Haifa Day Dinner in Melbourne
Over 150 leaders and volunteers from the Indian and Jewish communities joined together for dinner on Monday night to commemorate Haifa Day.
Mak Bhagwat and Daniel Aghion
It was a very moving event, given the recent missile attacks on Haifa by Hezbollah, and the friction between some communities since the massacre on 7 October 2023. This was the Hindu community standing together with the Jewish community, as their leaders did at the solidarity rally in Caulfield Park a few months ago.
Haifa Day commemorates the victory of three regiments of Indian cavalry over Ottoman Turkish troops in 1918. This victory, following after the victory at Beersheba in late 2017, helped lay the foundation for the Balfour Declaration, the establishment of the British Mandate and the eventual foundation of the State of Israel.
The Indian Australian Diaspora Foundation (IADF), the Hindu Council of Australia Vic (HCA), Zionism Victoria and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) jointly hosted the event. The communities showcased religious, artistic and dance activities to the enjoyment of the audience.
The dinner was organised by Indian and Hindu community leaders Makarand Bhagwat, President of the HCA Vic, and Jay Shah, Director of the IADF, who have a long history of working with the Jewish community, including lobbying together to protect s.18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, and more recently on outlawing the Hakenkreuz (the Nazi swastika), while protecting the ancient Indian use of their swastika.
About 40 Indian and at least 20 Jewish community organisations were represented at the event, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), United Israel Appeal, National Council of Jewish Women, Progressive Judaism Victoria, Hindu temples and Rabbonim representing numerous synagogues.
Yossi Goldfarb spoke on behalf of Zionism Victoria, Philip Zajac spoke on behalf of JCCV and Daniel Aghion spoke on behalf of the ECAJ.
Members of Parliament attending and speaking at the event included Member for Macnamara Josh Burns and Member for Caulfield David Southwick, who spoke about the importance of social cohesion and the work the communities had done together on various issues. The Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) Vivien Nguyen also spoke at the dinner. Various VMC commissioners and Multifaith Council representatives also attended the evening. All three speakers recognised the pressure that Victoria’s multiculturalism had been under over the past year.
Jay Shah said, “The timing of this event is important. We express our condolences for the October 7 attack. The Indian community stands with the jewish community.”
Josh Burns summed up the night, saying, “Australia since 7 October has not felt like our Australia. Our multiculturalism has been under threat. But tonight, this feels like the Australia I know.”
