The vast majority of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

(estimation 120,000) live 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 a population of about 7,000 in

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 ...

(6867, according to the 2013 NZ Census). Most are

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

, with many being survivors of

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

arriving during and after

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 ...

. More recently, a significant number of Jews have arrived from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The official number of people who practised

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

in the 2001 census was only 121,459 but this number is expected to be much higher, as it did not count those overseas (i.e. dual Australian-Israeli nationals) or many non-practicing Jews who prefer not to disclose religion in the census are more common. Ironically, ever since the arrival of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

in 1788, Australia's Jewish population has hovered around 0.5% of the total counted. The vast majority of Australia's Jews live in inner suburbs of

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 ...

and

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 ...

with smaller populations, in numerical order, in

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 ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Currently, there are also recognised communities in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Castlemaine Castlemaine may mean: * Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia ** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club ** Castlemaine railway station * Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland * Castlemaine Brewery, Western ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, Launceston and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. In Melbourne, the Jewish population centre is Caulfield where there are streets with nearly a 100% Jewish population; the main areas of settlement spread out from Caulfield in two arcs: south through St Kilda,

Elwood Elwood may refer to any one of the following:: Places ;In Australia *Elwood, Victoria ;In the United States of America *Elwood, Illinois *Elwood, Indiana *Elwood, Kansas * Elwood, Missouri *Elwood, Nebraska * Elwood-Magnolia, New Jersey *Elwood, N ...

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Elsternwick recorded a population of 10,887 at the 2021 ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Moorabbin Moorabbin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Moorabbin recorded a population of 6,287 at the . Most of the ea ...

and right down to Frankston; east through Toorak,

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

Balwyn Balwyn () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Balwyn recorded a population of 13,495 at the 2021 census. Whitehor ...

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. In Sydney the major areas of Jewish settlement are in the east and on the North Shore, in particular the suburbs of Bondi,

Dover Heights Dover Heights is a coastal, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dover Heights is 9 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. Its postcode is 2030 ...

, Rose Bay,

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.St Ives and

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

. In New Zealand, most Jews live in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

with smaller populations in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Dunedin synagogue has possibly the world's southernmost Jewish congregation. The following is a list of prominent Oceanian Jews, arranged by country of origin.

Australia

Academic figures

* Roy Clive Abraham, linguist *

Samuel Alexander Samuel Alexander (6 January 1859 – 13 September 1938) was an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college. Early life Alexander was born at 436 George Street, in what is now the comm ...

, philosopher *

Neal Ashkanasy Neal M. Ashkanasy (born 5 June 1945) is an Australian academic best known for his work on emotions in the workplace. He was honored for his "service to tertiary education, to psychology and to the community." He began his career as a civil eng ...

, psychologist and emotional intelligence academic *

Phillip Blashki Phillip Blashki (21 February 1837 – 21 October 1916) was a Polish immigrant to Australia who rose to be a successful businessman, magistrate, JP, holder of many positions of public responsibility and associated with numerous community and char ...

, successful businessman, magistrate, JP * Bernard Boas, marriage guidance counsellor, broadcaster, author of biblical treatises *

Ron Castan Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, barrister and rights advocate *

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 ...

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

(1977–1982), lawyer, university lecturer (including past appointments as Provost,

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

) *

Linda Dessau Linda Marion Dessau (born 8 May 1953) is an Australian jurist, barrister, and the 29th and current governor of Victoria since 1 July 2015. She is the first female and the first Jewish holder of the office. She was a judge of the Family Court ...

, current Governor of Victoria, and former Family Court Judge *

Marcus Einfeld Marcus Richard Einfeld (born 22 September 1938) is a former Australian judge who served on the Federal Court of Australia and was the inaugural president of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. In retirement, he served two years i ...

, former Federal Court judge *

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 *Sir

Otto Frankel Sir Otto Herzberg Frankel FRS FAA FRSNZ (4 November 1900, Vienna – 21 November 1998, Canberra) was an Austrian-born Australian geneticist.Bryan Gaensler Bryan Malcolm Gaensler (born 1973) is an Australian astronomer based at the University of Toronto. He studies magnetars, supernova remnants, and magnetic fields. In 2014, he was appointed as Director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astro ...

, astronomer and former

Young Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

Fred Hilmer Frederick George Hilmer AO (born 2 February 1945) is an Australian academic and business figure. He was the president and eighth vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales, an appointment he held from June 2006 till January 2015. He h ...

, academic, lawyer and businessman *

David Isaacs David Isaacs may refer to: * David Isaacs (singer) (1946–2009), Jamaican reggae singer * David Isaacs (writer), American TV screenwriter and producer * David Isaacs (UFC Cofounder) David Isaacs is a media and technology entrepreneur and TV/liv ...

, architect and structural engineer, musician and composer * Phillip Isaacs, architect and structural engineer *

Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Jacob ...

, historian and folklorist *Justice Stephen Kaye, judge of the Court of Appeal *

William Kaye William Kaye (February 13, 1813 – November 19, 1890) was the fifteenth Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from April 4, 1863, to April 1, 1865. Early life William Kaye was born on February 9, 1813, in Fornley, Tyas Moor, Yorkshire, England. ...

, judge of the Supreme Court 1972–1991 *

Kurt Mahler Kurt Mahler FRS (26 July 1903, Krefeld, Germany – 25 February 1988, Canberra, Australia) was a German mathematician who worked in the fields of transcendental number theory, diophantine approximation, ''p''-adic analysis, and the geometry of ...

, mathematician *

Robert Manne Robert Michael Manne (born 31 October 1947) is an Emeritus Professor of politics and Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a leading Australian public intellectual. Background Robert Manne was born in Melbo ...

, academic and social critic *Sir

Matthew Nathan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queen ...

, British soldier and judge, Governor of Queensland 1920–1925, after also serving as Governor of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, Gold Coast (region), Gold Coast,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

; the Brisbane suburbs of

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

and Nathan Heights are named after him, as is Nathan Street, in the Canberra suburb of Deakin *

Bernhard Neumann Bernhard Hermann Neumann (15 October 1909 – 21 October 2002) was a German-born British-Australian mathematician, who was a leader in the study of group theory. Early life and education After gaining a D.Phil. from Friedrich-Wilhelms Universit ...

, mathematician *

Gustav Nossal Sir Gustav Victor Joseph Nossal (born 4 June 1931) is an Austrian-born Australian research biologist. He is famous for his contributions to the fields of antibody formation and immunological tolerance. Early life and education Nossal's family ...

, immunologist (Jewish father) * Robert Richter, barrister and human rights advocate *

Hilary L. Rubinstein Hilary L. Rubinstein (born 1946) is an Australian historian and author. She researches and writes on British naval history and modern Jewish history. Biography She graduated with a BA(Hons) in economics, history and politics at Keele Universi ...

, historian *

William D. Rubinstein William D. Rubinstein (born 12 August 1946) is a historian and author. His best-known work, ''Men of Property: The Very Wealthy in Britain Since the Industrial Revolution'', charts the rise of the ' super rich', a class he sees as expanding ex ...

, historian * Suzanne Rutland, historian *

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 *

Adrienne Stone Adrienne Stone is an Australian legal academic specialising in the areas of constitutional law and constitutional theory, with particular expertise in freedom of expression. Academic career As of 2020, Stone is a Redmond Barry Distinguished Pro ...

, law professor *

Julius Stone Julius Stone (7 July 1907 – 1985) was Challis Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law at the University of Sydney from 1942 to 1972, and thereafter a visiting Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales and concurrently Dist ...

