Judaism is a minority religion in Australia. 99,956 Australians identified as Jewish in the 2021 census, which accounts for about 0.4% of the population. This is a 9.8% increase in numbers from the 2016 census. There are many estimates of how many Jews are in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, with some estimates going as high as 250,000.

History

In 1830 the first Jewish wedding in Australia was celebrated, the

contracting A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

parties being Moses Joseph and Rosetta Nathan. Jewish immigration came at a time of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and the Returned Services League and other groups publicized cartoons to encourage the government and the immigration Minister Arthur Calwell to stem the flow of Jewish immigrants.

Affiliations

Until the 1930s, all synagogues in Australia were affiliated with

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

, acknowledging leadership of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom. To this day, about 70% of synagogues in Australia are Orthodox. There had been at least two short-lived efforts to establish Reform congregations, the first as early as the 1890s. However, in 1930, under the leadership of Ada Phillips, a Liberal or Progressive congregation, Temple Beth Israel (Melbourne, Australia), was permanently established in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In 1938 the long-serving Senior Rabbi, Rabbi Dr Herman Sanger, was instrumental in establishing another synagogue, Temple Emanuel in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He also played a part in founding a number of other Liberal synagogues in other cities in both Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The first Australian-born rabbi, Rabbi Dr John Levi, served the Australian Liberal movement. These congregations are supported by the Sydney-based

Union for Progressive Judaism The Union for Progressive Judaism is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 27 progressive congregations in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The movement serves about a fifth of the region's affiliated community. The U ...

Demographics

Predominant ancestry of Australian Jews by statistical area

Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Inner Sydney by POA - BCP field 2781 Judaism Persons

About 90 percent of the Australian Jewish community live in Sydney and Melbourne. Melbourne Ports has the largest Jewish community of any electorate in Australia. The Jewish Community Council of Victoria has estimated that 60,000 Australian Jews live in Victoria. In Frankston, the Jewish community has nearly doubled since 2007. In Adelaide Australian Jews have been present throughout the history of the city, with many successful civic leaders and people in the arts. According to the , the Jewish population numbered 91,020 individuals, of whom 46% lived in Greater

, 39% in Greater

, and 6% in Greater

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. The states and territories with the highest proportion of Jews are Victoria (0.71%) and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

(0.49%), whereas those with the lowest are the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

(both 0.05%). The same social and cultural characteristics of Australia that facilitated the extraordinary economic, political, and social success of the Australian Jewish community have also been attributed to contributing to widespread

assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture *Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs **Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the progre ...

. Community success can also be measured by the vibrancy of Australian Jewish Media. While traditional Jewish print media is in decline, new media forms such as podcasts, online magazines, and blogs have stepped into the breach.

People

Academics

* Roy Clive Abraham, linguist * Bernhard Neumann, German-born British-Australian mathematician *

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...

, philosopher *

Ghil'ad Zuckermann Ghil'ad Zuckermann ( he, גלעד צוקרמן, ; ) is an Israeli-born language revivalist and linguist who works in contact linguistics, lexicology and the study of language, culture and identity. Zuckermann is Professor of Linguistics and Ch ...

, linguist and revivalist

Artists and entertainers

* Lior Attar, singer, musician *

Danny Ben-Moshe Danny Ben-Moshe is a documentary film maker and an associate professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. He has produced and directed several critically praised documentaries. Career In 2001, Ben-Moshe was presented with the Commonwe ...

, writer *

John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his career ...

, actor *

Saskia Burmeister Saskia Burmeister (born 12 February 1985) is an Australian actress. She is most known for her roles in '' Hating Alison Ashley'' and ''Sea Patrol''. Early and personal life Born in New South Wales, Burmeister grew up in Bellingen on the Mid-N ...

, actress * Isla Fisher, actress *

Amelia Frid Amelia Frid (born 30 July 1975 in Soviet Union) is an Australian former child actress who played Cody Willis in ''Neighbours''. She retired from acting to concentrate on studies and her current profession is forensic psychology. Frid's final app ...

, Russian-born actress * Renee Geyer, soul singer *

David Helfgott David Helfgott (born 19 May 1947) is an Australian concert pianist whose life inspired the Academy Award-winning film '' Shine'', in which he was portrayed by actors Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor and Alex Rafalowicz. Biography Early life Helfgot ...

, pianist (inspired

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film ''

Shine Shine may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Shine'' (film), a 1996 Australian film based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist * Shine, a fictional character in the American animated TV series ''Shimmer and Shine'' Lite ...

'') * Barrie Kosky, opera director * Ben Lee, singer, songwriter and actor *

David Malouf David George Joseph Malouf AO (; born 20 March 1934) is an Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and librettist. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008, Malouf has lectured at both the University of Quee ...

, writer *

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tora ...

, British-Australian actress *

Leon Pole Leon Pole (28 June 1871 – 31 December 1951) was an Australian artist who was associated with the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian Impressionism. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Pole moved to Melbourne where, between ...

, artist * Ohad Rain, Australian-born Israeli singer-songwriter * John Safran, comedian *

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his thi ...

