25^th November 2013
Mr Robert Goot AM SC was elected President of the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry at the national roof body’s Annual General Meeting held in Melbourne yesterday.
Mr Goot pre­vi­ously held the position of President from 2007 to 2009 and his election brings to an end the highly suc­cess­ful three-year term of Victoria’s Dr Danny Lamm. The ECAJ’s con­sti­tu­tion provides for the seat of the pres­id­ency to alternate between New South Wales and Victoria.
A prac­tising barrister and senior counsel since 2000, Mr Goot was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 1988 for his service to the Aus­trali­an Jewish community. His achieve­ments on behalf of Aus­trali­an Jewry include serving as the youngest ever President of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, chairing the Aus­trali­an Campaign for the Rescue of Soviet Jewry and serving as President of the Sydney Jewish Museum. He is also a life patron and former president of the largest Jewish school in Australia, Moriah College.
Mr Goot has also assumed lead­er­ship roles in inter­na­tion­al Jewish organ­isa­tions to strengthen relations between the Aus­trali­an Jewish community and com­munit­ies overseas and to con­trib­ute his expertise to inter­na­tion­al causes. Mr Goot is a Vice-President of the World Jewish Congress and a Director of the Con­fer­ence for Material Claims Against Germany Inc., which seeks to obtain financial resti­tu­tion for victims of the Holocaust.
Mr Goot paid tribute to his pre­de­cessor, noting in par­tic­u­lar Dr Lamm’s role in ensuring the expansion of the ECAJ’s pro­fes­sion­al staff, its heightened standing abroad and its role as lead advocate on matters of concern to the Aus­trali­an Jewish community.
“We are greatly indebted to Dr Lamm for his tireless service to the community and his con­tri­bu­tion to Aus­trali­an society.”
In assuming the lead­er­ship of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community, Mr Goot said he was “honoured to again preside over the ECAJ, the peak rep­res­ent­at­ive body of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community,” and pledged to “build on the ECAJ’s repu­ta­tion as the authentic voice of the community to address those concerns both within the community and with the Federal Par­lia­ment, NGOs, faith groups, the media and others.”
“Although we are undoubtedly a strong, committed and very fortunate community, we nev­er­the­less face chal­lenges in a variety of areas and cannot become com­pla­cent,” Mr Goot observed.

Contact:
Peter Wertheim AM | Executive Director
phone: 02 8353 8500 | m: 0408 160 904 | fax 02 9361 5888
e: [email protected]