, distinguished legal theorist, professor of jurisprudence and international law *

James Wolfensohn Sir James David Wolfensohn (1 December 193325 November 2020) was an Australian-American lawyer, investment banker, and economist who served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group (1995–2005). During his tenure at the World Bank, he is ...

, World Bank president *Sir Albert Wolff, Chief Justice of Western Australia *

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 language revivalist

Business figures

* Sir

Peter Abeles Sir Peter Emil Herbert Abeles, AC (25 April 192425 June 1999) was an Australian transportation magnate. A refugee from Hungary, he became a businessman in Australia, and was knighted in 1972. Career Abeles was born in Vienna, in Austria, but ...

, former chairman of

Ansett Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into adminis ...

Rodney Adler Rodney Stephen Adler (born 19 August 1959) is an Australian whose family founded the FAI Insurances group, of which he became chief executive in 1989, and which was at one stage Australia's third largest general insurer. Adler became a director of ...

, CEO of

HIH Insurance HIH Insurance was Australia's second-largest insurance company before it was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators est ...

, convicted criminal *

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

, fashion designer * Albert Bensimon,

jeweller and businessman *

Harold Boas Harold Boas OBE (27 September 1883 – 17 September 1980) was a town planner and architect in Western Australia. Boas designed many public buildings in and around Perth and was an influential Jewish community leader. He served as an elected m ...

, architect, Perth councillor, Jewish community worker *

Albert Dadon Albert Dadon AM (born 1957) is an Australian businessman, philanthropist and musician. He was born in Morocco and grew up in Israel and France before immigrating to Melbourne, Australia in 1983. He is prominent in promoting cultural and business ...

, businessman *

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 ...

and

Marc Besen Marcus Besen (19 December 1923 – 8 November 2023) was a Romanian-born Australian businessman, philanthropist, and Holocaust survivor. He was the managing director of fashion retailer Sussan from 1951 to 1980, and he was involved in various ...

, founder/owners of

Chadstone Shopping Centre Chadstone Shopping Centre (colloquially known as Chaddy) is a super regional shopping centre located in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Malvern East. Chadstone Shopping Centre is the biggest shopping centre in Australia and one of the bi ...

and

Sussan Sussan is an Australian women's fashion retailer, owned and operated by the Sussan Group (ARJ Holdings), who also own and operate Sportsgirl and Suzanne Grae. History The first Sussan store opened on Little Collins Street, Melbourne selling lin ...

fashion chain *

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 ...

, public figure and businessman, philanthropist *

Joseph Gutnick Joseph Isaac "Diamond Joe" Gutnick (born June 1952; he, יוסף יצחק הכהן גוטניק) is an Australian businessman, mining industry entrepreneur and the former president of the Melbourne Football Club(1996-2001). He is also an ordain ...

, mining magnate and ex-President of Melbourne F.C. *

Poppy King Poppy Cybele King (born 23 May 1972) is an Australian entrepreneur. She is best known for her company Poppy Industries and the range of cosmetics available at Poppy Stores in Australia, during the 1990s. Early life King was born to a A ...

, cosmetician *

Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovakian-Hungarian origins and the former long-time Chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre comp ...

, co-founder of the

Westfield Group Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...

, philanthropist *

Sidney Myer Sidney Myer (born Simcha Myer Baevski (); 8 February 18785 September 1934) was a Russian-born Jewish-Australian businessman and philanthropist, best known for founding Myer, Australia's largest chain of department stores. Early life Myer was ...

, founder of

Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...

department store and philanthropist *

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

and Richard Pratt, founder/owners of

Visy Industries Visy Industries (known as Pratt Industries USA in the US) is an Australian-American company was established in Melbourne in 1948 and is a privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. Visy was owned by Richard Pratt until his death i ...

Rene Rivkin Rene Walter Rivkin (6 June 1944 – 1 May 2005) was a Chinese-born Australian entrepreneur, investor, investment adviser, and stockbroker. He was convicted of insider trading in 2003 and sentenced to nine months of periodic detention. Early li ...

, stockbroker and convicted insider trader *

Helena Rubenstein Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporate ...

, cosmetician (business started in Melbourne), philanthropist, art collector * Sheree Rubinstein, entrepreneur *

Abe Saffron Abraham Gilbert Saffron (6 October 1919 – 15 September 2006) was an Australian hotelier, nightclub owner and property developer who was one of the major figures in organised crime in Australia in the latter half of the 20th century. For sev ...

, nightclub owner, underworld figure * Joe Saragossi, founder of G.James Glass & Aluminium, glass and window manufacturer * John Saunders, co-founder of the

Harry Seidler Harry Seidler (25 June 19239 March 2006) was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauh ...

, architect *

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 ...

, men's fashion label founder * Smorgon family, founder/owners of

Smorgon Steel Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing company. It was the last remaining part of Smorgon Consolidated Industries, founded in 1958 by Victor Smorgon, member of the Smorgon family. In 1997, Smorgon purchased structural materials Weld ...

and other businesses *

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". ...

, property developer founder of

Meriton Meriton is an Australian property developer and construction company founded by Harry Triguboff AO, its managing director, in 1963. Meriton sells apartments and also operates serviced apartments accommodation under its Meriton Suites brand i ...

Cultural figures

Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion. Biography Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...

, musician *

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

, Scottish-born musician, born to a Jewish mother but raised Christian *

Eric Baume Eric Ehrenfried Baume OBE (29 May 190024 April 1967) was a New Zealand-born Australian based journalist, novelist, radio presenter, actor and television talk show host. Early life Eric Baume was born Frederick Ehrenfried Baume in Auckland, New ...

, broadcaster/journalist *

Arthur Benjamin Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of '' Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the ''Storm Clouds Cantata'', f ...

, composer * Danny Ben-Moshe, writer *

Rachel Berger Rachel Berger is an Australian comedian, actress, and writer. Berger was born in Israel to Polish Jewish parents and emigrated to Melbourne at the age of five.Wilmoth, Peter, "Sticking to the script", The Weekly Review, 2 June 2010, She is a ...

, comedian *

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 *

Lily Brett Lily Brett (born Lilijahne Brajtsztajn 5 September 1946, Feldafing displaced persons camp, Bavaria, Germany) is an Australian novelist, essayist and poet. She lived in North Carlton and then Elwood/Caulfield (suburbs of Melbourne) from 1948 to ...

, writer * Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer *

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 *

Judy Cassab Judy Cassab (15 August 19203 November 2015), born Judit Kaszab, was an Australian painter. Early years Judy Cassab was born in Vienna, on 15 August 1920 to Jewish Hungarian parents. She began painting at twelve years old and began studying at ...

, painter *

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard". Conw ...

, singer-songwriter *

Ed Doolan Edwin Myer Doolan MBE (20 July 1941 – 16 January 2018) was an Australian born naturalised British radio presenter who was a veteran of Birmingham's first commercial radio station BRMB, and subsequently the BBC. At the BBC he presented a week ...

, Australian-born British broadcaster *

George Dreyfus George Dreyfus AM (born 22 July 1928) is an Australian contemporary classical, film and television composer. Early life and orchestral career Dreyfus was born to a Jewish family in Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany. He was the younger of two sons ...

, composer *

Jon Faine Jonathan Eric Faine (born 21 September 1956) is an Australian former radio presenter who hosted the morning program on ABC Radio Melbourne in Melbourne. Faine is recognised as a prominent and influential member of the Australian Jewish communi ...

