US Jewry chief brings solidarity mission to Sydney

The head of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), Eric Fingerhut, has visited Sydney with a delegation to express solidarity with the local Jewish community following the December 14 Bondi Beach terrorist attack and to forge new pathways of cooperation.

Fingerhut, who leads an organisation that distributes two billion US dollars annually across North America’s 154 Jewish federations, said the attack touched “every Jew in the world”.

“We felt it, and we wanted to come and express our solidarity with the Jewish community here in Sydney, and frankly, to bring our love and caring from all of our Jewish communities across North America,” he said.

But the visit also served a second purpose: sharing strategies on combating the surge in antisemitism and violence against Jewish communities.

Fingerhut detailed a litany of attacks on American Jews in the past year, including the murder of two visitors to the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, a firebombing in Boulder, Colorado that killed one person, the arson of a synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, and a terrorist attack on a Detroit synagogue in March that came within “inches” of catastrophe.

“A man breached the building with a truck full of bombs and AK-47s and came within inches of a preschool wing that had 123 children,” Fingerhut said.

The federation chief identified three critical challenges facing North American Jewry: security, Jewish education, and rebuilding connections to Israel.

“We spend roughly seven to fifteen million dollars a year in our philanthropic, our charitable dollars on security — money that could be going to Jewish education and caring for the needy and vulnerable,” he said.

“But we refuse to cut back on the opportunities to participate in Jewish life. Our goal is to build flourishing communities, but to do that today we must make sure it’s safe.”

Fingerhut noted that Australian communities were ahead of North America in some areas. “You have a higher percentage of your children of school age that are in Jewish education, Jewish day school, than we do,” he said.

On the political front, Fingerhut said strong support for the Jewish community existed in both American political parties, though “both parties also now have a fringe, far left to far right, that disagrees.”

He expressed concern about New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to antisemitism. “For him to condone the kinds of rhetoric and the kinds of protests that are being exercised against synagogues — he vetoed a bill to create a safe space around places of worship — it creates a climate of fear for Jews,” Fingerhut said.

Regarding young Jews turning away from Israel, Fingerhut said the phenomenon was “a minority, a small minority, but it is loud, and it’s also magnified by the media.”

“There are a lot of young adults who may not agree with some of the things that the Netanyahu government is doing, but they still believe in a Jewish state,” he said.

“Part of what we have to do is explain to people that it’s okay to disagree with the government. That doesn’t make you an anti-Zionist or non-Zionist — it makes you a critic of the Israeli government.”

Fingerhut called the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion a “truly important moment in the history of the country and of Jewish community here in Australia”, but said it needed to make strong recommendations.

“This was convened after the rising antisemitism and civic rhetoric ended up contributing to one of the worst mass murders,” he said.

“If they don’t come out with a strong set of recommendations and a strong report that can be embraced by all and by the government, that’ll feel like a bit of a setback.”

JCA NSW CEO Alain Hasson facilitated the delegation’s three-day itinerary, which began at the Great Synagogue in Sydney and included visits to Bondi, Kesser Torah College, and meetings with bereaved families.

The delegation, which included leaders from Cleveland and Pittsburgh — communities that experienced their own terrorist attacks — visited JewishCare, the Community Security Group, schools, and met with NSW Governor Margaret Beazley.

Hasson said the visit marked “without question, the start of a new pathway of communication” between North American and Australian Jewish communities, and he anticipated sending a large Australian delegation to the JFNA’s General Assembly in November.

“Every single delegate that came said we have to come back,” Hasson said.

“This is without question the start of many conversations.”