, South African-born Australian singer, actor and YouTuber * Elana Stone, musician * Yael Stone, actress *

Felix Werder Felix Werder AM (24 February 19223 May 2012) was a German-born Australian composer of classical and electronic music, and also a noted critic and educator. The son of a distinguished liturgical composer, he composed all his life. His published ...

, German born *

Yitzhak Yedid Yitzhak Yedid ( he, יצחק ידיד) is an Israeli-Australian contemporary classical music composer and improvising pianist, the recipient of numerous awards. Biography Yitzhak Yedid was born in Jerusalem, Israel to a sephardic Jewish famil ...

, Israeli born composer

Business people

Alan Finkel Alan Simon Finkel (born 17 January 1953) is an Australian neuroscientist, inventor, researcher, entrepreneur, educator, policy advisor, and philanthropist. He was Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2016 to 2020. Prior to his appointment, his c ...

, Australia's Chief Scientist *

John Gandel John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, businessman, philanthropist *

David Gonski David Michael Gonski (born 7 October 1953) is an Australian public figure and businessman. In 2008, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' described Gonski as "one of the country's best-connected businessmen" and dubbed him "Mr Networks" for being "a ...

, businessman, philanthropist * Solomon Lew, businessman * Frank Lowy, Slovak-born

Israeli Australian Israeli Australians refers to Australian citizens or permanent residents who are fully or partially of Israeli descent. The population colloquially refer to themselves as Ausraelis. The most recent Australian census of 2016 recorded 9,817 Israe ...

businessman * Anthony Pratt, Australian businessman * Richard Pratt, businessman * Sheree Rubinstein, entrepreneur, women's business leader and advocate *

Sidney Sinclair Sidney Sinclair (1915–1999) was an English born, Australian businessman, philanthropist, trade advisor to the Federal Government and prominent member of the Australian Jewish community. A founder of the Parramatta Synagogue, he was its first ...

, businessman *

Victor Smorgon Victor Smorgon (2 January 1913 – 3 July 2009) was an Australian industrialist, arts patron and benefactor, who was founder and former head of the Victor Smorgon Group. Biography Smorgon was born in 1913 in Heidelberg, a German settlement ...

, businessman *

Harry Triguboff Harry Oskar Triguboff (born 3 March 1933) is an Australian billionaire real estate development, real estate developer, and one of Australia's richest people. He is the founder and managing director of Meriton and is known as "high-rise Harry". ...

, Chinese-born Australian businessman *

Alex Waislitz Alex Waislitz (born 1958) is an Australian businessman. Waislitz was elected to the Collingwood Football Club Board of Directors in 1998, elected as vice-president in 2009, and has provided philanthropic support to the club. Early life and ed ...

, businessman * Nick Molnar, entrepreneur, businessman

Legal system

James Spigelman James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011. He was also Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final App ...

, Former Chief Justice of New South Wales * James Edelman, High Court Justice *

Louis Waller Peter Louis Waller (10 February 1935 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian jurist. He was particularly well known for his work in evidence, medical and criminal law. He was Sir Leo Cussen Professor of Law at Monash University from 1965 until 200 ...

, Legal academic and head of Monash law faculty

Politicians

* Hajnal Ban Black, Israeli born author, politician *

Josh Burns Josh Burns (born May 15, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist and current bare-knuckle boxer. Since 2017, Burns has competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Bellator MMA Burns faced TNA wr ...

, member for Macnamara *Sir

Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

, politician, Governor-General of Australia * Michael Danby, member for Melbourne Ports * Mark Dreyfus, former attorney general * Syd Einfeld, Australian politician and Jewish community leader * Josh Frydenberg, politician and former deputy leader of the Liberal Party *Sir Isaac Isaacs, Judge and politician, Chief Justice of Australia, and Governor-General of Australia * Henry Ninio, Egyptian-born Lord Mayor of Adelaide * Martin Pakula, politician * Kerryn Phelps, president of the

AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

and independent member for

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

Mark Regev Mark Regev ( he, מארק רגב; born 1960) is a former Israeli diplomat and civil servant who is currently the chair of the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at Reichman University. Between June 2020 and April 2021, he ser ...

, Australian-born Israeli diplomat and civil servant *

David Southwick David James Southwick (born 31 March 1968) is an Australian Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal politician, and has been the member for Electoral district of Caulfield, Caulfield in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2010. Southwick has be ...

, politician

Rabbis

* Raymond Apple, Senior

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of the Great Synagogue of Sydney *

David Bar-Hayim David Hanoch Yitzchak Bar-Hayim (Hebrew: דוד חנוך יצחק ב"ר חיים; born Mandel; born 24 February 1960) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi who heads the Shilo Institute (''Machon Shilo''), a Jerusalem-based rabbinical court and institute ...

, born David Mandel, head of the Machon Shilo in Israel *

Eliezer Berkovits Eliezer Berkovits (8 September 1908, Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary – 20 August 1992, Jerusalem), was a rabbi, theologian, and educator in the tradition of Orthodox Judaism. Life Berkovits received his rabbinical training first under Rabbi ...

, leading rabbinic philosopher, served as a rabbi in Sydney 1946-50 *

Israel Brodie Sir Israel Brodie (10 May 1895 – 13 February 1979) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965. Biography He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australi ...

, Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, served as a rabbi in Australia 1923-37 * Harry Freedman, rabbi, author and translator *

Yitzchok Dovid Groner Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner (18 April 1925 – 7 July 2008) was the most senior Chabad rabbi in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and the director of the Yeshivah Centre. Biography Born in New York City, United States to a significant Lubavitc ...

, head of the Yeshiva Centre in Melbourne, implicated in coverups of child sex abuse * Chaim Gutnick, first head of the

Rabbinical Council of Victoria The Rabbinical Council of Victoria is a body representing the state's Orthodox rabbis. It was established in 1967. Its primary goals are to provide professional development to its member rabbis, to enhance community participation among members of th ...

* Meir Shlomo Kluwgant, senior rabbi in Melbourne, implicated in coverups of child sex abuse * John Levi, Rabbi *

Karen Soria Karen Soria is an American-born rabbi. She became the first female rabbi to serve in Australia when she joined the rabbinical team at Temple Beth Israel, a progressive Reform Jewish synagogue in Melbourne, in the 1980s. She later served as a chapl ...

, Reform rabbi, first woman to serve as a rabbi in Australia * Yehiel Grenimann (formerly John Green of Melbourne),Masorti (Conservative), Jerusalem, author, human rights activist

Sportspeople

Ashley Brown Ashley Brown (born February 3, 1982) is an American singer and actress who is best known for playing the titular character in the United States national tour and Broadway productions of ''Mary Poppins''. Early life Brown was born February 3, 198 ...

, soccer player * Jordan Brown, soccer player * Gavin Fingleson, Olympic silver medalist baseball player * Jessica Fox, canoeist, Olympic silver medalist *

Noemie Fox Noemie Fox (born 19 March 1997) is a French-born Australian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2013. She won three medals in the at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with two golds (C1 team: 2019, K1 team: ...

, canoeist * Todd Goldstein, AFL Player for the North Melbourne Kangaroos *

Todd Greenberg Todd Greenberg (born 2 July 1971) is an Australian rugby league administrator who was Chief Executive Officer of the NRL between March 2016 and April 2020. Background Greenberg was born in 1971 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is Jewi ...

, former

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

executive * Michael Klinger, cricketer *

Jemima Montag Jemima Montag (born 15 February 1998) is an Australian racewalker. She came sixth in the final of the Women's 20 km walk in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in a time of 1:30.39. Montag studies science at the University of Melbourne and works at a ...

racewalker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

, Commonwealth Games gold medallist * Jonathan Moss, former first-class cricketer for the Victoria cricket team (2000 - 2007). Played for Australia at the Maccabiah Games in Israel *

Phil Moss Phil Moss (born 5 October 1971) is an English-born Australian association football manager and former player who was most recently assistant coach of Sydney FC. Early life Moss was born in London, England to Jewish parents and arrived in Austr ...

, manager of the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League, and former soccer player in the National Soccer League * Steven Solomon, sprinter *

Lionel Van Praag Lionel Maurice Van Praag, GM (17 December 1908 – 15 May 1987) was an Australian motorcycle speedway champion, who won the inaugural Speedway World Championship in London on 10 September 1936. Van Praag's victory saw him established as Austra ...

, speedway champion *

Julien Wiener Julien Mark Wiener (born 1 May 1955) is a former Australian cricketer who played in six Test matches and seven One Day Internationals in 1979 and 1980. A right-handed opening batsman and a very occasional off spin bowler, until Michael Klinger ...

, cricketer *

David Zalcberg David Zalcberg ( altsb''er''g) (born 4 May 1981, Melbourne, Victoria) is a left-handed Australian former table tennis player. Table tennis career Zalcberg began playing table tennis at age of 12. He represented Australia at the 1997 Maccabia ...

, table tennis player

Other

Alex Fein Alex Fein is a community activist, writer and businesswoman, living in Melbourne, Australia. Since 2009, she has been a key player in Australian Jewish media. Her activism utilises multimedia tools, focusing on social justice, good epistemic pra ...

, activist and entrepreneur * Sir John Monash, distinguished

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. *

Richard Kingsland Sir Richard Kingsland, (19 October 1916 – 27 August 2012) was an Australian RAAF pilot known for being the youngest Australian group captain at age 29. He later became a senior public servant, heading the Departments of the Interior, Repatriat ...

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, former Secretary of the Departments of Interior, Repatriation, and Veterans' Affairs *

Ikey Solomon Isaac "Ikey" Solomon (1787? – 1850) was a British criminal who acted as a receiver of stolen property. His well-publicised crimes, escape from arrest, recapture and trial led to his transportation to the Australian penal colony of Van Diemen's ...

, convict transported to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. *

Sharri Markson Sharri Markson (born 1984) is an Australian journalist and author. She is investigations editor at ''The Australian'' and host of the Sky News Australia program ''Sharri'', which airs on Sunday evenings. She is the winner of numerous awards in j ...

, journalist *

Gregory Sher Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...

, Australian Soldier

References

{{Religion in Australia Jewish Australian history Jews and Judaism in Australia