, radio presenter *

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 ...

, community activist, writer, and businesswoman *

Jack Feldstein Jack Feldstein is an Australian animator and screenwriter based in New York. He is known for his style called "neonizing" of a combination of live-action video recording and public domain material, including cartoons that utilizes software to ...

, scriptwriter/neon animator *

FourPlay Electric String Quartet FourPlay String Quartet is a string quartet from Sydney, Australia, formed in 1995 and renowned for playing music not typically associated with the format. FourPlay's members include brothers Tim Hollo (violin and viola) and Peter Hollo (cell ...

(3/4 Jewish) * Louise Fox, television writer-producer *

Isla Fisher Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress and author. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age six where she began appearing in television commercials. Fisher came to prominence for her portrayal ...

, Omani-born actress *

Tim Freedman Timothy James Freedman (25 November 1964) is an Australian musician, best known as the mainstay lead singer and keyboardist of the Australian band The Whitlams formed in 1993. Note: n-lineversion was expanded from the 2002 edition. The song ...

, musician *

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 ...

, former child actress *

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's Worl ...

, soul singer * Henry Gilbert, actor * Alan Gold, author * Libby Gorr, comedian *

Yoram Gross Yoram Jerzy Gross (18 October 192621 September 2015) was a Polish-born, Australian producer of children's and family entertainment. He was known for his adaptation of children's characters from books and films, and best known for the produc ...

, producer *

Osher Günsberg Osher Günsberg (born Andrew Jonas Günsberg), recognised by his former stage name Andrew G, is a British-Australian television and radio presenter and journalist. He is the host of the reality TV series '' The Bachelor Australia'', ''The Bachel ...

, television/radio presenter and journalist * Alexander Gutman (aka

Austen Tayshus Austen Tayshus (born 17 March 1954) is the stage name of American-born Jewish Australian comedian Alexander Jacob Gutman (commonly called Sandy Gutman). He is best known for the 1983 comedy single "Australiana", a spoken word piece which is fi ...

), comedian *

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 *

Elena Kats-Chernin Elena Davidovna Kats-Chernin (born 4 November 1957) is a Soviet-born Australian pianist and composer, best known for her ballet ''Wild Swans''. Early life and career Elena Kats-Chernin was born in Tashkent (now the capital of independent Uzbek ...

, composer *

Danny Katz Danny Katz (born 1963) is a Canadian-born, Jewish Australian columnist and author who writes for ''The Age'' and the '' Sydney Morning Herald''. His column was syndicated in ''The West Australian'' until its unexplained removal in 2016. He is the ...

, writer/comedian *

Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...

, songwriter *

Barrie Kosky Barrie KoskyBarrie Kosky's name is sometimes misspelled as Barry Kosky, Barrie Koski, Barrie Koskie. (born 18 February 1967) is an Australian theatre and opera director.Kosky also plays the piano, as he did in his production of Monteverdi's ''Po ...

, creative director *

Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...

, singer-songwriter *

Jack Levi Elliot Goblet is a comedy character created by the Australian comedian Jack Levi. The character is known for the deadpan delivery of one-line jokes. The style compares with the American comedian Steven Wright but developed independently. At first ...

(aka

Elliot Goblet Elliot Goblet is a comedy character created by the Australian comedian Jack Levi. The character is known for the deadpan delivery of one-line jokes. The style compares with the American comedian Steven Wright but developed independently. At first ...

), comedian * Lior Attar (aka

Lior Lior Attar, better known simply as Lior, is an independent Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne. He is best known for his 2005 debut studio album ''Autumn Flow'' and for the song "Hoot's Lullaby". Early life and education Lior was bo ...

), Israeli-born singer-songwriter *

Sam Lipski Samuel Lipski (born 1938) is an Australian journalist. He has been editor-in-chief of the ''Australian Jewish News'' and has worked as a reporter and columnist for ''The Age'', ''The Australian'', '' The Bulletin'' and ''The Sydney Morning Her ...

, newspaper writer and editor, radio and TV broadcaster and commentator, CEO of the philanthropic

Pratt Foundation The Pratt Foundation is an Australian philanthropic organisation based in Melbourne and established in 1978 by Jeanne and Richard Pratt. According to its Values Statement, it has "the shared vision of supporting charitable enterprises and adding ...

* Tziporah Malkah, actress, model *

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 (Jewish mother) *

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 ...

, actress * Bill Meyer, artist *

Margaret Michaelis-Sachs Margaret (Margarethe) Michaelis-Sachs (née Gross, 1902 – 1985) was an Austrian-Australian photographer of Polish-Jewish origin. In addition to her many portraits, her scenes of the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona and other places and her imag ...

, photographer *

Isaac Nathan Isaac Nathan (15 January 1864) was an English composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist, who has been called the "father of Australian music". Early success Isaac Nathan was born around 1791 in the English city of Canterbury to a '' ...

, Australia's first composer *

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...

, photographer *

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

, singer-songwriter, actress *

Eva Orner Eva Orner is an Australian Academy Award, Academy and Emmy Award-winning film producer and director based in Los Angeles. Her works include ''Untold Desires'' (winner of Best Documentary at the Australian Film Institute Awards, the Logie Awa ...

, film-maker * Elliot Perlman, writer * Linda Phillips, composer *

Bram Presser Bram Presser (born 1976) is a Melbourne personality, known for his involvement in the Melbourne music scene and Jewish community. He fronted the Jewish punk rock prankster band Yidcore and was the singing voice for Mick Molloy in the 2006 Australi ...

, author and singer for Yidcore *

Ohad Rein Old Man River is the stage name of Australian-Israeli singer-songwriter Ohad Rein ( he, אוהד ריין, , born 18 April 1979), which is also the name of his band. At the APRA Awards of 2009, "Sunshine", co-written by Old Man River, won the B ...

, musician *

Lara Sacher Serena Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Lara Sacher. She made her first on-screen appearance on 9 October 2003. Serena's storylines included kissing her cousin's boyfriend, being taken advant ...

, actress *

John Safran , citizenship = , education = , occupation = DocumentarianJournalistRadio presenterAuthor , years_active = 1997 – present , known_for = ''John Safran's Music Jamboree'' ''John Safran vs God'' ''Race ...

, comedian/documentarian * Hermann Schildberger, choir leader, organist (secular and in synagogues) *

Michael Schildberger Michael Julius Schildberger (4 April 1938 – 2 June 2010) was an Australian journalist, radio and television presenter, and author. He is best known for hosting ''A Current Affair'' in the 1970s. Career Schildberger began his media career in 1 ...

, radio and TV broadcaster and commentator *

Athol Shmith Louis Athol Shmith (19 August 1914 – 21 October 1990) was an Australian studio portrait and fashion photographer and photography educator in his home city of Melbourne, Australia. He contributed to the promotion of international photograph ...

, photographer *

Michael Shmith Michael Shmith (born 7 July 1949) is an Australian journalist and writer. He was born on 7 July 1949, the son of Athol Shmith and his wife Patricia "Bambi" ''née'' Tuckwell (they later divorced). He worked at ''The Age'' in Melbourne from 1981 ...

, journalist and music critic *

Cate Shortland Cate Shortland (born 10 August 1968) is an Australian screenwriter, film director, television director, and television writer. She received international acclaim for her 2004 romantic drama film ''Somersault'', her 2012 historical drama film '' ...

, screenwriter and director (Convert) *

Larry Sitsky Lazar "Larry" Sitsky (born 10 September 1934) is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator and scholar. His long term legacy is still to be assessed, but through his work to date he has made a significant contribution to the Austra ...

