Former Israeli Envoy Recalls Hard Years for Australian Jewry at Farewell for Zionist Federation Chief

Israel's former ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, offered a blunt memory of his posting at a reception in Jerusalem on Wednesday. "Canberra was very cold, and I'm not just talking about the weather," he said, seated beside Australian Ambassador to Israel Neil Hawkins.

The event took place at the President's Residence, where President Isaac Herzog hosted a farewell for Jeremy Leibler, the outgoing president of the Zionist Federation of Australia. Leibler is stepping down after eight years in the role.

Guests included Jewish Agency chairman Doron Almog and Moriah Ben-David, director of the ZFA's Israel office. Representatives of Australian Zionist organizations who had attended Jewish Agency Board of Governors meetings earlier in the week were also present, along with Paul Israel, executive director of the Israel Australia Chamber of Commerce. A large three-generation group from the Israeli and Australian branches of the Leibler family attended as well, among them Leibler's father, Mark Leibler. The elder Leibler led the ZFA for 10 years and received the President's Medal of Honor, Israel's highest civilian award, in 2024.

Referring to the surge of antisemitism in Australia after October 7, Maimon said Jeremy Leibler had been a source of wisdom. "It was a most challenging period for the Jewish community of Australia and the State of Israel," he recalled. He also acknowledged that reactions to statements from Jerusalem were troubling. In a remark suggesting the Australian government was far from friendly, Maimon credited Leibler with negotiating with the authorities so that Herzog would be warmly received on his state visit to Australia in February of this year. "As a result, it was a very successful visit."

Almog praised Leibler's courage, saying: "I saw you. I heard you when you said: 'We're not going anywhere. We're here to stay.'" Other speakers spoke of Leibler's love for the Jewish people and Israel. Most described him as a proud Australian Jew who stood tall, and they urged him to keep inspiring others.

Michal Herzog, the president's wife, who traveled with him on the February visit, recalled her first trip to Australia 40 years ago, in November 1986. She went with her in-laws on the historic state visit of her father-in-law, then-president Chaim Herzog, the first by an Israeli president so far south. "We feel very close to the Australian Jewish community, and we feel especially close in times of crisis," she said.

President Herzog praised what he called Leibler's "immense leadership qualities." "You say what you mean," he said, adding that Leibler had been very clear about bringing him to Australia. "You are truly an asset to the Jewish people. We know Leiblers from all sides, an incredible family." Herzog said people like Leibler are needed in his Voice of the People initiative.

Leibler responded that he had come to see how much Israel's security and existence depend on the solidarity of the Jewish people. He also stressed the importance of learning to communicate with people one disagrees with.

In one of his last appearances as ZFA president, Leibler is due to speak at The Jerusalem Post Conference in Sydney on November 19, as is his father. Michal Herzog will also speak, by video. The incoming ZFA president is David Gold, a former global chairman of the World Union of Jewish Students and current president of the Mount Scopus College Foundation. Herzog met Gold in January 2023 at a reunion of Mount Scopus students, teachers and alumni living in Israel, and Herzog's father visited the college in 1986.