Community in Australia - World Jewish Congress
Australia

In 2020, Australia's Jewish population was 118,000, the eighth-largest in the world. Australia’s Jewish community is diversely comprised of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic ancestry. Members have historically been active in civil society and many have been notably elected to positions in high offices of the state and judiciary. There is also a uniquely low rate of intermarriage, estimated to be around 15%.

The leading communal organization for the Australian Jewish community is the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) – the Australian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress. Robert Goot, two-time past president of the ECAJ, is co-chairman of the WJC Policy Council and a member of the WJC Steering Committee.

WJC Affiliate
Executive Council of Australian Jewry

Executive Director: Peter Wertheim

Telephone
: 612-8353-8500
Fax:
612-9361-5888
Website:
http://www.ecaj.org.au/

Social Media:
Facebook: Executive Council of Australian Jewry - ECAJ
Instagram: @ecajoz
X: @ECAJewry
YouTube: ECAJ Australia

Daniel Aghion, ECAJ President & WJC Vice-President
History

The history of Jews in Australia dates back to the original British settlement of Australia as a penal colony. Jews were among the first convicts deported from Great Britain to Australia in the 18th century. Considered amongst the founding members of the country, they were regarded as equal citizens from the outset.

By the 19th century, there was an established Jewish community, overwhelmingly made up of free settlers. This gave way to a greater concentration of Jews in Australia’s major cities – namely Melbourne and Sydney – as fear of assimilation caused the Australian Jewish community to consolidate their populations at the end of the century.

Jews have long been intrinsically involved in Australian public life. Sir Isaac Isaacs was its first Australian-born Governor General (1931-36), and Sir Zelman Cowen served in that office between 1977 and 1982. General Sir John Monash was an outstanding commander of the Australian forces in World War I. Josh Frydenberg is currently the Federal Minister for the Environment and Energy, and Mark Dreyfus was Attorney General in the previous government. Other noteworthy Jews currently holding high offices are Linda Dessau, Governor of Victoria, and Justice James Edelman, who sits on Australia’s highest court, the High Court of Australia.

The Years of the Holocaust

More restrictive Australian immigration policy – aimed at non-British immigrants – characterized the post-war WWI years leading up to the Shoah. The Australian Minister for Trade and Customs at the time, T.W White, summed up Australia’s view towards Jews with the following statement at the July 1938 Evian Conference, where Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany were the focus: “As we have no real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one by encouraging any scheme of large-scale foreign migration.”

Australia experienced an influx of Jewish immigration from Europe early in the 20th century, resulting in an increase of Ashkenazi settlers in the established Jewish urban communities in Sydney and Melbourne. After the Holocaust, Australia admitted tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors, and today, Australia has the highest percentage of Holocaust survivors of any Jewish community in the world.

When news of the Nazi’s discrimination towards Jews reached Australia, the Jewish community and other supporters vocalized their opposition, even holding public protests. The Prime Minister at the time, Joseph Lyons, stressed that no formal petitions for the protests were to be forwarded by the government, as Australian officials urged that no direct criticism of Germany would be beneficial. Australia did, however, relax its immigration policies somewhat, admitting around 7,000 Jewish refugees, mainly from Germany and Austria, in the late 1930s. 

Demography

According to the 2011 census, the Australian Jewish community numbered 97,335 people out of 22,485,300 overall, constituting 0.43% of Australia’s total population. Other religious groups in Australia include 13,150,672 Christians, 58.49% of the population; 528,976 Buddhists, 2.35% of the population; 275,533 Hindus, 1.23% of the population, and 476,291 Muslims, 2.12% of the population. 

The bulk of Australian Jewry is divided between the two cities of Melbourne and Sydney, with 85% of Australia’s Jews living in both cities. Smaller communities can be found scattered throughout the country in places such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Perth, and Hobart. 

Community Life

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), a democratically elected, cross-communal Jewish representative body that works as an umbrella organization for numerous Jewish bodies across Australia, acts as the representative organization for Australian Jewry. Its presidency is the highest elected office of lay leadership in the Jewish community and the ECAJ’s work – which includes advocating on behalf of Australian Jewry – is carried out by a professional team of staff based in Sydney. Currently, the organization’s main objectives include a focus on persecuted Jews, combatting antisemitism, and supporting Israel. The ECAJ has also largely emphasized interfaith dialogue and enhanced the broader Australian society as well.

