More than 150 delegates attended the online Zionism Victoria’s Annual Assembly which marked the end of Sharene Hambur’s successful five years at the organisation’s helm.

Yossi Goldfarb

Demonstrating the broad support for the work of Zionism Victoria, the Assembly welcomed messages of support from Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy Ron Gerstenfeld, and from Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia.

The meeting was also an opportunity for Zionism Victoria to celebrate the achievements of its volunteers, with Tom Gorog and David Michelson receiving the Zionism Victoria Community Volunteer Awards for their support during the Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre’s security renovations, which were recently completed.

Incoming president, Yossi Goldfarb described his election as a “home-coming” given his long history with the Zionist youth movements and AUJS, as well as his previous involvement with the then State Zionist Council earlier in his career.

In his first address to Zionism Victoria as president Yossi said that he was excited to assume the leadership and embrace the opportunity to broaden and deepen the ties between Victoria and Israel, noting that the Jewish community “had always, and will always derive strength from its relationship with the Jewish state.”

Sharene Hambur concluded her five-year term noting that “the past twelve months have shown the ability of Zionism Victoria to adapt to a “new reality” and I am especially proud of the way we have risen to this challenge. It has been my pleasure to work with the Board and staff of Zionism Victoria over the last five years as we have found new ways to fulfil our mission of connecting our community with Israel. I wish Yossi much success and enjoyment in his new role. I am sure that he will continue to build on the work of previous Executives to tell the story of Israel and her remarkable achievements.”