Joel Burnie
Associate Director of Public Affairs, AIJAC
Joel was born in Canberra, Australia, into a Jewish community of just over 300 members. Joel’s community involvement was shaped heavily by his grandfather who was a patriarch of the very small Jewish community in Canberra. He moved to Perth and attended his first Jewish day school where his longing to be an active member of a larger Jewish community became a reality. Joel’s community involvement began while in school through youth groups and various volunteering and has been a constant in his life ever since. Joel has over ten continual years of active community participation through elected positions in various organisations. His desire to serve Australian Jewry have been his predominant life pursuit. He was the student program coordinator and policy analyst for the Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council from 2008-2013. In 2007 he was President of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students and executive member of the World Union of Jewish Students. Joel has represented world student Jewry as the coordinator of the delegation to the United Nations Durban Review Conference in Geneva. He has a B.A. in political science and anthropology and a Masters of Law (Juris Doctorate) from Monash University. He is currently an office bearer for the Zionist Federation of Australia.