Minns praises Jewish Museum redevelopment after “summer of rolling hatred”
NSW Premier Chris Minns today toured and praised the Sydney Jewish Museum’s redevelopment, meeting with Holocaust survivors and students amid mounting concerns over antisemitism across New South Wales.
The Premier’s visit occurred today, Wednesday 29 October, following what the State Government has described as a “summer of rolling hatred.
Minns, who first visited the museum as a 13-year-old student with Marist College, Kogarah, said the museum’s message of tolerance was never more relevant. “At a time when community harmony is under threat, the need to live the values of tolerance and understanding, and to challenge hatred, is more pressing than ever,” Mr Minns stated.
Ernie Friedlander, Chris Minns with Greg Shand and Michelle Goldman, Kevin Sumption (photo by Giselle Haber)
The Premier was welcomed by Museum President Greg Shand and CEO Kevin Sumption. He was given a ‘hard-hat tour’ of the building site, viewing the new state-of-the-art learning studios and the student entrance. Mr Minns met and spoke with Holocaust survivors Ernie Friedlander, Mimi Wise, Paul Drexler, and Lucy Chladek. He later observed students from Gymea Technology High School using digital, AI-powered interacting survivor testimonies in a Holocaust education programme.
The NSW Government is a major partner in the expansion, having committed $8.5 million in funding of the $18.5 million cost. The Federal government has committed a further $8.5 million. The redevelopment will double the museum’s space for exhibitions, learning programmes, and events, creating a space to preserve Holocaust memory and explore Jewish life and culture in contemporary Australia.
This expansion is crucial to extending the museum’s educational reach to 55,000 primary and secondary school students a year. The SJM currently delivers programmes to more than 90 per cent of NSW high schools, all with the aim to teach empathy and tolerance as well as increase social cohesion through Holocaust education.
Shand emphasised the urgent need for expansion: “More than ever, there is a need for our museum to expand its impact through an enlarged, state-of-the-art facility offering a broader range of exhibits and programmes to appeal to a wider range of audiences,” he said. With new permanent and feature exhibitions, the expanded museum is expected to attract over 100,000 guests annually by 2032.
“The museum’s expansion is an outstanding project that we should be proud of, and I look forward very much to seeing it when it opens,” Premier Minns concluded.
