Dear Friend,

Welcome to the November 2023 newsletter.

Hello everyone, my name is Mark Fischer and I have just commenced as the new CEO of March of the Living Australia. It is my very great honour to be appointed to this newly established role and build on the solid foundations that many people have contributed to over the last 20 plus years.

I am looking forward to getting to know the whole MOTL Australia family over the coming weeks and months and look forward to welcoming new members as we embark on our March in 2024 and beyond. MOTL Australia (as you are probably already aware) has embarked on some very exciting growth initiatives (including  the appointment of its inaugural paid CEO) and I look forward to being able to share some of these with you all over the coming months.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Cedric Geffen who has acted as the organisations de-facto voluntary chief executive for the past 12 years. In this time Cedric has seen hundreds of participants on the program, worked closely with our key partners across the globe and locally and continued to build the March of the Living Australia brand. His tireless efforts, dedication, blood, sweat and tears have ensured the organisation has maintained and grown its success. The opportunity to appoint a full time CEO and the exciting growth journey the organisation is on is based largely on his hard work over the last decade. I am very excited to announce that Cedric will transition into the role as a Director of the organisation and continue to provide his counsel and guidance as we embark on the next chapters.

Finally I would like to address the current tragic situation in Israel. The past few weeks have been very challenging for Jewish people at home and across the globe. The tragic events of October 7 shocked and disgusted us and reminded us of the horrors that can exist in the world. In the following weeks we have seen a rise in antisemitism, hate and intolerance. We stand firmly with Israel and pray for the families of those murdered and kidnapped as well as those injured and displaced. We also extend our hand in peace and love to the Palestinian families who are suffering at the hands of the terrorist organisation Hamas. March of the Living is an organisation dedicated to education on tolerance and peace and we can only hope that in these trying times we can continue to promote this message in our local communities and throughout the world.

We stand firmly with Israel, Jewish people and anyone who is being victimised around the globe.

In this edition (if viewing this on a desktop, click on each heading to skip to that section):

• MOTL Local News
• A new chapter for March of the Living Australia. Introducing our new CEO Mark Fischer
• Changes to  March of the Living Australia Committee of Management
• March of the Living Australia 2023 AGM

• Events postponement

• MOTLA X CAM - Interfaith Innovation Lab Fighting Antisemitism

• Community event 

• Articles of Interest

As we embark on a new chapter at MOTL Australia, we're thrilled to introduce our new CEO, Mark Fisher! 

Mark is an experienced executive leader with a passion for driving positive social change. Mark has volunteered and worked in several communal and not for profit organisations, which is matched with an extensive career in the private, higher education, and government sectors. Mark's first professional role in the community was as the Executive Director of AUJS Ltd. where he led operations, supported student leaders' development, and ran a variety of international programs. Since then, Mark has had an extensive career where he honed skills in leadership, financial and people management, organisational operations, and strategy development and implementation. Mark is an alumnus of Melbourne Business School and Macquarie Graduate School of Management where he graduated with a Masters of Business Administration. 

With a strong belief in the power of education for change, Mark sees the mission of MOTL Australia as vital to a meaningful and lasting social justice impact on the Jewish and wider Australian communities. Mark is excited for the opportunity to contribute MOTL Australia's growth and success.

Over the 22 years since its inception, March of the Living Australia has been led by numerous people who have given tirelessly of their time, passion, expertise and resources to sit on the Board and subsequently the Committee of Management. With the evolution of the organisation and the transition from an Incorporated Association to a Limited-by-Guarantee Company with DGR status in its own right, we have recently appointed a new Board of Directors and we will be wrapping up the current Committee of Management at our upcoming AGM in late November. Over the next month I will introduce the new Directors to the community.

I want to publicly thank our current Committee of Management members – Shirley Atlas, Gavin Rubinstein, Alex Kats and Eva Zeleznikow for their hard work, dedication, support and love for the organisation - Over the coming months they will each transition away from active roles in the organisation and join the ever-growing alumni and friends of MOTL Australia community.

