Jewish Communal Appeal (JCA) is a prominent Jewish charitable organisation based in New South Wales. Founded in 1967, [1] the organisation raises communal funds for distribution among Jewish Day Schools, social service organisations, the NSW community security group, and other Jewish community bodies. [2] [3] [4] In some cases, local Jewish organisations, such as the Sydney Jewish Museum, did not immediately join the JCA funding network, and instead waited years before joining and receiving funding. [5]
In addition to supporting NSW organisations, the JCA also supports Jewish community institutions in the Australian Capital Territory. [6] T In total, the JCA provides funding for 24 local organisations. [7] And the JCA has sponsored community studies of Jews in New South Wales and Australia-wide. [8] [9] The JCA model of charitable distribution is credited as improving outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. [2]
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, represents the interests of the Australian Jewish community to government, politicians, media and other community groups and organisations through research, commentary and analysis. The organisation is directed by Colin Rubenstein, who was previously a political science lecturer at Monash University. AIJAC has office locations in Melbourne and Sydney. AIJAC is formally associated with the American Jewish Committee.
The history of Jews in Australia traces the history of Australian Jews from the British settlement of Australia commencing in 1788. Though Europeans had visited Australia before 1788, there is no evidence of any Jewish sailors among the crew. The first Jews known to have come to Australia came as convicts transported to Botany Bay in 1788 aboard the First Fleet that established the first European settlement on the continent, on the site of present-day Sydney.
The Jewish Colonisation Association, was an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural settlements on lands purchased by the committee in North America, South America and Ottoman Palestine. Today ICA is still active in Israel in supporting specific development projects under the name Jewish Charitable Association (ICA).
The Sydney Jewish Museum is a history museum located in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst. It showcases exhibits relating to the Holocaust and the history and achievements of Jewish people in Australia. The Museum displays personal objects of Holocaust survivors and other Jewish Australians and hosts presentations of their personal testimonies.
The Australian Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1938 in Sydney. The first president was Percy J. Marks. At the first business meeting of the Society, the then-president of the Royal Australian Historical Society K. R. Cramp expressed the view that the chief object of the Society should be the encouragement of individual research.
The Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, formerly Central British Fund for German Jewry, (CBF) which currently operates under the name World Jewish Relief (WJR), is a British charitable organisation and the main Jewish overseas aid organisation in the United Kingdom.
Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, are Jews who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. In the 2021 census there were 99,956 people who identified Judaism as their religious affiliation and 29,113 Australians who identified as Jewish by ancestry, an increase from 97,355 and 25,716, respectively, from the 2016 census. The actual number is almost certainly higher, because being a Jew is not just about being religious, but the census data is based on religious affiliation, so secular Jews often feel it would be inaccurate to answer with "Judaism". Also, since the question is optional, many practising Holocaust survivors and Haredi Jews are believed to prefer not to disclose their religion in the census. By comparison, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz estimated a Jewish-Australian population of 120,000–150,000, while other estimates based on the death rate in the community estimate the size of the community as 250,000, which would make them 1% of the population. Based on the census data, Jewish citizens make up about 0.4% of the Australian population. The Jewish community of Australia is composed mostly of Ashkenazi Jews, though there are Jews in Australia from many other traditions and levels of religious observance and participation in the Jewish community.
Create NSW is a government agency of the Government of New South Wales, that falls within the Enterprise, Investment and Trade cluster. The agency was created on 1 April 2017 from an amalgamation of Arts NSW (ANSW) and Screen NSW. Create NSW is responsible for administering government policies that support the arts, artists and the various cultural bodies within the state of New South Wales in Australia, and for the provision of funding. It also provides secretarial and administrative support to the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee, a high-level committee which works with the government to help shape policy and promote the arts throughout the state.
UJA-Federation of New York is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annually to fulfill a mission to “care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) is a peak body representing the Australian Jewish community, and the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia. It is the Australian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, the worldwide umbrella organisation of Jewish communities. It is also affiliated with the Commonwealth Jewish Council, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.
Livia Rothkirchen was a Czechoslovak-born Israeli historian and archivist. She was the author of several books about the Holocaust, including The Destruction of Slovak Jewry (1961), the first authoritative description of the deportation and murder of the Jews of Slovakia.
Moshe D. Gutnick is an Australian Orthodox rabbi, and a member of the ultra Orthodox Chabad Hasidic movement. Rabbi Gutnick is a senior member of the Beth Din in Sydney, Australia. Gutnick is currently President of the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand. Gutnick is the head of the NSW Kashrut Authority. He formerly served as the rabbi of the Bondi Mizrachi Synagogue in Sydney.
The sociology of Jewry involves the application of sociological theory and method to the study of the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. Sociologists are concerned with the social patterns within Jewish groups and communities; American Jewry, Israeli Jews and Jewish life in the diaspora. Sociological studies of the Jewish religion include religious membership, ritual and denominational patterns. Notable journals include Jewish Social Studies, The Jewish Journal of Sociology and Contemporary Jewry.
Steven Windmueller is an American scholar and Jewish communal professional. He is a professor emeritus at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, CA where he teaches courses on contemporary political issues and American Jewish affairs. He is a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and a board member of the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Suzanne Dorothy Rutland OAM is an Australian-Jewish historian. Rutland serves as Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney. She was previously Chair of the Department of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies, at Sydney University's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, serving in that position for 11 years. She specializes in the history of Australian Jews and religious education.
Antisemitism in Australia is the manifestation of hostility, violence, prejudice or discrimination against the Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group. This form of racism has affected Jews since Australia's Jewish community was established in the 18th century, becoming more pronounced in the late 19th century, rising further in the 20th and early 21st centuries. There are a number of organisations that track antisemitic activities, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, that publish an annual list of all reported antisemitic activities. According to the Anti-Defamation League's 2014 Global100 survey, an estimated 14% of Australians harbour antisemitic views. In 2025, this percentage rose to 20%. Antisemitism in Australia is perpetrated by a variety of groups, and it has manifested in attacks on Australian Jews and their religious and communal institutions, in antisemitic publications, and in efforts to prevent Jewish immigration. Recent surges, particularly after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, highlight its ongoing presence. Advocacy by Jewish organisations, legislative measures, and condemnation by political leaders illustrate efforts to combat these issues, yet antisemitism remains a persistent societal concern.
Janina "Nina" Bassat is a leader in the Victorian Jewish community. She served as president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) between 1996 and 1998. Then she was again president for three years before retiring again in 2014. She has also served as president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) between 1999 and 2001.
Courage to Care is an organization based in Australia founded by the Jewish service organization B'nai B'rith. The group's mission is to prevent discrimination and bullying through educational programs.
Moving Forward Together (MFT) is an Australian charitable organisation based in Sydney that promotes social harmony and the prevention of prejudice. The organisation was founded in 2005 and is led by Holocaust survivor Ernie Friedlander.
Israel Porush OBE (1907–1991) was an Australian rabbi and communal leader.