UIA NATIONAL CHAIRMAN MARK LEIBLER
TEXT OF REPLY TO SPEECH BY
FRANK CICUTTO
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANKPRIME MINISTER'S DINNER
Melbourne, November 22, 2000
Prime Minister and Mrs. Howard, Premier and Mrs. Bracks, Ambassador Levy and Mrs. Irit Levy, my co-host Frank Cicutto and Christine Cicutto, and honoured and most welcome guests, I have been both warmed and humbled by Frank’s generous and inspiring words.
His sentiments and insights, as many of you would agree, are not the kind which one normally hears from business partners, but as Frank has said, our joint business is saving and rebuilding Jewish lives. Perhaps it is the humanitarian work which has united us that creates such an understanding and sensitive environment.
In the Jewish tradition, charity is not an add-on, it is an intrinsic part of Judaism. It is both a responsibility and a joy to give and to assist those in need. While this has been the case from time immemorial, for us it is a unique experience to share our G_d-given responsibility with anybody, let alone Australia’s largest financial institution.
Frank has told you of his experiences of the partnership. For us, the UIA, the fact that the National was prepared to make a financial contribution to the work of the UIA is one thing, but that the bank has embraced our values, attitudes and aspirations is indeed extraordinary.
From the outset, Frank and his team have been interested, supportive and involved in all aspects of the UIA’s activities. They too have been deeply touched by individual stories of despair turned to hope, they too have been overwhelmed by the emotional impact of what we do. And through this enthusiasm and understanding the partnership evolved from a meeting of minds to a union of purpose.
In any partnership one hopes to recognize and harness the strengths of the other party and, in the process, grow and develop. Frank has said that the National has grown and developed through its partnership with the UIA. I believe that the UIA, through reaching out into the wider Australian community, has been able not just to find a partner in its work but also assist in making Judaism, Israel and Zionism more comprehensible and meaningful to our fellow Australians.
Might I add that the four-year partnership between the UIA and the National is indeed unique – nowhere among Jewish communities around the world has such a joint exercise been contemplated, let alone undertaken. May the fruits of globalization in this new century increasingly see the evolution of such innovative partnerships, working towards the alleviation of human suffering.
Thank you.