Home – J-Wire

Police concede flaws in tracking antisemitic crime

News AAP - 22/07/2026

A senior officer has acknowledged that a police incident database makes it difficult to provide a clear picture of the scale of antisemitism in...

News

Abuse prompts Jewish congregants to conceal identity

Jewish Australians are concealing signs of their religious identity to avoid abuse, while rabbis...

News

‘Back to the 1930s’: Outrage over online ‘mapping’ of Jewish, Israeli tourism in Italy

An online campaign calling on people to surveil and report the whereabouts of Jewish...

News

Viagra ingredient reveals new pathway for fighting cancer spread

Israeli scientists have identified a previously unknown biological pathway through which Viagra’s active ingredient,...

News

JCA calls on community to run together for City2Surf

The Jewish Communal Appeal (JCA) is the Platinum Charity Partner of this year's event,...

News

Jewish children told to hide identity as fear spreads across generations

Jewish children are being told to hide signs of their identity, switch off location...

News

Police criticised over Victoria’s ‘worst day’ of antisemitism

Jewish protesters and supporters, including people in wheelchairs, were attacked during what has been...

News

Caulfield members force meeting amid fears rabbi will leave

A number of Caulfield Hebrew Congregation members are concerned that the shul's popular senior...

News

Witnesses to Bondi Beach terror attack at ‘real risk’

Eyewitnesses and survivors of the Bondi Beach massacre have had their identities protected to...

News

Pressure mounts on Burnham to address antizionist extremism in Britain

Prime Minister Andy Burnham begins his term facing immediate scrutiny from British Jewish communities,...

News

Jewish leaders say Labor risks abandoning key peace conditions

Jewish leaders have warned Labor against dropping key conditions linked to Australia’s recognition of...

News

Israeli scientists uncover new pathways behind intestinal repair

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown level of organisation inside the intestine: support cells...

Australia & NZ

Jewish families hit with soaring school security bills

“The idea that government grants should not be used towards providing that level of...

Do Not Forget Me Street

Anne Sarzin -

Good men in bad times. Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin Psychologist and author Erica Frydenberg has invented an original...

The lies behind Mamdani’s Netanyahu stunt are the real threat

Jonathan S. Tobin - JNS.org -

It didn’t take a statement from President Donald Trump to ensure that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn’t going to arrest Israeli Prime...

Vance is the variable in the partisan divide on Israel

Jonathan S. Tobin - JNS.org -

America’s two major political parties were given an opportunity this week to show where they stood on the alliance with Israel and gave the...

On the other hand

Michael Kuttner -

US chip giant Nvidia officially inaugurated its new R&D centre in Beersheba last Tuesday, completing its move to new premises in the city. The site in...

Friends and foes

Michael Kuttner -

Genuine friends of Israel are becoming harder to find while fiendish foes seem to be multiplying like metastasising microbes. Friendships can often be fickle and...

Scapegoating the Jews

Melanie Phillips - JNS.org -

Astonishingly, in America and Britain, the vilification and scapegoating of Israel through an agenda of malice and mendacity—and with undertones of something even darker—has...

University leadership has failed Jewish students and staff

Colin Rubenstein -

The evidence emerging from the Royal Commission's hearings into antisemitism at Australian universities this week has been, regrettably, not surprising. It is, however, damning. The harrowing...

Shabbat Devarim

Jeremy Rosen -

Justice and Goodness The Book of Devarim includes a complete re-statement and reformulation of the laws issued on Sinai and also restates the struggles Moshe...

Podcast: L’Chaim to Life

Features Desk -

Mythbuster – The ABC at the Royal Commission Gavin Fang, Editorial Director of the ABC, explains the involvement of the Australian Communications and Media Authority...

Dog

Anne Sarzin -

Book review by Anne Sarzin Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and narcotics and alcohol addictions are at the core of Yishay Ishi Ron’s extraordinarily powerful and...

The Odyssey

Alex First -

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is an epic retelling of one of the oldest surviving works of ancient Greek literature. Homer composed the poem Odyssey...

Israel’s election and the future of Zionism

Ron Weiser -

President Trump loses faith in negotiations with Iran and the war resumes, mostly restricted to areas around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of...

Bernard-Henri Lévy calls post-Oct. 7 isolation of Israel a ‘historic moral failure’

Etgar Lefkovitz - JNS -

The diplomatic isolation of Israel during the war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre will go down in history as a moral...

Toxic campus culture needs to be tackled

Peter Wertheim -

The evidence coming out of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion this week, where Jewish students and academics at Australian universities have...

We warned where this was heading. Yesterday, they said it out loud.

Michael Gencher -

Yesterday I gave evidence before the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion about what I have seen through my work with StandWithUs Australia. I...

Have You Heard?

New musical tells story of Jewish refugees expelled from Egypt

Dates for your Diary J-Wire Newsdesk -

An Australian musical exploring the little-known story of Jewish refugees expelled from Egypt in the 1950s will be presented...

