Australian Jews
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
112,800–150,000 (0.4% - 0.6% of the Australian population) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Melbourne, Sydney and other metropolitan areas | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism · Jewish secularism |
112,800–150,000
Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, are Jews who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. There were 97,335 Australians who identified as Jewish in the 2011 census. The actual number may be higher, because an answer to the question on the census was optional and because Haredi Jews or many non-practicing Jews are believed to prefer not to disclose religion in the census. By comparison, the Haaretz Israeli News estimated a Jewish-Australian population of 120,000-150,000 (not limited to adherents of Judaism). Jewish citizens make up about 0.5% of the Australian population. The Jewish community of Australia is composed mostly of Ashkenazi Jews, though there are Jews in Australia from many other traditions and levels of religious observance and participation in the Jewish community.
The first Jews to come to Australia were eight English convicts transported to Botany Bay in 1788 aboard the First Fleet. About 15,100 convicts were transported by the time transportation ceased in 1840 in New South Wales and 1853 in Tasmania. It is estimated that of those who arrived by 1845 about 800 were Jewish. Most of them came from London, were of working-class background and were male. Only 7% of Jewish convicts were female, compared with 15% for non-Jewish convicts. The average age of the Jewish convicts was 25, but ranged from 8 to elderly.
At first, the Church of England was the established religion, and during the early years of transportation all convicts were required to attend Anglican services on Sundays. This included Irish Catholics as well as the Jews. Similarly, education in the new settlement was Anglican church controlled until the 1840s.
The first move toward organisation in the community was the formation of a Chevra Kadisha (a Jewish burial society) in Sydney in 1817, but the allocation of land for a Jewish cemetery was not approved until 1832. In 1830 the first Jewish wedding in Australia was celebrated, the contracting parties being Moses Joseph and Rosetta Nathan.
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Wikipedia