Jeremy Jones: Australia has lost a giant, and the Australian Jewish community is poorer for his passing
Community leaders have made tributes to the late Jeremy Jones, who has passed away following a prolonged battle with cancer.
Jeremy Jones AM
He was the Director of International and Community Affairs for The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
He was 64.
Jeremy Jones was awarded the AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in The Queen’s Birthday honours in May 2005 for “service to the Jewish community, and to multiculturalism and international relations in the area of interfaith dialogue”.
National Chairman Mark Leibler and executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein wrote: “Everyone at AIJAC is utterly devastated by the passing today of our beloved, and widely admired and respected, colleague Jeremy Jones, after an extended illness which he fought with great courage.
Jeremy has been an essential and irreplaceable part of AIJAC for some three decades, ever since he was the founding head of our Sydney office in 1993 – an office he has steered with such distinction and determination ever since. AIJAC is proud to have also helped facilitate Jeremy’s ability over those years to assume numerous other public service roles across the wider Jewish community, multi-faith and multicultural Australia, in our national public life, and even the international arena – to the benefit of everyone who had the pleasure of working with him, including of course AIJAC.
Jeremy always brought an extraordinary level of knowledge and insight about Judaism, public life in Australia, philosophy and morality, and human nature into his work for AIJAC, for which we will always be grateful. He also had a personal warmth, a kindness for those in need, an eagerness to teach and debate, and a wicked wit, all of which will be profoundly missed by everyone who worked with or knew him.
He was a one-man rolodex and intelligence agency, who knew almost every person of importance in Australian politics, religious communities, the media and other areas of public life – and was almost universally liked and respected. His interfaith work and personal warmth also won him hundreds of friends, admirers and colleagues overseas – including in the most unlikely places.
We take some comfort from the immense legacy of service to the Australian Jewish community, to interfaith dialogue and to Australian society, that Jeremy leaves behind. It is a legacy built up through decades of hard work, dedication, integrity and inspirational leadership, and will continue to have a positive impact for decades to come.
We extend our deepest and most sincere condolences to Jeremy’s family members for their terrible loss.”
A spokesperson for the Zionist Federation of Australia told J-Wire: “I am genuinely upset. He was a good man”
In a statement, ZFA said: “The Zionist Federation of Australia leadership and staff joins the entire Australian Jewish community in mourning the untimely death of Jeremy Jones AM, a committed and passionate Australian Jewish leader.
For decades, Mr Jones served as a lay leader and professional in an incredible number of Jewish and interfaith organisations. His interfaith work went hand-in-hand with his unstinting fight against antisemitism, including his famous—and victorious—Federal Court battles.
His promotion of reconciliation with Australia’s Indigenous community predated most of the community and signalled his principled commitment to human rights and equality.
His warmth, his desire to connect, and his passion for his country, his community and for Israel will long be remembered.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler recalled the first time he met Mr Jones, at an AUJS seminar in Canberra. “From that time on, I was always so impressed at the way he could engage and inspire, and was always able to place himself above politics to pursue what was in the best interests of the Jewish community.”
Australia has lost a giant, and the Australian Jewish community is poorer for his passing. The ZFA extends its heartfelt condolences to his wife Naomi and their children.
Co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim said: “For more than four decades, Jeremy was a faithful servant of the Australian Jewish community and a consummate professional. There is hardly any area of Jewish communal life that did not benefit in some way from his expertise and dedication, and he worked in a range of key communal organisations.
He was a former President and Honorary Life Member of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
He had a special passion for building relationships with other faith and ethnic communities and won over many friends, both personally and communally. He was the first Australian to serve on the Board of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (the Jewish world’s interlocutor with the Vatican, World Council of Churches and World Muslim League) and was the Chair of Interfaith Dialogues representing the ECAJ nationally.
Jeremy was also a fearless opponent of antisemitism and indeed all forms of racism. He was a long-standing advocate of recognition and rights for First Nations Australians and made a point of wearing kippot and ties decorated with indigenous artwork.
Jeremy’s work in promoting inter-communal harmony was officially acknowledged in 2007 when he was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal, and again in 2016 when he was awarded New South Wales’ most prestigious honour, The Stepan Kerkyasharian AO Medal for Community Harmony. He was also made a Member of the Order of Australia.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Stephen Rothman and I had the honour to represent Jeremy in a legal capacity in some long-running litigation which he pursued in the Federal Court on behalf of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry against two well-known antisemites. Both cases were won, and both defendants were effectively put out of business, but the strain took its toll on Jeremy work-wise and emotionally.
