The Jewish Independent Publisher honoured with Australia Day Award

Award recognises Uri Windt for his thought leadership and philanthropy to redress inequity and create change.

The Jewish Independent exists thanks to the vision and generosity of one man in particular– but many of our readers do not even know his name.

Uri Windt is the heart, mind, and pocket behind the creation of The Jewish Independent, as well as several other social justice initiatives in employment, training, health care and community development.

He is a thought leader and generous philanthropist across a range of environmental and social organisations and has made major contributions to both the Indigenous and Jewish communities.

Windt’s contribution came out of the shadows this week when he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day awards, recognising his contribution to the Jewish community.

The nomination for the award noted Windt’s creativity, humility, and ability to create change.

“Uri Windt is a quiet achiever. His strengths which he has demonstrated over many years have been in helping organisations think outside the box, identifying opportunities and making those opportunities possible. He has also had the capacity to provide funds to make things happen and has usually done so anonymously. Uri has been a leader that has cultivated institutional change within communities and commercial endeavours that have created equitable outcomes for Australian workers.”

Windt was born in Israel but raised in Australia.  He spent his working life in the union movement and the public sector, including as a policy advisor to NSW Deputy Premier Jack Ferguson.

He describes himself as having a lifelong passion for equity, fairness, and social justice.