You’re in the army now
For the first time since 1947 the NSW Association of Jewish ex Servicemen and Women has updated its constitution and has welcomed the introduction of junior members.
At an EGM in Sydney yesterday, the vote to accept the first changes to the constitution in 65 years was overwhelmingly carried.
Warwick Abadee
Quentin Bryce
NAJEX will not only welcome junior members but has also decided to make non-voting membership available to non-Jewish Australians and to the military clubs themselves such as the RSL.
Members of the Jewish community with no military background will also be welcome to join.
President Warwick Abadee told J-Wire: “As the memories of the Great Wars fade into history, there is still Jewish involvement in the Australian military. Introducing the younger generations to our history will serve to preserve memories and promote awareness of Jewish involvement where Diggers have fought for the preservation of the society in which we live today.”
He added: “We will canvas for membership through our chaplains Rabbis Jeffrey Kamins and Yossi Segelman. We are also approaching the Jewish dayschool movement and dialogue will be made made with Moriah, Masada, Emanuel and Kesser Torah.”
Visits to the Australia War memorial in Canberra and Victoria Barracks in Sydney and other places of military interest are planned for the junior members.
NAJEX was founded in 1925 and Abadee believes it is one of the oldest Jewish organisations which have run on a continuous basis for that length of time.
In the meantime the umbrella organisation FAJEX, the Federal Association of Jewish ex-Servicemen and Women, has announced that Governor-General Quentin Bryce has become its Patron-in Chief.
President Wesley Browne told J-Wire: “The late Sir Zelman Cowan was our former Patron-in-Chief. When he died last year, we wrote to the current Governor-General inviting her to become our patron. She has accepted.”
Shirlee’s- interesting comment considering whatever her Member husband’s name is, he hadn’t time to cast his vote in person or by proxy. Had he voted against, he would have been the only one to have done so out of sizeable unanimous support.
. Scott – apparently a non -Member but, irrespectively, if he cares to phone me, I’ll be delighted to explain the background.
How completely and utterly stupid. There are no other words for it.
My husband says he may well drop out and I think other Jewish ex-servicemen and woman may do likewise He didn’t think this would pass
How on earth can this possibly still be called NAJEX?
While I am all for innovative ways to preserve the memories of Jewish ex-servicemen and women, allowing non-Jewish, non-military people to become members of a Jewish ESO is a step too far.