Queen’s Birthday Awards: meet two honourees

Henry Greener talks with Les Kausman and Vivien Brass.

Les Kausman OAM has been honoured on the Queen’s Birthday List for services to Sport and the Community. As Vice Chair of B’nai Brith’s Courage to Care organisation, he helps to educate others about being an Upstander, not a Bystander. As a legendary cricketer with Maccabi AJAX Cricket Club, Les has promoted sport as a great way to be a better person. He was also Mayor of Hawthorn in 1981 and has been a Justice of the Peace for many years. We mention other recipients of Honours, including Eva Rathner OAM, George Deutsch OAM, Gilah Leder AM and her son Richard Leder OAM, Trevor Cohen AO and Dr Rachael Kohn AO, among the Record number of 42 Jewish Recipients.

 

Vivien Brass OAM discusses women’s empowerment, as we congratulate her on receiving an Order of Australia Medal in the Queens Birthday Honours List for her services to the community, particularly to the role of women in society. As Past President of NCJW (Vic) and Chair of the International Council of Jewish Women, Vivien has played a major part in ending discrimination against women, stopping violence against women, changing the status of women and advocating for gender equality. We mention Susie Ivany, Miriam Bass, Anna Serry in the mix, as well as some of the other people we acknowledge who received Queens Birthday Honours, including Robert Hershan AM, Carol Schwartz AM AO, Dr David Thurin AM, Alain Grossbard OAM and the late Moshe Fiszman OAM. The segment ends with a musical snippet from Fem Belling with Warren Wills at the Marquee Lounge.