Dear Members and Donors,

This Passover, our Jewish world is again navigating deeply challenging times. Tragically, this will be the second successive Passover with many hostages still not reunited with their families – some of whom will tragically never return home alive. Antisemitism continues to surge globally, reaching heights never seen before in Australia.

And yet, if there is one thing that continues to shine through, it is the timeless strength that has carried our people through adversity. As we approach Pesach –a festival that recognises not only our liberation from Egypt, but our eternal resilience – we are reminded that even in the darkest of times, when the path ahead feels uncertain, we continue to believe, come together, hold fast to hope, and emerge stronger as one.

If the past 18 months have taught us anything, it is that we must protect ourselves, fight for each other, and continue to build a stronger community together.

Once again, we are called upon to take responsibility for our shared future – and it is with that spirit and determination that we are building Hakoah at White City.

Hakoah represents more than just bricks and mortar; it embodies a vision for a revitalised centre of Jewish life, a home for every Jew, whether secular or religious, young or old, along with the broader community that shares our Australian values. It is exactly what our community needs now more than ever: a space for unity, resilience, and connection. This is our time to truly come together as a community. Our board and development steering committee have been tirelessly working as a leadership team to bring this dream to fruition. Although the journey has been challenging, our commitment has never faltered.

For the past six months, we have been working with Richard Crookes Constructions (RCC) to navigate a path forward for our project and restart construction at White City. Given the construction sector continues to face labour shortages and severe cost inflation, this process has been extremely complex, and unfortunately taken longer than we would have liked. We are however making significant progress towards our goal of restarting construction as soon as possible with an efficient and predictable procurement process that will lead to a quality build at the best price available.

At the same time, we have taken the pause in construction to review the plans for the new club. The outcome is significantly improved spaces for food and beverage, functions and an expanded children’s play area. This will also undoubtedly lead to a more sustainable and robust business model for the club. I am pleased to report that the planning panel to approve these revised plans met yesterday with a favourable report from Woollahra Council officers. We are hopeful of planning approval soon. Due to these significant improvements, we have had to re-document the design, a process which will be completed in the coming months. Following this, we will retender to the subcontractor market to get up-to-date, and the best pricing for the project before construction recommences.

Over this period working with RCC, our team was bolstered with the advice and expertise of the Toga Group led by Allan Vidor. They have enormous hospitality, design and construction experience and have worked closely with our management team led by Andy Hedges and the development steering committee headed by Phill Wolanski, Allen Linz, Phil Green, Tim Shoolman and myself. This group, plus our consultants, meets formally once a week and informally daily.  I am very grateful for the enormous effort and commitment by our team as we navigate our way forward.

I said at the AGM in November last year, “The desire to be together as a community has never been stronger”.  The reason we decided to embark on this ambitious project was for the purpose of re-creating the hub of Sydney’s Jewish community so we could all do the things we love to do, together. Hence, our Hakoah brand – “Life is Better Together”.

Our mission is to deliver the new Hakoah Club as a safe and secure campus for our community for sports, cultural and social events, food, and the joy of just being together.

Given the environment we all now find ourselves in, the rationale to build Hakoah at White City has never been more important than it is today.

There is no doubt in my mind that we will overcome the challenges before us. The project will take longer, and cost considerably more than originally thought. We are currently working on a funding and financing plan to bridge the gap. We will update you as soon as we can. This will need to include additional funding from existing and new major donors and from the broader community, as well as increased memberships, bank financing and government funding. Progress is being made on all these fronts. As with the increased time commitments needed from your Hakoah leadership team, I can assure you that their increased financial commitments will be there as well, including from my family.

Thank you for your continued support and patience.

On behalf of your board and leadership team, we wish you and your loved ones a Chag Pesach Sameach, and may the remaining hostages be returned home and the brave IDF soldiers kept safe.

Steven Lowy AM

President

Hakoah Club