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Illustration by Simon Letch

We have a choice with Herzog visit – futile fury or solemn solidarity

A protest against the president of Israel cannot make the least difference to even a single Palestinian in Gaza. But it can continue the roiling division inside Australia.

  • Peter Hartcher

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Mimi Wise; Ernie Friedlander; Dasia Black-Gutman; Sabina Kleitman. (Clockwise from top left)

These Holocaust survivors took refuge in Australia. This is their message for the nation

Three Holocaust survivors and the daughter of another, Alex Kleytman, killed in the Bondi terror attack last month, reflect on their experiences of survival as Australia faces a reckoning.

  • Daniel Lo Surdo
Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh at Bondi Beach.

‘This is part of our history now’: How Bondi plans to rebuild after horror

A Sydney council will consider how to memorialise the massacre at Australia’s most famous beach, as the community grapples with the loss of “15 beautiful souls”.

  • Megan Gorrey
The Jewish calendar runs according to the moon, and its new year - Rosh Hashanah - comes next Wednesday into Thursday.

Reflecting on darkness and light on the eve of the Jewish New Year

After a torrid year for the Jewish faith, New Year offers the hope of a time blessed with light and love to help heal our wounded planet.

  • Ralph Genende
An ultra-Orthodox protest against army recruitment in Jerusalem earlier this month.

Ultra-Orthodox rage against moves to force them into Israeli army

“The war has pushed everything to an extreme,” one professor explains, as tensions mount between a community that has always been exempt from military service, and the rest of the country.

  • Elisabeth Bumiller, Natan Odenheimer and Johnatan Reiss
Janice Furstenberg (left), Rebbetzin Rachel Gutnick and Jenny Segal at the East Melbourne Synagogue, lighting candles to bring in Shabbat.

‘Now we can all exhale’: Synagogue replaces darkness of hate with light

Still reeling from an alleged arson attack barely a week ago, East Melbourne Synagogue threw open its doors to all faiths and all-comers in a Friday night ritual to heal.

  • Kieran Rooney
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The Wailing Wall, or Western Wall, in Jerusalem, highlights the ancientness of Judaism, having been begun by Herod. For more than 300 years, Christian Rome excluded Jews from Jerusalem, and therefore the Wall.

Why I love being Jewish, even with all the rules

Judaism is a demanding religion, unusual in not seeking to convert others, and deeply rewarding in its emphasis on learning, community and family.

  • Nomi Kaltmann

Call me a self-hating Jew, but what Israel is doing in Gaza is indefensible

Does criticism of Israel amount to antisemitism? No, it does not. And the cruelty we see in Gaza is chillingly reminiscent of Europe 80 years ago when Jewish people faced extinction.

  • David Leser
Passover can be an exhausting time, but it’s among the most important of Jewish holidays.

A shadow hangs over Passover

Passover is a celebration of Jewish freedom from slavery, marked again this year by hostages being held in the hands of Hamas.

  • Nomi Kaltmann
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 10: Jewish boys dance on the top of a double decker bus during the annual Jewish holiday of Purim on March 10, 2020 in London, England. Purim is celebrated by Jewish communities around the world with parades and costume parties. Purim commemorates the defeat of Haman, the advisor to the Persian king, and his plot to massacre the Jewish people, 2,500 years ago, as recorded in the biblical book of Esther. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Purim has important lessons of the longest hatred – and the longest love

Jews this week celebrate Purim and read the Book of Esther, which tells the story their escape from annihilation at the hands of an ancient, genocidal foe.

  • Ralph Genende