Jewish History in Australia

  • First Jews arrive

    The first Jews arrived in Australia as British convicts. There were 16 Jews among 1500 prisoners
  • Period: to

    Founding of Kehillas

    With more and more Jews immigrating from (primarily) England and Germany, organised Jewish communities called ‘kehillas’ formed in Sydney (1831) and Melbourne (1841) – these were the main bases for Jewish life. The Sydney Kehilla was founded by Joseph Barrow Montefiore.
  • First Synagogue

    The growing Sydney community worshipped in houses until they built the first Synagogue
  • Jews taking refuge

    Oppressed Jewish refugees, mostly from Russia and Poland started immigrating to Australia
  • Refuge before WWII

    This year allowed 15,000 “victims of oppression” visas to be allotted, giving 7,000 Jews the opportunity to take refuge here before the commencement of WWII
  • Intercultural marriage

    The growing community was interrupted by a rise in intercultural marriage
  • Period: to

    Present day

    Today, there are approximately 113,000 Jews living in Australia. This country holds the largest Jewish population in the East Asian-Pacific region.

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