It is time for March of the Living Australia to hold our Annual General Meeting for 2023. This year has seen many exciting developments for the organisation. The first post covid March was held in May 2023, we transitioned from an Incorporated Association to a Limited-by-Guarantee Company and DGR status was granted, paving the way to embark on the next exciting chapter. And of course, we are moving to the end of the year under the shadow of current events in Israel and around the world which has reminded us that our mission is more important than ever.

The AGM is an opportunity to highlight the dedication and hard work of our Committee of Management. In addition, this year's AGM will be the final one for MOTL Australia Incorporated as we are transitioning into the new Limited-by-Guarantee Company.

If you are a current member of the organisation, please join us on Tuesday, 21 November at 5.00pm.  You also have the opportunity to transfer your membership into the new company, if you would like to do so please reach out to us.  

As you all know we had planned to hold our event, "Why I went to Auschwitz'' featuring Ian Thorpe AM, Nick McKenzie and Dr. Kate Hadwen on Sunday 15th October in Melbourne and on Saturday 21st October in Sydney . In light of the tragic events in Israel the decision was made to postpone the events to a later date.

More information will be available on  new dates as soon as appropriate.

As part of March of the Living Australia's mission to combat prejudice in general and antisemitism in particular, we joined forces with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) to the Australian Interfaith Innovation Lab Against Antisemitism . This groundbreaking initiative is aimed at fostering 'fresh' grassroots initiativesin the fight against antisemitism and other forms of religious prejudice and to nurture a new generation of young Australian leaders of all backgrounds to spearhead the collective effort against the world's oldest hatred.

The global 'lab' under the auspices and direction of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) was established in 2019 and since its inception, the Lab has supported two cohorts of 45 changemakers, and launched dozens of initiatives around the world. By providing guidance and funding to projects that promote the common mission of building a better future for all humanity, the Lab has nurtured interfaith cooperation. Each year, the Lab holds a contest that attracts hundreds of applicants who submit groundbreaking proposals aimed at effecting positive social change.This initiative / partnership between March of the Living Australia and CAM is specifically for the Australian community.

The plan was to officially announce the launch at the "Why I went to Auschwitz'' events but due to the deferment of the events and the tragic events of the past three weeks the launch of the Australian Interfaith Innovation Lab Against Antisemitism has also been deferred.

Launching in the coming weeks, teams will have the opportunity to win a portion of a $40,000 (AUD) seed funding pool to bring your paradigm-shifting visions to life and be connected with the Combat Antisemitism Movement's international coalition for unique training, mentorship, and networking opportunities.

More information on the official launch of the program will be available shortly.

If you are interested in joining the program in 2024 - we are still accepting Expressions of Interest for our 2024 programs, so click on the button below if you would like to be added to our mailing list and to receive details about our 2024 programs.

Tuesday 9th November will mark 85 years since Nazi forces destroyed hundreds of synagogues, damaged thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, arrested 30,000 and murdered 91 Jewish people in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland, on November 9 and 10 of 1938. To commemorate this there are a number of events to attend with links below.

Melbourne Holocaust Museum 2023 oration: Combating hate speech in the digital age.

This year we are pleased to announce our Betty & Shmuel Rosenkranz Oration will be presented by Karel Fracapane – Leader of hate speech issues within the Division for Peace and Sustainable Development arm within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Karel has dedicated his professional life to combatting antisemitism and racism, Holocaust remembrance and the prevention of genocide, and violent extremism. Currently, he is focused on global citizenship issues, including hate speech, post-Holocaust issues and addressing contemporary forms of antisemitism.

Please register in advance and secure a place.

Here is a selection of recent articles and videos from around the world, many of which we have shared across our social media over the past few weeks:

• 'There's nothing more important than dealing with violent bigotry'
• Contrast and Comparison: The Holocaust and The Simchat Torah War

• "The barbarism of Hamas equals and almost surpasses what I experienced in the Holocaust." Nate Leipciger, Auschwitz Holocaust survivor

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