • Rest of the world: Israel and the Progressive Appeal;

… and additionally includes a Communication Plan.

Since the 2017 AGM we have:

• Progressed a Management Systems Framework resource for members; • Streamlined our process regarding applications for financial assistance; • Looked at ways to improve youth representation, with the aim of recruiting an Executive Member under 30 years of age; • Looked at ways to increase buy-in to the Progressive Appeal outside of Victoria and NSW; • Conducted performance appraisals for staff members; • Held 7 Executive meetings and 3 Va’ad meetings.

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MESSAGE FROM THE UPJ HONORARY TREASURER SALLY CASTLE I am pleased to present the financial report of the Union for Progressive Judaism for the year ended 30 June 2018.

There will be an opportunity to ask detailed questions about the financials during the AGM on Thursday 15 November 2018.

I can advise that a surplus of $16k was made in 2017-18, compared to a budgeted surplus of $12k. The surplus was less than that achieved in the previous year, but this was to be expected given that 2016-17 had the benefit of a one-off donation of $36k from the Vadasz bequest as well as a higher than expected grant in that year from the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).

Income Our WUPJ grant for the year was slightly below budget at $126k. We can generally expect between $100k and $130k each year from the grant, the amount of which is closely related to funds raised from the UIA Progressive Trust appeal. As such the income of $126k is a pleasing result.

Income from affiliation fees was close to budget at $134k. Overall, income (excluding $31k for the 2017 Shir Chadash music conference, which has a corresponding expense item and made a net loss of $5k) was $286k or $21k over budget. The item “other revenue” comprises some unbudgeted balance sheet adjustments from a previous year, which have been brought to income.

Affiliation fees and the WUPJ grant remain the UPJ’s principal sources of income. We greatly appreciate the ongoing support from our affiliated congregations.

Expenses Total expenses, adjusted for Shir Chadash, were $272k or $18k over budget. Most of this related to increased staff costs, including provisioning for the payment of long service leave, and higher costs than expected for travel expenses, offset by lower administrative expenses due to it not being a biennial year.

Outlook The 2018-19 budget is for a deficit of $14k. This is mainly related to 2018-19 being a biennial year. We have some new members to welcome, which will result in an increase in affiliation fee income.

We will continue to invest in critically important programs, such as Netzer and the valuable work of our Movement Rabbi, Fred Morgan. We will also continue to make every effort to be prudent with our expenditure as we continue to rely on income streams, which are to a certain extent beyond our control.

Appreciation My thanks to Brett Welsh, our auditor, for his work on the year-end financial statements; and to our bookkeeper Fran Freiman. Thanks also to my colleagues on the Va’ad and UPJ Executive, and to Rabbi Fred Morgan. It is my privilege to serve with such an extraordinary group of people.

Finally, a wholehearted vote of thanks to Executive Officer extraordinaire, Jocelyn Robuck, for her friendship, skill and endless patience.

I am privileged to put my name forward to continue in my role as Treasurer for the UPJ for a further term.

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MOETZAH CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT RABBI KIM ETTLINGER The Moetzah (the Council of Progressive Rabbis in Australia, NZ and Asia), met twice this year: once in Sydney and will meet again immediately after the Presidents and Rabbis meeting. During the meeting, prior to the Biennial, new Moetzah executives were elected Retiring from the Moetzah: Chair, Rabbi Kim Ettlinger (Melbourne), Vice Chair, Rabbi David Kunin (Japan) will take over as Chair. TBD, Honorary secretary – Shoshana Kaminsky (Adelaide), Treasurer – Nicole Roberts (Sydney). This year, we welcomed Cantor Ted Labow as a guest to the Moetzah, and Jo-Ellen Duckor, Mashpia in Wellington. The Region Indonesia: Rabbis Shoshana Kaminsky and David Kunin continue to be a strong support for the nascent Indonesian communities. Rabbi Nathan Alfred (Singapore) continues to assist the congregation in Bali. The Moetzah is delighted to continue to support lay-led congregations. Each congregation and the Moetzah agree on a consulting rabbi. The role of the consulting rabbi is to offer guidance and support.

• Hobart: Rabbi Allison Conyer • Gold Coast: Rabbi Fred Morgan • Brisbane: Rabbi Fred Morgan • Goldfields: Cantor Michel Laloum • New Zealand: Rabbi Jonathan Keren Black • Kedem: Rabbi Fred Morgan Machzor: Rabbis Jonathan Keren Black, John Levi, Jacki Ninio, Kim Ettlinger, Cantor Michel Laloum and lay leader Linda Stern have completed editing the Machzor, Mishkan T’shuvah. We anticipate that next High Holy Days 5780 will be the inaugural year for the machzor. Many thanks to all for this momentous work that we hope will be part of our community for the next 50 years. Batei Din: The Moetzah rabbis convened regular Batei Din in Sydney and Melbourne, and also convened ad hoc Batei Din in Adelaide and New Zealand. Due to Rabbi Lazarow’s illness over much of the last year, Rabbi Kunin has taken the lead in attending UPJ meetings in place of Rabbi Ettlinger, who saw increased duties at TBI, which were in time conflict with the UPJ Executive Meetings. Rabbi Morgan continues to be of strong support to the UPJ, and our region in his role as Movement Rabbi. Much of the historical work of the Chair of the Moetzah now falls under the role of the Movement Rabbi. Further, as chair of the Moetzah, it is important to build and strengthen the relationship between the UPJ, the congregations and the Moetzah. Working closely with Rabbi Morgan has greatly helped this goal. Some of the issues brought before the Moetzah include:

• Changing language in Hebrew of religious documents to support the GLBTQ community, along with aliyot to Torah • Naming of Jews by Choice • Support of Nascent communities • Support of Rabbinic leadership in communities • Working relationship with the UPJ and Masorti Movement 18

The following are a list of statements put out by the Moetzet haRabbanim since the last UPJ Biennial (all of these statements were released in partnership with the Australian Masorti Movement): Statement of YES Vote The Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, along with the Council of Masorti Rabbis of Australia, rejoice that the plebiscite has endorsed marriage equality to be part of Australian law. We urge the Parliament to adopt legislation as soon as possible to implement the will of the Australian people for marriage equality, without undermining current anti- discrimination law.

Assisted Dying The Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia and the Council of Masorti Rabbis of Australia believe that Judaism sets the sanctity of human life as of paramount importance. We acknowledge the need to treat every human being with the utmost care and compassion. We hold that these are fundamental human values for all societies, times and places.

We also acknowledge the freedom of choice of the individual, and that the majority of our population is not Jewish and indeed may not consider themselves bound by any religious tradition or religious values. Therefore, we are uncomfortable when the voice of religion is used to seek to obstruct legislation allowing freedom of choice, such as carefully considered Assisted Dying Bills for the terminally ill, from being presented and accepted.

Should the states choose to enact laws that allow people faced with a terminal diagnosis the freedom to choose assisted dying, we would expect the legislation to contain the most robust safeguards and protections.

Adani Mine The Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia and the Council of Masorti Rabbis of Australia oppose the development of the Carmichael Mine in the Galilee Basin by the Adani Group because of the devastating effect the resulting carbon emissions will have on our environment, and the subsequent risks to our World Heritage Great Barrier Reef. It is unconscionable for the current or any future government to use public funds, services or loans to support the promotion of fossil fuels.

We urge governments to increase investment in renewable energy technology which will create cleaner and safer employment opportunities.

Manus Island The Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia and the Council of Masorti Rabbis of Australia considers the stories emerging from Manus Island are deeply disturbing.

Australia’s current approach to asylum seekers lacks the compassion, decency and humanity we believe are integral to our national character.

Jewish people are acutely aware of the consequences of indifference and inaction. We believe that an Australia built on acceptance and inclusivity strengthens our social fabric. Indeed, it is these values that have enabled the Jewish community to become a thriving and contributing part of the wider Australian society.

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The Central Coast Shalom Progressive Jewish Congregation Brian Green, Public Officer and Ceremonial Leader

The Central Coast Shalom Progressive Congregation comprises a membership of 12 family units plus 3 single units and several young adult children. Associated with the congregation and attending many of our functions, are a small number of non-member, Israeli families with young children. The ages of congregants range in age from 15 to 77 years.

Service and Festival Observance Whilst the congregation has been in existence for some 30 years, two years ago, due to declining numbers and the prohibitive cost of hall hiring and public risk insurance we decided to no longer hold formal services in community halls (having no synagogue) but rather have adopted the ‘Chaverah’ model of holding Family Services in various congregants’ homes. This has proved to be highly successful. We hold Family Services on a bi-monthly basis and for all the major festivals excluding Yom Kippur, as most people desire to return to their home, Sydney congregations, for such observance. We sometimes hold joint Pesah services, in public halls, with Chabad’s roving rabbis, as these are popular, particularly with our Israeli congregants. These Pesah services are also attended by members of the other congregation, Kadimah, resident on the Central Coast, allowing for friendly interaction.

Hebrew & Religion School Due to lack of enrolments, we have suspended the operation of our Hebrew & Religion School two years ago, with the Bar Mitzvah of our last child enrolled. In its time the school Bar and Bat Mitzvahed over 30 children and at the peak of our operations 27 children were in attendance in the classroom, on a fortnightly basis. The parents of pupils enrolled, were also required to be in attendance in the classroom and to act as co-teachers alongside our trained teachers, Brian & Jennifer Green. This ‘Family Model’ of classroom teaching proved quite successful for the 28 years the school was in operation.

Other Activities Further we provide a hospital visiting service for non-affiliated Jews receiving remedial and palliative care in hospital and/or their home, as requested. We are also available to say final prayers with them and to conduct their funerals. In fact, in the last year we have officiated at three funerals and hospital visited on several occasions. As part of our relationship with other residents of the Central Coast region and other faith communities, we outreach, educationally, to any school in the local area requiring information on Judaism, Jews and Israel. In the past year we have visited five schools in the area. The outreach includes us showing them how Shabbat is celebrated in the family home as well as synagogue by familiarising them with the various ceremonial accoutrements and foods. This has proved to be a most successful approach.

Publication We publish our ‘Shofar Magazine’ of congregational activities on a tri-monthly basis, which includes congregational activities recently conducted and those proposed for the forthcoming period. It also includes news from the various congregational families and in particular what their children (our former Hebrew & Religion School graduates) are doing so we can remain informed, connected and supportive of their now, very diverse, activities and achievements. It helps to address the need to remain connected in the interim period between formal, proposed activities.

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Challenges Ahead One of the problems we are facing in this geographical area devoid of Yiddiskeit is stagnation of membership. Also, as this area has high youth unemployment rate, with few local employment opportunities, most of the congregation’s children, on leaving high school, move to Sydney to undertake university studies or to work and hence let their connection with us, their home congregation, lapse. However we are pleased to advise that in many cases they join Jewish university groups and associations or other congregations. We are prud of this occurrence as we realise they are not lost to Judaism as they might have been.

Increasingly, Chabad is encroaching upon our activities and whilst we are prepared to cooperate with them, to an extent, as fellow Jews, we also want to resist their theological overtures if these become persistent.

Given these constraints it is hard to engage in succession planning and the current members of the management committee have agreed to continue in their respective positions for the foreseeable future.

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Emanuel Synagogue — Woollahra, NSW Alex Lehrer, President

2018 has already been a particularly exciting year, being the 80-year anniversary of the founding of Emanuel Synagogue. The last year has been one of unprecedented growth and activity. With the support of our esteemed Rabbis, a diverse Board of Directors, CEO, staff and community, the congregation and community can be satisfied that the foundations have been established to commence the next phase of Emanuel Synagogue’s vision. The Synagogue’s major achievements include:

• In May we opened and dedicated our new midsized “red” Sanctuary, together with a gallery space, Kiddush courtyard and Preschool. Just in time for High Holy Days we completed construction of a new garden forecourt providing a beautiful, unique entrance and gathering place for our synagogue. This redevelopment is an important part of fulfilling the vision of transitioning Emanuel into a true Jewish community centre, a vital resource for our congregation and broader society. Most recently, this was realized in the hosting of Shir Madness Jewish Music Festival that saw more than 1000 people from our community watch 25 amazing musical acts on four stages throughout the campus.

• After more than 15 years as separate organisations, this year we realised a closer alignment with the preschool, with the representation of Synagogue Board on the Board of Emanuel Woollahra Preschool.

• Rabbi Ninio has effortlessly led the religious coalition of leaders and through continuous lobbying by herself and her peers this realised enormous influence and results in the areas of interfaith dialogue, social justice and marriage equality.

• The Synagogue Board has successfully transitioned to a Governance board; supporting the Clergy and Executive. It works cohesively and celebrates the diversity of thought.

• Rabbis Kamins, Ninio, Triguboff, Kaiserblueth and Reverend Zwarenstein have continued their tireless work leading countless services and events, officiating at baby namings, brits, funerals and weddings, including officiating at Australia’s first religious same-sex marriages. In recent months Cantor George Mordecai returned to our Synagogue and has already proven himself an important member of the team, bringing additional musical strength as well as taking on other important duties.

• The clergy team continues to work collaboratively and innovatively, bringing fresh ideas to their work and banding together to increase community engagement. With the support of their larger team a diverse range of programmes have been developed and an increase in focus on pastoral care has been delivered. We thank them for our continued commitment to us.

• Our CEO, Suzanna Helia, has successfully overseen the redevelopment of the Synagogue, along with general improvements to its function and growth. Together with her team and helped by our clergy and volunteers she has successfully realised the vision for the Synagogue and developed a comprehensive strategy for the next five years.

