Chevra Kadisha and Benevolent Society

Ladies and Gentlemen I greet you in the languages of the realm of New  Zealand - English, Maori, CookIsland, Niue and Tokelau.

Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni

In particular, may I recognise and greet you Hon Judith Tizard; President of the Auckland Chevra Kadisha and Benevolent Society, Sonny Beder; President of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation, Rabbi Jack Engel and former President, Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence; Members; Invited Guests.

Shalom.

Thank you for inviting me here tonight to celebrate one hundred years of the Auckland Chevra Kadisha and Benevolent Society.

Importantly, we are also here to recognise the extraordinary service of three distinguished New Zealanders to the Jewish community.

In every New Zealand setting, whoever speaks ought first to establish a place to stand before the audience.  In that regard, my wife Susan and I have had significant contact with New Zealand's Jewish communities.

We have seen the humility of your service and your benevolence. We have seen how your have applied the principals of humanitarianism to help make New Zealand a better place for all people to live.

We also have many personal and professional connections within the Jewish community. Indeed, my former partner in law, Norman Shieff, is well-known among you and I believe is here tonight.

And so, we were delighted to receive this invitation tonight as we knew it would provide us with a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and colleagues.

Of course, it is also an opportunity to celebrate the work of the Auckland Chevra Kadisha and those people who have given so much of their lives to this sacred work.

Yours is an entirely voluntary organisation driven by altruism. It has at its heart the ideology of humanitarianism and this is consistent with Jewish communities across the world.

It is an ideology I share and I value the contribution our Jewish communities make in putting this into practice here in New Zealand.

Humanitarianism is based on the principal that all human beings deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. In practice, it means helping those who need help.

It is the basis upon which a healthy society can function because at its heart, it is all about people - the individual, the group, the community and the country.

New Zealand is committed to the principals of humanitarianism. While we still have some way to go, I believe most New Zealanders treat people with respect as second nature.

There is an old Maori saying which sums up New Zealand's affinity with this ideology. 

He aha te mea nui?
He tangata
He tangata
He tangata

What is the most important thing?  It is people, it is people, it is people.

Since becoming Governor-General this year, I have met so many New Zealanders who have given themselves to the 'people cause'.

They might provide support in the form of counselling, they might help people in an emergency, they might educate people so they can improve their own lives.

This 'people cause' is made all the more effective because it operates in a climate that recognises and celebrates diversity.

Acknowledging our differences is a crucial part of applying humanitarian principals in practice. And I believe we are getting better at that all the time.

We have enshrined in law the principals of diversity, social, racial and gender equality; and which treats freedom as an incontrovertible human right. 

A report by our Human Rights Commission says that New Zealanders can and should be proud of our achievements in this area. It says we meet most international standards for human rights and that we are world-leading in some areas.

The same report, of course, tells us there is still much to do.  We still have children who live in poverty with restricted access to medical care and education opportunities.

We still have new migrants who experience racial discrimination and abuse; and we still have workers whose jobs are vastly undervalued. We still have people who are disadvantaged and in critical need of support.

As a result, we need organisations like yours to ensure the principals of humanitarianism are reinforced through practice. As well, your efforts help strengthen orthodox Jewry in Auckland.

The Auckland Chevra Kadisha Society operates in Auckland, but it is supported by a vast network of Jewish humanitarian organisations around the world.

International examples include the American Jewish World Service, Jewish Aid Australia, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Jewish Coalition for Service and many, many more.

This illustrates that the benevolence of your organisation is a philosophy that you share with your Jewish brothers and sisters.

It is an international affiliation you must be proud of.

You must also be extremely proud of what you have achieved in New Zealand, in supporting the Jewish communities here.

Tonight, we are here to recognise the outstanding dedication of five long-serving members of the Auckland Chevra Kadisha and Benevolent Society who have given many years of service to your community.

Mr Percy Bookman, Mr Eric Pizer, Mr Daryl Stone, Mr Sonny Beder and Mr Bob Narev. Between you, you have given more than 220 years of service to the Jewish community in Auckland.

It is not often that I, who as Governor-General am lucky enough to meet many deeply generous people, meet people who have given so humbly to quite this degree.

It illustrates how strong a part the Society plays in the Auckland Jewish community that it has had such consistency of commitment.

It also illustrates that while you are maintaining the deeply held traditions of the Jewish faith, you are able to meet the modern needs of New Zealand in 2006.

This is a challenge faced by so many organisations with strong connections with their past and with tradition.

But it is also a challenge I see the Auckland Chevra Kadisha and Benevolent Society has embraced. You are still very much at the heart of the orthodox Jewish community and I congratulate you for this.

Shalom Aleichem.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora koutou katoa