The Leibler Family

The Leibler family has been active in business, legal and philanthropic ventures. In 1939, Abraham Leibler, a diamond dealer, and his wife Rachel Leibler (whose parents were murdered in Auschwitz) immigrated to Australia from Belgium to escape the Nazi regime. Their children, Isi and Mark Leibler, both became powerful lobbyists and have been controversial figures in Australian society for various reasons.

The late Isi Leibler was President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry before he settled in Israel and lived there until his death. Isi co-founded the Australia Institute of Jewish Affairs (AIJA), which then became part of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), a lobbying group which is formally associated with the American Jewish Committee. He was an outspoken Zionist. In a column published in The Jerusalem Post in 2016, he described the Palestinian community as “a culture of death and evil”, adding that “there is irrefutable evidence of the barbaric and genocidal nature of Palestinian society.”

His brother, Mark Leibler, Senior Partner and founding member of the Arnold Bloch Leibler firm, specialises in tax law for the wealthy, and is a prominent figure in the legal and business communities. Much of Mark’s work involves advising corporations and high-net-worth individuals on strategies to minimise their tax. For instance, he has reportedly advocated for laws requiring the wealthy to declare their business income to be “scrapped or at the very least amended to avoid affecting private companies”. Mark works for those “with more than $15 million in wealth” who “had ‘flown under the radar’ in terms of their fortunes being paraded on rich lists and ‘want it to stay that way’.”

Like his brother, Mark is a staunch supporter of Israel. He has been the President of two powerful organisations: the Zionist Federation of Australia and the United Israel Appeal. Mark has often written about his support of Israel in the media. In an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald, for instance, he argued that Australia should have “the right to stay out of the Middle East’s semantic games”, referring to Palestinian land as “disputed”, not “occupied”. A well-connected figure, Mark has also lobbied Australian political leaders to support pro-Israel policies, and criticised the government for its “excessive focus on settlements” in Israel.

The Australian Financial Review described him as being “a lifelong Zionist who, as a Zionist leader, urged and encouraged Australian Jews to go and settle in Israel as the ultimate fulfilment of a Jewish life”, as well as a figure who has a “close relationship with Israel’s powerful intelligence agency, Mossad”.

Mark’s son Jeremy Leibler is the current President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, and a Partner at Arnold Bloch Leibler.

Mark’s advocacy on behalf of Indigenous affairs and his firm’s support of the arts have garnered support in the past, however, his position on Israel is not universally shared by people in both the Indigenous and artistic communities. Many in these groups see his views on Israel as being hypocritical, especially regarding the issue of Palestinian land rights.

In addition, Arnold Bloch Leibler is well known for its philanthropic work in Victoria’s arts scene. Arnold Bloch Leibler has legally represented the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in its recent dispute with pianist Jayson Gillham over Gillham’s announcement of the solo piano piece he performed in an MSO concert, named Witness, in which he stated information about Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza. Composed by Connor D’Netto, Witness was specifically written to pay tribute to journalists killed in Gaza. The Lieblers have also supported the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, the Collingwood Yards Arts Precinct and Yarra Valley Arts.