Essay On Jews In Australia

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Jews of Australia

Australia is a country located between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It has a population of over 24 million people. Although Christianity makes up over 60% of Australia, there are only roughly 110,000 Jews in Australia whose History dates back to the 18th Century and has kept growing ever since. Today, the Jewish community in Australia, which only accounts for 0.5% of the population is very active and it is still a big part of Australia.

This was the first documented time that a Jew had been in Australia. This made Australia the first modern state where Jews were present from its beginning. In 1817, more Jewish prisoners had arrived This was the start of Australian Jewish community. 1850 was the Year of the Gold Rush. This attracted more immigrants and even caused foreign Jews to outnumber the natively born Jews in Australia. These immigrants came from all over …show more content…

It is Known as the Largest Jewish Community in the East Asian Pacific region. 80% of the Jews live in either Melbourne of Sydney. 50 000 Jews live in Melbourne and 45 000 live in Sydney. Melbourne is considered as more religious, however, Sydney has a higher Aliyah rate. Throughout Australia, there are 81 Synagogues and 18 Jewish Day Schools. There are also Universities that offer courses about Jewish Civilization, Zionism and the Holocaust. Only 8.7% of Jews speak Hebrew, but this is expected to increase in the future due to the enrolment of kids attending Jewish Day Schools which is more than 50%. The Jewish Community is also very Zionistic. They have many fundraisers and Youth Groups all promoting Aliyah and helping to support Israel. As a way to educate the younger generations, Australia has built 2 Holocaust museums, 1 in Melbourne and the 1 in Sydney. These 2 museums commemorate the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust and educates people about racism and their attempt to fight against