Record conference draws over 450 educators

More than 450 Jewish educators gathered at Mount Scopus Memorial College in Melbourne on August 16 and 17 for the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) Educators’ Conference, the largest of its kind outside Israel and North America and the biggest in the event’s two-decade history.

The conference brought together 25 international and 45 local presenters, delivering more than 100 sessions covering the practical, pedagogical and philosophical dimensions of Jewish education.

Sessions ranged from puppetry and play, Hebrew language teaching and techniques for teaching Jewish texts, to Jewish history, theology, educational leadership and how Israel education must evolve in the wake of October 7.

Participants included early childhood, primary and secondary school educators, alongside informal and experiential educators from across Australia.

ZFA chief executive officer Alon Cassuto said investing in Jewish educators had rarely been more important.