The Zionist Federation of Australia, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel, has organised a week-long delegation of Australian Jewish youth leaders to visit Israel. The delegation will be in Israel from 1 to 7 February.
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said, “This group represents the best of our community’s next generation, and the wide range of political and religious beliefs the ZFA represents. Each leader is responsible for shaping their movement and organisation. This is an incredibly important opportunity for our next generation of leaders to bear witness to the impact of 7 October, and to demonstrate solidarity with Israel.”
The delegation of 17 individuals will be made up of leaders from the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Zionist youth movements gathered under the umbrella of the Australian Zionist Youth Council, and alumni from the Diller Teen Fellows program.
After meeting with the delegates, Mr Cassuto told them, “The intent of the mission is to nurture a deep, personal connection with Israel and each other. This mission is an opportunity to strengthen our solidarity, understand our shared history and identity, and forge a path forward for our community and its bond with Israel.”
They will visit Kibbutz Beeri, which was so dramatically affected by the Hamas attack, as well as evacuees from the ‘Gaza Envelope’, who are currently sheltering in the Arava. The Australian Jewish community has a long associated with the Arava through the Arava-Australia Partnership.
The group will also travel to Jerusalem, to meet with key Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levi, and participate in workshops and meetings at the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organisation.
The ZFA’s Ramona Chrapot will be on the trip. “I can’t express strongly enough the importance of this trip”, she said. “While our own Jewish community here in Australia has been challenged like never before in the wake of the 7 October attacks, we hope this trip can help us combat the rising antisemitism we are seeing on our university campuses and streets.”
