Open letter from the Yeshivah Centre interim Committee of Management
5 July 2015
Dear Parents, Yeshivah Community members, Yeshivah Centre Staff, Friends and Supporters,
We take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the interim Committee of Management (COM) of the Yeshivah Centre.
We have been appointed to manage the Yeshivah Centre and would like to share our role and objectives over the coming months and the process we intend to adopt leading up to the implementation of the recommendations made following the independent constitutional and governance review.
We have all witnessed a range of issues confronting the Yeshivah Centre over the last few years, many of which were brought into sharp focus by the recent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. As a result, there has been a wide-spread communal call for improved governance, transparency and new leadership.
Recognising this need, the Members of the three Associations that comprise the Yeshivah Centre (often referred to as Trustees) have taken two important steps:
The scope of our role does not extend to making long-term strategic decisions that haven’t been approved by an elected board.
In accordance with the current Rules for the Associations, the Panel’s recommendations will need to be adopted by special resolution of the Members at the AGM for the Associations, to be held in December 2015. Until then, we have been appointed under these Rules, to ensure a seamless transition.
In our capacity as the interim COM, our plan over the next six months includes:
Our process will include:
The Yeshivah Centre was established by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. We recognise the critical importance of upholding and enhancing the Chabad ethos that is integral to the existence of the Yeshivah Centre, and in the Chinuch of our children. As such, we will be working closely with community leaders and appropriate Chabad Rabbinic authorities in regard to Halachic and Hashkafa matters.
We feel privileged to be in a position to serve our community and help the Yeshivah Centre through its current challenges and onto strong and vibrant growth. Not one of us has taken the decision to join the COM lightly. We recognise the responsibility that this role entails; we are passionate about the Yeshivah Centre and will work tirelessly to serve you over the coming months. We are a diverse group of people with relevant professional skills and backgrounds, and we are confident that we can use this expertise to effectively oversee the management of the Yeshivah Centre and enable you to regain trust in the systems and processes in place and the institution overall.
We are here to ensure that you have a say in the running and future of the Yeshivah Centre. We are well aware that, under the current Rules of the Associations, we have not been elected for this role, but chosen by the Members. We have therefore put in place the following mechanisms to prevent conflicts of interest from affecting the outcomes of our work as well as the governance review process:
We look forward to working with you over the coming months and welcome your comments and questions via our confidential COM email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] - or by speaking to us.
Finally, we want to openly encourage in a clear and determined voice that anyone who has any information regarding any allegations of child sexual abuse whether as a victim/survivor, their family member or friend, staff, volunteers or anyone else to go directly to the police (contact the Moorabbin SOCIT unit on 9556-6124) or for support, to organisations including Tzedek (1300 TZEDEK or 1300 893 335) or another body that you trust.
We thank you for your support,
The interim Committee of Management of Yeshivah Centre
Leah Balter
Craig Goldberg
Yechiel Belfer
Shmuley Goldberg
Yossi Franck
Rafi Goodman
Joel Gerschman
Meir Moss
Click here to read the open letter from the Yeshivah Centre Board of Trustees.
We take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the interim Committee of Management (COM) of the Yeshivah Centre.
We have been appointed to manage the Yeshivah Centre and would like to share our role and objectives over the coming months and the process we intend to adopt leading up to the implementation of the recommendations made following the independent constitutional and governance review.
We have all witnessed a range of issues confronting the Yeshivah Centre over the last few years, many of which were brought into sharp focus by the recent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. As a result, there has been a wide-spread communal call for improved governance, transparency and new leadership.
Recognising this need, the Members of the three Associations that comprise the Yeshivah Centre (often referred to as Trustees) have taken two important steps:
- Appointing an independent Governance Review Panel (the Panel) to make recommendations for an improved legal and governance structure for the Yeshivah Centre; and
- Setting up an interim Committee of Management for the immediate operational requirements of the Yeshivah Centre and to facilitate giving effect to the recommendations of the Panel.
The scope of our role does not extend to making long-term strategic decisions that haven’t been approved by an elected board.
In accordance with the current Rules for the Associations, the Panel’s recommendations will need to be adopted by special resolution of the Members at the AGM for the Associations, to be held in December 2015. Until then, we have been appointed under these Rules, to ensure a seamless transition.
In our capacity as the interim COM, our plan over the next six months includes:
- Facilitating the implementation of recommendations made by the Governance Review Panel;
- Working with the Principal of Yeshivah Beth Rivkah Colleges and other heads of school, to best support the running of the schools and the educational (Chinuch) agenda;
- Working with the various Yeshivah Centre organisations to best support their programs and ongoing success;
- Financial Management of the Yeshivah Centre;
- Responding to the issues raised during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. We have already begun open dialogue with victims of child sex abuse and are committed to providing them and their families an open door and support;
- Facilitating urgent Capital Projects required to accommodate the fast growing numbers of YBR students; initiating longer term projects will be left to a future elected committee; and
- Establishing necessary sub-committees with oversight of key organisational functions within the Yeshivah Centre. Rabbi Faivish Pink and Mrs Genia Janover have accepted our offer to act in an advisory capacity to the interim COM on educational, school structure and personnel issues. We look forward to being able to announce additional sub-committees over the next few weeks.
Our process will include:
- proactively engaging with various community stakeholders to better understand your goals for the Yeshivah Centre and the School, as well as your concerns; and
- communicating with you regularly to update you on our progress.
The Yeshivah Centre was established by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. We recognise the critical importance of upholding and enhancing the Chabad ethos that is integral to the existence of the Yeshivah Centre, and in the Chinuch of our children. As such, we will be working closely with community leaders and appropriate Chabad Rabbinic authorities in regard to Halachic and Hashkafa matters.
We feel privileged to be in a position to serve our community and help the Yeshivah Centre through its current challenges and onto strong and vibrant growth. Not one of us has taken the decision to join the COM lightly. We recognise the responsibility that this role entails; we are passionate about the Yeshivah Centre and will work tirelessly to serve you over the coming months. We are a diverse group of people with relevant professional skills and backgrounds, and we are confident that we can use this expertise to effectively oversee the management of the Yeshivah Centre and enable you to regain trust in the systems and processes in place and the institution overall.
We are here to ensure that you have a say in the running and future of the Yeshivah Centre. We are well aware that, under the current Rules of the Associations, we have not been elected for this role, but chosen by the Members. We have therefore put in place the following mechanisms to prevent conflicts of interest from affecting the outcomes of our work as well as the governance review process:
- We will communicate openly with you and be held accountable for our actions and commitments; and
- We will approve the terms of reference for the Governance Review Panel which will be made public prior to it commencing.
We look forward to working with you over the coming months and welcome your comments and questions via our confidential COM email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] - or by speaking to us.
Finally, we want to openly encourage in a clear and determined voice that anyone who has any information regarding any allegations of child sexual abuse whether as a victim/survivor, their family member or friend, staff, volunteers or anyone else to go directly to the police (contact the Moorabbin SOCIT unit on 9556-6124) or for support, to organisations including Tzedek (1300 TZEDEK or 1300 893 335) or another body that you trust.
We thank you for your support,
The interim Committee of Management of Yeshivah Centre
Leah Balter
Craig Goldberg
Yechiel Belfer
Shmuley Goldberg
Yossi Franck
Rafi Goodman
Joel Gerschman
Meir Moss
Click here to read the open letter from the Yeshivah Centre Board of Trustees.
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