Letters, students’ artwork and kippot sealed in Masada College time capsule

Have You Heard? J-Wire Newsdesk -

Letters from students, handmade cards, artwork, photographs and College kippot have been sealed inside a time capsule marking Masada...

00:03:22

Women unite in song for an evening of healing

Have You Heard? J-Wire Newsdesk -

More than 80 women recently came together at St Kilda Shul in Melbourne for From Voice to Song: An...

Teaching Hate documentary now streaming on YouTube

Australia & NZ J-Wire Newsdesk -

What is happening inside Australian schools and universities? The Daily Telegraph documentary Teaching Hate is now available to watch free...

John Waters joins Fiddler on the Roof

Dates for your Diary J-Wire Newsdesk -

John Waters will join the Australian cast of Fiddler on the Roof as Lazar Wolf when the acclaimed production...

Israeli innovation could transform treatment for millions living with enlarged prostate

Have You Heard? Pesach Benson -

A first-in-human clinical trial of an Israeli-developed technology for treating benign enlarged prostate has been conducted at Rambam Health...

Opinion

Bankstown nurses ruling is no vindication

Reader’s letter: “Six months after Bondi”

Your say – University antisemitism

A partially religious assessment of the Hamas-Israel conflict

Readers letters: Adelaide Writers Week

A response to Michael Kuttner’s Brick Wall

John Lyons’ criticism of “the Jewish lobby”: A reader proffers an explanation

The funeral of Rabbi Brian Fox: Where were the orthodox rabbis?

Readers Letters: Courage to Care shares its shock

A tragedy foretold – a reader’s letter

Advertising for a rabbi…a reader’s letter

Photos

Schools around Australia celebrate Yom Haatzma’ut

Have You Heard? Rob Klein - 05/05/2026

Photo gallery Last week, schools across Australia came alive with colour, music and energy as students marked Yom Haatzmaut, celebrating...

Photo gallery: UIA Gala – Sydney

Featured Articles J-Wire photo story - 23/03/2026

Did you attend the UIA NSW Gala at Randwick Racecourse last month? The evening featured addresses from former Israeli minister...

Winner of the Arthur Rubinstein Musical Society visits Australia

Photos Features Desk - 30/11/2025

Australian Friends of the Arthur Rubinstein Musical Society, a prestigious Israeli piano competition, brought prize winner and Japanese piano...

Photo gallery: Pre-Chanukah celebration at NSW Parliament House

Photos J-Wire photo story - 28/11/2025

NSW Premier Chris Minns and newly elected Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane used this year’s pre-Chanukah celebration at Parliament House...

Stepping into the future of the Sydney Jewish Museum

Photos J-Wire - 24/10/2025

Visitors to the Sydney Jewish Museum were recently invited to step into the future. Over a series of preview events,...

Our Big Kitchen honours 9/11 with remembrance event

Dates for your Diary Rob Klein - 18/09/2025

Our Big Kitchen (OBK) in Bondi marked the anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a community gathering of...

Were you at the Sydney Magen David Adom fundraiser?

Featured Articles J-Wire photo story - 19/06/2025

A J-Wire photo gallery.

A private viewing of the Archibalds – Photo gallery

Featured Articles J-Wire photo story - 11/06/2025

The Moriah Foundation was thrilled to host their annual private viewing of Australia’s most popular and eagerly awaited art...

Movies & TV

The Odyssey

16/07/2026

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is an epic retelling of one of the oldest surviving works of ancient Greek literature. Homer composed the poem Odyssey in the 8th or 7th...

Streaming TV – Good Fortune

Service: HBO Max Available: Friday 17 July Stars: Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer and Sandra Oh A well-meaning but inept angel interferes in the...

Streaming TV – Marc by Sofia

Service: HBO Max Starts: Thursday 16 July Subject: Marc Jacobs Directed by: Sofia Coppola Sofia Coppola’s first documentary follows fashion designer Marc Jacobs through his working life, creative...

TYCHO! Beyond the Baton – 95 minutes

From Hungarian child prodigy to feted Australian musical genius, Tommy Tycho led a stimulating and adventurous life, overcoming a series of setbacks. He is front...

Israel, aliens and the real disclosure

In Steven Spielberg’s new film “Disclosure Day,” the Pentagon is exposed for hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life. My reaction was to ask: What can we...

Movie review – The Invite

A movie review by Alex First - It starts with a pointed quote from Oscar Wilde: “One should always be in love. That is the...

Theatre

John Waters joins Fiddler on the Roof

21/07/2026

John Waters will join the Australian cast of Fiddler on the Roof as Lazar Wolf when the acclaimed production opens at Sydney's Theatre Royal on 31 July. The role reunites...

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of), now in Melbourne and touring Australia

A theatre review by Alex First A glorious spoken and sung hoot, this is an audacious retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Just what would author Jane...

