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Federal government announcement – $2.2 million for security funding for NSW Jewish community

9 October 2018

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The Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry has warmly welcomed the announce­ment by the Federal gov­ern­ment that it has allocated $2.2 million to assist the NSW Jewish community to secure and protect its people and insti­tu­tions. The announce­ment was conveyed to Jewish community leaders on Tuesday by Dave Sharma, the Liberal candidate for Wentworth in the upcoming by-election.
“This is a much-needed ini­ti­at­ive to assist the Jewish community to meet its ever- increas­ing security costs, which the ECAJ has been advoc­at­ing for some time”, said the ECAJ’s co-CEO Peter Wertheim.
“There are two key aspects of the announce­ment which are espe­cially welcome”.
“Firstly, a large pro­por­tion of the alloc­a­tion, some $1.685 million, will be earmarked to upgrade the vital security infra­struc­ture which is operated by the NSW Community Security Group, and serves the whole of the NSW Jewish community. A further $515,000 will be allocated to specific Jewish community insti­tu­tions in NSW with the most urgent needs”.
“Secondly, the alloc­a­tion will be made by the Jewish community itself through the Council for Jewish Community Security (CJCS) in NSW. The CJCS (NSW) operates in tandem with the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and has an excellent track record in ensuring that the community gets the optimum security outcome”.
The CJCS is con­sti­tuted under the aegis of the ECAJ to assist in the provision of security and pro­tec­tion for members and insti­tu­tions of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community. This security is in the main provided by the respect­ive Community Security Groups which operate in all regions in which there are major Jewish communal centres.
“Ensuring the safety and security of all citizens is the first duty of any gov­ern­ment”, Wertheim said. “Dave Sharma is to be con­grat­u­lated for pursuing this matter so ener­get­ic­ally with the Federal gov­ern­ment. We thank him and the Federal gov­ern­ment for recog­nising the import­ance and urgency of this issue for our community.”
Contact:
Peter Wertheim AM | Co-CEO
ph: 02 8353 8500 | m: 0408 160 904
e: [email protected] | www.ecaj.org.au