‘Reckless endangerment’: Jewish community organisation slams another
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry accuses the Australian Jewish Association of ‘reckless endangerment’ over social media post about a non-Jewish school.
Two prominent Australian Jewish organisations have engaged in a public stoush after one accused the other of “reckless endangerment” over a social media post, only to itself be accused of “causing disunity” as Israel battles common enemy Hamas.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the Australian Jewish Association had made a groundless accusation about a non-Jewish school and in so doing endangered the Jewish community.
The AJA hit back on Wednesday, slamming the comments in an email newsletter and “completely” rejected the claim, saying the ECAJ “resembles a Ponzi scheme”.
Please be aware that the “Australian Jewish Association†has no representative status and in no way speaks for or reflects the views of Australian Jews. Today, they published claims that proved to be completely false, and by their inflammatory nature have placed children at risk.…
— Alex Ryvchin (@AlexRyvchin) November 14, 2023
“ECAJ CAUSES DISUNITY”, the subject line of the email read.
“This latest attack from a senior ECAJ leader was the final straw for us,” the email continued.
“While we can’t comment further for privacy reasons, we completely reject the claims. AJA was asked by a parent to post something, we never made any claims and we reject the claim that anybody’s safety is in danger.”
The AJA, led by Dr David Adler, decribes itself as “guided by authentic Torah values, as well as centre-right, conservative Australian values”.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Ryvchin said on Tuesday that the AJA has “no representative status” and urged media, government and other stakeholders to be “aware of who this group is before engaging with them”.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler on X said “I fully agree”, in response to Mr Ryvchin’s post.
Mr Ryvchin on Wednesday told Sky News that the AJA is “effectively a Facebook group with no representative status and … what they say need to be taken with a heavy grain of salt”.
He said his comment on X was “a way, I hope, of ameliorating any future harm that they might do”.
“I’m not one that likes to criticise my fellow Jews in public … I’m a strong believer in Jewish unity, particularly in times like this,” he said.
“But that unity cannot extend to those who recklessly endanger the Jewish community and try to fracture our society – those who put Facebook hits above the welfare of the community they seek to speak for and represent.”
The AJA email on Wednesday said “no major organisation except AJA offers a different perspective”.
“Whether you agree with us or not, it’s undeniable that many Australian Jews do.
“Every single one of them supports creating a Palestinian Arab state in Israel despite the Israeli government opposing it.”
The email continued, saying the ECAJ “resembles a Ponzi scheme and very few Australian Jews take part in their elections”.
The email gave examples of where the AJA believed it offered an alternative perspective to the ECAJ.
“During the Voice campaign, groups like the ECAJ campaigned for the Yes side which proved unpopular with Australians,” it read. “AJA was the only Jewish organisation to speak out against the Voice and for that, leaders of other organisations attacked us with ugly personal attacks and hit-pieces.”
Another section of the email read:
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