Home – J-Wire

Perfect 10 for Lipton at Maccabiah Games

News Rob Klein - 10/07/2026

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...

News

Royal Commission to focus on universities

The University of Sydney has confirmed it will appear alongside the University of Melbourne...

News

‘Shocking disregard’: antisemitism probe condemns X

Elon Musk’s X has refused to engage with a royal commission into antisemitism, despite...

News

WIZO heartbroken on passing of NSW president Nilly Berger

Nilly Berger, the president of WIZO NSW and a long-time Bondi community figure, died...

News

Israeli tech scores across the World Cup

Within minutes of a World Cup goal, Israeli technology can turn the action into...

News

Pianist loses case against orchestra over Gaza statement

Concert pianist Jayson Lloyd Gillham has lost his Federal Court case against the Melbourne...

Books

Shalom announces shortlist for Australian Jewish Writer Awards

The shortlists have been announced for the 2026 Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards,...

News

ABC concedes mistakes, rejects antisemitism critique

Australia's antisemitism envoy has accused the ABC of marking its own homework in a...

News

Antisemitism envoy slams ABC, SBS over Gaza coverage

Australia's public broadcasters have rejected accusations of biased reporting of Israel's war in Gaza...

News

Judge blasts ‘complicated’ Jewish slur claim

A judge has dismissed claims that parts of an antisemitic rant by a man...

News

Boeing sued over Bondi terror welfare check complaints

An Australian lawyer sacked by Boeing has sued for almost $500,000, claiming the aerospace...

News

Racism isn’t funny, says online hate watchdog

The Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI) has called on Victoria Police to consider charges...

News

Israeli ambassador says Australia’s antisemitism worse than in Muslim countries

Israel’s ambassador to Australia says he has never witnessed hatred of Jews at the...

Couldn’t be clearer

Michael Kuttner -

There are times when rhetoric and subsequent actions leave no room for ambiguity, doubt or confusion. Israel in particular and...

Transliteration

Jeremy Rosen -

The Conundrum Transliteration is a mug’s game, and I confess, I have made a cat’s meal out of it. Of course, I am primarily concerned...

The trillion-dollar campaign to conquer the West

Melanie Phillips - JNS.org -

More and more information is surfacing to reveal that the Islamic holy war against the West isn’t just being waged on the battleground of...

Israeli study finds AI models quietly reproduce antisemitic tropes

J-Wire Newsdesk -

A new study published in American Psychologist has found that leading AI models carry biased representations of Jews that closely mirror antisemitic tropes dating...

Outside the Royal Commission, they proved exactly why it is needed

Michael Gencher -

I witnessed the protest outside the Royal Commission today because some things cannot just be left alone.It was small. Pathetically small, really. The rain...

The Merry Widow

Victor Grynberg -

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,...

Shabbat Matot Masei

Jeremy Rosen -

Tribes on the March The two portions of the Torah this week concern the route the Israelites took to reach their promised land. And laws about...

TYCHO! Beyond the Baton – 95 minutes

Alex First -

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...

From Australia’s Jewish past

Features Desk -

Gwen Green – a woman ahead of her time Gwen was born on 22 July 1900 in Orange, NSW, to parents Abraham and Carlotta Lowenthal,...

Israel, aliens and the real disclosure

Dmitry Radyshevky - JNS -

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...

Podcast: L’Chaim – to Life

Features Desk -

Major (Ret) Rami Sherman – We flew for one reason, to rescue life. And we did Maurice Klein speaks with Major (Ret) Rami Sherman, veteran...

On the other hand

Michael Kuttner -

With summer in Israel now kicking in and temperatures soaring, the forest fire season is once again looming. The KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund announced Tuesday...

Movie review – The Invite

J-Wire -

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

Cursed or blessed

J-Wire -

Last week’s Torah portion of Balak should have been a timely shot in the arm for anyone attuned to the subject of curses –...

The fateful question for Diaspora Jews

Melanie Phillips - JNS.org -

The current onslaught against the Jewish people is causing many Diaspora Jews to ask themselves profound and unsettling questions. Israel is being used by its...

