Successful Dinner for Chabad in Sydney

Sydney, Australia — At the beginning of Australia’s election campaign, two of the nation’s most senior political rivals have joined forces in support of Chabad.

The occasion was one of the biggest dinners for a Jewish cause in Australian history, the Yeshiva Centre’s annual gala dinner in Sydney on February 20, at which 1500 people attended.

The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull MP delivered a message of goodwill from Prime Minister John Howard. There is wide public speculation that Mr Turnbull, a senior Government Minister, will be Howard’s successor as leader of the Liberals party.

In a speech laced with Hebrew words and Yiddishisms, Mr Turnbull reiterated his high personal regard for the Jewish community and even quoted Chumash and the medieval Jewish commentator Rashi!

The Minister spoke first hand of his admiration for the work of the Yeshiva and “The Rebbe’s Shluchim”, under the leadership of Rabbi Pinchus and Rebbetzin Pnina Feldman, leaders of Chabad in NSW. His familiarity stems from the fact that he is the local Federal member and represents the heavily-Jewish area of Bondi in the national Parliament in Canberra.

Mr Turnbull also made a surprise presentation of “The Wentworth Community Service award” to Rebbetzin Pnina Feldman, for her outstanding contribution to Australian Society.

In a spirited and scholarly reply, the Leader of the opposing Labor party – and according to today’s polls the next Prime minister of Australia – Mr Kevin Rudd, laid on the table his record of unwavering friendship for Israel and the Jewish people. Mr Rudd had flown from Perth, on the other side of the continent, to be the event’s guest of honour. The massive crowd at the dinner, Jews and non-Jews alike, were transfixed by this fascinating clash of heavyweights, as Mr Rudd pledged his party’s continuing support for the Jewish cause with the words Am Yisrael Chai!

In his first official Jewish community function since becoming Labor leader, Mr Rudd paid glowing tribute to the educational and humanitarian record of the Yeshiva Centre and of Chabad worldwide.

The dinner was hosted by Yeshiva’s Life Governor, billionaire Harry Triguboff, a man credited with “having built more homes than anyone else in Australia’s history” and a major benefactor of the the Yeshiva’s efforts in spreading Yiddishkeit.

Mr Triguboff spoke emotionally about his meeting with the Rebbe some 20 years ago, when the Rebbe blessed him with financial success and encouraged him to continue supporting charity.

“Thank God the Rebbe’s blessings came true”, said Harry, “The more I have supported the Yeshiva, the more successful I have become”.

A major attraction was the keynote speaker, Rabbi Yossy Goldman of Johannesburg. Widely credited with being a brilliant orator, Rabbi Goldman delivered a masterful set-piece speech of breathtaking scope and range. His presentation spanned the course of recent Jewish history, touching on the lives of two great leaders he has known, the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. His discourse provoked in his listeners a range of emotions: at one moment there were peals of laughter and, at the next, stifled sighs of anguish. In the final analysis, his message was distilled into the simple premise that Chabad exists only and always to make the world a better place.

Rabbi Goldman’s address was followed by a videotaped message from Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Yonah Metzger, who spoke about his recent visit to Sydney, his high regard for Rabbi Feldman and the wonderful work of Chabad in Sydney.

Rabbi Metzger offered to pray at the Western Wall for the dinner participants and encouraged them to support the Yeshiva as much as possible. He guaranteed that the more zeros they add to their contributions, the more blessings they will receive from God.

Master of Ceremonies at the Dinner was Australia’s foremost talkback radio host, Alan Jones, who donated his legendary talents towards making the function a success.

Mr Jones has earned a reputation as a controversial public figure who is widely revered for his pursuit of justice and defence of the underdog.

Alan introduced the Yeshiva’s remarkable new humanitarian Project, Our Big Kitchen, which has been conceived and implemented over several years by Rabbi Dovid Slavin. Details of the project can be found on the web at www.obk.org.au.

A special highlight of the event was musical entertainment by Australian Jazz Legend James Morrison, who wooed the crowd with beautiful renditions of Jewish tunes. So inspiring was his playing that many of the dignitaries joined hands on the stage in spontaneous dancing.
More pictures in the Extended Article.