Shaping the future of Jewish Australia together

Jewish community” are two words that we use often, almost casually. Yet behind them lies a question that matters: in Australia, are we a Jewish community in name only, or a living, breathing network of shared purpose?

Jewish community has long been a topic of interest for some of our greatest thinkers. From Hillel to Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, our sages have noted that Jewish people exist as individuals, but also as members of a community.

In a world of heightened antisemitism, of ubiquitous social media commentary, of protest and grievance, it is timely to ask what binds us as individuals to our community? And what do we – as community leaders – need to do to continue to nurture a strong and vibrant Jewish community?

Nina Bassat, one of our longest serving community leaders and a Holocaust survivor, notes we are all bound together as Am Yisrael. Regardless of our political inclinations, level of religious observance, or migration story, we all share a connection as members of Am Yisrael.

While this is a useful shorthand tool to help us define our community, we also know there are key attitudes that much of the Australian Jewish community shares: