Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick (Hebrew: מרדכי זאב הכהן גוטניק) is a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Australia. He is the eldest son of the late Rabbi Chaim Gutnick and brother of Australian mining magnate Joseph Gutnick.
A member of the Melbourne Beth Din,[1] Gutnick is highly respected in the field of kashrut. In 1997 he was appointed Rabbinic Administrator of Kosher Australia (formerly Melbourne Kashrut).[2]
Gutnick has also served as president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia.[3][4]
Having held rabbinic posts in both Sydney and Melbourne, Gutnick is currently rabbi of the Elwood Talmud Torah Hebrew Congregation, having succeeded his late father in this position in 2003.[5][6]
In 2008 Gutnick officiated at the first Jewish wedding ever to be hosted by Australia's Parliament House in Canberra, when the federal member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby married Amanda Mendes Da Costa. The wedding was attended by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his deputy among 150 guests.[7][8]
Gutnick, like his father before him,[9] served as a Military Chaplain in the Australian Army. In 2009 he was succeeded in this position by his son, Rabbi Dovid Gutnick.[10]