Jewish History
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November 24, 2023, 7:27 am
Who are the Indigenous People of Palestine?
Over the following centuries, small communities of Jews always remained in the land of Israel, and those in exile prayed every day to return. Sovereignty was never ceded.
By Mordechai Smith
A pro-Palestinian protester in the geographical heart of Melbourne's Jewish community in Caulfield. Photo: Peter Haskin
November 23, 2023, 3:27 pm
Fostering respect over fear and intolerance
Holding those who spread antisemitic rhetoric accountable, whether online or in public forums, is essential.
By Rabbi Daniel Rabin
An article with the headline 'The House of Rothschild – Its Rise and Fall' is seen on the front page of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer from May 1938 at an exhibition in the Jewish Museum in Vienna in 2022. Photo: Alex Halada/AFP
October 10, 2023, 7:09 am
‘Not just another travelogue of Jewish suffering’
In Jewish Space Lasers, journalist Mike Rothschild – no relation – plumbs 200 years of outlandish and harmful material to try and discover how one family became an unending target, writes Amy Spiro.
By AMY SPIRO
The Queensland Holocaust Museum website with a portal to the online museum. Photo: screenshot.
October 4, 2023, 7:07 am
World first in Brisbane
This "virtual space to learn about the Holocaust" uses the same historical sources and materials as its bricks-and-mortar counterpart, which is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
By Peter Kohn
Palestinian peace activist Professor Mohammed Dajani, founder of the Wasatia anti-radicalisation movement, during a visit to Auschwitz in 2014. Photo: Courtesy
October 3, 2023, 6:35 am
Holocaust denial in Palestinian society
Palestinian professor Mohammed Dajani, who took his students to Auschwitz, tells Gianluca Pacchiani that distortion of Nazi atrocities is deeply tied to Palestinian narrative and built on lack of education.
By AJN STAFF
Members of the band Kiss, from left, Tommy Thayer, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Eric Singer. Photo: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File
October 2, 2023, 6:55 am
We were made for loving Kiss
Kiss returns to Australia next month for one final additional farewell show, exclusive to Sydney. Jessica Abelsohn explores the craziness behind the most influential rock band, including Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley's Jewish roots.
By Jessica Abelsohn
Pope Pius XII, circa 1940. Photo: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
September 26, 2023, 6:49 am
Pope knew about camps
Koenig's letter leaves little room for doubt about whether Pius knew of the Holocaust.
By Andrew Lapin
Helen Granek (middle front) the last Bialystoker survivor with her family.
September 15, 2023, 12:18 pm
‘The jewel in the Jewish cultural world’
“When the Germans stormed the ghetto and ordered everyone to leave that was the end of Jewish life in Bialystok.”
By Carol Saffer
B'nai B'rith Australia New Zealand (ANZ) is honouring documentary filmmaker Saulius Berzinis (pictured) with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo: DefendingHistory.com
August 31, 2023, 12:48 pm
Berzinis uncovers truth of Lithuanian atrocities
"We are deeply honoured to recognise Mr Berzinis for his extraordinary efforts in preserving the memory and legacy of Lithuanian Jewry and uncovering the whole truth about its annihilation," said president of B'nai B'rith ANZ Benny Monheit.
By AJN STAFF
From left: Hannah Gandy, Major General James Edward Barry and David Polonsky from the Spirit of Australia Foundation at the 2023 Monash Commemorative Service.
August 24, 2023, 12:09 pm
The influence of General Sir John Monash
Hannah Gandy uses education to benefit the community
By Carol Saffer
The August 4 Google Doodle.
August 22, 2023, 7:28 am
A Jewish woman invented the cat-eye glasses
Her invention was rejected by many of the biggest optical companies of the day, who told her that they would call her back “whenever we need glasses for lunatic asylums”, she recalled in one interview.
By Lior Zaltzman
The Google Doodle for August 4. Photo: Google, Wikimedia Commons. Design by Mollie Suss
August 14, 2023, 7:11 am
Google Doodle celebrates Altina Schinasi
A trained sculptor, Schinasi designed the glasses in the late 1930s while working as a window display designer.
Traveller and writer Israel Joseph Benjamin, or Benjamin II.
August 8, 2023, 7:14 am
Hebrew’s new dawn
Ben Judah explores how a Moldavian Jew's pilgrimage in the 19th century foreshadowed the rebirth of the language of the Jewish people.
By Ben Judah
Writer/director/executive producer Greta Gerwig poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film Barbie, in London. Photo: Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP
July 30, 2023, 5:20 pm
Barbie director wants you to feel like it’s Shabbat
Gerwig is winning acclaim for transforming Barbie from a stagnant symbol of capitalism and women's oppression into a canvas for exploring self-discovery, through an accidental jaunt from the toy world into the real one.
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Professor Gilah Leder and a municipal official put the finishing touches on a plaque honouring her father, watched by Dick van der Kamp, son of a Dutch resistance fighter.
July 24, 2023, 7:04 pm
Dutch family gave shelter
Initially the owners thought he might be avoiding the German military draft. "After some time, it was clear that my father was Jewish but he was allowed to stay," Leder said.
By Peter Kohn
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