Beau Jest

A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First I can’t think of a Saltpillar Theatre endeavour that I have enjoyed more than this delightful production of...

Cast announced for Australia’s Fiddler on the Roof

Troy Sussman began preparing for Tevye before he knew the role was his. As soon as he found out he was auditioning for “Fiddler on...

Eddie Jaku’s granddaughter reflects on “The Happiest Man on Earth”

By Danielle Jaku-Greenfield You wouldn’t believe how strange it is to see a man you don’t know perform as your grandfather on stage. That’s what I...

Tradition revisited: Fiddler on the Roof returns

Few musicals have endured like ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, but its staying power has never relied on nostalgia alone. Since opening on Broadway in 1964,...

Music

00:03:22

Women unite in song for an evening of healing

21/07/2026

More than 80 women recently came together at St Kilda Shul in Melbourne for From Voice to Song: An Evening of Harmony, Healing and Song. The event focused on the...

TYCHO! Beyond the Baton – 95 minutes

From Hungarian child prodigy to feted Australian musical genius, Tommy Tycho led a stimulating and adventurous life, overcoming a series of setbacks. He is front...

Pianist knew he was “overstepping the mark” on Gaza

Concert pianist Jayson Gillham has denied he deliberately misled the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra about performing a piece dedicated to journalists killed in Gaza. It has...

Pianist’s Gaza remarks spark Federal Court fight

A court has heard the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was thrown into turmoil after pianist Jayson Gillham made comments about the war in Gaza during...

Israel defies Eurovision pressure to claim second place

Israel’s Noam Bettan has finished second at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, after a campaign marked by boycott calls, protests and intense scrutiny...

A Jewish Australian story shines again at Eurovision

As Eurovision heads into its 2026 finals in Vienna, Danny Estrin is returning to the contest in a new role, bringing the same Jewish...

Books

Good men in bad times. Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin Psychologist and author Erica Frydenberg has invented an original and historical collective noun—'Budapesti Schindlers’. This aptly describes a band...

Dog

Book review by Anne Sarzin Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and narcotics and alcohol addictions are at the core of Yishay Ishi Ron’s extraordinarily powerful and...

Shalom announces shortlist for Australian Jewish Writer Awards

The shortlists have been announced for the 2026 Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards, recognising Australian writing on Jewish subjects published in 2025. The winners...

Female guards and Nazi brutality

Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin It took courage and endurance for historian N. Koster to research and write Female Guards of Nazi Brutality; and...

Sydney Jewish Writers Festival takes stories from page to stage

The Sydney Jewish Writers Festival will move beyond the printed page this August with the launch of Festival of the Spoken Word, a new...

Conversations with my Rabbi

Nikki’s Conversations with her Rabbi Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin Writing the book Conversations with my Rabbi clearly proved both cathartic and transformative for author...

Opera

The Merry Widow

09/07/2026

An opera review by Victor Grynberg Franz Lehar, the Austro-Hungarian composer born in 1870, composed the music in 1905 based on a French comedy play, “The Embassy Attache,” written in...

The Phantom of the Opera

An opera review by Alex First Superlatives can’t do justice to a magnificent Handa Opera production of The Phantom of the Opera on its 40th...

Hansel & Gretel- now a spectacular opera

An Opera Review by Victor Grynberg There would be few people unaware of the famous fairy tale Hansel & Gretel, written by the German brothers...

Sydney Opera House memorial reclaims a national symbol after Bondi attack

Flags above the Sydney Harbour Bridge flew at half-mast last night as families of the victims, Jewish leaders and political figures gathered at the...

Carmen – an opera review by Alex First

Passion, obsession, desperation, jealousy and rage make for a fiery combination in composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, newly interpreted by director Anne-Louise Sarks for Opera...

Performer displays PLO flag at London’s Royal Opera House

A cast member at London’s Royal Opera House unfurled a PLO flag during the final curtain call of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore on Saturday night, prompting...

Sport

Jewish A-League star playing in Scotland

16/07/2026

Former Sydney FC A-League club player Jake Girdwood-Reich has signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premier League Club Motherwell FC. He leaves U.S. MLS St. Louis City FC following a...

Australian triathlete claims four golds in remarkable Maccabiah campaign

Melbourne triathlete Barry Lipp has completed a remarkable Maccabiah Games campaign, winning four gold medals and a silver only weeks after believing he would...

World Cup antisemitism targets Lionel Messi, revives old anti-Jewish myths

Major international sporting events are increasingly being exploited to spread antisemitic conspiracy theories online, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup serving as the latest...

Israel’s Guy Sasson defends Wimbledon quad doubles crown

Israeli Paralympic tennis player Guy Sasson and his Dutch partner, Niels Vink, won the Quad Wheelchair Doubles title at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships on...

Perfect 10 for Lipton at Maccabiah Games

Australian masters swimmer Alida Lipton has produced a stunning 10-from-10 medal haul at the 22nd Maccabiah Games, winning a medal in every event she...