Alex Dafner: One Voice Festival, March of the living cancelled, Coronavirus 15.3.2020

Hold for Virus Outbreak Nursing Homes story - Miriam Bago uses hand sanitizer before eating Source: AP

The Corona Virus pandemic effected the Jewish community this week with the closure of the Yeshiva-Beth Rivka Colleges in Melbourne following the testing positive for the virus a teacher at the schools who recently returned from Los Angeles with his children, also students at the college. A number of annual events held in the Jewish Communities in Australia, such as the In One Voice Festival in Melbourne, the March of the Living to Poland and Israel were cancelled and delegations due to visit Israel, including by the Premier on NSW Gladys Berejiklian, have been postponed because of the dangers of the Corona Virus pandemic Malka Leifer’s alleged victims hope they are “one step closer” to justice after a Jerusalem court judge decided not to allow any more defence witnesses to cross-examine a psychiatric panel who assessed Leifer’s mental state. Approximately $7.3 million is alleged to have been defrauded from Sydney’s Moriah College through various means by its former financial controller Augustine “Gus” Nosti over a 14-year period, a sum that is being pursued for recovery from the accused and his family by the college’s management in the Supreme Court of NSW. In sad news for the Yiddish Melbourne community, the last of a small band of published Australian Yiddish immigrant writers, Moishe Ajzenbud e”h, passed away in Melbourne last week at the age of 99 plus years. Aside from several books published in Yiddish and in English translation, Ajzenbud was also a very active member of the Yiddish speaking community and among other involvements served as the President and Honorary Secretary of the Kadimah and first Hon Sec of the Jewish Holocaust Centre. He founded and edited the Kadimah’s Melburner Bletter Yiddish journal, presented a long running Yiddish program on Radio 3ZZZ, was an active, leading member of the Bund and chronicled its first 60 years in Melbourne and he was a Yiddish a teacher and principal at the Sholem Aleichem Sunday School. Koved zayn ondenk – Vale Moshe Ajzenbud. Announcements: IN ONE VOICE Festival: Sunday March 15, 11am-5pm, Selwyn St, Elsternwick, Melbourne has been CANCELLED…!!!