, composer *

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 ...

, actor, singer-songwriter *

Nathan Spielvogel Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (10 May 1874 – 10 September 1956) was an Australian author of Jewish origin, whose work has been compared to that of Judah Waten. History Spielvogel was born in Ballarat, Victoria, a son of Neuman Frederik (c. 1830 ...

, writer, particularly about Jewish life in early Ballarat; lay communal leader of the Ballarat synagogue *

Yael Stone Jael or Yael ( he, יָעֵל ''Yāʿēl'') is the name of the heroine who delivered Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan in the Book of Judges of the Hebrew Bible. After Barak demurred at the behest of the prophetess Deborah, God turned ...

, actor *

Simon Tedeschi Simon Tedeschi (born 1 May 1981) is an Australian classical pianist and writer. Early life Tedeschi was born in Gosford to Mark Tedeschi QC, Senior Crown Prosecutor for New South Wales, and doctor Vivienne Tedeschi, the daughter of a Polis ...

, pianist * Harry van der Sluys (''aka''

Roy Rene Roy Rene (born Henry van der Sluys, 15 February 189122 November 1954) was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of the 20th century. ...

and Mo McCackie), music hall, theatrical and radio comedian *

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 ...

, composer *

Tal Wilkenfeld Tal Wilkenfeld (born 2 December 1986) is an Australian singer, songwriter, bassist, and guitarist. She has performed with artists including Jeff Beck, Prince, Incubus, Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock, and Mick Jagger. In 2008, Wilkenfeld was vote ...

, musician *

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 ...

, composer *

Yidcore Yidcore are an Australian Jewish punk rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1998. Known primarily for playing punk covers of Jewish and Israeli songs, the band started writing more of its own material in later albums. Logo and The band's lo ...

's members (

Bram Bram may refer to: People * Bram (given name) * Bram (surname) * Bram (wrestler) (born 1986), ring name of professional wrestler Thomas Raymond Latimer * Bram Tchaikovsky (born 1950), stage name of British musician Peter Bramall * Bram Stoker Iris ...

, Myki, Tim and Rory), Jewish punk band, from Melbourne, Australia *

Allan Zavod Allan Zavod (16 October 1945 – 29 November 2016) was an Australian pianist, composer, jazz musician and occasional conductor whose career was mainly in America. Zavod completed a music degree from the Melbourne Conservatorium, University ...

, musician

Political figures

National figures

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 ...

, Labor member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(2019–present) *

Moss Cass Moses Henry Cass (18 February 1927 – 26 February 2022) was an Australian doctor and politician who held ministerial office in the Whitlam Government. He served as Minister for Environment and Conservation (1972–1975), the Environment (197 ...

, former

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

cabinet minister * Barry Cohen, Labor government minister in the Federal Parliament (1983–1987) *

Michael Danby Michael David Danby (born 16 February 1955) is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 until 2019, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports, Victoria. Danby was b ...

, Labor member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

(1998–2019) *

Mark Dreyfus Mark Alfred Dreyfus (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. ...

QC, Attorney-General of Australia 2013–2013 Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives (2007–present) *

James Edelman James Joshua Edelman (born 9 January 1974) has been a justice of the High Court of Australia since 30 January 2017, and is a former justice of the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Western Australia. He is noted for his various ...

, High Court Justice *

Jason Falinski Jason George Falinski (born 24 August 1970) is a former Australian Liberal Party politician. He was first elected as the Member for Mackellar in the Australian House of Representatives at the 2016 Australian election and was re-elected at the 2 ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of the Australian House of Representatives (2016–present) *

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisio ...

member of the Australian House of Representatives (2010–present), Minister for Environment and Energy 2016–2018, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party 2018–present. * Stirling Griff,

Centre Alliance Centre Alliance, formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), is a centrist political party in Australia based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one representative in the Parliament, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Represent ...

, senator for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in the Upper House of Parliament (2016–present) * Sir

Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of A ...

, Governor General (1931–1936), prominent solicitor, member of Victorian colonial parliament, one of the drafters of the Australian constitution, member of first Australian parliament, Chief Justice of the High Court *

Julian Leeser Julian Martin Leeser (born 25 May 1976) is an Australian politician who served as Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has represented the Division of Berowra since the ...

member of the Australian House of Representatives (2016–present) *

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 ...

, Israeli Ambassador in Kensington, London, England (2015–2017) *

Nicola Roxon Nicola Louise Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the House Representatives representing the seat of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Australian Labor Party from the 1998 federal election until he ...

, Minister for Health and Ageing 2007–2011, Attorney-General of Australia 2011–2013 Labor member of the

(1998–2013) *

Elias Solomon Elias Solomon (2 September 1839 – 23 May 1909) was an Australian politician based in Fremantle. He was Mayor of Fremantle, MLA for South Fremantle, and the first Member for Fremantle in the Australian House of Representatives. Early life S ...

, former member of Federal Parliament *

Vaiben Louis Solomon Vaiben Louis Solomon (13 May 1853 – 20 October 1908) was the 21st Premier of South Australia and a member of the first Australian Commonwealth parliament. He was generally known by his full name (perhaps to distinguish him from his uncle, ...

, premier of South Australia and member of the House of Representatives for

Local body politicians

Maurice Ashkanasy Maurice Ashkanasy CMG (3 October 1901 – 2 April 1971) was an Australian barrister and Jewish community leader. Ashkanasy was born Moshe Ashckinasy at Mile End Old Town in London to Palestinian-born tailor's cutter Solomon Ashckinasy and An ...

, Vice-chairman of Victorian Bar Council and member of Australian Labor party *

Hajnal Ban Hajnal Ban (also known as Hajnal Black) is an Australian lawyer, author, and former conservative politician, who was convicted of charges that prevented her being elected to public office between 2012 and 2016. She was elected on 15 March 2008 ...

, politician, author *

Peter Baume Peter Erne Baume, AC (born 30 January 1935) is a retired Australian doctor and politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1974 to 1991, representing the Liberal Party. He served as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (1980–1982) an ...

, Liberal cabinet minister, chancellor of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

Joe Berinson Joseph Max Berinson (7 January 1932 – 2 June 2018) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the Australian House of Representatives and the Western Australian Legislative Council. He was Minister for t ...

, Member of Federal Parliament, Minister in Whitlam's third Cabinet, State Upper house member, State Labor cabinet minister and Attorney General of Western Australia *

Ian Cohen Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, Greens member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

(1995–2011) *

Philip Dalidakis Philip Dalidakis (born 25 February 1976) is a former Australian politician. He was a Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing Southern Metropolitan Region from 2014 until 2019. D ...

, Labor member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

, Governor of Victoria (from 2015) *

, human rights activist, former Federal Court judge and convicted perjurer * Sydney Einfeld, New South Wales Minister for Consumer Affairs (1976–1981) *

Vida Goldstein Vida Jane Mary Goldstein (pron. ) (13 April 186915 August 1949) was an Australian suffragist and social reformer. She was one of four female candidates at the 1903 federal election, the first at which women were eligible to stand. Goldstein wa ...

, suffragette *

Jennifer Huppert Jennifer Sue Huppert (born 13 October 1962) is an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, she was a solicitor before entering politics. On 3 February 2009, she was appointed to the Victorian Legislative Council as a Labor member for S ...

, Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council (2009–2010) *

Martin Indyk Martin Sean Indyk (born July 1, 1951) is an American diplomat and foreign relations analyst with expertise in the Middle East. He was a distinguished fellow in International Diplomacy and later executive vice president at the Brookings Institution ...

, United States ambassador to

(1995–1997 and 2000–2001) * Walter Jona, Victorian State Minister * Dr John Kaye, Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council * Sir

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 ...

, Public Servant,

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

pilot who rescued two senior British WWII leaders in Morocco in 1940 * Henry Ninio, Lord Mayor of Adelaide, co-founder of Progressive Judaism in Adelaide *

Martin Pakula Martin Philip Pakula (born 7 January 1969) is a former Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006: in the Legislative Council for Western Metropolitan Region from 2006 to 2010, and then in ...

, Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council,

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

2014-Since *

Leo Port Leo Weiser Port (7 September 192226 August 1978) was an Australian businessman, engineer, television personality, and Lord Mayor of Sydney from 1975 until his sudden death in 1978. Biography Leo Weiser Rapoport was born in Kraków, Poland i ...

, Lord Mayor of Sydney (1975–1978) * Julius Roe, Fair Work Australia Commissioner, former head of Australian Manufacturing Workers Union *

Eric Roozendaal Eric Michael Roozendaal (born 16 March 1962), a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, serving between 2004 and 2013. He is a former General Secretary of the Labor Party. Roozendaal was the Treasu ...

, NSW Labor cabinet minister (2008–2011) *

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 ...

, Liberal Member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

, World Bank president * Sir Albert Wolff, Chief Justice of Western Australia

Religious figures

* Rabbi Dr Joseph Abrahams, prominent Melbourne rabbi of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in 1911 did not take up the call as Chief Rabbi on account of ill health * Rabbi Dr 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, Senior Rabbi to the Australian Defence Force, Registrar of the Sydney

Beth Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

, author of OzTorah.com, and the leading spokesperson for Jews and Judaism in Australia from 1972 to 2005 * Rabbi Elias Blaubaum, rabbi at St Kilda Hebrew Congregation for 40 years, newspaper editor * Rabbi

Abraham Tobias Boas Abraham Tobias Boas (25 November 1842 – 20 February 1923) was a rabbi of a Hebrew congregation in Adelaide, South Australia. Biography Early life Abraham Tobias Boas was born at Amsterdam, the Netherlands, son of Tobias Eliesar Boas, rabbi, an ...

, rabbi in Adelaide for about 40 years * Rabbi Rudolph (''Rudie'') Brasch, senior reform rabbi in Sydney for over 30 years, a well-known author and broadcaster * Gen. Paul Cullen, founder of Emanuel Synagogue, Sydney, Army General * Rabbi Francis Cohen, prominent Sydney rabbi in the early 20th century * Rabbi Jacob Danglow, rabbi at St Kilda Hebrew Congregation 1905–1962, one of the most prominent rabbis in both the Jewish and the general communities * Rev Alexander Davis, over 30 years as minister of the York Street and Great synagogues * Rabbi

Pinchus Feldman Rabbi Pinchus Feldman OAM (born 1944) is the first Chabad shaliach ("emissary") of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in New South Wales, Australia. Biography Feldman is the son of Rabbi and Rebbetzin Menachem Mendel Feldman, the longtime r ...

, Rabbi of the Yeshiva Centre * Rabbi

David Freedman David Freedman (April 26, 1898 – December 8, 1936) (aged 38) was a Romanian-born American playwright and biographer who became known as the "King of the Gag-writers" in the early days of radio. Biography David Freedman was born in Botoşan ...

, rabbi in Perth for over 40 years * Rabbi

Harry Freedman Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as '' T ...

, rabbi in Sydney and translator for

Soncino Press Soncino Press is a Jewish publishing company based in the United Kingdom that has published a variety of books of Jewish interest, most notably English translations and commentaries to the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. The Soncino Hebrew Bible and Tal ...

*Rabbi David Freilich, rabbi in Perth 1988–2012 * Rabbi Ralph Genende, rabbi at Caulfield, and prominent in interfaith dialogue * Rabbi Lazarus Goldman, rabbi at Toorak Road synagogue, author and historian, died on the bimah in 1960 whilst conducting a

Kol Nidre Kol Nidre (also known as Kol Nidrey or Kol Nidrei; Aramaic: ''kāl niḏrē'') is a Hebrew and Aramaic declaration which is recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"). Strictly ...

service in Adelaide * Rabbi

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 ...

, director of many Chabad operations in Victoria * Rabbi J. L. Guerewitz, long serving rabbi at Carlton United synagogue * Rabbi

Chaim Gutnick Shneur Chaim (HaKohen) Gutnick (1921 – 25 October 2003) ( Heb.: שניאור-חיים הכהן גוטניק), was a prominent Orthodox Jewish Chabad rabbi in Australia. Early life Gutnick was born in Zolotonosha, Ukraine; soon afterwards his fa ...

, formerly rabbi of Elwood Synagogue for over forty years and life president 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 ...

* Rabbi

Mordechai Gutnick Rabbi Mordechai Zev Gutnick ( he, מרדכי זאב הכהן גוטניק) is a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Australia. Gutnick has served as a member of rabbinical courts in Melbourne and Sydney and various Australian rabbinical associat ...

, rabbi at Elwood and member of the Beth Din * Rabbi Sholom Gutnick, rabbi at Caulfield for about 40 years, and Av Beth Din * Rabbi

Philip Heilbrunn Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...

, Rabbi Emeritus and long-serving rabbi at St Kilda * Rabbi John Levi, first Australian-born rabbi, prominent Progressive rabbi, teacher and historianEliot Baskin, Werner Graff, Malcolm Turnbull, ''A Time to Keep:The story of Temple Beth Israel 1930 to 2005'', 2005, Hybrid Publishers, Melbourne. * Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky, rabbi at St Kilda for over 30 years * Joseph Marcus, a convict who trained as a rabbi and who is reputed to have conducted the first Jewish services in Sydney * Rabbi Jerome Mark, the first Progressive rabbi in Australia * Rev Joseph Myers, minister in Brisbane for 43 years * Mrs Ada Phillips, founder of Australia's first permanent Progressive congregation in Melbourne * Rabbi

Israel Porush Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, prominent and long-serving Sydney rabbi * Mr

Abraham Rabinovitch Abraham Isaac Rabinovitch (1889–1964) was an Australian-Russian property developer and well-respected pioneer of the Sydney Modern Orthodox Jewish community; in particular as a founder and philanthropist of Sydney's full-time Jewish educ ...

, philanthropist and founder of Sydney's main Orthodox Jewish educational institutions * Rev Moses Rintel, first minister of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, and later of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation * Rabbi Louis Rubin-Zacks, rabbi in Perth for 25 years * Rabbi Dr Herman Sanger, important Melbourne progressive rabbi, responsible for the spread of progressive Judaism to other parts of Australia * Rabbi Max Schenk, first Progressive rabbi in Sydney, early Zionist

Sports figures

* Ben Ashkenazi, cricketer (

Victorian Bushrangers The Victoria men’s cricket team is an Australian first-class men's cricket team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The men’s team, which first played in 1851, represents the state of Victoria in the Marsh Sheffield Shield first-class competi ...

) *

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 ...

, football (soccer) player

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

* Jordan Brown, Australia, midfielder (

) * David Emanuel, Australian rugby union player *

Gavin Fingleson Gavin Fingleson (born 5 August 1976) is a South African born-Australian switch-hitting former professional baseball player. Primarily a second baseman, he has also played designated hitter, third base, shortstop, and first base. Early life Fin ...