Jeremy’s untimely passing is sad news for all of us. He leaves a legacy that will serve as an example to the next generation of Jewish communal activists.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Naomi, the whole Jones family and all those whose lives Jeremy touched. May his memory be a blessing.
Dan Springer, CEO of the Jewish National Fund, commented: “JNF, together with all the community, deeply mourns the passing of our friend and partner, Jeremy Jones. Jeremy’s contribution to the Jewish community both in Australia and internationally was immeasurable and his connection to people of other faiths helped forge intercommunal alliances. We extend our deepest sympathies to Naomi, Gidon and Galit and wish all the family long life.
May Jeremy’s memory and legacy of good deeds always serve as a blessing.Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus tweeted: “I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Jeremy Jones.
Jeremy devoted his life to the Australian Jewish Community and to fighting anti-semitism and racism, most notably in the landmark Racial Discrimination Act case against a notorious Holocaust denier.
Jeremy was dedicated to inter-communal harmony and in 2007 he was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. My deepest condolence to his wife wife Naomi and children Gidon and Galit.
Jason Steinberg, president of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, said: “Jeremy was a true advocate for our small Jewish community. He was always available to us for advice, ideas, support, and to be a keynote speaker at events. My personal friendship started with Jeremy in the late 1980s and since then he remained a cherished mentor – always there to help, laugh and encourage. Jeremy’s presence, impact and legacy will never be forgotten.
The Queensland Jewish community wishes his family a long life and knows that his memory will always be a blessing.”
Justice Stephen Rothman said: “Jeremy Jones was a tireless worker for, and leader of, the Jewish Community and multiculturism. His contribution to the advancement of the community, both Jewish and general, is rarely equalled and, in his case, has been almost life-long.
He was an officer of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and of the ECAJ and in the latter capacity worked for the benefit of all members of the Australian Jewish community. His love for and defence of the interests of Israel while an officer of AIJAC was to all of our benefit.
He was also an excellent client. It was Jeremy who initiated the ECAJ claims against Olga Scully and Frederick Toben, which led to the declaration of their publications on Holocaust Denial as antisemitic and to orders from the Federal Court requiring the removal of websites (a world first) and ultimately to the imprisonment of Toben for contempt. While Peter Wertheim and I appeared in the proceedings, he initiated them , did much preparation for them and gave sworn evidence based upon his extensive experience in and of the Jewish community.
He will be sorely missed by all and his work for the community difficult to replicate.”
CEO of the United Israel Appeal Yair Miller commented: “Jeremy was a unique individual who had the ability to cut across demographic, cultural and religious boundaries. He was instrumental in my own journey into leadership positions in the community and in particular my exposure to the rich and diverse world of inter-faith and inter cultural relationships. Jeremy was able to develop rich and meaningful relationships and was one of global Jewry’s great advocates and ambassadors. His loss will be deeply felt by our community as well as his beloved family. May his memory be a blessing to Naomi and his entire family.”
Greg Shand, president of the Sydney Jewish Museum said: “Jeremy worked tirelessly to advance the interests of our community. He regularly brought groups of visitors to the Museum from a range of faiths. He was a very talented member of our community who clearly could have excelled at whatever he chose to do. He chose to represent and advocate for us often under challenging circumstances. His loss will be felt by all of us and our thoughts and wishes are with Naomi and Jeremy’s family.”
David Ossip is the president of The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies. He told J-Wire: “I am deeply saddened by Jeremy’s passing. For close to four decades, Jeremy was a distinguished leader of our community who occupied many formal leadership roles, including as a JBD Deputy for close to three decades and as a long-serving member of the JBD executive. But, beyond any mere titles, Jeremy distinguished himself as a leader of unique standing through his tireless efforts to build bridges with other faith and multicultural communities and his unceasing efforts to confront all forms of racism and discrimination.
Through his service and dedication, Jeremy was instrumental in shaping our community. He was also a generous mentor to younger members of our community and was always available to share his wise counsel and experience. Most importantly, Jeremy was a mentsch par excellence, who treated everyone with respect and decency.
Jeremy’s passing leaves a big void and we will miss him terribly. We wish his family and friends a long life and trust that his name will be a blessing.”
Former NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff: “I had the honour of working with Jeremy for three decades, from my AJN career to the JBD. He was a towering intellect who possessed an extraordinary knowledge of Jewish issues, both globally and domestically. And that’s before talking about his peerless work in the interfaith space. My deepest condolences to the Jones family.”
Jeremy Jones 1958-2023
