Jewish Australian soldiers will be better cared for with Rabbi Dovid Gutnick officially being inducted into the chaplaincy ranks.
Rabbi Gutnick, the rabbi of East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, was toasted at a small function earlier this month hosted by Rabbi Ralph Genende, the senior rabbi to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and attended by Rabbi Yossi Segelman, also an ADF chaplain.
Rabbi Gutnick is following a family tradition, with his father, Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick, having previously held the role.
Australia’s highest-ranking Jewish military officer, Major General Jeffrey Rosenfeld, paid tribute to the role chaplains play in the ADF.
Major General Rosenfeld, who has seen active service as a surgeon in Iraq, Rwanda and East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomons, said chaplains provide support and can help with soldiers’ mental health issues.
“Soldiers know they can go and speak openly to a chaplain and it will be a confidential matter,” Major General Rosenfeld said.
On a personal note, he said he had always enjoyed the company of a military chaplain, no matter which religion they belonged to.
“The doctors and the chaplains seem to form a close alliance in the unit,” he said. “We have a very responsible and very unique role in the unit and we do have some things in common as chaplains and doctors.”
In addition to ADF and Jewish community representatives, Yvonne and Felix Sher also attended the celebration for Rabbi Gutnick’s induction.
The Shers are the parents of Private Greg Sher, who was killed in action earlier this year in Afghanistan.
Read more at COLLive.com.
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