, South African-born Australian, Olympic

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

ist * Jessica Fox, French-born Australian, slalom canoeist, Olympic silver (K-1 slalom), world championships bronze (C-1) *

Peter Fuzes Peter Fuzes (born 14 May 1947) is an Australian former association soccer player. Fuzes played as a goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper, and represented the national Socceroos. Early life Fuzes is Jewish. He emigrated to Australia in 1957 from Hu ...

, soccer goalkeeper for Hakoah and Australia, Maccabi Hall of Fame 2003; played 1st grade 1964 till 1976; international career 1966–72, against Scotland 1967, Greece 1969, Israel 1969 and 1972; played against various European clubsides including AS ROMA 1966, Manchester United at the time of Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law *

Todd Goldstein Todd Goldstein (born 1 July 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goldstein is a ruckman who wears the number 22, and was drafted from the Oakleigh Charg ...

, AFL player for the

North Melbourne Kangaroos The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos al ...

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 CEO of the

National Rugby League 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 ...

Brent Harvey Brent Harvey (born 14 May 1978), often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches played ...

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

games record holder and

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

premiership player *

David Horwitz David Jason Horwitz (born 30 September 1994), commonly referred to as Dave, is an Australian rugby union player who plays as a Centre for Sydney rugby club Randwick. He formerly played for Irish rugby club Connacht and domestically New South Wal ...

, rugby union fly-half / centre,

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

Eban Hyams Eban Hyams has played professionally in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and that country's Waratah League, part of the second division Australian Basketball Association (ABA). He is the first ever player of Indian origin to pla ...

, India-Israel-Australia, Australian National Basketball League & Israeli

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

6' 5" guard, first-ever Indian national to play in

ULEB Union of European Leagues of Basketball (ULEB; french: Union des Ligues Européennes de Basket-Ball) is a sports organization within basketball created for growth of professional basketball in Europe.Tal Karp Tal Karp (born 30 December 1981) is an Australian women's former Olympic soccer player who represented Australia as a member of the Matildas (the Australian Women's Football Team) and captained Melbourne Victory in the Australian W-League. Afte ...

(born 1981), female Australian football (soccer) player *

Michael Klinger Michael Klinger (born 4 July 1980) is an Australian former first-class cricketer, who held the record for the most runs scored in the Big Bash League when he retired in 2019. Until the 2008–09 season, Klinger played for Victoria and for St ...

, cricketer; an ex-collegian at

Mount Scopus Memorial College , motto_translation = , location = 245 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Melbourne, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , pushpin_i ...

* Leonard "Jock" Livingston, cricketer * Jonathan Moss, former first-class cricketer for the

Victoria cricket team The Victoria men’s cricket team is an Australian first-class men's cricket team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The men’s team, which first played in 1851, represents the state of Victoria in the Marsh Sheffield Shield first-class competi ...

(2000–07); played for Australia at the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

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 Aust ...

, current manager of the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League; former soccer player in the National Soccer League * Jacob Muir, footballer, Perth Glory * Ray Phillips, cricketer, NSW and Queensland *

Myer Rosenblum Myer E. Rosenblum OAM (10 January 1907 – 18 April 2002) was an Australian sportsman and lawyer. He was born in South Africa to parents who had migrated from present-day Belarus. His family moved to Sydney, Australia in 1914, and he was educate ...

, rugby union player and solicitor, father of Rupert Rosenblum, who notably employed

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

as an articled clerk * Rupert Rosenblum, rugby union player and solicitor, son of Myer Rosenblum *

Albert Rosenfeld Albert Aaron Rosenfeld (28 July 1885 – 7 September 1970), also known by the nickname of "Rozzy", was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer, a national representative whose club career was played in Sydney and in England. He played f ...

, rugby league player *

Ian Rubin Ian Rubin (born 17 April 1973) is a former Russia national rugby league team, Russia international rugby league footballer who played as a forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He played the majority of his professional career in the National Rugby L ...

, Russian-born player for

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

* Geoff Selby, played for

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

, tragically died in car accident in 1989. *

Steven Solomon Steven Solomon (born 16 May 1993) is an Australian Olympic sprinter. He is a six-time defending Australian 400 metres champion. In 2011, he broke the 30-year-old national junior record in the 400m. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at t ...

, Olympic sprinter; Maccabiah Games medalist *

Jordan Swibel Jordan "Jordi" Swibel (born 13 April 1999) is an Australian professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Marconi Stallions FC, Marconi Stallions. Club career Youth career Swibel sta ...

, footballer, Western Sydney Wanderers *

Ian Synman Ian Morris Synman (born 28 September 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played as a centre half-back for the St Kilda Football Club, playing 153 games (0 goals) from 1958 to 1969 ...

, Australian Rules footballer with St Kilda 1958–69, notorious for playing in St Kilda's only Premiership (1966) on

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

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 ...

, Australian Olympic table tennis player; also an ex-collegian at Mount Scopus Memorial College

Other figures

Frances Barkman Frances Barkman (March 1885 - 28 September 1946) was a Jewish Australian schoolteacher and community worker. Born in Kiev, in the Russian Empire, she emigrated to Australia in 1891, with her parents, who were fleeing the pogroms. She was raise ...

, schoolteacher and charitable worker *

Dunera boys The Hay Internment and POW camps at Hay, New South Wales, Australia were established during World War II as prisoner-of-war and internment centres, due in no small measure to the isolated location of the town. Three high-security camps were constr ...

, group of mainly Jewish British detainees who were deported to Australia in horrific circumstances; many of them later becoming prominent Australian citizens * Esther Johnston, first fleet prisoner *

Solomon Levey Solomon Levey ( 1794 10 October 1833) was a convict transported to Australia in 1815 for theft who became a highly successful merchant and financier, at one time issuing his own banknotes in New South Wales. Solomon was a backer of the Swan River ...

, transported convict who later became a successful businessman * Sir

John Monash General Sir John Monash, (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became co ...

, World War I general, engineer, first chairman of Victoria's State Electricity Commission *

Lisa Jackson Pulver Lisa Rae Jackson Pulver (born 1959) is an Aboriginal Australian epidemiologist and researcher in the area of Aboriginal health who has been Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Sydney since October 2018. Early life and education Lisa ...

, first Indigenous Australian to serve as a Synagogue President *

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 ...

prisoner, the person on whom

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

based the character of

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

Fiji

* Alexander Schmerrill Bowman, businessman, early settler *Sir

Henry Marks Sir Henry Marks (5 February 1861 – 5 June 1938) was an Australian-born Fijian politician, serving as a member of the Legislative Council of Fiji for over twenty years. Alongside Robert Crompton, John Maynard Hedstrom and Henry Milne Scott, ...

, businessman, politician

French Polynesia

Queen Marau Johanna Marau Taʻaroa a Tepau Salmon (24 April 1860 – 2 February 1935) was the consort of King Pōmare V who ruled from 1877 to 1880 and was the last queen consort of the Kingdom of Tahiti. Her name means "Much-unique-cleansing-the-splash" i ...

Alexander Salmon Alexander Salmon (1820 – 6 August 1866) was an English merchant who was the first Jew to reside in Tahiti. He became secretary to Queen regnant, Queen Pōmare IV and married her adopted half-sister. Through his daughter's marriage to John Bra ...

Alexander Ariipaea Salmon Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Guam

Evan Montvel Cohen Evan Montvel Cohen (born 1966) is an American businessman living on the island of Guam. He was a founder and the first chairman of the liberal Air America Radio. Cohen has worked primarily in the broadcasting industry and in politics. Early life ...

