Mizrachi report, letter from outgoing president
Extract from report:
“What was clear from the forums … is that of the participants, a substantial number of women and youth/young adults, as well as members generally, expressed a sense of disenfranchisement from the organisation. This was particularly so in relation to involvement of women and youth in:
• the leadership of the organisation;
• the religious life of the community.
Only a minority of the participants expressed satisfaction with the current state of affairs in the community.”
Click here to download the report.
Letter from outgoing president Danny Lamm:
OVER the past few months, there were a number of forums held to enable the issues and concerns from our membership across a wide range of topics to be discussed. These sessions were held by facilitators and were productive and useful for both members and leadership alike in discussing practical steps for Mizrachi’s path forward.
We had planned to distribute the report after the committee meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, however due to a misunderstanding, the report has been distributed by the facilitators late this afternoon to a selection of members ahead of that meeting. I therefore feel it appropriate to circulate it to the entire community today, under my own name with the intention that the committee and executive will respond once they have met and given the report due consideration.
As outlined in the report’s introduction, we had 75 individuals take part in the sessions across our membership of over 1,000 people and we thank those attendees and facilitators that gave of their time to participate in the sessions. The sessions facilitated a free and unfettered discussion where the opinions of all attendees were tabled. We thank all members for the respectful way in which all discussions occurred. In order to support the free flow of ideas, as highlighted in the report, the facilitators took no action and made no comment as to the accuracy or truthfulness of any matters raised. Also, it is important to understand that any conclusions, opinions or recommendations of the report do not reflect those of the leadership or membership but rather that of the participants or facilitators.
This report will be one of the tools we utilise for our planning process going forward. The executive has already met to consider our response and how we might prioritise any action that might result ahead next week’s committee meeting. We will continue to follow due process by allowing the committee to meet and consider the ideas raised in this report over the coming weeks and to determine the ultimate response. The committee will work to prioritise those initiatives that can be addressed in the short term, and where there is support, consider the optimal way of implementing these.
Again, I thank all those who gave of their time and who have been so passionate about our Mizrachi community.
Of course, I am happy to discuss the content and format of the report with any member at any time.
Shabbat Shalom.
Dr Danny Lamm AM
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