Communities sing as one from Sydney to Melbourne

Two years after his sold-out Australian shows, IDF chief cantor Shai Abramson returned to the country for a pair of concerts that brought Jewish communities together through music.

Presented by The Joint Australia (JDC), the We Sing as One concert drew around 1000 members of Sydney’s Jewish community to Central Synagogue last week for an evening of Jewish pride and fundraising for vulnerable Jewish communities in Israel and around the world.

Abramson was joined on stage by The Joint Australia national director Brett Kaye, Ben Adler and Chutney, Rabbi Yehuda Niasoff, Shimon Farkas, Dov Farkas, the Central Synagogue Choir and the Moriah Primary School Choir.

Israeli ambassador to Australia Dr Hillel Newman addressed the audience, reflecting on his own connection to The Joint during his service in Uzbekistan and the bonds connecting Australian Jewry, Israel and Jewish communities around the world.

The program took the audience on a musical journey through Jewish history and communities across the globe, blending traditional Jewish and Israeli music with contemporary favourites.

One of the most striking moments was a tribute to survivors of the December 14 Bondi attack and the resilience of Australia’s Jewish community, with a rendition of Waltzing Matilda. The Moriah Primary School Choir also joined Abramson on stage, bringing a new generation into a night that celebrated not only Jewish resilience but continuity.

Ahead of his return, Abramson told The AJN, “The Australian Jewish community has a uniquely warm and welcoming energy that stays with you long after the final note is played. For me, coming back feels less like just another concert and more like visiting family.”

He said the global landscape had shifted since his last visit, making the concerts all the more meaningful.

“When times are difficult, music serves as a powerful bridge, bringing people comfort and reminding us of our shared roots. Being here to perform at this moment is about much more than entertainment, it is about solidarity, unity, and showing our collective strength.”

The Joint Australia NSW executive director Michael Pollak told the Sydney audience that the principle behind the organisation’s work was simple. “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la’zeh. All Jews are responsible for one another. That’s more than a beautiful Jewish teaching. It’s not just The Joint’s slogan. It’s our business plan.”

Pollak shared his own family’s connection to JDC. In early 1948, his father arrived in Israel as a ten-month-old baby after the family escaped communist Romania with almost nothing. The Joint helped them begin again.

“None of us knows whose future we’re changing tonight,” he said. “But perhaps one day, another Jewish child will tell the story of how strangers on the other side of the world helped their family begin again.”

Kaye said the evening was about more than one night.

“It was about bringing The Joint’s global mission closer to the Australian Jewish community and showing what is possible when we come together with purpose,” he said. “Australian Jewry has been part of that story before, and we want every Australian Jew to understand that they are part of its next chapter as well.”

Days later, the spirit of We Sing as One continued south as St Kilda Shule presented the concert for Melbourne’s Jewish community.

The concert again featured Abramson alongside Kaye, Adler and the Chutney Band, and the St Kilda Shule choir.

Newman also addressed the Melbourne audience, wishing the community a happy Rosh Hashanah and reflecting on the role music has played throughout Jewish tradition.

“Music has always been the uplifting of the soul of the people of Israel. In times of sorrow, in times of joy. We use music to uplift ourselves. This evening is such a fantastic event, bringing together the secret formula of the soul of Israel. That secret formula is community, unity of the community, prayer, our traditions, and the State of Israel, all coming together in this wonderful evening.”

Rabbi Glasman from St Kilda Shule said the evening’s impact went beyond the music itself.

“The most powerful element of the concert was not necessarily the spectacular musical experience but rather the unparalleled unity, inspiration and sense of uplifting it gave to the entire community.”