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North Shore Temple Emanuel – Chatswood, NSW Gwen Harrison, President

This year NSTE is in the midst of ‘Building Our Future,’ with a Capital Appeal and renovations well under way. Our “Max Joseph” building (the older of our two buildings), once renovated, will offer a modern preschool facility on the ground floor and a community hub on the upper floor that will be a versatile space for our youth, young adults and the wider community. A professional office space, new kitchen, elevator, bathroom, and audiovisual system will contribute to a vibrant, refreshed, and integrated campus to underpin our foundations for the next chapter of Jewish life at NSTE. We expect to complete the major works before the end of the year.

Our May AGM saw a change in guard with Mark Ginsburg stepping down after three years as President of the NSTE Board and me taking on the role with the support of two new Vice Presidents and a mix of new and continuing Directors. I am excited to step forward for this community and I feel very fortunate to be part of such a unified team of fellow Board members and clergy.

In November, we will have the pleasure of formally installing Rabbi Nicole Roberts as our Senior Rabbi with our honoured guest Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ph.D officiating. Rabbi Nicole joined NSTE in 2012, assumed the position of Senior Rabbi in March 2017 and continues to inspire with her strength and vision.

Our Shabbat “Bagels & Brachas” and “Hands Free Tefilah” services which are specially crafted to encourage the participation of young families have been popular this year, and the post-bnei mitzvah “Teen Torah Tag Team” regularly lead prayers and read from the Torah. Shabbat services regularly include celebratory family events, the honouring of significant personal milestones, and guest speakers who share their unique wisdom. Our Festival services range from the traditional to the creative and include activities for the little ones. Kitchen Krew dinners every couple of months enhance the Shabbat and Festival experience for so many of our members and friends, and our choir offers “Mi Shebeirach” services to people who are housebound or in hospital.

At NSTE we provide informal and formal education opportunities for all ages, starting at birth through Playgroup, the Apples & Honey Preschool, Meah Hebrew & Religion School, B’nei Mitzvah and post-B’nei Mitzvah programs and Adult Education programs on Shabbat and festivals. Our Meah Hebrew and Religion School has about 70 children from school years K to 7 coming together to connect to Jewish heritage, understand Jewish holidays, learn modern Hebrew and make Jewish friends.

NSTE continues to strengthen the bonds within our communal family through our Community Wellbeing Program. Our Rabbis, Cantor, staff, and volunteers offer special support for people in times of need. There are also calls to acknowledge significant life “milestones” and just to “check in.”

“Boomers & Beyond” come together for popular film nights, bush walks, and bus outings, as well as regular book club meetings and discussion groups. Our Manna Jewish support group, facilitated by Rabbi Nicole, provides solace and sustenance for those going through significant life transitions or facing unfamiliar challenges. Jews For Social Action (JSA) continue a hands-on approach to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), including a new initiative this year of collecting goods for people in need, inspired by the themes of each of the Jewish festivals. Our Hashkafah lay-led discussion group leads monthly gatherings on Shabbat afternoons. Friends of the NSTE Garden maintain and beautify our grounds and sanctuary display. To make NSTE more inclusive, our NSTE Inclusion and Diversity Task Force works to ensure access, integration, resources, and support for the great diversity of individuals who make up our community. NSTE also partners with the wider Jewish community on initiatives such as the Jewish Suicide Prevention Strategy and the Sydney based “Go North” campaign.

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Beit Or v’Shalom Alvin Maradeen, Acting President, Vice-President

During the past year our Congregation witnessed the passing of Beit Or v’Shalom members Ben Shohet and Sue Bogan. There have also been members who have experienced their own loss of loved ones. To them, their family and friends, and to all those who have lost loved ones over the course of the year, we wish “long life”.

I want to begin by thanking everyone who has been involved in the amalgamation of BKS and BPJC. It has been a very challenging year since the merger which resulted in the formation of Beit Or v’Shalom, as we knew it would be.

We began the year with an interim Board, 50% BPJC and 50% BKS. Unfortunately, in April, due to ill health, Hila resigned the Presidency and I took on the role of Acting President.

During the year we have welcomed new members to our congregation and farewelled others. We have had many visitors to our Shul, Jewish and non-Jewish, local, interstate and international. Some have stayed and chosen Beit Or v’Shalom as their home during their journey to becoming Jewish and we welcome their involvement in our community.

We are privileged to have had Cantor David Bentley continue as our Cantor for some Shabbat services this year, including some B’nei Mitzvah and other festival services. Unfortunately, Cantor Bentley was called to Israel for an indefinite period in June of this year and under his advice and with assistance and recommendation from the UPJ and Rabbi Fred Morgan, we secured the services of Max Einsohn to lead us through Rosh Hashana, Kol Nidrei and Yom Kippur. Max’s youth, enthusiasm, Jewish knowledge and musical talents were all greatly appreciated and enjoyed by our community.

We have run our Shabbat morning services weekly this year, which for a relatively small congregation, is a big achievement. Our services are led by a small, but capable and dedicated group.

In the past 12 months, we have celebrated no less than 5 B’nei Mitzvah. Cantor Bentley led the Bat Mitzvah services for Bianca Malley, Valentina Barnett and Emily Dekel and I had the honour of leading the Bar Mitzvah services for Nathan Manne and my own son, Lynden Maradeen.

Our Cheder continues to meet fortnightly during the school terms. We have a Cheder Director and a main teacher, who with a team of volunteering parents are able to facilitate the Jewish learning of our children. Our Cheder enrolment currently stands at about 18 children. The Cheder continues to be a major success and I thank the parents and children for their involvement.

Our older Cheder children again participated in the Brisbane Yom HaShoah Commemoration at Mt Gravatt Cemetery Jewish Chapel. They retold the stories of children during the Holocaust. We held a stall at the Communal Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrations. Some of our Cheder children also represented us at the One God, Many Voices Concert, held at Griffith University in August this year.

Our website, www.beitorvshalom.org.au continues to provide members and others with information on services, functions and other Beit Or v’Shalom activities. The contact form on the website is used regularly by visitors to the site. We provide

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a news feed and a wide range of handy links. Our Facebook page is also a great resource for our members and others in the community and allows an easy method for exchanging of messages. We have also had the first edition of our Shul newsletter, “A Biseleh News”.

Beit Or v’Shalom is affiliated to the following local organisations: Queensland Board of Jewish Deputies; State Zionist Council; Queensland Jewish Community Services (providing welfare for people in the Jewish community): and ARZA. We have excellent relationships with these organisations and maintain regular contact with them.

Beit Or v’Shalom members are involved in the full range of Queensland’s Jewish community organisations, indicating how strongly integrated our congregation has become in community life. These include but are not limited to Betar, Community Security Group, National Council of Jewish Women (Brisbane and Gold Coast), Jewish National Fund (Qld), Maccabi (Qld), Queensland Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen and women (QAJEX), Sinai College, United Israel Appeal (UIA) and Women’s International Zionist Organisation (WIZO).

Our congregation could not function as it does without the help and support of volunteers at every level. We have an active program of services, a wonderful Cheder and great social events which depend on our volunteers.

In closing I’d like to once again thank the current Board for their time, dedication and efforts toward building a stronger and bigger Progressive community in Brisbane. I’d also like to take the opportunity to wish the incoming Board all the very best for a productive year in which our congregation can continue to grow and strengthen within the wider Brisbane Jewish population.

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Temple Shalom – Gold Coast, Queensland Michael Shnukal, President

Temple Shalom is a small community (92 members) situated on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

The shul maintains a variety of programs annually, which together with a very busy small Guild keeps the community active. These include:

• Hosting the UPJ Biennial conference, hosted visiting, Rabbis, J Keren-Black and U Themal (HHD) • Presentation of Vatik Award to Ms K Lesser • Appointed Rev Cantor Bentley on a sessional basis • Celebration of Lag B'Omer aboard yacht COSMOS 11 • Same gender wedding • Kiddushim for Simchas and regretfully some following lavoyers of two members • Purchase of new air-conditioner for the kitchen • Painting of Jacobs Hall and the front entrance of the shul • Successful arts and Craft Fair • Bagel/Soup luncheon • Fish and Chips for Oneg Shabbat • Succoth • Mazon bags

Safety and Emergency We have a small but dedicated group of volunteers who provide surveillance throughout the year. They are about to undergo First Aid training and CPR and Defibrillator Training.

Services Management Team Responsible for the religious practices of the Temple all services including the major Chagim are coordinated by this committee. Specific members of tis committee are responsible for the theoretical components of the Jews by Choice program.

Future Commercial Planning The vacant allotment adjacent to the Shul is owned by us and we are looking to build 4 x 4 bedroom apartments on the site. This will provide (from the rent) a regular, secure and sizeable income for the Temple ensuring its financial longevity. Within the first year of this income, we may well be able to secure the services of a full-time rabbi.

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Sunshine Coast Jewish Community Donna Niazov, President

In the current financial year, our membership has dropped slightly by five families to a total of 36, comprising approximately 80 individuals. We also had two members pass away during the year.

Although most of our membership are in the over 55 age group, we now have 6 families with young kids, and there are more out there which we hope to bring into our community over the coming year, but this will also depend on how we fare with Chabad taking a position on the Sunshine Coast.

Some additional families who are not yet paid-up members regularly participate in our functions. We are actively planning to have a SCJC Cheder during 2019, a teacher has been sourced, and we are currently busy with the curriculum and trying to get families on board.

We continue to rent local government communal facilities on an “as required” basis for the celebration of our High Holy Days and festivals, and do not anticipate this situation changing any time soon.

Our Communal Seder, Erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre Services were all well attended this year, with improving numbers attending. All services were led by a team of lay leaders led and alternating between Miki Niazov and Aaron Shohat.. Rabbi John D Cooper regularly gives a mini-sermon.

Most of our regular monthly Shabbats where we do Kiddush and share Shabbat dinner are in rented community facilities. These are usually regularly attended and allow the membership to really connect on an ongoing basis.

Please note that the Sunshine Coast Jewish Community is an inclusive Kehilla, not enroute to becoming a congregation with weekly worship services. Despite our formal discouragement that we communicated directly to Chabad RARA, they have sent a Chabad couple, Levi & Dvora, to the Sunshine Coast on a trial permanent basis. We the SCJC are maintaining a “business as usual attitude” for our members, and we will just have to wait and see what the future unfolds. The SCJC Management Committee has to continue to clarify its role as the inclusive Kehilla it has always been and will continue to be. Throughout the life of the SCJC, individual families have welcomed Chabad RARA’s occasionally sending visiting Rabbis to the Sunshine Coast. During the past decade, the SCJC has outgrown any dependence on Chabad visitors to lead its Seders.

Rabbi John D Cooper continues to be involved with interfaith encounters throughout the Sunshine Coast community and the University of the Sunshine Coast where he is an Honorary Senior Fellow.

This year we were honoured by being asked to lead the local Anzac Day Ceremony in Prayer again as we did last year as well. We were also asked to participate in Police Remembrance Day where we laid a wreath. So involvement and participation within the wider community has been on the increase and has also been well received by all accounts.

We publish an occasional newsletter, and our book discussion group meets about eight times a year.

We remain associated with the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies and the Queensland State Zionist Council, and we are especially pleased to become a member of the UPJ.

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Beit Shalom Synagogue – Adelaide, South Australia Annetay Henderson-Sapir, President

We have five key values at Beit Shalom, all of which reflect our Progressive Jewish values, including Torah (sacred learning), Tzedakah (righteous giving), Tikkun Olam (healing the world) and Chesed (kindness). As in years previous, our particular strength continues to be Hachnasat Orchim (welcoming the stranger) at Beit Shalom, as we welcome through our doors nearly every Shabbat to new travelers, students and short-term employees from across the world.

Beit Shalom is now the only synagogue in Adelaide with a full-time rabbi and the only one offering consistent services. We sometimes feel as though we’re on the edge of the diaspora, but we contribute to the strength of the UPJ by having an active membership, paying our bills, retaining rabbinic services, maintaining our membership base and making our synagogue a center of Jewish community activity. With only one and a half full-time equivalent staff, we are lucky to have a committed and passionate Board of Management, which represents a diversity of generations, skills and sex, and often goes well above and beyond governance duties out of necessity.

A highlight of 2017-18 at Beit Shalom was the finalisation of a Biblical Garden in our front garden. Dozens of plants, including an etrog and pomegranate, were planted in 4.5 tonnes of soil framed by tidy walkways. Although the Biblical Garden would be the envy of a professional landscaper all this work was done by our dedicated volunteers. This gorgeous area not only provides a welcoming entrance for visitors, but also a wonderful area for our Cheder students to see and feel the plants mentioned in their Torah study.

Membership Beit Shalom continues to maintain relatively steady membership numbers. In total, we had 141 memberships in 2017-18, including 47 families. We were excited to welcome eight new members this year. We mourned the passing of four beloved members. We celebrated three B’not Mitzvah.

Rabbi We are fortunate to have Shoshana Kaminsky continuing to serve as our Rabbi. She continues to be a leader in interfaith activity in this state, leading many a school group through our synagogue and participating on multiple interfaith committees. We’re also proud of the work she is doing with on a national stage as Secretary of the Moetzah and as Vice President of the South Australia/Northern Territory Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. She also continues her work as UPJ ambassador to Jewish communities in Indonesia, visiting three communities in January 2018 as well as regularly teaching Torah via Skype.

Activities Beit Shalom supports the bulk of South Australia’s Jewish community. We are incredibly proud that we’re able to provide our members a full range of services and activities within our limited means. This year, we’ve eaten until we were stuffed at the Chanukah Oneg, Pesach Communal Seder and a Tu B’Shevat Seder. We realised (yet again) that our youth are better chefs than the rest of us are at the Shavuot Cheesecake competition. We’ve had singing workshops, Torah study, Shabbat at the beach and in the park, as well as peaceful Saturday mornings with facilitated meditation sessions.

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Our doors continue to be open more often than just Friday night and Saturday and Sunday mornings to a diversity of groups. We regularly open our doors to Tarbut (Adelaide’s Israeli cultural society) and support older people in our community through close ties with Jewish Community Services, hosting seniors’ lunches and by organising a Sunday walking group.

This year Beit Shalom again participated in the community Adelaide Purim Carnival, which was organized by leaders across Jewish Adelaide, including Beit Shalom, Tarbut and Jewish Community Services. The Purim Carnival brought together children from across the Jewish communities in Adelaide: Beit Shalom Progressive Congregation, the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation and the Israeli community. Central to the Carnival, of course, was the traditional Purim Spiel.

Our local youth movement JAZY (Jewish Adelaide Zionist Youth) continues to be an amazing program which brings together young people from Progressive, Orthodox and secular Israeli backgrounds. Again this year, JAZY was led by Beit Shalom youth. Our successful local winter camp, was, as in past years, supported by youth leaders from nearly every Jewish youth movement who came to Adelaide to run the activities.

We at Beit Shalom are also working to create interfaith dialogue, particularly through running education programs through our own Abraham Institute, which promote interfaith dialogue and understanding. We were excited when the Governor of South Australia and the Minister Assisting the Premier launched the Institute’s current Pursuing Peace P2 program this year. P2 is working directly with young people in schools to bring together speakers from Jewish, Baha’ai, Muslim and Aboriginal traditions to discuss faith and culture. Beit Shalom leaders are also active in the South Australian Council of Christians and Jews.

Committees and Volunteers We are blessed at Beit Shalom to have a number of committees and a long list of volunteers who keep things running.

Our library has continued to grow with new shelving under the management of our committed librarians. Our lead maintenance man at Beit Shalom has kept the place going with the support of a volunteer committee. A long list of people help out around the place, whose service ranges from pulling a weed, watering the plants and sweeping the car park to make Beit Shalom a nicer place to visit.

Our group of Shamuses ensure Shabbat services run smoothly, our guards have guarded the gate and the ritual committee continued to serve Beit Shalom and support Rabbi Kaminsky. Beit Shalom’s finance committee of experienced and prudent economic mangers provides oversight and advice for Beit Shalom investments and the gallant leadership of the Treasurer. The Beit Shalom choir continues to bring the beauty of their voices into our High Holy Days and Shabbat services. Our Rabbi, Chevra Kadisha, and lay leaders gave intimate service to funerals in the community this year.

Sisterhood The Sisterhood continued to be very active with its regular book club and social events over the year. The Sisterhood Catering Committee, as always, provided a great service to the community for many simchas and events, including the Communal Seder, not to mention the Shavuot Annual Cheesecake Competition—always a hot event on the Adelaide Jewish Calendar.

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Cheder As the only ongoing Jewish education for children in Adelaide, Beit Shalom had an incredibly full Cheder this year with 22 students from a diverse range of age groups to challenge Rabbi Kaminsky and our teachers. We are lucky to have the valuable support from members who graciously dedicate their time to teach in the Cheder.

On some Sunday mornings, as many as seven different groups meet at once to make sure that all students' learning needs are addressed. In addition to our normal Sunday mornings, we have had a number of programming days and have also participated in the national Mitzvah Day program.

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Hobart Hebrew Congregation – Hobart, Tasmania Susan Steenbergen, President

The Hobart Hebrew Congregation (HHC) has had a difficult year with the resignation of the President due to ill health, and the resignation, at the same time, of the Treasurer due to work commitments. The Vice President took on the role as President for a few months. At the recent well attended AGM a new full Board was elected and I am looking forward to a more settled year. As President I am already looking at a number of issues relating to management and security. One important concern is that it has been some time since a security assessment was completed. We are still investigating the feasibility and funding of a functional emergency exit, an ongoing issue for which we have not yet found a reasonable solution. Overall, we have not experienced a rise in the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents, and are pleased to report that we continue to have a good relationship with the Tasmanian Police who support us during times of high risk. Although the HHC has an aging Membership, we are pleased to see young families joining the Congregation and there has been a resulting small increase in Membership. The Board is encouraging young persons to participate in services and there will be more young person specific events starting with the Progressive Child-Friendly Simchat Torah Service led by visiting overseas Rabbis. We are aware that as Tasmania is a more cost-effective place to live, we will probably see a significant rise in our younger, family demographic over the coming decade. We will soon welcome Rabbi Yaron Gottlieb, a Modern Orthodox rabbi, who has volunteered to visit and support our community. He will lead services with his family for the whole community, both Progressive and Orthodox, over Channukah. There will be an early start to the Erev Shabbat service prior to Channukah to allow young families to participate.

The Board is encouraging youth participation by providing financial support to enable a young person to attend a Netzer camp. The Pesach Seder function was again held in the Hobart Synagogue and there was an increase in the numbers of members and guests attending.

Rabbi Yochanan Gordon continues to support Jews regardless of background, by running education programs both in Launceston and the Hobart Synagogue. He also continues to offer ‘a shop like’ store to allow the purchase of Pesach food, and to offer regular online purchases of kosher food. The HHC has been pleased to receive offers to lead services and have been able to take up some of those offers, although the Progressive community is still largely dependent on Lay Leaders. The Hobart Synagogue continues to host musical performances and it is pleasing to see the general community enjoying the music and the beauty of the building. For the third year the HHC will participate in the Open House scheme and this has resulted in an increased interest in the Hobart Synagogue. Similarly, the increased number of tourist ships into Hobart Port has resulted in an increase in the number of tours conducted and fortunately an increase in donations. We are preparing to celebrate our 175th anniversary and are working with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery to host an exhibition about Tasmanian Jews, historically and currently. I am looking forward to working with the UPJ. 31

Kehillat David Hamelech (Kedem) – Armadale, Victoria Jim Cyngler, President

The past year has seen Kedem maintain a steady momentum towards achieving its strategic objectives of providing an increasing level of professional support to the Kedem community through Services, celebration of Haggim as well as through a wide range of community, education and cultural programs.

During the year Kedem relocated its home for its regular and High Holyday services and for its community programs and events to the Multi-purpose Hall at the Senior Campus of The King David School. Our thanks go to Marc Light and the School Council at The King David School for their ongoing support and encouragement. This move has been very well received and appreciated by the Kedem community. The Hall accommodated all our requirements for our regular services, the High Holydays as well as the other events held there. Attendances both at regular services since the move and over the High Holydays were up over the previous year.

An enormous thanks needs to be extended to two people who pick up most of the loose ends at Kedem, Rosi Meltzer and Ruth Gross. Without their tireless work and commitment neither the move to our new space nor the seamless way our services and High Holydays program ran would have been possible.

This year we invited Dahlia Shaham to be our Rabbinic student in residence over the High Holyday period. We were joined by Dahlia, her husband, Aran and their 5 year-old son Nouri for 5 weeks from mid-august to late September. Dahlia and her family had a profound impact on our community. Dahlia brought a sense of grace, deep learning, musicality and care to our Kehillah. Aran brought a sense of joy and culinary skill to each event he was involved in. We look forward to broadening and deepening this connection and relationship with Dahlia and her family in the years to come.

Our membership numbers this year have been stable. However, inquiries about Kedem and visitors to our services and events have been greater this year.

A key challenge for Kedem, is its desire, as expressed by our membership, to move away from an entirely lay lead community, based primarily on volunteer work. Moving toward a community with greater professional leadership including rabbinic leadership has been limited by our financial resources.

In 2017 we launched a strategic plan and many people responded and supported that plan by donating generously. This has enabled us to improve the provision of professional services. However, we are not yet in the position to expand those services or to employ a part time Rabbi which we would dearly love to do.

Delivering our vision, means we will have the people, systems and energy needed to provide what our community has been asking for. It also means we will have the financial capacity to deliver.

Plans to further develop the way professional services are delivered are well under way on a number of fronts.

As a community we have taken several important steps forward over the past years and through these we have already achieved many of the aims of our vision statement, which is: “Creating a vibrant, participative and innovative Progressive Community with rabbinic leadership that embraces diversity, is inclusive and open to all.”

I am confident that it won’t be long before we can justifiably say we are our vision statement. 32

Etz Chayim Progressive Synagogue – Bentleigh, Victoria Maureen Barten, President

The past year has brought great change and a renewed sense of community amongst our membership.

After last year’s exciting news of the KDS initiative, the termination of that arrangement earlier this year, was, at first, very disappointing. However, the positive impact of all the work done by our board and community, getting us to the point where our community would vote overwhelmingly in favour of that venture – has fuelled an incredible growth and solidified a unity in our organisation for the future. Our membership has eagerly and visibly supported the Board of Management in its endeavours as we work to identify alternative paths for moving forward.

A new musical director, Carolyn Patkin Watters, was appointed by the board. Carolyn has infused the Etz Chayim Shabbat and chaggim experience with a diverse and beautiful range of cantorial soloists and musical accompanists, as well as having introduced many new melodies over the course of the year. Truly a gift of love and passion, Carolyn and her team have made a significant contribution to engender renewed feelings of engagement and excitement for what the future holds for our community.

Etz Chayim has received a $7,000 security grant this past year, which will be used to upgrade access control to our facility – mitigating risk and ensuring a safe and secure environment for all.

Although another very successful year in fundraising - making the total of funds generously donated by our members and friends of Etz Chayim over the past two years - record breaking, Etz Chayim still operates on a very tight and shoestring budget. Our Rabbi, supported by our office manager, Board of Management and host of invaluable volunteers, creates a wonderful team –that continues to enhance our overall environment, bringing new members and families to our community.

We are recognising growth within the Israeli community and have welcomed a number of new member families together with their friends, attending our now quite popular chaggim celebrations, religious school and b’nei mitzvah program. This past year, we celebrated our largest number of b’nei mitzvah simchas in many years.

In our 3rd year with full-time rabbinic leadership, we can now see a clear trend of increasing numbers and continuing to climb across attendance at chaggim celebrations, Shabbat mornings, the very popular Cuppa Club (guest speakers and performers for our retired community), and ongoing adult education programming. We have also increased our cultural offerings with numerous concerts and have extended our partnerships with UJEB, Habayit, and Rambam Hospital. We have partnered with Ha’tzofim (Israeli youth movement) and Netzer, as well as have established our own youth leadership group called Youth for Youth. Additionally we have supported fundraising for Impact for Women and with the Jewish Teen Giving Initiative, supporting the homeless.

2018/2019 is the year of renewal for Etz Chayim. We are committed and actively working to raise funding for refurbishment of our facility, as we redefine our purpose in the Southeast suburbs as the hub of Jewish activity connecting families, generation to generation.

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Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism, East Kew, Victoria Jim Beck, President

Leo Baeck Centre (LBC) is located in Melbourne’s inner northeast in a superb garden setting, which blends with the leafy nature of Boroondara. The synagogue has a catchment that embraces suburbs, such as Kew, Camberwell, Hawthorn and Balwyn with a strong Jewish presence but also encompasses less strongly Jewish areas on the northern fringes. These outlying areas are important to the future of LBC, for it is here that we seek young Jewish families to offset an otherwise ageing profile.

Monitoring and re-orientating the synagogue to serve both changing needs and a changing demographic is the work of the LBC Board. An important outcome from our 2017 strategic review was the decision to streamline the operation of the LBC Board so that time is devoted to issues rather than reporting. Earlier in the year the Board adopted a structure that condensed nearly 20 reporting entities into three main areas of Life Cycle, Culture & Outreach and Internal. While future refinements may occur, the move has been positive with the Board coming to grips with major issues such as fiscal sustainability and membership engagement.

The coming year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of LBC’s establishment. Initially known as the TBI Eastern Suburbs Group it held its first meeting in November 1949. The Board is seeking to celebrate the foundation of LBC with events over the year that focus attention on LBC’s contribution to the region and its people. We have also selected the theme of Engaging with Community for this year.

LBC continues to support and contribute to our statewide community through Progressive Judaism Victoria, participation in Netzer, and providing delegates and office bearers for the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, WIZO and Zionism Victoria. It also contributes to our roof body UPJ and continues to make a notable contribution to regional projects. LBC has been a driving force in the production of the new Machzor for High Holiday services, with both rabbinic and lay leadership representation. It has played a more modest but supportive role in this year’s Biennial Conference to be held in Melbourne.

LBC has viewed with some concern the seeming unravelling of long-standing cooperative arrangements managed by PJV, among them the memorial book and educational programs, including those essential to intending converts. It is working with like-minded shuls to maintain a core of critical services. The release of an on-line memorial book in time for High Holidays is one instance of this joint effort. The website can be viewed at https://www.jewishmemorials.org.au/.

LBC’s cultural program enjoyed many highlights. We began in December with a pre-Chanukah comedy evening presented by Benji Rothman and this joyful spirit was continued early in 2018 with a Purim Spiel featuring the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein in conjunction with TBI. Our annual Leo Baeck Lecture in March was delivered by Elisabeth Holdsworth on the subject of Inside the Australian/Israel Relationship fromWW1, John Monash to the Present Day. Elisabeth’s talk drew on her extensive knowledge of foreign affairs. The 100th anniversary of the horse charge at Beersheba and the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Israel were strongly represented in our program. This was followed in May with a Yom Ha’Atzmaut dinner that was addressed by departing Shaliach Uri Levin. Uri gave a fascinating talk on Israel at 70, its people and cultures.

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Our House of Study managed a busy program with talks on:

• Assisted Dying in the Jewish Texts led by Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black; • Torah Tales & Techniques also led by Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black; • The Origins of Halacha presented by Mannie Gross; • Understanding Women’s Position in Orthodoxy presented by Alex Fein; • Tuning the Heart with guest speaker HUC student rabbi Dahlia Shaham. Our broader program included:

• Hebrew classes at introductory and intermediate levels; • Regular Shabbat Study Group meetings and Israeli dancing classes; • Monthly Chavurah Lunches, Book Club meetings, LBC Cinema showings, and Jewish Jam sessions; • Occasional talks by our Care Group on age related topics. The Leo Baeck Arts Centre hosted three major art exhibitions with two featuring the work of our congregants.

It has been a busy year at LBC and our religious school enrolment is well above previous years. As we look forward to our 70th anniversary, complete with new logo and style, we expect at least another 50 fruitful years in East Kew, ad me’ah v’esrim.

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Temple Beth Israel, St Kilda, Victoria Rebecca Silk, President

High Holy Days have just concluded with the inspiring involvement of our clergy team, our Emeritus Rabbis and young song leaders. We reflect on the past year as a challenging one at TBI as well as a year of achievements. Clergy team: Rabbi Lazarow was on leave from January to June undergoing treatment for leukemia. The Board are deeply grateful to Cantor Laloum and Rabbi Ettlinger (as Interim Senior Rabbi) for their commitment and leadership during Rabbi Lazarow’s illness. The entire professional and office team took a business as usual approach and all programs, activities and events continued as usual. The Board are also most grateful to Rabbi Morgan, Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Kippen for their support with various education and pastoral duties during this time. We have been blessed with Rabbi Lazarow returning to work in a part time capacity. It is expected he will be working full time by December 2018. Some significant highlights during the year included: Education programs: The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning (with Rabbi Ettlinger as Melton Director) had a successful first year based at TBI. Both the core curriculum and the shorter scholars courses have had excellent attendance and been well received. We introduced more Rabbinic involvement with our B’nei mitzvah and associated group Binah program. Our after school Tamid program had a revamp of the curriculum to better engage students on a number of learning modalities. TBI has been proud to support three students currently studying abroad, Esther Jilovsky, Tamara Cohen and Toby Glaser. WE look forward to welcoming them back at the completion of their studies. Safety and Security The Gateway Project started with funding from a Victorian state government grant. This project will provide a new and more secure entrance on Alma Road for both vehicles and pedestrians. We are hopeful that building will start in early 2019. Building on our Foundation This year, with help from a significant bequest, we launched the TBI L’dor Va’dor Foundation. The aim is to build a fund that will over time secure our financial future. Communal Life and Community Engagement A plethora of communal life and engagement activities have run in the last year. TBI has hosted a variety of members events, including but not limited to a highly successful Trivia night and a New Members lunches. Our highly successful Nourish program, in partnership with Father Bob Foundation, continues to provide food for the disadvantaged in our local area every Monday and Wednesday regardless of season or weather.

Our Project Dignity, in partnership with the Salvation Army, provides practical assistance and advice to asylum seekers and refugees. Our Lifebooks program has grown considerably. Pastoral care volunteers sit with frail elderly members and compile a book about the person’s life. This meaningful book in hard copy is then presented to the person and their family. We could not maintain or strengthen these communal and relational connections without the amazing efforts of volunteers who dedicate their time. 36

Kehillat S'dot Zahav – Goldfields Congregation Inc. David Kram, President

Committee The Committee for 2017-18 consisted of Dr David Kram (President), Sarah Austin (Vice-President), Dr Linda Stern (Secretary/Public Officer), Dr Bruce Sokel (Treasurer), Elisabeth Holdsworth, Leah Mow-Yoffee.

Changing committee membership for the period in question:

Resignations I would like to thank The Hon. Howard Nathan, founding KSZ, leading its activities from 2007 to 2014 and remaining on the committee until 2017. Likewise Ned Upton, also a founding member and Vice President 2015-17. I would like to thank Committee member and Catering Coordinator Win O’Hoy, who has coordinated a team of members and visitors to an extent that our chavurah meals have become a highlight of our events. I acknowledge the assistant secretarial work of Helen Lennon, particularly during 2016-17, who has not been in attendance during this year and has thus de facto resigned.

New Committee Members I would like to thank the following: Sarah Austin, like Howard Nathan a Founder Member of KSZ, who, after some years attending to work, study and family, returned to fulfil the role of Vice President with alacrity and advocacy. Elisabeth Holdsworth travels from Strathbogie to be with us and provide invaluable advice based on her involvement with the wider Jewish community and her authorship of important published literature on Judaism. Her personal contribution to kiddush is also noted with appreciation. Castlemaine-based Leah Mow-Yoffee, artist and poet, is a regular contributor to KSZ events and provides important insights into the Central Victorian landscape.

Special thanks to Secretary/ Public Officer Dr Linda Stern, who travels from Melbourne for our events, leads the Shavuot service and contributes ritually in so many other ways, as well as keeping in regular communication with me, checking our correspondence and updating the KSZ web site. Congratulations to Linda for her ner tamid award from the Union of Progressive Judaism for community service. Linda thus joins KSZ member Howard Nathan as a recipient of this honourable acknowledgment. Also to Treasurer Dr Bruce Sokel, actively assisted by his wife Fran, for helping to keep KSZ’s finances in order.

I would not be able to lead the KSZ community without the support and assistance of this fine committee.

Events, following the 2016-17 AGM on 26/08/2017:

General Our events have continued to be well attended. Ill-health has prevented some of our earlier members from attending and I would like to note that member Greg Kerr, from Melbourne, has been awarded an honorary membership by the Committee. We wish Greg a return to health. An increased attendance from Melbourne-based members is noted, together with a core of strong support from members largely based in Castlemaine and Bendigo.

After it was decided to hold formal events in community halls rather than private homes, KSZ tried various locations in Castlemaine, finally settling on West End Hall, on the corner of Wood and View Streets. This small but well-renovated and well-appointed venue is offered to us for a modest price by a local group of dedicated and supportive volunteers, whom I

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would like to thank. Indeed, we even held our communal model seder there, following previous excursions to hotel in Bendigo.

Castlemaine is centrally located for our widely-spread community. It is on the rail line from Melbourne to Bendigo and is not far from the Calder Freeway.

The open-air interfaith Nature Celebration (q.v.) continues to be held in the Malmsbury Botanical Gardens, on the southern border of the Goldfields area of Victoria.

Visiting rabbis Our thanks to KSZ Consulting Rabbi Cantor Michel Laloum (Temple Beth Israel, St Kilda, Melbourne), Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black (Leo Baeck Centre, Kew, Melbourne) and Rabbi Fred Morgan (Union of Progressive Judaism). We acknowledge with thanks the support of the Progressive Jewish community.

26/8/17 Following the AGM, there was the usual feast and we watched the film ‘Little Traitor’. Thanks to Leo Baeck Centre for lending us DVDs and equipment.

23/9/17 – Castlemaine – Shabbat shuvah service led by Dr David Kram. Selections from Gates of Repentance referencing rosh hashanah and yom kippur.

18/11/17 - Castlemaine – Service led by Rabbi Fred Morgan, who brought along a torah and led a most interesting workshop.

10/02/17 – Malmsbury Botanical Gardens and Town Hall – second interfaith nature service, focussing on tu bish’vat theme, in Malmsbury Botanical gardens, under the shade of cedar and cypress trees and led by Rabbi Jonathan Keren- Black, rabbi of the Leo Baeck Centre in Kew. Rabbi Keren-Black, accompanied by his wife Sue, also led a shabbat kiddush celebration the previous evening for Committee members and guests at the home of Howard Nathan and Ned Upton in Bendigo. We again had representation from faith groups, mostly from the Bendigo area, and acknowledge the work of Committee members past and present with the Bendigo Interfaith Council. The continual presence and support of Monsignor Frank Marriott of the Bendigo Roman Catholic Cathedral is particularly appreciated.

24/3/2018 – Castlemaine – seder led for the second time by Cantor Michel Laloum, who never fails to enlighten and entertain. Materials used by Temple Beth Israel included some entertaining version of Pesach lore sung to popular community song and music theatre tunes, as well as other educational material which added depth to the proceedings. At this event KSZ unveiled its new paraphernalia – seder plate, kiddush cup, candlesticks and various embroidered cloths.

26/5/18 – Castlemaine – For the second time LBC and KSZ members Jerome Winston and Ailsa Jean, led a most enlightening study session on the Indigenous Community’s relationship to the Jewish People. They also spread out a selection of books which some members purchased. This couple has also been instrumental in expanding the KSZ library collection, for which we are very grateful.

We then went down to the Sorry Day Ceremony in the centre of Castlemaine, led by Elders of the Dja Dja Warrung community, Vic Say (advocate for that community) and the Mayor of Castlemaine. KSZ was publicly acknowledged during that event, and a subsequent feature article on KSZ was published in the local paper.

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There followed a service led by Linda Stern with her well-known ability to involve people at the deepest level with warmth, understanding and insight – chesed in its purest form.

Membership and administration KSZ membership is steadily increasing has twenty-six paid-up members (19 in 2015-16, 26 in 2016-17), now standing at thirty-five. People come from Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Malmsbury, Melbourne, Shepparton and Strathbogie.

The membership fee was raised from $25 to $30 per annum. Some additional donations have been received. There was also much in-kind support, mainly from committee members, as well as ample contributions of sumptuous food from a wider variety of attendees.

Thanks to visiting Rabbis for in-kind support and inspired leadership and education.

KSZ has held four regular committee meetings since the AGM, on 18/11/17, 10/2/18, 26/5/18 and 25/8/18. Thanks to Committee members and again thanks to Secretary Linda Stern for her invaluable support.

KSZ liquid assets increased from $1,127 to $1,610 during this year, as well as acquiring the portable equipment referred to above (kiddush and other ritual paraphernalia), retaining the siddurim (prayer books) in good order and expanding the library. There are a small number of torot volumes (Pentateuch) edited by Plaut unaccounted for – investigations continue.

Umbrella organisations: UPJ, PJV

We are still classified as ‘nascent’ community by Progressive Judaism Victoria (PJV) and Union of Progressive Judaism (UPJ). David Kram has had a productive meeting with UPJ President Roger Mendelson and affirmed that KSZ is not expected to pay the standard UPJ membership fee of $28 per family unit per annum. David has also attended a meeting of Progressive Judaism Victoria. He will also be attending the UPJ annual conference in Melbourne in November 2018.

Wider Community

With Sarah Austin now back on the Committee, more work has been done on acknowledging and preserving the unique Jewish portion of the White Hills Cemetery in the northern part of Bendigo.

Conclusion

It was pleasing to note the acknowledgement of KSZ as a force in the Victorian Jewish community as expressed by UPJ President Roger Mendelssohn, LBC Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black and ner tamid awardee Linda Stern on August 11, 2018, at an LBC event in Melbourne.

We do regard ourselves as an inclusive community. Our challenge remains the few numbers of Jewish people resident in our area and in particular the lack of children and families. All committee members have been under time pressure during this year but have achieved much.

I hope that we will continue to attract new visitors and members as they move into this expanding region of Central Victoria. In the meantime, we will continue to practise what has been proven to be successful, be responsive to member feedback and widen our advocacy and educational work in the Goldfields area.

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Temple David – Perth, Western Australia Amanda Mace, President

It has very rewarding year Temple David Congregation with much to reflect on. Highlights range from our Festival programmes to our increasing community involvement in them.

We were thrilled with the announcement from the UPJ that Joan Motta and Helen Bryant were honoured with a Ner Tamid and a Vatik Award. We celebrated these amazing members of our community at a wonderful Temple David Kiddush and with a visit by UPJ president, Roger Mendelson to present the awards in person in September.

I am delighted to report that progress against the Strategic Plan is going very well and the Board continues to push itself to ensure we are a vibrant and financially sustainable congregation. A couple of examples are:

• Increasing our volunteer base. This has been a clear goal of our Strategic Plan. Just this year, new to our stable of offerings is Mah-jong, an advanced stream of Introduction to Judaism and a Craft Club. • Importantly, for both the diversity of the community and our books, we have welcomed new members. This is a clear and one of the most important goals set out in our Strategic Plan.

Temple David continues to grow and our aim is to continue that growth in order to thrive. We have met many of our goals this year as a result of the hard work of many people, but we need to continue to push forward. We are at a critical point in our Strategic Plan, goals need to be continually added to and stretched. Donations, initiatives and the promoting of Temple David membership are a key part to ensuring we continue to reach our goals.

The members of Temple David have been incredibly supportive of this year’s Board. I must express my thanks to the members of the Temple David community. Everything that happens at Temple David happens because of the hard work of many, many people. Thank you to each member who stepped up and volunteered for a service, event or activity. Thank you for your feedback and the trust in us as we continue this path of growth. I look forward to another excellent year.

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Beth Shalom – Auckland, New Zealand Debbie Swiatek, President

This has been another fantastic year for Beth Shalom; a year of learning, renewal, growth and opportunity. Over this time, we have celebrated births, B’nei Mitzvot, weddings and funerals; all full of love and tears.

With a community commitment to moving towards permanent rabbinic presence, we began a worldwide search for our next Rabbi. While this has not yet resulted in an appointment, we have had the opportunity and privilege to make a number of meaningful and deep connections with wonderful people who have helped us develop and evolve our thinking. The search will continue and we are confident that we will be able to welcome a Rabbi to the Beth Shalom whānau in due course. In the meantime, we are grateful for the support and advice of the UPJ and our visiting Rabbis during this period. Our weekly and holiday services are led superbly by our many lay leaders and Shammashim who ensure that the wider community has the opporutnity to connect. In addition we have a number of key committees and teams that ensure we are active participants in the wider Jewish community in Auckland and throughout New Zealand.

Our Sunday school thrives under the guidance of our Director of Education and the team of wonderful volunteer teachers. The students are guided to and beyond their Bar/Bat Mitzvah regularly leading services either individually or as a class. Education remains a key focus for Beth Shalom, both school-age and adult learning, and we are reminded regualrly of our interest and desire for learning through attendance at Torah study, Limmud and Shabbaton.

We have also commenced our strategic planning and asked the question of our community: what is important to you? Community, social interaction, strengthening learning and connection are the emerging themes and our opportunity as we look ahead is to find ways to provide these and other activities for our community. These important community conversations will continue over the coming months until we have developed a roadmap to ensuring we offer the kind of Synagogue that meets the interests, needs and aspirations of our members.

Our recently renovated kitchen and library have put a spring in our step as we have greatly improved our facilities to support our community events and celebrations. This was a huge undertaking by the community to commit to this work and we are greatly enjoying the results.

During this period of consolidation we have been delighted to welcome a number of new members to our family ensuring that we remain a vibrant centre for Progressive Judaism in New Zealand. Our board remains committed to helping realise the aspirations of our community and along with the many volunteers who graciously give their time we look forward to another year of growth and opportunity.

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Temple Sinai – Wellington, New Zealand Matthew Smith, Chairman Temple Sinai has had a fruitful year with some new developments, a good share of successes and some ongoing challenges.

• The Board has made engagement of our youth a priority and this has been a great success.

• Our Beit Midrash students are studying the Shabbat Morning service as well as study of the Torah portion of the week. The students participate in weekly services along with the involvement of parents and families.

• Our new Tot Shabbat service has brought in new families and new members. Besides the babies and toddlers, there are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings who attend. Tot Shabbat is truly a whole family experience.

• Our Young Adults Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat dinners create an opportunity for our members who are 20-30 to come together.

• Our Garin Sinai, the Temple Sinai youth group continues to thrive with our post bnei mitzvah youngsters coming together to learn, take on Tikun Olam projects, socialise and have fun.

• A grant from the Raye Freedman Trust for our Youth Education programme has been put to very good use.

It’s not just our youth who are thriving: we have had two successful 60+ dinners and our Sinai Seniors continue to enjoy a monthly lunch together.

Our Conversion Committee has been very active this year. Two Batei Din were convened and overseen by Rabbi Jonathan Keren Black, our consulting Rabbi, with five candidates being accepted into our Jewish Family. There’s been strong growth too in our membership with 18 new members being welcomed at our New Member service. We also celebrated Myra Mortlock being honoured with the Ner Tamid Award.

Temple Sinai has a rich and active ritual life. Shabbat morning services continue to be led by our dedicated lay team of service leaders, chazzanim, Torah readers and Drash givers. Our monthly family-style Friday night Shabbat services continue with a shared meal. There is a once a month Contemplative Service, a once a month Ma’ariv service in Lower Hutt, and a once a month Tot Shabbat service. Temple Sinai women continue to come together every Rosh Chodesh, with the group now in its fifth year.

We have been blessed by the visits of many rabbis, scholars and musicians. Just recently Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon was with us for the High Holidays. Other honoured guests that visited Temple Sinai recently were: Chazzan Jessi Roemer; Rabbi Levi Weiman Kelman; Filmmaker Paula Weiman Kelman; voice artist Ruth Wieder Magan, Rabbi Jonathan Keren Black, Rabbi Fred Morgan, Rabbi Johanna Hershenson, Rabbi Brian Besser, and Rabbi Jeff Roth. We are thrilled to be welcoming Rabbi Larry Hoffman in a few weeks. These visits are enriching for all of us and provide fresh insights, teachings, melodies and traditions.

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One event in particular that stands out, was the private ordination of our Mashpiah, JoEllen Duckor, by Rabbi Johanna Hershenson, Rabbi Brian Besser, and Rabbi Jeff Roth, a New Zealand first by all accounts.

The New Zealand Progressive Jewish Forum (‘Kiwi PJ’) meets on Skype every few of months to keep in touch and discuss issues concerning all progressive Jewish communities in New Zealand. We have representatives participating from the Far North, Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Fraternal relations between Temple Sinai and the Orthodox Congregation, the Wellington Jewish Community Centre (WJCC) have gone from strength to strength. Our Board meets twice yearly for a joint Board meeting with the WJCC Board. Temple Sinai and the WJCC collaborate on numerous joint community events such as Hannukah in the Park, UN and community Holocaust commemorations, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremonies, the annual picnic and more.

Having the Embassy of Israel in Wellington continues to afford us with the opportunity to participate in joint events and engage with the embassy staff, in particular the Ambassador, Dr Itzhak Gerberg and his wife Shifra, who are honorary members.

Temple Sinai and our congregants have been active participants in the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and their numerous programmes, not least the Children’s Holocaust Memorial which has had volunteers clean the 1.5 million buttons that for part of the memorial.

Finally, a mention of the more mundane yet essential topic of management and finance: Like many other small congregations, Temple Sinai continues to be financial constrained particularly in the ongoing low interest rate environment.

Over the past year we have continued to operate a balanced budget, but there is some significant maintenance work ahead. This is going to impact our financial outlook and prospects of being able to engage a rabbi for any extended duration. That said our current model of visiting rabbis and a resourced Mashpiah position continues to service our congregation well.

My thanks go to our Board members, Mashpiah, members of our various committees and congregation who devote their time and energy in making Temple Sinai the vibrant community it is.

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Kehillat Beijing – Beijing, China Scott Kronick, President

This is my first report to the UPJ, having recently taken over the presidency from Amy Gendler, who led the community with passion and enthusiasm for over a year as president – though continues to be a leader for all of us.

5778 was a joyful year for our community, which continues to change as Beijing itself changes. This last year Kehillat Beijing was thrilled to celebrate at two b’nei mitzvot, including Keang Gendler’s and Ted Plafker’s, as well as a wedding. We hosted an exciting Limmud China conference that brought together a group from throughout Asia and across the oceans for a weekend of Jewish learning and fun in the shadow of the Great Wall. And, of course, Kehillat Beijing’s steadfast traditions continued – with our annual Purim Spiel and party and a lively community Passover Seder drawing strong attendance. We were also pleased to host Rabbi Jack Shlachter for his fourth High Holiday Season in Beijing, and as always appreciated having him take the time away from his family in New Mexico to be with our Kehilla in Beijing.

Our weekly Friday night Shabbat services and dinners continued uninterrupted, as they have for 25 years, at our home in the Capital Club Athletic Center – one of the only places in Beijing you’ll find a decent knish on Friday night. Being lay-led, each week two different congregants lead the service and “do the dvar”. We have a 33-year-old aspiring rabbi who often leads our lay-led services. On several occasions throughout the year, we had Musical Shabbats. We hosted a few speakers, and we had a well-attended Quiz Night. We are also looking forward to this year’s Beijing Jewish Film Festival, to take place in late fall.

Changes continue for our community, as they have over the past several years as Beijing’s expat circles change. While there are fewer families, our young professional community is strong, and we are pleased to have Amalya Megerman, our Community Organizer, ensuring that our Beijing spiritual home chugs along efficiently.

Financially, we are looking for ways to continue offering subsidized Friday night meals for students and young professionals. We offer a discounted meal price to attract more students and young professionals, but the demographic shift away from families has put the meal subsidy program in jeopardy, and we’re reaching out to Kehillat Beijing “alumni” outside of Beijing to raise funds. We’d like to solve this problem once and for all.

Looking ahead, we’re excited about the challenges and the opportunities. We will be on the lookout for a new Rabbi to host us during High Holidays next year, as Rabbi Jack is moving on to other adventures around the world. We will be seeking new (or new-to-us) siddurim, as our current ones are well-worn and outdated. Once again, we are appreciative to be included in the UPJ family!!

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United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong Joshua Lavin, President The United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong (UJC) had another successful year in 2017. The UJC Sanctuary and other parts of the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) were the main venue for Shabbat services, holiday services, festival celebrations, educational programs including Shorashim. Shorashim, the congregation’s religious school, began its eighteenth year. Many life cycle and other celebrations were held, including B’nai Mitzvah, Brit Milah, conversions and naming ceremonies. Leadership: Rabbi Stanton Zamek; Education Director Rabbi Martha Bergadine; Cantor Melissa Berman provided spiritual leadership and developed or expanded programs for the congregation, JCC and the Hong Kong community.

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 13th June, 2017, elected the following UJC members to the Executive Committee: Charles Allard, Bob Cooper, Sergio Fernandes de Lima, Rachel Fleishman, Andrew Gordon, Karl Herrup, Laura Kaufman, Stephen Lable, Joshua Lavin, Alan Schiffman, Yuval Tal, Barbara Thomas, and David Zeiden. Robert Green, as Founding Chairman, Robert Meyer, Mark Michelson, Charles Monat are Honorary Members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee chose the following officers: Joshua Lavin (president), Alan Schiffman (vice president), Andrew Gordon (treasurer) and David Zeiden (secretary). Nancy Lui, Executive Administrator, Charlene Hsia, Assistant Administrator continued to make outstanding contributions to the operations and spirit of the UJC.

Membership: Membership figures (in units) as of December 31st, 2017, were as follows: Family (93), Individual (31), Individual “Under 30” (3), Non-Resident (13), Associates (1), Life (3); Total members: 144 (251 adults; 155 children). The majority of members have come from Progressive, Reform, or Liberal congregations in North America and Commonwealth countries, and many have also been affiliated with Conservative synagogues. The UJC is international, including members from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, France, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay, and a number of UJC members are originally from Hong Kong. We estimate over half of our congregation have lived in Hong Kong for more than five years with many living in Hong Kong for decades.

Shabbat services: The UJC holds weekly Friday night Shabbat services in its permanent Sanctuary in the auditorium of the Jewish Community Centre. Shabbat B’yachad services are conducted at 6:15pm occasionally to enable families with young children to participate.On Saturday mornings, Torah Study sessions are held in the Rabbi’s apartment in Robinson Place.

The following is a summary of the Shabbat programs offered during the year:

Shabbat Evening Service: Every Friday, 7:00pm in the UJC Sanctuary -- followed by Shabbat dinner at the JCC. When the Rabbi and Cantor might be away, lay leaders conduct services.

Havdalah Pajama Party: A monthly program for “older” 2’s, 3, and 4-year olds and their parents. Held in the UJC Sanctuary, the children learn about Shabbat and holidays through songs, games, crafts and stories.

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Torah Study: Parashat HaShavua: Rabbi's Residence, One Robinson Place, Every Saturday, 9:30-11:00 am. Study of the Torah portion of the week, drawing on both traditional and contemporary sources. A light breakfast is served.

Visiting Rabbis, Scholars: Peter Cole and Adina Hoffman – October 27-29, 2017 Rabbi Gilad Kariv – November 12, 2017

Holidays and Festivals: The UJC again organized an active and diversified schedule of holiday and festival events during the past year. Rabbi Stanton Zamek, Rabbi Martha Bergadine, Cantor Melissa Berman, Nancy Lui, Charlene Hsia and numerous UJC volunteers took the lead in planning, coordinating and conducting these celebrations.

Social Activities Breakfast Havurah: A gathering that features lively discussion over breakfast usually with visiting scholars in attendance. The Bookhers: The UJC’s Book Group meeting on a monthly basis for anyone who likes to read and discuss Jewish books – fiction, memoir, biography – the group to selects. OOMF – The Overlords of Maniacal Fandom: OOMF is the UJC affinity group meeting on a monthly basis for lovers of nerd culture in all its myriad forms. UJC Pub Quiz: Held at The Globe to benefit the UJC

Tikkun Olam UJC NETT Service Learning Project: The UJC NETT (Native English Teen Tutor) Service Learning project completed its sixth year. Sixteen UJC teens travelled to Tin Shui Wai approximately once a month to serve as English tutors for English High-Achieving students at the HLC School. After the visit, the UJC NETTs joined Rabbi Zamek for Shabbat lunch and a learning session. For the final session in March 2018, the HKFYG/Lee Shau Kee EHAs will visited the UJC. The NETTs also had a special session with English Low-Achieving students at the HLC School in April 2018. UJC Make a Miracle Mitzvah Day: On UJC Make a Miracle Mitzvah Day (3rd December, 2017), over 150 individuals came together for a day of volunteering with Hong Kong charitable organizations. UJC volunteers as young as age two worked with organizations serving underprivileged children, vulnerable populations, and environmental concerns.

YoPro: Cantor Melissa and several Young Professional members of the UJC organized events for a YoPro Group for members age 25-40. They have planned several well received events including a Junk Trip, Pizza Making Party, and Shabbat Dinner.

