Chabad Woman Awarded OAM

Melbourne, Australia – An Australian woman, a member of Melbourne’s Chabad-Lubavitch community, known for her devotion to the disabled community and for good works in the Jewish community received Australia’s highest civilian medal from Queen Elizabeth II.

On June 12, Zipporah Oliver, of Port Phillip, Victoria, received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) and was “the only sheitel (wig) wearing Chassidic woman on the list,” according to the Australian Jewish News.

She was also one of the very few to receive a double citation, in recognition of her work both on behalf of people affected by disabilities and within the Jewish community. Far beyond the great personal satisfaction derived from receiving what the Australian government deems “the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service,” Oliver regards the award as a sanctification of G-d’s name because it “showcases religious women in a positive light.”

Her triumph was born of tragedy. Oliver’s seventh child survived a complicated birth but passed away after his fourth birthday in 1994. A psychologist in private practice, Oliver emerged from her loss with a redoubled passion to help people living with disabilities and those who cared for them as a way of repaying those who helped her in her time of need. Oliver joined and eventually served as president of the Carers Association, supporting and advising caretakers. She founded and led the Care Advisory Council for four years, lobbying on behalf of people with disabilities and presenting papers at major conferences. Currently, Oliver is the honorary psychologist for Riding for the Disabled, a group that helps disabled people gain physical and emotional strength through contact with horses.

Within the Jewish community, Oliver has been a driving force for good and for engaging Jewish women in serious Torah study. Two rooms of her home, plus her neighbor’s garage, are filled with musical instruments, wedding gowns, mother-of-the-bride gowns, tables, catering utensils and more all for loan to those in need. “We are here to equalize things,” said Oliver. “If we have been given the merit to give and not to take we are lucky.” Constantly innovating, Oliver drags bags brimming with Jewish children’s books to High Holiday services. Kids read, parents pray without shushing. “I just did what had to be done,” she said.

Acclaim and congratulations to Oliver have poured from all quarters. Governor General Michael Jeffery wrote he is “very pleased,” and the Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks offered his personal congratulations. The Union for Progressive Judaism wrote the Medal is the “testament to the respect in which you are held.” Letters piled up from the Jewish Museum of Australia, WIZO, Monash University, and many more.

Tearing up as she reads the congratulatory missives, Oliver recalls her parents, both Holocaust survivors, arrived in Australia with nothing, having lost their entire families in the war, and “to think their daughter achieved this,” she sobbed, “it is beyond the wildest dreams.”

In October, Oliver will receive three gold plated medals emblazoned with a crown at the formal investiture. Protocol strictly dictates where and when the medals may be worn, but Oliver will be able to put the initials OA (Order of Australia) on her stationary immediately. Those two letters, three medals, and the acclaim of many confer upon Oliver the gravitas she needs to realize her dream of creating the “Oliver-Cylich Chesed Institution” where her many good works projects may be properly housed. “This medal has given me the clout to do a lot more good.”