There are numerous other Jewish communal representative organizations in Australia -  mainly regional bodies linked to the ECAJ as constituents, affiliates, or observers. Notable examples include the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, and the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies. The Zionist Federation of Australia is an organization devoted to fostering a connection to Israel among Australian Jews and constitutes other organizations linked to the broader ECAJ.

Other Jewish communal organizations in Australia focus on a myriad of initiatives, including social care and community bonding. Hakoah Sydney City East FC, a semi-professional soccer club formed by members of Sydney’s Jewish community, and Jewish Care, a major provider for impoverished or vulnerable members of the community, present notable Jewish organizations that contribute to the overall Jewish community in Australia.

Religious and Cultural Life

Religiously, the main streams of the Orthodox (Modern and Ultra-Orthodox), Conservative, and Reform denominations are all active in Australia. Though statistics are only available for the Melbourne community, they are considered representative of Australia’s overall Jewish community. Six percent of Melbourne’s Jews consider themselves strictly Orthodox, 15% as liberal or reform, 33% as traditionally religious, and 43% as Jewish but not religious. A strong sense of Jewish identity is prevalent throughout the Australian Jewish community, regardless of religious expression.

Kosher Food

Kosher food is available in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as other large cities, through a myriad of different stores, restaurants, butcheries, etc. Smaller communities may have fewer options than Australia’s major cities, but kosher food can be found in most parts of the country.

Jewish Education

There is a large emphasis on Jewish education amongst Australian Jewry, indicated by a high rate of enrollment in Jewish day schools. According to research conducted by the Jewish Communal Appeal (JCA) in 2011, approximately 60% of Jewish students at the infant/primary school level attend non-government/Jewish day schools, and 76% of Jewish students attend at the secondary level. The high cost of Jewish day schools, as opposed to government/state schools, has seen several state schools obtain a decent Jewish population, indicated by the 27% increase in Jewish enrollment in government primary schools noted by the JCA. There are various Boards of Education, such as the NSW Board of Jewish Education or the United Jewish Education Board, that attend to the Jewish educational needs of students in both state and non-government schools.

In terms of Jewish religious tertiary education, the Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand, or Yeshiva Gedolah, is the main rabbinical studies center for the Orthodox community, and Australia in general. Jewish higher education can also be found in several secular institutions, with full Jewish Studies departments offered at the University of Sydney and Monash University in Melbourne. There are also options for adult Jewish learning, with the Melton Adult Education Program working in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to provide a variety of Jewish literacy programs.

Youth

Youth organizations are prevalent throughout the Australian Jewish community, with a focus on promoting Jewish values and contributing to the wider community. The Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) is a cross-communal organization that represents the interests of Jewish students in both Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, the strength of Zionism in Australia can be attributed, in part, to a focus on an Israeli identity within Jewish youth groups.

Betar Australia, part of a worldwide organization, offers a recreational atmosphere that emphasizes Jewish values and the importance of Zionism. Bnei Akiva focuses on instilling the importance of the Torah and Israel, especially the idea of making aliyah, through various Jewish-structured events and activities. The Chabad Youth organization focuses on child care, offering a variety of camps, activities, and events to foster Jewish values and a sense of pride in one’s Jewish identity.

Jewish Media

Australia has two Jewish weekly editions of the Australian Jewish News, circulated in the Melbourne and Sydney editions, and several other publications, including the Australia-Israel Review and the online service J-Wire, that cater to the Jewish community. Additionally, Australia’s ethnic radio stations – namely SBS Radio – feature several hours of programming of Jewish interest in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish each week.

Information for Visitors

Australia’s Jewish sites include various synagogues of all streams, notably the historic Great Synagogue of Sydney and the Hobart Synagogue. There are also new Jewish museums in both Sydney and Melbourne that contain notable collections of Jewish artifacts and Holocaust material, in addition to exhibits on Jewish-Australian history.

Relations with Israel

Australia and Israel have full diplomatic relations. This is manifest in the economic cooperation between the two countries in relation to “work-travel visas” for workers in each respective country.

Israeli Embassy
6 Turrana Street
Yarralumla, Canberra ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6215 4500
Fax: +61 2 6215 4555

More Communities
See All

Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter
The latest from the Jewish world