Youth Group: The purpose of YG is to provide an opportunity for UJC member children age 13+ to socialize together, and to give those children who attend Carmel and those who attend Shorashim a chance to get to know each other better. Events included a bowling party and a movie night.

The 3rd Annual Asian Progressive Judaism Youth Group Shabbaton was held in Hong Kong between April 28 – May 1. Teens from Shanghai and Singapore visited HK. The YG has also visited The JCC Tokyo between November 17 – 19 (APJ Teen Leadership Seminar in Tokyo). Overall, YG has been extremely successful.

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Adult Education: Introduction to Judaism, “One Congregation, One Book” Project – “The David Story”, “One Congregation, One Book” Project – “Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza”, Questions of Belief, The Death of Death, Adult B’nai Mitzvah Program

Shorashim, under the leadership of Education and Programming Director continues to provide quality liberal religious and Hebrew language education to primary and middle school age children and their families. The school is inclusive and egalitarian, reflecting the values of Progressive Judaism and the diversity of the Jewish Community in Hong Kong. Shorashim is for children pre-kindergarten to grade 8 and covers history and social studies, holidays and ceremonies, Hebrew and prayer, ethics and values and Torah. High school students continue to be involved with learning and also serve as madrikhim ("guides" or teachers' aides) for the lower grades. Education is the cornerstone of the UJC, and the quality of Shorashim emphasizes that commitment. On average, 40 students were enrolled during the year.

Life Cycle Events. During 2017, UJC members celebrated: 5 Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6 B’nai Mitzvah, 4 Brit Milah, 4 Naming Ceremonies. In addition, 1 child was born to UJC members during the year and more are imminently due.

Funding. The Congregation is partially funded by dues and fees for specific programs and events. UJC members and other friends of the congregation make general donations to the congregation and also make donations to recognize Holidays and life cycle events. The UJC is grateful to the Ohel Leah Synagogue Charity for their generous subvention to our Congregation, including the UJC office premises, the UJC Sanctuary and the apartment for the UJC Rabbi.

I would like to conclude by thanking all the professional staff, and the office staff, my colleagues on Exco and the many volunteers who have contributed so much time and energy to the Congregation during the past year.

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Kehilat Shanghai – Shanghai, China Hannah Maia Frishberg, Community Programs Manager Stephane Wilmet, President

Kehilat Shanghai continues to be a home for Progressive Jewish individuals and their families in Shanghai, and is excited to share with the UPJ the successes from 5778 and the challenges and opportunities that 5779 holds.

Our community membership numbers grew this year, with close to 60 membership units as of the 5779 high holidays. We have a goal to reach 100 membership units by 5780. While we said lihitraot to many stalwarts of the community this past year, we have gained some new families and members that are adding new energy and ideas into the community. Our community members hail from all over the globe: France, South Africa, Australia, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Israel, and Britain just to name a few.

This year was the inaugural year of our Jewish education program, Tov! - fondly named after the education program at our sister community in Beijing. We have been blown away with its success, and currently have 36 children enrolled from ages 2-12, consisting of four classes meeting every other week, with a class of 7 studying for their B’nei Mitzvot next year. The launch of this program is being done in partnership with the Institute for Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) who is providing us curriculum and support for the implementation and programming overall. We are piloting their program in hopes to help learn how to best educate children from small Jewish communities, which are lay led around the world. We are already at capacity for our rented school space and are excited to keep growing this program in a new location next year!

We have also added a youth group program for our post b’nei mitzvah children through the support and partnership of BBYO. Two of our teens represented China at the international convention held in Orlando, Florida, in Feburary 2018, which is attended by 4,000 Jewish teenagers from all over the world. The teens are coordinating and leading their own activities, and volunteer as Madrichim for our Tov! Program.

Our regular programming has continued, with the Jewish Young Professionals Network being one of our most well attended programs. We also have Scotch & Cigars and the Women’s Group, which have regular followings. We started a monthly Torah study program lead by community members and hosted in members’ homes. Weekly Shabbat dinners are still a highlight for many, with once a month being in Pudong, once a month in partnership with Moishe house, and our newly started Family Shabbats, with a focus on PJ Library storytelling and getting young kids familiar with the songs and prayers in a service. We also had many visiting clergy in the community, who led Shabbat services or discussions over Shabbat dinners. We are lucky to be a destination for many, and it seems as we grow we are also becoming easier for Jews from all over the world to find us, and enjoy welcoming visitors at many of our events.

Our major holiday events were extremely successful, with a Shabbatakkah attended by almost 100 individuals at the Israeli/French Bakery here in town. The kids enjoyed showing off the menorahs they made the weekend before at a children’s program, and the adults enjoyed indulging in yummy latkes! For Passover, we leveraged our UPJ/APJ network and had Cantor Melissa Berman, formally of the UJC Hong Kong lead us in a rousing Passover Seder. We had a Tu Bishvat family Seder, and a Shavuot kids activity. Overall, our community is trending younger and the number of young families is growing, and our programming reflects that. 48

We welcomed the 5779 year with Rabbi Sam M. Cohon, with over 200 attendees to all of the high holiday events. Feedback to this Rabbi was positive and we see how our community has matured to the point where it is necessary for us to begin offering more spiritual and Jewish study content. We have demonstrated need for an introduction to Judaism course that many community members have expressed interest in as a way of educating their family members, and Hebrew and other Jewish education series for themselves. While this is an exciting development, it is a daunting one, when our situation in China is fragile and our finances have experienced some major ups and downs. We would love to bring either a Rabbi or a Jewish educator within the next year, but considering we can barely support our current professional, we will need support in guidance on how to make this transformation happen. We look towards our UPJ family for how to make that next step!

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United Hebrew Congregation - Singapore Yoni Garbourg, President

The United Hebrew Congregation (Singapore) has had an exciting year, filled with Torah, life- cycle events, festivals, Shabbats and a revitalization of volunteerism and communal sleeve- rolling. The community continues to grow from strength to strength, be’ezrat hashem, through the leadership and guidance of our resident Rabbi Nathan Alfred, now finishing his fourth year with our community and well on his way to starting a family here in the midst of our congregation.

Our achievements include 16 Bnei Mitzvahs, our biggest Cheder graduating class, weekly Thursday Shacharit services, and the most Torah reading we’ve ever done annually as a community. Reading led to more study, with a new weekly Torah Lunch Club program. We had our most-attended Lunch & Learn Lecture series, with guests such as the Israeli Ambassador to Singapore, Ms. Simona Halperin. We also held the second Asia Teen Summit in Singapore – seventh for the region – welcoming youth, families and clergy from Bali, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Tokyo-based congregations and UPJ-affiliated communities.

It’s our first full year operating from an office space, the first real estate commitment we’ve entered into as a community, apart from our Sunday Cheder needs. It’s also the first full year employing our full-time Administrator, Alice Teo, who has been instrumental to our growing, complex operations.

This year the community saw a leadership handover from our longest-serving President, Stefanie Green, to past Vice President and Lay Leader Yoni Garbourg. While there are new complications to religious organization governance here in Singapore, there is excitement towards continuing our mission and our long-term agenda. We have a 20-strong volunteer Steering Committee made up of teams, each charged with overseeing different aspects of our mission – Programming, Membership, Education, Fundraising, Music, Rituals, Youth Engagement, Communications, IT and Security. New voices and ideas are infiltrating every nook and cranny of our congregational machinery, while newfound energy is being exerted towards revitalizing our calendar and programme with Rosh Chodesh assemblies, Havdalah picnics, and Social Activism.

Stefanie Green continues to play a pivotal role in community operations as an Outreach Ambassador, and is serving as the Chair of the Asian Progressive Judaism (APJ) Leadership Summit Committee. We are extremely excited to welcome our regional counterparts at the end of January for a momentous weekend filled with JDC-sponsored leadership training, Moetzah, Lay Leadership Summit, and our 25th Anniversary Gala celebrating our members, global Alumni, and Rabbi Emeritus Lennard Thal.

We have begun socializing a vision for a permanent Synagogue and Progressive Jewish Community Center with our members. The road will be long and full of challenges, but we intend to push an aggressive growth agenda, while the momentum is with us. A strong response to the Fundraising Team’s High Holiday appeal proved to us that there is a real desire for the shared vision of institutional permanence.

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Speaking of High Holidays, Shana Tova to all our UPJ brothers and sisters! This year, our Events, Music and Gabbai Teams helped organize new Sukkot activities (Sukkah Maker competition, Torah in the Sukkah, Shabbat Sukkat Shalom), a Simchat Torah morning service, and Shabbat Shuvah programming to our usual set of HHD activities. We had a total of 18 different services and events over the 23-day holiday period – a major record ofaccomplishment for our Synagogue- less community.

We are looking forward to welcoming UPJ Movement Rabbi Fred Morgan on his inaugural Rabbinical visit to Singapore as he joins us for a fortnight of spiritual leadership and training, during our Rabbi Alfred’s paternity leave in Israel.

We are working towards a closer relationship with the UPJ and its leadership, and we wish the region’s many progressive faith-based communities all the very best in the new year.

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Jewish Community of Japan – Tokyo Philip Rosenfeld, President; David Kunin, Rabbi

The Jewish Community of Japan is proud to be part of the UPJ family. We look forward to continuing cooperation here in Asia and across the region. Our community, though small, continues to be vibrant, with a diverse population of expatriates and long-term residents. The Jewish population of Japan is not much more than a thousand, and our Centre stands as the focal point. We have a strong cooperative relationship with the Israeli Embassy, and the two smaller Chabad Houses. Rabbis have served our community for many years, and we are pleased the Rabbi Kunin is beginning his sixth year as our spiritual leader. He works with a group of committed volunteers and synagogue staff who dedicate many hours to build a strong community. His wife Shelley has led our religious school for the last three years and has been an invaluable addition to our staff. Our religious school of more than 50 children is the centre of our synagogue community. It creates a vibrant energy on Sundays and Wednesdays. Our learning environment is second to none, and our children play an active role in leading our monthly family services. We are very proud of our Bar and Bat Mitzvah, they not only chant from the Torah and Haftara, but also lead the entire traditional service from Shacharit through to Musaf. We are also thrilled that 90% of our post bar/bat mitzvah youth return to volunteer as aides in our synagogue school. Our High Holidays are always a highlight in the synagogue year. As with the last several years we were pleased to have Yoni Roth return to serve as our High Holiday hazon. All the services are very well attended. And this year, as last, our community was the only one here in Japan to have a minyan on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Our members and guests also enjoy a series of delicious meals on the holidays and in the Sukkah, especially the gourmet Japanese meal featured in our “Sushi in the Sukkah.” We have also enjoyed meeting and greeting Jews from across the world at our series and at our regular Shabbat dinners and lunches. We also serve as a home away from home, at our two communal Pesach seders (especially our family friendly second seder), and on Purim and Channukah. We invite our UPJ family to visit us here in our beautiful building at the very centre of Tokyo. Over the past few years we have worked closely with the other UPJ communities in Asia. We had an exciting meeting of lay and professional leaders in Hong Kong, as we discussed ways that our Asian communities can work together. We were pleased to have Rabbi Fred Morgan and leaders from the WUPJ join us for this meeting. There have also been a number of opportunities for Asian teens and young professionals to meet. This year our community was exited to host the first Pan Asia Teen leadership Summit, with participants from Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. We are delighted that NETZER leaders joined us for the weekend. NETZER played an important role in the success of the weekend. We also held a second teen Shabbaton in Singapore. We were pleased that three young people joined us from Bali, Indonesia. This year we look forward to teen meet-ups in Hong Kong and Bali. Other synagogue activities have included trivia contests and very popular synagogue Sunday after school brunches. We also held a second JCJ Art Show, featuring the work of our own members in November 2018. This well attended event was highlighted by a very successful art auction at the conclusion of the afternoon. During the late spring our Israel Day celebrations were a great success. This full day event included movies, an Israeli Shuk, live performances, workshops and great food, was attended by nearly 1000 people. We were especially glad that Shalom-chan, the mascot from the Israeli embassy paid a visit.

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The Progressive Congregation of the ACT Jewish Community – Canberra, ACT Sarah Greenbaum, Chair, Progressive Committee of the ACTJC

The ACT Jewish Community (ACTJC) is the peak Jewish organisation in the ACT to which all Jewish entities are entitled to belong. ACTJC members, making up around 200 member units, are welcome to attend our Progressive or Orthodox services – or both! The ACTJC also delivers extensive social, cultural and educational programming for all our members.

This report speaks only to the activities of the Progressive Congregation of the ACTJC. I am Vice President of the ACTJC, but am writing here in my capacity as Chair of the Progressive Committee of the ACTJC.

I am excited to open this report by making reference to our prospective affiliation to the UPJ. In the past, the Progressive congregation of the ACTJC has been an associate member of the UPJ. This year, we have taken the step of pursuing full affiliation. I believe we have now made all necessary arrangements and I look forward to a long and fruitful association with the UPJ.

We have enjoyed some growth in our numbers of the year. This has been caused by a combination of new arrivals to Canberra and those pursuing conversion. We have sought to build community and ruach in our congregation. We have commenced hosting monthly potluck dinners, which provide a great opportunity for our members to get together and socialise in an informal setting after our Friday night services.

April this year presented the culmination of a multi-year strategic planning process. I would like to thank all those who were involved in the work that led to the document that was adopted. I would especially like to thank Dorothy Graff, who provided invaluable expertise and support as we progressed through the strategic planning process to the eventual adoption earlier this year. Our strategic plan sets out our vision for our congregation as one that is inclusive, respectful, welcoming and committed to tikkun olam.

