Rabbi Genende receives General Sir John Monash Award
Rabbi Ralph Genende’s positive impact across the community has been recognised at the JCCV AGM this week.
Rabbi Ralph Genende
The General Sir John Monash Award for outstanding service to the Jewish community was presented to Rabbi Genende by JCCV Executive member and longstanding colleague and friend, Frances Prince.
Genende’s ability to intrinsically connect with those around him and, build bridges of understanding and tolerance within and for the Jewish community have been central to his work both in a professional and voluntary capacity.
Frances noted, “His range of positions of responsibility, contribution and influence is extensive, both within the Jewish community and beyond. He has influenced people to think about matters in a new light. He has shifted conversations in many families. He has stimulated engagement with ideas that weren’t necessarily on the communal agenda previously.”
Rabbi Ralph’s journey of community engagement commenced from his homeland in Zimbabwe and South Africa to New Zealand and then Melbourne where over the past 25 years he has been Rabbi at Mount Scopus College and Beit Aharon , Senior Rabbi at Caulfield Shule and most recently Senior Rabbi and General Manager Jewish Life, at Jewish Care.
Valuing differences, supporter of inclusiveness and being deeply connected to Judaic teachings, Genende has a respected role as Senior Chaplain to the Australian Defence Forces and continues to be active in multifaith dialogue, being a founding member of the Victorian Multicultural Commission Multifaith Advisory Group.
When presented the award, Rabbi Genende stated, “What an honour to receive this award! Not only is it in the name of a man I greatly admire and who inspires my work especially in the ADF, but when considering the past recipients, it’s a privilege to be part of their company.”
“Further, it’s a tribute to the JCCV and their commitment to the well-being and progress of our Melbourne Jewish community that they encourage and respect community service as a worthy virtue. This type of award is shared by all the exemplary people (including a good few of those past recipients) who helped me reach out to others. They supported my efforts to contribute to both our community and the wider Australian society. And it helps to have a wife like Caron and a family like mine behind you all the way!”
The General Sir John Monash Award has a proud JCCV history of recognising exceptional people who have given wise and valuable service to the Jewish and broader Victorian community.
Frances Prince said “Rabbi Ralph conducts himself in each role with intellect and wisdom, compassion and kindness, erudition in both the spoken and written word and with conviction and principle. He has championed a way of Jewish life and thinking that combines Modern Orthodox Jewish life with a passion for social justice and with an engagement with all, but all, the critical issues of our times.”
Mazal Tov to Rabbi Genende for his important achievements to the Jewish and wider communities.
General Sir John Monash was a great, if not the greatest, allied army leader in WW1. By the end of WW1 he was a Lt General and commanded the overly large Australian Corps with 5 Divisions. A corps normally has 3 division under its command. However Monash was only promoted to General in the late 1920s by the ALP PM Scullin. Lt Sir Harry Chauvel was still active in the Army then and Scullin wanted to promote him to General however Chauvel only agreed if Monash was promoted to General too. Monash after WW1 had returned to civil engineering and was building the great brown coal power plants in Gippsland there which lasted, with upgrades, for 100 years. Monash died in the early 1930’s aged about 65.