Have You Heard?

Melbourne Jewish Book Week returns with humour, memory and connection

Have You Heard? J-Wire News Service -

Melbourne Jewish Book Week will return next month with a program built around humour, memory and connection, bringing Israeli,...

Raised to hate Jews, now fighting antisemitism – featured speaker NCJWA conference

Have You Heard? Rob Klein -

Syrian-born activist and writer Rawan Osman, who says she was raised to hate Jews before becoming a prominent advocate...

Young leaders honoured at Parliament House for promoting harmony after Bondi

Have You Heard? J-Wire News Service -

Young Australians promoting inclusion, respect and cultural understanding through art, music and film were recently honoured at NSW Parliament...

St Vincent’s Hospital opens 24-hour kosher pantry

Have You Heard? J-Wire Newsdesk -

Jewish patients and families at Sydney's St Vincent’s Hospital now have 24-hour access to kosher food and religious items...

Sydney Jewish women come together for a night of song and joy

Have You Heard? J-Wire News Service -

More than 200 women from across Sydney’s Jewish community came together last night for an evening of singing, connection...

Emanuel School brings generations together for Shabbat babka bake

Have You Heard? J-Wire Newsdesk -

Emanuel School students have baked babkas alongside grandparents, relatives and family friends at an event celebrating Jewish tradition and...

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

TYCHO! Beyond the Baton – 95 minutes

07/07/2026

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 and centre in a fascinating,...

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...

Romería

A movie review by Alex First Her parents died when she was young. She only knew fragments of their lives, material she had pieced together from...

Jewish stories and talent showcased at South African Film Festival

Three films with strong Jewish connections will feature in this year’s South African Film Festival, including the feature directorial debut of acclaimed actress Embeth...

A Swedish saviour

Unknown to this Netflix subscriber, The Swedish Connection (Swedish: Den svenska länken) is the story of the heroic activities of a Swedish bureaucrat who is...

Theatre

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

28/06/2026

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 Austen have thought of it?...

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,...

Sydney Jewish comedy showcase returns with laughs, stories and a stacked line-up

Sydney’s Jewish comedy scene is gearing up for a lively night, with the Sydney Jewish Comedy Showcase returning next month as part of the...

Music

TYCHO! Beyond the Baton – 95 minutes

07/07/2026

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 and centre in a fascinating,...

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...

Organic Saint-Saens

Oh, boy – did the Concert Hall of Sydney’s iconic Opera House get an acoustic workout in Saturday afternoon’s Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Saint-Saens Organ...

Books

Shalom announces shortlist for Australian Jewish Writer Awards

09/07/2026

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 will be revealed on Monday...

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...

From Music to Mayhem

Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin From 1924 to 1933, a jazz band comprising seven young, creative and brilliant musicians—six of whom were Jewish—reached the...

Who will rescue us?

The story of the Jewish children who fled to France and America during the Holocaust Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin When Jewish boys and girls...

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

Perfect 10 for Lipton at Maccabiah Games

10/07/2026

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 entered. The Victorian finished with one...

Israeli tech scores across the World Cup

Within minutes of a World Cup goal, Israeli technology can turn the action into a mobile highlight, update live sports platforms and help keep...

Ireland-Israel Nations League game moved to neutral site

Ireland’s UEFA Nations League home match against Israel on Oct. 4 will be played at a neutral venue and behind closed doors due to...

Maccabi Bridge bridges generations

Last weekend, Maccabi Bridge held its inaugural 2026 National Championships in Sydney, bringing together more than 50 bridge players from across the community for...

Albanese says alleged antisemitic abuse at netball match is “beyond belief”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned the alleged antisemitic abuse directed at Jewish children during a Sydney netball match, describing the incident as “beyond...

Police charge woman over alleged antisemitic abuse at children’s netball match

A 42-year-old woman has been charged and provisionally suspended from all netball activities after allegedly directing antisemitic abuse at Jewish children during an under-12s...