South African foreign minister: Citizens in IDF to be arrested on return
Naledi Pandor, the foreign minister of South Africa, said at an African National Congress event earlier this week that South Africa will arrest citizens who serve in the Israel Defence Forces upon their return to South Africa. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Mark Rubin and Abraham Davis
February 27, 2024 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Mark Rubin, a pearl dealer and pastoralist – Abraham Davis – shrewd businessman and perhaps “a ghost’’. Read more
Melbourne Writers Festival leader quits over Palestine program
The Melbourne Writers Festival’s deputy chair has quit over Palestine’s representation in the festival’s as-yet-unpublished program. Read more
South Africa. Time to leave?
February 11, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
Filed under Featured Articles
Why is South Africa leading the outpouring of hatred towards Israel? Is the writing on the wall? Is it because of endemic anti-Semitism? Or is there something more to this than meets the eye?
Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Lena Brasch – Actor and Artists Model – Part 1
December 26, 2023 by Ruth Lillian
Filed under Featured Articles
Selina Venus Brasch was born in North Melbourne on 9 November 1874. She was the youngest child of Wolfe and Esther Brasch. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Ernest Samuel Marks CBE – sportsman, Sydney’s first Jewish Lord Mayor; wool buyer, politician, and community identity
October 3, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Ernest was born on 7 May 1871 in West Maitland, New South Wales. Read more
Why the referendum holds special meaning for Australia’s Jewish community
September 26, 2023 by
Filed under Featured Articles
Collective Jewish memory is the essence of our faith. It is the intimate knowledge that exists deep within each of us and belongs to all of us…writes Dr Aharon Friedland. Read more
Sydney jazz pianist to perform in Brooklyn – and online
September 20, 2023 by J-Wire Newsdesk
Filed under Have You Heard?, Music
Australian musician-composer Leonie Cohen and her quintet are set to perform in Brooklyn’s Soapbox Gallery next Thursday. Read more
Jessica Fox follows gold with K1 silver in Spain
September 3, 2023 by AAP
Filed under News, Sports News
Australian superstar Jessica Fox backed up her C1 gold medal a day earlier with silver in the women’s K1 at the ICF canoe slalom World Cup event in La Seu, Spain. Read more
From New Zealand’s Jewish past – Sir Julius Vogel KCMG – New Zealand’s Eighth Premier
August 29, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Julius was born in London on 24 February 1835, the son of Albert and Phoebe.
How do you explain the large number of Jews in art and other forms of culture?
August 21, 2023 by Rabbi Raymond Apple
Filed under Featured Articles
Ask the rabbi. Read more
From New Zealand’s Jewish past: Merchant, auctioneer, shipping agent and community leader
August 8, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
David Nathan, one of two Jews listed in the 1841 New Zealand Census, was born in London in 1816 and was the third son of Nathan Lion Nathan and his wife Sarah. Read more
“You Don’t Have To Be Jewish” to be revived
August 3, 2023 by Geoff Sirmai
Filed under News, theatre
The Australian premiere of the iconic musical sketch comedy show You Don’t Have To Be Jewish hits Sydney in October and November at two Sydney Eastern Suburbs venues. Read more
From New Zealand’s Jewish Past: Joel Samuel Polack – one of New Zealand’s first Jewish settlers
August 1, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Our stories over the last three years have concentrated on amazing men and women who have contributed to the growth of Australia and its community. This week takes us across the sea to New Zealand to learn about their early pioneers. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Lewis Wolfe Levy – widely respected businessman, politician and community stalwart
July 25, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Lewis was born on 13 June 1815 in London, the son of Benjamin Wolfe Levy, a merchant, and his wife Martha, who was also a Levy prior to their marriage. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Siba Coppelson – mother of two knights and a most remarkable woman
July 18, 2023 by J-Wire
Filed under Featured Articles
Siba was born in 1870 in England to Abraham Sloman and his wife, who had emigrated to England from Eastern Europe. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Joseph Sternberg – one of the ‘great personalities’ of Bendigo
July 4, 2023 by J-Wire
Filed under Featured Articles
Joseph, the son of Alexander – a clothier – and Frederica was born on 3 April 1852 in London. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: The Hon. Edward Aaron Cohen
March 28, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
It would be interesting to know which was the most popular Jewish family name in Australia from convict times to today. A number of stories have been written about ‘Cohens’ – many are related. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Ruby Sophia Rich-Shalit – feminist, pianist and an outstanding community identity
March 14, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
In continuing the celebration of International Women’s Day, this story is of one amazing Jewish woman whose efforts for all Australian women should be applauded. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Shlomo Weintraub – Samuel Wynn – Wine Merchant and active Zionist
March 7, 2023 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Shlomo (Samuel), the son of Michael and Rivkah Weintraub, was born on 4 April 1891 in Ushimow near Lodz, Russia (Poland). Read more
Feb-13 4:00pm SBS-TV: Who do you think you are?
February 1, 2023 by J-Wire
Filed under Dates for your Diary
Intrigued by family stories from his granddad Eddie, former Towie star and presenter Mark Wright investigates his dad’s side of the family. Read more
South African documentary on Holocaust survivor
January 27, 2023 by J-Wire Newsdesk
Filed under Featured Articles, movies
The Ritz Cinemas, Sydney and Classic Cinemas, Melbourne, will present a Q&A screening of the deeply moving documentary I AM HERE. Read more
Feb-07 8:30pm SBS-TV: U.S. and the Holocaust Part 3
January 18, 2023 by J-Wire
Filed under Dates for your Diary
The first reports of the killings reach the United States. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Emanuel Phillips Fox – impressionist painter and teacher
November 22, 2022 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Emanuel was born on 12 March 1865 at Fitzroy, Melbourne, the seventh child of Alexander Fox, a Jewish photographer from London, and his Sydney-born wife Rosette, née Phillips. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Percy Marks – Sydney’s four generations of jewellers fame
June 21, 2022 by Ruth Lillian
Filed under Featured Articles
Percy was born on 6 July 1879 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of London-born John Marks a jeweller, and his New Zealand-born wife Eliza Jane Levy. Read more
Queen’s Birthday Honours – the Jewish list for 2022
June 12, 2022 by Henry Benjamin
Filed under News
The percentage of women receiving awards today across Australia is 45%. Within the Jewish community, the percentage is 43%. Among those to receive their awards in the coming weeks is a Melbourne woman who will collect her partner’s. He died in August 2021 and she was awarded an OAM in January but did not receive it physically. This time she will be presented with her own award and her late partner’s.
Read more
Abortion
May 20, 2022 by Jeremy Rosen
Filed under Featured Articles
In 1973 the USA Supreme Court decided in Roe v Wade to strike down Texas laws that criminalized abortion. Read more
From Australia’s past: Moritz Michaelis – a true mensch in every sense of the word
April 19, 2022 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Moritz was born on 8 November 1820 at Lügde Hanover Germany. His father was a learned and enthusiastic Talmud scholar. Read more
From Australia’s Jewish Past: Arthur Leslie Benjamin – music was his life
March 15, 2022 by Features Desk
Filed under Featured Articles
Arthur was born on 18 September 1893 in Sydney and at the age of three, his family moved to Brisbane. Read more
Israeli team rescues 100 Jewish orphans from Ukraine
March 3, 2022 by Aryeh Savir - TPS
Filed under News
More than 100 Jewish orphans from Ukraine crossed the border at the Siret crossing into Romania on Tuesday night, the end of an operation to save them from the war in the country. Read more