| Tovia is currently volunteering with Habonim Dror and is on the 2024 Federal Mazkirut (Leadership body) and Board of Directors for Habonim Dror Australia. For the last three years she has been a dedicated Madricha (Youth Leader) in Habonim where she led youth programs weekly, multiple camps a year and rural outreaches in Australia. In 2024 Tovia has significantly contributed to the Jewish community and invested in connections and discourse with Israel. Until August in 2024 Tovia was in the Sydney Moishe House. This saw her running seven events a month with her three other housemates. This involved events that covered, tikkun olam, judaism, social gatherings, celebrating Jewish and Israel culture, and more. The events were to invite and reach out to young Jews in Sydney who may or may not have a community hub and to actively bring them in and create a new and thriving community of Jewish youth. Tovia grew up outside the Jewish Community and only since attending Habonim Dror’s shnat Israel progam in 2021 has she found and become a part of the Jewish Community. She deeply feels the value and warmth of having such a community for emerging Jewish youth, particularly in a time where Jewish identities are intensely questioned, she was very passionate to bring that to as many people as possible. During a visit from the Sydney Moishe House coordinator, Tovia attended with the coordinator a meeting with the head of the Education Heritage Foundation to try and rasie awareness for what Moishe House is aiming to do in the Sydney community. In September Moishe House found out that as a result of the meeting with Tovia and the Coordinator, the foundation wants to become a central donor of the organisation. As well as being in Moishe house, Tovia has been Shnat Rakezet (Israel shnat program coordinator) for Habonim Dror while also being a Madricha. So far in 2024, as a volunteer with Habonim Dror Tovia led on both the Australian and New Zealand summer camps in January. She then went with the Federal Mazkirut to attend a seminar in Israel where she spoke with many figures such as a delegate from the World Zionist Council, in Israel to discuss the importance of youth movements today and the essentiality of supporting and maintaing the continuation of shnat and Israel programs for Jewish youth in the diaspora. In the first half of the year she has run three seminars (for youth leaders, the participants of next years Israel program, and the leadership body of Habonim Dror). In July, Tovia led on Habonim’s camp in Melbourne, a seminar run with the Shnat coordinator from Israel, and then she flew to the United Kingdom where she headed Habonim UK’s year 10 camp that is in the Netherlands and centralises on the Holocaust. While Tovia was in the UK and Netherlands she discussed challenges facing Jewish youth in Australia and collaborated with the Federal Mazkirut in the UK to understand how they can help to support one another’s youth. For the rest of the year Tovia is to run a seminar with her Federal Mazkirut for all of Habonim Dror’s leaders in October and then go to Israel to attend Habonim Dror’s World Veida where she will bring issues facing Jewish Youth in Australia to the international stage and also discuss the importance of our connections with Israel in this time and endeavour to strengthen and centralise them. She is then to lead on her second outreach this year for Jewish youth in Byron Bay. She will complete her year by leading on Sydney’s summer camp and then running two pre-shnat seminar for next years attendees, one in New Zealand and one in Melbourne. While having such a central role with Habonim and Moishe House in 2024, Tovia has also been studying full time with the University of Sydney where she undertakes a bachelor in Opera performance and International Relations. Tovia continues to use her degree in a manner to engage in the conflict today and to voice and discuss discourse concerning Israel and Jewish youth. She currently is employed as a singer at Emmanuel Synagogue where she sings at services, and is currently in rehearsals with other students at the Conservatorium who are writing a piece about the conflict. In the current climate of hostility towards Israel at University, instead of disengaging with conversations, Tovia has used it as an opportunity to open dialogues about what is happening today with her fellow students, lecturers and in her assignments. This saw her to be chosen to represent Sydney University at the United Nations University Scholars Leadership Symposium in 2023 in Thailand, where she was able to engage in conversations about Israel and Judaism on the global stage. Tovia hopes to use her experience to continue being a leader for Jewish voices, whether it takes her to an international diplomatic level, or to be in a local Jewish Organisation she will soon see. |