The Great Synagogue in Sydney might be the best-looking shul in Australasia. Incorporating magnificent Gothic and Byzantine elements, the building is one of the finest 19th century constructions in the city’s central business district. However it is more than just a fine-looking shul; the Great Synagogue in Sydney is also a vibrant Jewish congregation in the heart of Australia’s most populous city. There has been a Jewish presence in Australia ever since Britain first started shipping its convicts to …More

Jewish history in many countries is a story of survival. But in Australia, which has a higher proportion of Holocaust survivors than any country in the Diaspora, the Jewish story is in large part one of survivors. And the Sydney Jewish Museum—which focuses on the Holocaust and Australian Jewish history—honors this heritage. Although Australia is half a world away from the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Treblinka, and the other sites of the Shoah, the Holocaust shaped Australian Jewish history. …More

Sydney's Jewish and Muslim communities are set to share burial space. [Haaretz] Christian churches back Jews facing anti-Semitism in Hungary. [Yahoo] A swastika was found painted on a New Zealand Jewish center. [Times of Israel] Venezuela's "anti-Semitic leader" admits Jewish ancestry. [Times of Israel] Britain's Lord Ahmed resigns over "Jewish conspiracy" controversy. [Algemeiner] Jewish groups honor US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice. [Arutz Sheva] A look at the new English translation of the Samaritan …More

The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost friends and relatives. As Jacky Gibbs and Peter Keeda enjoyed lunch together at a restaurant in downtown Sydney, they remained struck by the serendipity that had reunited them. Until March, the two cousins had not seen each other in decades -- if they’d ever met at all, a point about which they are unsure. Gibbs, 59, lives in Koolewong, a town just 40 miles north of Keeda’s Sydney apartment, but until a few months ago she …More

Orthodox Jews have appealed to a court in Sydney to overturn a decision to deny them an Eruv. Plans for a symbolic religious enclosure have been underway for more than five years on Sydney's north shore, but last year the local council voted against allowing the construction to go forward. The New South Wales Land and Environment Court is this week considering the case after the organizing committee of the Northern Eruv appealed the decision. A heated debate has raged among locals in Sydney's north shore with …More

A Sydney rabbi sounded the shofar in a major cathedral in the Australian city to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, senior rabbi of the Great Synagogue, blew the shofar in St. Mary’s Cathedral Sunday as part of the anniversary commemorations for the victims of 9/11, including the 10 Australians who were killed on the fateful day. Lawrence was preceded by an Aboriginal elder who opened the emotional ceremony, in the presence of the New South Wales governor and premier, with …More