New ambassador is Sofer, so good
Israel's new ambassador Mark Sofer has hit the ground running, presenting his diplomatic credentials to the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, attending an ECAJ conference and meeting Australian and Victorian Jewish leaders.
JUST a few days after arriving in Australia, Israel’s new ambassador Mark Sofer has hit the ground running.
Last Thursday, he presented his diplomatic credentials to the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove; on Sunday, he addressed the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) conference; on Tuesday, he spoke at the Zionism Victoria (ZV) AGM and on Wednesday, he attended an event marking the 70th anniversary of the UN partition resolution in Federal Parliament.
“I chose to come to Australia of my own volition so it’s wonderful to be here,” Sofer enthused to The AJN, explaining what drew him Down Under was the potential for building on the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries, a relationship he hailed as “overpowering and overarching”, the size and dynamism of the Jewish community (“its go-gettingness and awesomeness”) and Australia’s influential position both within Asia and the wider international arena, which he labelled as “crucial to Israel”.
With ambassadorial postings in Ireland, India and Sri Lanka under his diplomatic belt, and after a week of positive meetings with senior officials in Canberra as well as leaders of the Jewish community, he added, “I thought this would be the perfect environment for me. And I must say, I’m convinced I’ve made the right decision.”
Outlining his primary goals, Sofer said, “We have to maintain what we have done. Israeli–Australian relations are at a peak but if we don’t maintain them and work at maintaining them it won’t stay at that level. That’s number one.”
The next, he said, is to explore “other avenues for working together, things that touch our national interests”, for instance in the fields of cyberspace and medical technology, in which “Israel is a powerhouse”.
“We have to identify the issues,” he reflected, “the economic issues, the technological issues, the cyber issues at the same time making sure the geostrategic issues, the political issues that affect the relationship will continue in the same vein.”
But he won’t be going it alone. “I think without the leadership of the Jewish community, its dedication to the State of Israel, to Zionism, to moving forward relations, without that dedication we would be nowhere,” Sofer mused.
“And so it’s a joint effort, a unified effort and I really and truly look forward in the time ahead to working with the Jewish community here in Australia.”
Sofer spoke to The AJN during a communal reception in his honour hosted by ECAJ, ZV, the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Jewish Community Council of Australia and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council at Melbourne’s Beth Weizmann Centre.
He will be welcomed by the Sydney Jewish community at a lunch at Central Synagogue on Saturday, December 16.
AJN STAFF
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