In adopting our strategic plan, we committed ourselves to four priorities for our future:

• Communal worship – we seek to continually improve the professionalism of our lay-led services and deliver services that are inclusive and welcoming; • New Progressive synagogue space – we seek to support ACTJC fundraising efforts to raise the necessary funds for the new wing of the ACTJC, which would include a progressive prayer space; • Education – we seek to promote understanding of Progressive Judaism within our congregation, the ACTJC and in the broader community; • Social networks – we seek to facilitate enjoyable social contact for our members and friends.

We have commenced delivering on our commitment to tikkun olam by running a High Holy Days food drive in support of OzHarvest. The ACTJC Jewish Care worker delivers food packages from OzHarvest to members of our community, so it was very special to be able to support their good work over the High Holy Days. We look forward to identifying further opportunities to act on our commitment.

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We have enjoyed the support of Rabbi Adi Cohen (Temple David) and Rabbi Keren-Black (Leo Baeck Centre) for the first half of this year. Each rabbi visited us for a weekend and delivered inspiring, engaging and entertaining programming. We enjoyed communal meals and informative shiurim.

We have had the great pleasure of welcoming Rabbi Gary Robuck as our rabbi for 5779. Rabbi Robuck led our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Services were very well attended and enjoyed by all. Rabbi Robuck and Jocelyn will visit our community eight more times over the year to come. In each instance, we look forward to Rabbi Robuck not only leading services, but also assisting in the teaching of our cheder, taking consultations with congregants and supporting conversion candidates. I very much look forward to a continued association between the Robucks and our congregation.

I would like to conclude with thanks. I would like to thank the many lay leaders who make our weekly Shabbat services happen and who do so with such enthusiasm and warmth. I would like to thank the members of the Progressive committee for their energy and ideas. I would finally like to thank Rabbi Eddi, our shlichim and the staff of the ACTJC for their hard work throughout the year.

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ARZA Australia Steve Denenberg, President

The past year has been a difficult one for ARZA Australia, mainly due to its total reliance on the efforts of a few volunteers. However, it has had some highlights and the organisation has continued to work on its three “core” activities as the Political Zionist arm of the Progressive movement in Australia. The first activity has been as Australia’s Progressive representatives in the World Zionist Congress (WZC); the second our representation in the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA); and the third to promote and inform Progressive congregations in Australia about relevant events and activities in Israel, particularly with regard to religious pluralism and equality.

The lack of “profile” since ARZA’s separation from the UPJ became particularly clear with regard to the use of social media and resulted in a decision to employ a young person on a part-time basis to distribute relevant information to our members and to the wider community. We were especially delighted to employ Bec Szabo in this role, as she has been able to combine it with her work as a volunteer leader in Netzer Australia. We are hopeful that this move will increase our output and the ability to share our important message with the community.

Whether it is a result of this diminished presence or due to other priorities in the congregations, the number of paid members has dropped significantly during the past year. While this has had a significant and negative impact on the finances of the organisation, even more importantly it threatens our ability to send delegates to attend the World Zionist Congress. This, in turn, reduces the ability to prevent anti-democratic influences and greatly reduce the amount of funds that the WZC gives to ARZENU and the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, as well as achieving other aspects of religious and gender equality in Israel. It has also meant that our ability to undertake additional activities and promotions has been restricted, particularly within the UPJ-affiliated congregations.

It is hoped that the visit in May by Rabbi Lea Muhlstein, the then recently elected President of our world body, provided understanding and support for our work, especially among the leadership of the UPJ. Consequently it is hoped that some new recruits will join the leadership of ARZA over the coming weeks and prepare to take on key leadership roles in the future.

Regarding the WZC, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the role that ARZA plays as a member of ARZENU other than to say that we are part of the largest coalition in the WZO and we continue to succeed with issues such as the acceptance of a wide range of Resolutions to promote democracy and pluralism in Israel; to combat cronyism and corruption in the National organisations in Israel; and to combat discrimination and anti-democratic measures within the WZO, which is the Parliament of the Jewish People.

As previously reported, the various ‘backflips’ and other changes in the behaviour and policies of the WZO and the Israeli Government subsequent to the approval of these resolutions at Congress is a source of immense frustration. However, it is also an important reminder that we, and our colleagues in IRAC, the IMPJ, as well as ARZENU and the WUPJ, must maintain our presence and strength in this institution if we are to ever achieve religious pluralism in Israel and the full recognition of Progressive Judaism around the world.

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Locally, for understandable and historic reasons, the ZFA supports every decision of the Government of Israel. However, ARZA does not always agree and we do take the opportunity to express our concern over decisions that the Government makes that are anti-democratic and anti-egalitarian.

In conclusion I can only repeat our previous requests to the UPJ leadership and the Moetzah:

• Members – we can only “keep “them” honest” – here and in Israel - from a position of strength. We need your help to make sure that every member of your congregation over the age of 18 is a member of ARZA and that the default position of your congregation is that, unless they consciously “opt out”, they will be a paid member of ARZA. • ARZA Shabbat – plan a Shabbat where one of our senior representatives can address your congregation; • Use and acknowledge the educational material that we distribute from the Jewish Agency and WZO; • Consider sharing Scholar-in-residence visits with us – including a potential visit by a key person during 2019; • Appoint an ARZA liaison person to ensure that the information your members receive comes from you rather than “somebody” in Sydney or Melbourne.

Finally, please consider how you might provide help as a volunteer to support the work of ARZA.

With the support of the UPJ and its affiliated congregations, it is my belief that we can continue to grow in number and in the influence that we bring to the World Zionist Congress; to the Zionist Federation of Australia; and in making Progressive Judaism stronger worldwide.

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Board of Progressive Jewish Education – Sydney, NSW David Speiser, President

Board of Progressive Jewish Education (BPJE) is the umbrella organisation for Hebrew and religious schools that provide education to school-aged students in NSW and ACT Progressive and Pluralist communities.

BPJE’s new constitution aims to instil values of openness and mutual respect for all dimensions of Jewish experience, supporting all campuses formal and informal educational curriculum.

BPJE's function is to assist campuses to run effectively by providing funding to ensure that campuses can provide quality, innovative and engaging education to their students, as well as curriculum content, teacher training and assistance with student recruitment.

BPJE’s campuses work together at times, with Netzer engaging with students from Woollahra’s Kef Kids’ ACT Jewish Community’s Cheder, Chatswood’s Meah.

JCA remains the sole source of funding for BPJE. Our available funds are distributed directly to campuses based on detailed reporting, where student educational outcomes are placed at the heart of the allocation process.

Through innovation, the number of students engaged in Jewish learning has increased.

BPJE is a volunteer board that is proud of the service that it provides to the students of NSW and ACT Progressive and Pluralist communities.

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Emanuel School – Randwick, NSW Andrew Watt, Principal

In 2017 Anne Hastings, Principal of Emanuel School for the past eight years, retired, leaving the School in a strong and enviable position. As the incumbent Principal I am delighted to continue to build a Jewish community day school that focuses on empowering and unleashing individual potential in a pluralist and egalitarian space.

At Emanuel, our students grow and learn within a happy and nurturing environment that encourages healthy and wise lifestyle choices. Our professional and caring staff team is committed to inspiring and supporting our students to pursue excellence, both within and beyond the classroom, and to explore how they can best serve within our local and global community. Our parents are encouraged to establish strong connections within the Emanuel community and to maintain an involvement in the life of the School. The Emanuel School motto ‘Mind, Spirit, Being’ encapsulates what we seek to develop in our students; an open mind, an awakened spirit and an engagement of the whole being within a culture of excellence. This involves a learning journey that equips our students with the values, skills and resources to become responsible and ethical global citizens. Our academic program extends beyond the mere mastery of facts, to being able to apply knowledge flexibly, in unfamiliar contexts. We seek to engage our students in challenging and real-life learning experiences that help build and demonstrate deep learning, as well as providing opportunities to create and innovate. Throughout this journey, students are encouraged to delve into their own areas of interest, become independent, resilient learners, think critically and celebrate their achievements. As a pluralistic Jewish School, we affirm that there is more than one authentic way to be Jewish, and embed this in all that we do. Our students are encouraged to embrace the whole Jewish community, regardless of affiliation or practice, and we seek to engage in authentic and positive encounters with Judaism, the Jewish people and Israel. Fundamental to our endeavours is the promotion of human, social, political and economic equality within an inclusive, safe and caring environment. We encourage students and staff to live authentically, showing respect for all.

Whilst we still have a Term left of the school year, 2018 has been a very busy one.

A highlight of the year has been the opening of our Innovation Centre, which features three floors of flexible space, where students are encouraged to discover, innovate, take risks and think beyond the boundaries. It boasts an Imaginarium and Design Lab, interactive spaces dedicated to experimenting with ‘impossible’ ideas and discovering new ways of thinking, based on the Design Thinking model. The students have access to advanced technology including 3D printers, recording equipment and a Virtual Realty studio. The Food Lab features an industrial-grade kitchen, allowing VET Hospitality students to complete their course on campus.

I believe that the Innovation Centre will play an important part of the students’ learning journeys for many years to come. It has been designed to provide attractive, capacious, light-filled learning spaces, with classroom configurations and break- out spaces that promote group work, collaboration and enable project-based learning and Design Thinking to thrive.

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Over 150 people attended the opening of the Innovation Centre and mezuzah dedication ceremony. It takes many hours of planning to get a building such as the Innovation Centre to completion. It also takes the willingness to move beyond what is comfortable and sometimes even logical. The Centre will play a major role in welcoming and developing a generation of thinkers who will graduate to become Astronauts, Scientists, Carpenters, Mathematicians, Chefs, Engineers and dreamers.

Strategic planning for the future is essential in the ever-changing educational landscape. The School Board and Executive are currently developing the Strategic plan to 2023. Our discussions have revolved around five Pillars, which will guide us on our path of innovation. The Pillars focus on fostering adaptive young people who are deeply curious in an ever- changing world; improving the ways we collect and apply data to improve learning; inspiring our students to experience their Judaism in a meaningful and transformative way & empowering students on their unique learning journey.

On a more personal note, another exciting experience was my recent trip to Israel. This was my first visit to the Holy Land and I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity. Seeing and experiencing Israeli life, culture and history has instilled in me a deeper understanding of the issues that affect Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora. I was lucky to connect with a group of Emanuel School alumni who have made Aliyah, volunteered for the army or are on a Gap Year program. It was obvious to me that our graduates are capable, proactive, upstanding and articulate young adults who move into our rapidly changing world with energy, empathy and enthusiasm. As we move into the latter part of 2018 I look forward to continuing to work closely with the Board, Executive and Staff to bring our many plans to fruition.

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Netzer Australia Progressive Zionist Youth Movement Jess Harrison, Federal Mazkira (Chairperson)

Executive Summary

In 2019, Netzer Australia will be turning 40 years old. We’re excited to be a part of welcoming in this milestone as well as working together to support another 40 years of Progressive Jewish youth leadership. Netzer Australia is a growing movement. This year, we have had the largest Winter and Summer camps in four years with 513 chanichim (participants) in total.

The largest representation of synagogue affiliation on camps are Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne and North Shore Temple Emanuel in Sydney, each making up around 20% of attendance on Summer and Winter camp attendance. 11% of our total chanichim this Summer camp season were from smaller communities (Perth, Adelaide, Canberra), an increase from 9% in 2017. 46 chanichim out of the total 513 chanichim in 2018 live in these communities.

Following the WUPJ Youth Committee decision to ‘pause’ Shnat Netzer in 2019, we have been working with the WUPJ Youth Committee, Netzer Olami staff and closely with our communities in Australia to build an alternative Shnat program (with Maslul Ishi as our program provider) for 2019.

The need for subsidies is only growing as Netzer grows. In 2017, Netzer required more than $38 000 in camp and Shnat subsidies for our chanichim. As a part of the Netzer Appeal (our main fundraising campaign) we aim to raise $40 000 by the end of this year. This will mark 40 thousand dollars raised for 40 years of Netzer Australia.

Introduction

Netzer Australia is the Progressive Jewish Community’s youth movement. Netzer Australia is charged with the Avodat Kodesh (sacred work) to foster the development of young Jewish individuals. Netzer connects our youth to their Jewish and Zionist identity, empowers them to become leaders in our community and instills in them a love of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).

In 2019 Netzer Australia will be turning 40 years old. We’re excited to be a part of welcoming in this significant milestone as well as work together to support another 40 years of Progressive Jewish youth leadership in our community. With Netzer turning 40, we celebrate Netzer Australia's ongoing service to communities across Australia (in; Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra) providing these communities with weekend programs, Summer and Winter camps and leadership training for chanichim (participants) in years 3-12. We celebrate the ongoing leadership experience offered to our Shnat Netzer participants and volunteer madrichim (leaders) aged 18-22 committing up to 20 hours of volunteering per week to Netzer. We also celebrate 40 years of partnerships between Netzer and Progressive and Pluralist community organisations and congregations around Australia and overseas.

“The first 40 years of Netzer has given me so much. It helped me to create a set of principles for my life it taught me how to be creative and it taught me how to work Machanot (camps) in a team. I cannot underestimate the impact Netzer in every part of my adult life.”

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Camps run over the Summer and Winter holidays. They are immersive educational experiences where chanichim from all over Australia come together to learn, play and discuss in an engaging and fun Progressive Jewish and Zionist environment. Camps are tailored to foster chanichim’s personal development and the development of their Jewish identities.

