Top marks for Gary Smorgon House
March 18, 2010 by Jonny Ucko
Melbourne’s Jewish Care is pleased to announce that the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency (ACSAA), the government’s independent accreditation agency, recommended to award a perfect score of 44/44 in its first audit of Jewish Care’s Gary Smorgon House. Read more
Melbourne art gallery in Sydney
March 18, 2010 by J-Wire
Nellie Castan has brought new works for a week’s show in Sydney. Read more
Ontario featuring Kosher LePesach wines from Australia and New Zealand
March 18, 2010 by J-Wire
Premium Kosher wines from Australia and New Zealand are on sale in over 500 liquor stores in Ontario, Canada. Read more
New face at AIJAC
March 18, 2010 by Agencies
Lauren Jones will fill the newly created role of National Public Affairs Officer for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, a position she will take up in AIJAC’s Sydney office. Read more
Australia reaffirms support for Israel
March 17, 2010 by Agencies
At a press briefing in Canberra this morning to hand down copies of the report of the Australia Israel Forum held last year, Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith has powerfully reaffirmed Australia’s strong bonds of friendship with Israel. We reproduce a copy of the report. Read more
Community identity receives good behaviour bonds
March 17, 2010 by J-Wire Staff
A well-known member of Sydney’s community has received two good behaviour bonds Read more
Students discuss campus antisemitism
March 17, 2010 by J-Wire Staff
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies monthly plenum last night focused on the issue of antisemitism on university campuses. Read more
Turkish Ambassador speaks to Canberra group
Turkey’s ambassador to Australia Oguz Ozge has addressed the Capital Jewish Forum. Read more
Apr-08 SBS2-TV 11:05p.m. : Captive in Gaza
March 17, 2010 by J-Wire
On June 25, 2006, Israeli gunner Gilad Shalit, was captured and taken to Gaza by Hamas. Read more
Apr-06 SBS2-TV 11:05p.m. : Almost Peaceful
March 17, 2010 by J-Wire
Sweetly moving and visually rich story of a group of Parisian Jews coming to terms with life after Nazi occupation and the Holocaust. Read more
$349million defence contract for Israel
March 16, 2010 by J-Wire
Australia has announced a contract with an Israeli company to provide the Australian Defence Force with a new command, control and comms system. Read more
Danby addresses Parliament on Dubai
March 15, 2010 by J-Wire Staff
Michael Danby spoke in Parliament last week about the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. Read more
Want to be an Aussie?
March 15, 2010 by Warren Hurst
Sydney’s JewishCare will conduct a naturalisation ceremony in June. Read more
Premier talks to interfaith women
March 15, 2010 by J-Wire Staff
NSW Premier Kristina Kineally recently addressed a women’s interfaith group and acknowledged her friendship with Jewish member, Josie Lacey Read more
Men Who Stare at Goats ***
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
Welcome to George Clooney season. Those who find the actor, who has been described by some as a modern day Cary Grant, engaging will have reason to smile as Hollywood begins its annual push toward the Oscars. Clooney will bring his winning personality and high-wattage smile to no fewer than three productions with Academy Award aspirations. Fantastic Mr. Fox and Up in the Air are yet a short distance down the road, but The Men Who Stare at Goats has arrived. Not only does it have the strangest title of the three late 2009 Clooney vehicles, but the storyline is also probably the most bizarre.
From Paris With Love ***
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
Sometimes, movies aren’t about plot and character. Art films can be more about how they look and feel than whether they tell a coherent or engaging story. Musicals can be all about song and dance. And action films can be gauged by how well they mix the adrenaline and testosterone cocktail that movie-goers are expected to imbibe. Such is the case with From Paris with Love, a production that views exposition as a necessary evil and dispenses it as quickly as possible so it can get back to shooting people and blowing things up. The movie is intellectually flat but viscerally involving and keeps the pace at such a consistently high level that it can become exhausting. With its wink-and-a-nod approach, it recalls some of the campier action epics of the 1980s, when icons like Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis strode across the cinematic landscape sowing death and destruction. Everything’s fast and furious, the good guys rarely miss, and the bad guys rarely hit.