, businessman * Edward D. Taussig, Governor of Guam (1899)

New Zealand

Business figures

* Sir

Woolf Fisher Sir Woolf Fisher (20 May 1912 – 12 January 1975) was a New Zealand businessman and philanthropist who along with Maurice Paykel co-founded Fisher & Paykel, a major appliance manufacturing company, and the Ra Ora Stud, an important Thoroughbre ...

, industrialistNew Zealand
Jewish Virtual Library. *

Bendix Hallenstein Bendix Hallenstein (c. 24 January 1835 – 6 January 1905) was a German-born Jewish merchant, statesman, and Manufacturing, manufacturer from Dunedin, New Zealand. He is best known for founding the retail clothing store Hallenstein Brothers, Hal ...

, clothing manufacturer and merchant, and MP * Michael Hirschfeld, businessman, activist and Labour Party president *

Maurice Joel Maurice Joel (1829 – 13 November 1907) was a prominent brewer and public figure in Dunedin, New Zealand. Joel was born in North Shields, in northern England, one of seven children of Prussian-born Trytle Joel and his wife Jane Grace Joel (née ...

, brewer and philanthropist (father of

Grace Joel Grace Jane Joel (28 May 1865–6 March 1924) was a New Zealand artist best known for her ability as a portraitist and figure painter. Early life Grace Joel was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 28 May 1865, the sixth of nine children. Her Englis ...

, qv) *

Nathaniel William Levin Nathaniel William Levin (4 May 1818 – 30 April 1903) was a merchant and politician in New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand Levin, born in 1818 in London, England, came to the new settlement of Wellington in 1841 and set himself up in business ...

, businessman, father of: **

William Levin William Hort (Willie) Levin (7 August 1845 – 15 September 1893) was a 19th-century merchant, philanthropist and politician who lived in Wellington, New Zealand. Levin & Co Levin was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of English-born par ...

, businessman, benefactor *

John Israel Montefiore John Israel Montefiore (1807 – 14 February 1898), also known as John Julius Montefiore, was one of the first Jewish settlers in New Zealand. He became a trader and merchant in the Far North District of the country, and was later active in b ...

, trader, merchant, later involved in civic affairs * David Nathan, retailer *

Joseph Nathan Joseph Edward Nathan (1835 – 2 May 1912) was a London-born New Zealand merchant, dairy manufacturer and exporter. A successful businessman he returned after 30 years in New Zealand to London in 1887. The business he founded has become Glaxo ...

, founder of

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

Sara Tetro Sara Tetro, JP, is a former New Zealand model, television host, actress, and entrepreneur. She owns the model casting agency 62 Models Management, and is the host of the TV3 NZ reality series ''New Zealand's Next Top Model''. Early life Tetr ...

, entrepreneur, television personality, and modelStone, A.,
New Zealand's Jewish achievers
" ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' 3 March 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2018.

Cultural figures

Esmond de Beer Esmond Samuel de Beer (15 September 1895 – 3 October 1990) was a New Zealand scholar, editor, collector, bibliophile and philanthropist. He was born in Dunedin, Otago, on 15 September 1895. De Beer was the grandson of Dunedin businessman Bendix ...

, historian, collector, philanthropist *

Gina Bellman Gina Bellman (born 1966) is a New Zealand-born British actress best known for her performances as grifter Sophie Devereaux on the 2008-12 TNT television series ''Leverage'' and in the revival '' Leverage: Redemption'' when the series moved to A ...

, actress *

Charles Brasch Charles Orwell Brasch (27 July 1909 – 20 May 1973) was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal ''Landfall'', and through his 20 years of editing the journal, had a significant im ...

, poet, literature patron *

Angela D'Audney Angela Louise D'Audney (née Cerdan, 26 August 1944 – 6 February 2002) was a New Zealand television news anchor and actress. She was the first woman to regularly anchor nationwide news bulletins on New Zealand television in 1973, and continued ...

, television anchor *

Benjamin Farjeon Benjamin Leopold Farjeon (12 May 1838 – 23 July 1903) was an English novelist, playwright, printer and journalist. As an author, he was known for his huge output. Life Farjeon was born in London to Dinah Levy and Jacob Farjeon, Orthodox Jews. ...

, writer * Willi Fels, philanthropist and collector * Deb Filler, writer, comic actor *

Marti Friedlander Martha Friedlander (; 19 February 1928 – 14 November 2016) was a British-New Zealand photographer. She emigrated to New Zealand in 1958, where she was known for photographing and documenting New Zealand's people, places and events, and was c ...

, photographer *

Richard Fuchs Richard Fuchs (; 26 April 1887 – 22 September 1947) was a German composer and architect, the older brother of German national team Olympic football player Gottfried Fuchs. Life Fuchs was in the German Army (German Empire), German Army, and wa ...

, composer and architect * Joseph Herscher, YouTube personality *

, artist *

Emma Lahana Emma Kate Lahana (born ) is a New Zealand actress. She is known for her roles as Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger, in ''Power Rangers Dino Thunder'', Jennifer Mason on '' Haven'', and Brigid O'Reilly in '' Cloak & Dagger''. Career Lahana play ...

, actress *

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (born March 28, 1941 as Jeffrey Lloyd Masson) is an American author. Masson is best known for his conclusions about Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis. In his ''The Assault on Truth'' (1984), Masson argues that Freud may ha ...

, author *

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...

, film director, writer, painter, comedian and actor

Political figures

National figures

Frederick Baume Frederick Ehrenfried Baume (13 June 1862 – 14 May 1910) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician of the Liberal Party. Biography Early life Baume was born "Friedrich Baume" in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1862. His parents were Joseph Baume and ...

, Member of Parliament * Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

(1925) (Jewish mother)Levine, S. (1999
New Zealand Jewish community''
Lanham, Md: Lexington Books (Google books), p. 22. * Sir Tom Eichelbaum, Chief Justice (1989–1999) * Sir

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...

(born 1961), Prime Minister (2008–2016) (Jewish mother) * Sir Michael Myers, chief justice (1929–1946) *

Frederick Pirani Frederick Pirani (3 December 1858 – 26 October 1926) was a New Zealand politician. He was Member of the House of Representatives for Palmerston from 1893 to 1902, first as a Liberal, then as an Independent. He was part of the Liberal Party's ...

, politician *

Samuel Shrimski Samuel Edward Shrimski (1828 – 25 June 1902) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament and then a Member of the Legislative Council from Otago, New Zealand. Early life He was born in Poznań, Prussia, where he received his initial education. He ...

, Member of Parliament * Sir

Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime min ...

, Prime Minister (1873–1875, 1876), newspaper founder, and science-fiction writer

Local body politicians

*Mayors ** Ashburton:

Hugo Friedlander Hugo Friedlander (born Friedländer, January 1850 – 1 October 1928) was a New Zealand businessman, local politician, and horse breeder from Ashburton. Friedlander was born in a Jewish family in Kolmar, in the Prussian Province of Pose ...

(1879–1881, 1890–1892, 1898–1901) ** Auckland:

Philip Philips Philip Aaron Philips (11 June 1831 – 3 June 1913) was a New Zealand politician who served as the first mayor of Auckland City. He held the office from 1871 to 1874 and immediately prior to that, he was chairman of the City Board. He was a memb ...

