Share
Email
PrintAustralian student leader dies in mishap
A leader of the Australian Union of Jewish Students died in an apparent climbing accident in Jordan.
David Burnett, 22, was in Petra, the renowned archaeological site of the ancient Nabateans, when a cliff-side path collapsed Tuesday, according to media reports.
Burnett, from Sydney, was on a leadership course in Israel before he traveled to Jordan.
Burnett was the president of the New South Wales branch of the Jewish student union in 2006 and an activist in the Australian Labor Party, working for the election of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during last year’s federal election.
Sam Dastyari, a former NSW Young Labor president, said in a statement that “David worked tirelessly to promote social justice, tolerance and inter-community harmony, particularly on university campuses, during his time as Australian Union of Jewish Students president.
“In addition, David was a passionate advocate for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed Burnett’s death and has offered assistance to the family.
This article was made possible by the support of readers like you. Donate to JTA now.
Discussions About this Article Elsewhere
Comments RSS Feed Reader Comments
There are currently no comments to this article. Leave a comment below.
Leave a Comment
To comment on this article, you must first be registered with JTA.
Not Registered?
There are real advantages to a FREE registration with JTA.org:
- Make your voice heard through comments on articles
- Receive our e-mailed Daily Briefing, an invaluable quick-read
- Help decide what Jewish news matters most with interactive tools
Register Now
Already a JTA member?
- Madoff won’t appeal sentence
- IDF salutes Palestinian security forces
- Op-Ed: Israel backers must support a settlement freeze
- Egypt arrests 26 planning Suez attacks
- Op-Ed: Palestinians’ plight, Holocaust are not analogous
- JDL members arrested in Paris
- Satmar mayor praises Obama
- Harvard Hillel victim of $780,000 fraud
- The Chosen: Jewish members in the 111th U.S. Congress
- Jackson kids’ Jewish mother could regain custody
- Biden: Israel can decide for itself on Iran
- Guard shot at Holocaust museum dies
- Canadian politician sues Jewish groups
- In endorsing two states, Netanyahu adopts popular Jewish position
- Some Jewish settlers turning against Israel
- Mass converts pose dilemma for Latin American Jews
Trackback URL: http://jta.org/trackback/106560/
No trackbacks have been created for this article, be the first to create one.