Netzer Australia is a growing movement. This year, we have had the largest Winter and Summer camps in four years. In 2015 we had 391 chanichim over both camps, in 2016 there were 394, 440 in 2017 and, in 2018, we have had 513 chanichim coming on camps. The graphs below outline attendance at both Summer and Winter camps from 2015 to 2018. It is important to note that Netzer is among the few Zionist youth movements in Australia who is growing.

“It’s such a lovely feeling to know that in Netzer my children are celebrating something that’s so important to them whilst still being children and having fun. Netzer has given my children a sense of belonging to their Jewish community and it’s

given them this amazing education that’s based entirely around Judaism. You can’t get that anywhere else.”

Andrina Grynberg- mother of Netzer participants

We are especially proud of the growth of the junior movement (years three to eight). The graph shows the attendance of chanichim in our junior movement over the past three summer camp seasons. In line with the strategic priority of Netzer Australia and the support of our communities, our junior movement has grown exponentially from 119 chanichim in 2016, 137 in 2017 and now 198 participants in 2018.

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Sign-up your child up for our Summer of Netzer now. Registrations are open for Federal Camp (MachaNetzer) for students entering years 9 to 12 and Junior Camp in Sydney and Melbourne (MachaNoar) for students entering years 3 to 8. For more information and to sign up visit www.netzer.org.au/camps

Synagogue and Community Engagement

Netzer Australia, over our 40 years, has gone from strength to strength. This is due, in no small part, to our close relationships with synagogues, community organisations and other Progressive Community leadership.

The majority of Netzer’s chanichim do not attend Jewish Day Schools (62% from Summer camps), however, the vast majority of participants on camps have synagogue affiliation. The largest representation of synagogue affiliation on camps are Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne and North Shore Temple Emanuel in Sydney, each making up around 20% of attendance on Summer and Winter camps. Netzer works in partnership with congregations around Australia. Clergy frequently visit our camps to run programs for our participants and madrichim have helped run family services and youth programs/discussions throughout the High Holy Days period this year.

Netzer also works closely with other community organisations. For example, Netzer Sydney has worked with Courage to Care throughout 2018 to develop our Holocaust education and social justice curriculum. Netzer Melbourne held a trivia night fundraiser where proceeds were equally divided between donations to the Netzer Appeal and the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre (ASRC). We are proud to share that 20 madrichim will be attending the upcoming UPJ Biennial and some will be running workshops at the Biennial relating to congregational youth engagement strategies. 4 madrichim have also been lucky enough to attend the ARZENU Seminar in Israel as the Australian representatives.

Small Communities Engagement

Engaging with smaller Progressive and Pluralist Communities has been a key element of our strategic plan in 2018 and we are proud to report that, from this, 11% of our total chanichim this Summer camp season were from smaller communities, an increase from 9% in 2017. The graph below shows the total amount of chanichim attending camps in 2018 according to their City. 46 chanichim out of 513 in 2018 live in these communities.

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Other initiatives have been implemented this year in line with this strategic priority. In February, we ran our first ever leadership seminar for the madrichim from these communities (Perth, Adelaide and Canberra). This seminar was designed to support them planning the year ahead in their sniffim (branches) as well as provide leadership training specific for their community’s needs.

This year Netzer Australia ran its first ever Perth Camp. 12 chanichim attended this camp along with five other madrichim who flew in from Melbourne to help run peulot (activities). This camp is another significant milestone for us as a movement and for Progressive communities in Australia. As a part of our ongoing commitment to bringing Progressive Jewish education and experiences to chanichim in smaller communities, Netzer has run Shabbat ‘Outreach’ programs in Perth, Adelaide and Canberra and has sent madrichim to help lead on Adelaide’s JAZY Winter Camp.

Leadership

From a young age, Netzer works to develop our chanichim into passionate, informed and engaged leaders of the Progressive Community and wider world. Netzer offers formal leadership training from year 10 and up. The madatz (madrich tzair- young leader) program is one of the most valuable opportunities which Netzer has to offer. Beginning in year ten, chanichim go through a year of hadracha (leadership) training where they learn how to write peulot (educational activities) and engage with leadership on a practical and theoretical level.

Over Pesach this year, we ran our first ever Federal Hadracha (leadership) seminar for chanichim in year 10. 17 chanichim from across VIC and NSW met in Sydney for a four-day intensive leadership training as a part of their preparation for becoming madatzim (junior leaders) in 2019. These year 10 chanichim will continue their training on their second hadracha seminar coming up later this year (held separately in Melbourne and Sydney).

In Year 11, our chanichim ‘graduate’ their training and becoming madatzim when they will lead on Summer and Winter camp. This year of practical leadership is a chance for them to implement what they learned in year 10 and refine their leadership skills and confidence. We have had 20 incredibly gifted and dedication madatzim leading with us throughout this year on camps and Sunday peulot. We wish them luck entering year twelve and look forward to seeing them continue to grow as leaders throughout their time in the movement.

Shnat is Netzer’s 10 month leadership gap year program in Israel. At the beginning of this year, the WUPJ Youth Committee decided that, in the best interest of the longevity of the program to put a ‘pause’ on Shnat Netzer in 2019. We have been working with the WUPJ Youth Committee, Netzer Olami staff and closely with our communities in Australia to build an alternative Shnat program (with Maslul Ishi as our program provider) for 2019.

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The nature of Israel programs is going through allot of flux at the moment and we are in close and constant communication with Netzer Olami, the WUPJ and Netzer branches globally in order to shape future Shnat and other Israel programs. We hope that these discussions will help make Israeli programs accessible to a wider range of participants whilst staying committed to our Progressive Jewish and Zionist principles.

“The Shnat Netzer Program, developed my passion for our history, heritage, texts

and traditions. The year in Israel gave me the skills and commitment to a life dedicated to community. And more than any other experience made me who I am today.”

Rabbi Gersh Lazarow: Senior Rabbi TBI, Netzer alumnus and father of Netzer participants

Every year, madrichim participate in three national leadership and educational seminars. These are entirely run by the madrichim. Netzer is only able to run because of our dedicated volunteer leaders and our shaliach Dudu Gottlib and I’m incredibly proud to call them my peers.

Fundraising

To support our growth coming into our 40th year, Netzer Australia needs your support more than ever. We require your assistance to allow us to provide greatly needed camp subsidies, Shnat grants, funds for our small communities engagement as well as to ensure the ongoing financial sustainability of our movement. We have been lucky enough to be able to have provided over $18 000 in camp subsidies in 2018. The need for subsidies is only growing as Netzer grows. In 2017, Netzer required more than $38 000 in camp and Shnat subsidies for our chanichim.

The Netzer Appeal is our largest fundraising mechanism. The Appeal allows us to safeguard the future of Netzer Australia and allow any child who wishes to, to participate in our activities. The Netzer Appeal in 2018 will continue our ongoing fundraising focus on leadership training and camp subsidies, as well as safeguarding the future financial sustainability of our youth movement. We aim to raise $40 000 by the end of this year. This will mark 40 thousand dollars raised for 40 years of Netzer Australia.

Donating to the Netzer Appeal supports our Australian Progressive Jewish youth and, in doing so, supports the dynamic present and exciting future of our communities. Please visit our website www.netzer.org.au/appeal to donate, all donations are tax deductible when made through the PJV. With your support, we know that Netzer will continue to go from strength to strength for another 40 years.

“Netzer was there for me as I emerged as a strong and independent adult. Netzer was there for me as I deepened my knowledge of Judaism and my connection to Israel. Netzer was there when I wanted to create a life and community with ideals I believe in. Netzer is now there for my children. And so it goes on...” 64

Nicky Stiassny- Netzer alumnus and mother of Netzer participants

The King David School – Armadale, Victoria Marc Light, Principal

This year, The King David School celebrated 40 years of providing a progressive Jewish education for our community. It also marked the end of the most ambitious building program in the history of the School - Project Chai Ve’kayam (life everlasting).

With a purpose-built kindergarten, and totally renovated Junior and Senior Schools, the Progressive Community’s dream of a school of their own has now been fully realised.

But King David is much more than buildings - it is a community that cherishes its students and teachers and instills a love of both Judaism and Australia that lasts throughout a lifetime.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, King David has been capable of greatly expanding our fee relief program, renamed Opportunity and Inclusion Scholarships. This means-tested program allows parents who normally could not afford it, access for their children to education at The King David School.

2018 was a bumper year for sporting success at King David. Gymnast Alexandra Kiroi won two bronze medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, and achieved the title of Australia’s number one gymnast. Three teams won Grand Finals in their respective sports; Senior Boys basketball, Senior Girls netball and Year 7 boys volleyball.

King David’s unique Wellbeing program continued to be a highlight of the school year. Prof Marc Brackett of Yale University presented to families in March on Raising Healthy, Happy and Successful Kids. Martin Heppell shared with teachers, parents and students in a range of sessions conducted at the School by The Resilience Project. The theme of the sessions was “Lessons from the world’s most resilient people.” The Parents’ Association hosted Dr Arne Rubenstein, who presented on “raising the young men and women of the future in a rapidly changing world” at their Annual Breakfast.

Jewish learning continued its integral role with all life and learning at King David. The School’s heart beats to the rhythm of the Jewish calendar, whether it is whole-school celebrations of Purim and Yom Ha’atzmaut or intimate gatherings of Grandparent’s Shabbaton in our younger years. Our upcoming Year 10 trip to Israel - Yesh - is the biggest ever to be held for King David, with more than 50 students set to go.

Our world-class Robotics program continued to achieve, with our team qualifying to attend the world championships in Houston. Our students placed second in the Victorian Senior School Philosothon and are through to national competition next year. And, of course, our School Musicals drew huge crowds and showcased the extraordinary talents of our student cohort.

The School celebrated the most dynamic Science Week in its history, involving all students from Pre-School to Year 12. It included a glider competition, a forensics incursion, presentations by groundbreaking scientists and an enormous inflatable planetarium dome which wowed students and staff alike. During Melbourne Jewish Book Week, visiting authors, Ursula Dubosarsky, Damon Young and Morris Gleitzman presented to students. The School won a number of awards at the B’nai B’rith Art Competition, with Jacqui Pizzo (Year 7) winning the inaugural Thalia Hakin Memorial award.

The King David School continues to embody its founding principles of Modern, Thinking, Judaism, while providing innovative and engaging educational programs. 65

UPJ Awards The 2018 award recipients will be announced during the UPJ Biennial in Melbourne in November 2018.

Vatik Award: This award honours past presidents of congregations and affiliation organisations who have continued to give outstanding service and make valuable contributions to their congregation and the wider community for at least five years after the end of their term of office. We recognise these worthy individuals and their continued commitment to the community and furthering the Progressive movement in our region.

Previous Vatik Award recipients: Merrilyn Ades, Edwin Argy, Ken Arkwright, Arthur Berman, Philip Bliss, Helen Bryant, Philip Coleman, Julie Contole, Geoffrey Cowen, Phyllis Dorey, Maree Findley, Joshua Goldman-Brown, Matthew Goode, Sam Granek, Phillip David Green, Ruth Gross, Sharene Hambur, Hans Jensen, Peter Kolliner, Kate Lesser, Tony Leverton, Joe Lewit, Larry Lockshin, Peter Marks, Stephanie Markson, Philip Mayers, Howard Nathan, Lynette Ninio, Eva Popper, David Robinson, Brian Samuel, John Schinasi, Jonathan Taft, Tex Waxman

Ner Tamid Award: Since the Biennial Conference of the Australia New Zealand Union for Progressive Judaism held in Melbourne in 1990, we have honoured the “Unsung Heroes” – members of congregations and affiliation organisations who perform exceptional service for our congregations and community, as well as the wider community.

Previous New Tamid Award recipients: Tony Abo, Fred Albert, Libby Appelboom, Judith Arkwright, Stan Benjamin, Albert Bentata, Heinz Bohm, Garry and Nola Braude, Eric Briskman, Nicole Brown, Margaret Capkin, Sally Castle, Zvi Civins, Marlis Cohen, Arnold Cohn, Beatrice Coleman, Nathan Companez, Rachel Dennyss, Anthony and Diane Deutsch, Dr George Deutsch, David and Sue Esterman, Norma Survana Esther, Mick Fettmann, Ellen Frajman, Ted Friedlander, Bev Gelbart, Mark Ginsburg, Sydney Goldstein, Leon and Sue Goldwater, Liz Goodman, Sandy Graetzer, Sidney Grant, Brian and Jennifer Green, Noel Hall, Janet Henrie, Fred Hirsch, Albert Isaacs, Elijah Jacob, Naomi Johnson, Devorah Komesaroff, Harvey Livschitz, Alison Marcus, Charles Monat, Sue Morgan, Betty Mortimer, Myra Mortlock, Fred Mote, Joan Motta, Judy Myers, Dorothy (Dot) Nathan, Teresa Petrzelka, Eva Phillips, Amelia Rauner, Gena Reiss, Peter Rosenfeld, Ian Samuel, David Sharp, Chris Schiller, Nat Sharpe, Fred Silberstein, Harry Smith, Linda Stern, Joe Stupel, Geoff Sussman, Michael Taft, Joan Taylor, Dorothea Tropp-Boas, Reuben Urban, Tanya Warms, Betty Waxman.

President’s Award previous recipients: Judy Campbell, Phyllis, Dorey, Stephen Freeman, Sharene Hambur, Penny Jakobovits, Peter Kohn, Michael Lawrence, Joel Oseran, David Robinson, Neil Samuel

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