The Yachad Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by the National Australia Bank to fund further education and professional development in Israel for talented Australians, and to expand awareness in Australia of the shared concerns of Israel and Australia.
High priority was given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, particularly emerging leaders and those in mid career. In 2011 Yachad Deputy Chair Mark Liebler said “As one who shares my, the Bank’s, and our [Jewish] community’s passion for redressing the disadvantageous circumstances faced by Indigenous Australians, you, Prime Minister, would heartily approve of the Fund’s decision, almost a decade ago, to encourage Indigenous Scholars to benefit their communities by undertaking very specific study programs in Israel. What we share is actually a very basic Jewish precept – the central imperative of learning and teaching; a fundamental obligation.”
Just one example of a recipient was Lynette Riley, a Wiradjuri-Kamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree, at the time a Senior Lecturer and Acting Deputy Director and Academic Coordinator of the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney. Lynette undertook a three-week intensive NAB Yachad study tour of Israel in July 2007, an experience that she described as ‘renewing her spirit’. Today Professor Aunty (Dr) Lynette Riley AO is a Senior Lecturer and Executive Director, Indigenous Studies & Aboriginal Education at the University of Sydney.