Rabbi Dovid Gutnick trains with the Australian Defence Force.

NAOMI LEVIN

JEWISH Australian soldiers will be better catered 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.
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