Rabbinical Council of Victoria

13 Tevet 5771
20 December 2010

RCV Meets Member of Knesset

Members of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) were addressed last week by Dr Leah Ness, a Likud Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Pensioner Affairs.

Visiting Melbourne as part of a whirlwind working tour of Australia, Dr Ness addressed RCV members on the issues of aged care services and caring for Holocaust survivors. Noting the inevitable and ongoing budgetary restraints facing many ministries within the Israeli government as a result of the political and military challenges facing the Jewish State, Dr Ness lamented the fact that an increasingly large number of Israelis requiring aged care services live below the poverty line.

Dr Ness commented that, whilst it is the responsibility of the Finance Ministry to allocate sufficient funds to alleviate the strain on elderly residents struggling economically, her ministry of Pensioner Affairs focuses on encouraging greater involvement in communal and national matters by older citizens. In working to achieve that goal, Dr Ness has approved a series of television and radio advertisements promoting engagement between Israelis of all ages and encouraging younger people to treat their elders with respect. Further, Dr Ness has introduced a National Service option for those who do not serve in the Israel Defence Force to spend one year volunteering in aged care facilities with the aim of preventing the social isolation of residents of such facilities.

In thanking Dr Ness for her address, RCV Executive Director Ari Morris stated that “the Victorian Jewish community can learn much from the efforts of Dr Ness and of her ministry. Whilst the local Jewish community is fortunate to have some excellent aged care facilities and programs encouraging interaction among all age groups, there is always room for growth. We would encourage all community organisations, including schools and youth movements, to allocate periods each year to spending constructive time with older members of the community,” he said.

“The concept of respecting senior citizens is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and in light of the fact that the young do not stay young forever, it behooves us to look at our own futures when engaging with our elders,” he said.

The meeting with Dr Ness is part of the RCV’s leadership training course, which aims to equip RCV members with more refined skills in the areas of mediation, counselling, clinical and personal supervision and pastoral and palliative support.