(Auckland's first mayor, 1871–1874),

Henry Isaacs Henry Isaacs (1831 – 2 August 1909, London) London-born, was a prominent Auckland, New Zealand general merchant from 1850 to 1875 principally through the firm known as E. and H. Isaacs. His elder brother Edward (1820—1891), who established ...

(1874), Sir

Arthur Myers Sir Arthur Mielziner Myers (19 May 1868 – 9 October 1926) was a New Zealand politician. He was Mayor of Auckland City from 1905 to 1909, Member of the House of Representatives from 1910 to 1921, and a Cabinet Minister. Today he is remembered ...

(1905–08), Sir

Ernest Davis Ernest Davis may refer to: * Ernie Davis (1939–1963), American football running back * Sir Ernest Davis (brewer) (1872–1962), New Zealand brewer and mayor of Auckland * Ernest Davis (professor), Professor of Computer Science at New York Univer ...

(1935–1941), Sir

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...

(1959–1965, 1968–1980), and

Colin Kay Colin Milton Kay (30 October 1926 – 5 June 2008) was a New Zealand sportsman and politician. He was the 34th Mayor of Auckland City, elected for one term serving from 1980 to 1983, and chairman of the Auckland Regional Council from 1986 to 1 ...

(1980–1983) ** Christchurch:

Charles Louisson Charles Melville Louisson (1840 – 19 April 1924), known as Charles Louisson or Chas Louisson, was a New Zealand politician. Born in London, and relocated to Australia as a teenager, he worked in farming and on the gold fields. He moved to Chri ...

(1888–1889, 1898–1899) ** Invercargill: Abraham Wachner (1942–1950),

Eve Poole Eve Poole (born Eva Auerbach; 29 December 1924 – 26 December 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as Mayor of Invercargill from 1983 until her death in 1992. She was the first woman and Jew to hold this position. Early life Poole w ...

(1983–1992)Temple Sinai
, NZ Jewish archives. ** Palmerston North:

Solomon Abrahams Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succes ...

(1887–1889) ** Wellington: Ian Lawrence (1986–1989),

Mark Blumsky Mark Herbert Blumsky (born 29 August 1957) is a former New Zealand politician and diplomat. He was Mayor of Wellington from 1995 to 2001, and a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2005 to 2008. Blumsky was New Zealand's High Comm ...

(1995–2001) *Other ** Dame

Barbara Goodman Dame Pearl Barbara Goodman (née Robinson, 5 October 1932 – 21 June 2013) was an Auckland, New Zealand politician. Early life and family Born in Auckland on 5 October 1932, Goodman was educated at St Cuthbert's College. She married Harold G ...

, Auckland local body politician **

Saul Goldsmith Abraham Saul Goldsmith (17 February 1911 – 4 November 1988) was an importer and merchant from Wellington, New Zealand. He was a foundation member of the National Party and was active at a local level. Goldsmith was also a noted chess player. ...

, merchant and local body politician

Religious figures

* Rabbi

Herman van Staveren Herman van Staveren (26 January 1849 – 24 January 1930) was a notable Dutch-born New Zealand rabbi and philanthropist. He was born in Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Frie ...

(1849–1930), rabbi of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation and senior NZ rabbi, 1877–1930 * Rabbi Samuel Goldstein (1852–1935), rabbi of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation for 54 years, 1880–1934 * Rabbi Alexander Astor (1900–1988), rabbi of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation, 1934–71

Sports figures

* Jo Aleh (born 1986), sailor, national champion, world champion, and Olympic champion * Nathan Cohen, Olympic champion and world champion rower *

Josh Kronfeld Joshua Adrian Kronfeld (born 20 June 1971) is a TV presenter and a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand at international level and Otago, the Highlanders and Leicester at first-class level. During his international career, K ...

, rugby player

Other figures

Lev Aptekar Lev Isaakovich Aptekar (born 26 November 1936 in Kyiv, USSR) is a Soviet–New Zealand - Australian chess master, coach and writer. Career He finished 15th in the Kiev championship of 1963. In the mid-1970s, he left the Soviet Union for New Zea ...

, chess master * Sir Louis Barnett, surgeon *

Ethel Benjamin Ethel Rebecca Benjamin (19 January 1875 – 14 October 1943) was New Zealand's first female lawyer. On 17 September 1897, she became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court, representing a client for the recovery of a ...

, first woman lawyer in the British Empire *

Solomon Faine Solomon Faine (17 August 1926 – 4 February 2021) was a New Zealand-born microbiologist known for his research on leptospirosis. With Dr. Leopold Kirschner, Faine made early epidemiologic descriptions of leptospirosis as an occupational disea ...

, microbiologist *

Erich Geiringer Erich Geiringer (31 January 1917 – 24 August 1995) was a New Zealand writer, publisher, broadcaster, Fulbright scholar 1953, a leading member of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), and the founder of the New Zeal ...

, lecturer and political/social campaigner * Sir

Peter Gluckman Sir Peter David Gluckman (born 8 February 1949) is a New Zealand scientist. Originally trained as a paediatrician, he served as the inaugural Chief Science Advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018. He is a founding member a ...

, science adviser * Wally Hirsch, former

Race Relations Conciliator The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet. Legislation and funct ...

Pei Te Hurinui Jones Pei Te Hurinui Jones (9 September 1898 – 7 May 1976) was a Māori people, Māori political leader, writer, genealogist, and historian. He identified with the Ngāti Maniapoto iwi. As a leader of the Tainui confederation of iwi and of the ...

, Ngati Maniapoto leader and scholar (Jewish father) *

Leopold Kirschner Leopold Kirschner (born 12 May 1889, died 23 November 1970) was an Austro-Hungarian, Dutch, and New Zealand bacteriologist specializing in leptospirosis. He is known for his work on the survival of ''Leptospira'' spp in the environment, research on ...

, microbiologist *

Joel Samuel Polack Joel Samuel Polack (28 March 1807 – 17 April 1882) was an English-born New Zealand and American businessman and writer. He was one of the first Jewish settlers in New Zealand, arriving in 1831. He is regarded as an authority on pre-colonial New ...

, pioneer settler, authorNZ Jewish Archive
/ref> *

Phineas Selig Phineas Selig (1856–1941) was a New Zealand journalist, newspaper editor and manager, sports administrator. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country co ...

, journalist, newspaper editor, president of the Christchurch Jewish congregation *

Mark Woolf Silverstone Mark Woolf Silverstone (born Marks; December 1880 – 7 September 1951) was a notable Polish-born New Zealand cabinet-maker, socialist, local politician and financier, who co-founded the New Zealand Alliance of Labour. He was born in Pułtus ...

, socialist, local body politician, financier

Palau

* Stuart Beck, diplomat

Samoa

Taito Phillip Field Taito Phillip Hans Field (26 September 1952 – 23 September 2021) was a Samoan-born New Zealand trade unionist and politician. A Member of Parliament (MP) for South Auckland electorates from 1993 to 2008, Field was the first New Zealand MP of ...

, New Zealand politician born in Samoa

References

External links

''Jews in New Zealand'' in ''Te Ara'' online encyclopaedia''Jews in New Zealand'' in 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oceanian Jews Lists of Jews * * Jews,Oceanian

Australia

Academic figures

Business figures

Cultural figures

Political figures

National figures

Local body politicians

Religious figures

Sports figures

Other figures

Fiji

French Polynesia

Guam

New Zealand

Business figures

Cultural figures

Political figures

National figures

Local body politicians

Religious figures

Sports figures

Other figures

Palau

Samoa

See also

References

External links