Attention: You are using an outdated browser, device or you do not have the latest version of JavaScript downloaded and so this website may not work as expected. Please download the latest software or switch device to avoid further issues.
A number of notable Jews have supported First Nations Australians in their fight for justice and recognition, including the eminent Ron Castan QC, who represented Aboriginal leader Eddie Mabo in the celebrated Mabo case in the High Court; community leader Mark Leibler, who has played a prominent role in the Reconciliation movement and Constitutional Recognition process; former Federal Court Judge Marcus Einfeld, who spoke up for the Aboriginal call for justice; and James Spigelman, former Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court, who first came into public recognition in the 1960s when he joined First Nations leaders, including Charles Perkins, on the so-called Freedom Ride through regional areas, highlighting the conditions in which First Nations communities were living. The tour was modelled on the Freedom Rides of civil rights campaigners in the American south.
The First Nations community has also stood up for the Jewish community, most notably in 1938, when Aboriginal leader William Cooper led a protest march to the German Consulate in Melbourne and attempted to present a petition objecting to Kristallnacht – the Night of Broken Glass, which marked the onset of the Holocaust on November 9-10. The Jewish community remains deeply moved by the principled gesture by Cooper, leader of the Australian Aborigines League and a Yorta Yorta Elder, and subsequently honoured him and his family, both in Australia and Israel. In addition, various Jewish organisations have well-developed relations with First Nations Australian communities, including Jewish day schools, B’nai B’rith, Courage to Care, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, JNF Australia and StandUp.
In 2010 the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies published a book which documented joint initiatives of the Jewish and First Nations communities. Hand in Hand; Indigenous and Jewish People Working Together was co-authored by academics Dr Anne Sarzin and her daughter Dr Lisa Sarzin, who interviewed 80 First Nations and Jewish Australians about their collaborative ventures.
Below are some of the initiatives documented in the book:
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies is a strong supporter of reconciliation with First Nations Australians. While president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Peter Wertheim delivered an address in 1997 during the height of the controversy over the Federal Government’s Wik legislation to a capacity audience. His remarks invoked Jewish history and appealed to Australians not to repeat the mistakes of the past by committing the crime of silence in the light of the overwhelming evidence of genocide suffered by the First Nations community. Wertheim established the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies Social Justice Committee, with a strong emphasis on First Nations social justice issues. Long-time community stalwart Jeremy Jones, also a supporter of reconciliation, was instrumental with leaders of other faith communities in establishing the Week of Prayer in 1993, which developed into the annual Reconciliation Week, May 27 to June 2.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies statement – Reconciliation Week 2020.
All these efforts and many others are indicative of the Jewish community’s respect for and acknowledgement of Indigenous Australians as Australia’s first peoples, our appreciation of the importance of Indigenous culture and history, our commitment to the reconciliation process and our shared commitment to combatting racism and all forms of bigotry.