The Blind Side ***
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
The marketing campaign for The Blind Side plays up the inspirational aspects of the story – that it’s based on the real-life rags-to-riches tale of football player Michael Oher and the woman whose fierce love and determination to help him allowed him to see the Promised Land. There’s no doubt this is a crowd-pleaser, as occasional bursts of applause attested during the screening I attended. The film skillfully plays on an audience’s emotions, but that’s what this sort of movie does, and director John Lee Hancock shows a sure hand when it comes to careful manipulation. He rarely goes too far and he knows enough to leaven the heavy emotional aspects with bursts of comedy and the occasional telling point about what causes us to value individuals in this society.
Green Zone ***+
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
When the invasion of Iraq transpired in 2003, assurances came down from on high that this act was necessary to remove the clear and present danger represented by Sadaam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (this is when the acronym WMD entered the common lexicon). Seven years later, the full truth remains murky, but one thing is indisputable: there were no WMDs in Iraq and the intelligence that placed them there was faulty. Whether the intelligence failure was a result of lies, incompetence, or deliberately manipulated misinformation has been the fodder of much speculation. Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone, a thriller set in Baghdad during the early months of the Coalition occupation, takes the view that it was a little of all three. Backed by the expose provided by formerWashington Post Baghdad correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran in his book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland have crafted a fictional story with some powerful non-fictional elements. It argues forcefully that conspiracy theorists aren’t always wrong.
Alice in Wonderland ***
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
This review is based on an IMAX 3-D screening.
Lewis Carroll’s “Wonderland” stories, much like the collected works of Roald Dahl, can be perceived from a number of perspectives. Although traditionally seen as a children’s tale, Alice’s Wonderland saga rides a dark undercurrent – something that can be a little creepy and unsettling. For his interpretation, Tim Burton – no stranger to the concept of a twisted fairy tale – has softened some of the sharper edges, added a dose of high octane action, and still managed to keep Alice in Wonderland in touch with its dark side. The movie carries a mild PG rating but may be too intense for younger children.
Seven Jewish Children fails to win award
March 14, 2010 by Geoff Sirmai
The controversial Caryl Churchill short play Seven Jewish Children went empty-handed at the Gala Awards Final of Short+Sweet play festival at NIDA’s Parade Theatre on Saturday night. Read more
Mar-16 Sydney: Focus on University antisemitism
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies will discuss campus antisemitism at its plenum this evening. Read more
Apr-01 to Apr-11 Melbourne: Jewish Chronicles
March 14, 2010 by J-Wire
A special show from London’s West End and the Edinburgh Festival Read more
New ambassador has arrived in Israel
March 14, 2010 by Henry Benjamin
Australia’s new ambassador to Israel has arrived in the country Read more
J-Wire talks to Steinberg
March 13, 2010 by Henry Benjamin
Pinchas Steinberg conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra this week in a program featuring Franck, Ravel and Berlioz. Read J-Wire’s interview with him…. Read more
JewishCare deals with Same Sex Separations
March 13, 2010 by Warren Hurst
Separation in the case of same sex relationships may pose a number of challenging and often vexing issues especially when children are involved. Read more
Torahs paraded through city park
March 13, 2010 by Susan Bures
Sydney’s Hyde Park out on an unusual show for its visitors on Thursday evening as two new Sifrei Torah were danced through the part to The Great with klezmer music accompaniment and under a chuppah made by the congregants. Read more
The Sensible Jew’s take on Q & A
March 13, 2010 by J-Wire
The recent appearance of the Emanuel’s Rabbi Jacqueline Nino on ABC-TV’s Q & A provoked a heated discussion on J-Wire. The Sensible Jew gives its take on the topic. Read more
Apr-08 ABC1-TV 9:25p.m. | Stress: Portrait of a killer
March 13, 2010 by J-Wire
A documentary from the UK featuring former Sydneysider Michael Marmot. Read more
Providing KosherLePesach for the Poor
March 12, 2010 by Henry Benjamin
Coles Supermarket at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction is asking shoppers to but something extra for Passover…donate KosherLePesach food for those in need. Read more
100 not out
March 12, 2010 by Warren Hurst
Fred Austin has celebrated his 100th Birthday at Sydney’s Burger Centre. Read more
