Every week, Courage to Care volunteers walk into classrooms across Victoria and change the way young people see the world. At a moment when anti-Jewish incidents in Australia have surged to nearly five times their pre-October 7 rate — the sharpest spike of any comparable country in the world — on 26 March Courage to Care gathered 100 volunteers, faith leaders and community figures for an evening of dialogue, resolve and shared purpose.
Proudly hosted by the Gandel Foundation, the event brought together some of Melbourne’s most prominent voices on social cohesion alongside the volunteers doing the quiet, vital work in school classrooms across Victoria every week.
The evening’s centrepiece was a candid exchange between Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann of ARK Centre and Archbishop Peter Comensoli, Melbourne’s most senior Catholic leader — two men from different faiths who have in their way, both each refused to treat antisemitism as someone else’s problem.
Archbishop Comensoli made headlines in November 2023 when he visited a Melbourne synagogue and issued a letter condemning antisemitism that was read aloud at Catholic churches across Victoria. On Thursday night, he spoke directly about the responsibility of faith communities to stand with their neighbours — and the small actions we can all take to start building bridges between communities.
Rabbi Kaltmann, a member of the Australian Multicultural Council and long-time interfaith advocate, spoke of education as the most durable weapon against hatred, and of the urgency he feels in a post-October 7 world.
The exchange drew questions from the floor, with audience members pressing both leaders on what genuine solidarity — beyond words and gestures — actually requires.
If the faith leaders provided gravitas, it was two Heritage College students who provided the evening’s most captivating moments.
Student Allegra described the moment a Holocaust survivor’s testimony shifted something in how she understood her own responsibility. Her classmate Iremide spoke with striking clarity about what stops young people from speaking up when they witness injustice, and what it takes to change that.
Principal Sonny Aiono reflected on what he has witnessed in his school since bringing the program in — a visible shift, he said, in the conversations students are willing to have and the Upstander language now used throughout the school.
Volunteer Custodian Speaker Leigh Fein spoke about carrying her late father Walter’s story into classrooms. A retired educator, she described it as a privilege to witness volunteers working at grassroots level with the young people who will help shape Australia’s future.
Photos by the wonderfully talented Aaron Zajonc Photography
