Members of the Australian Jewish community have received Queen’s Birthday awards in the fields of philanthropy, medicine, communal involvement and arts. One awardee has been recognised for aiding refugees and joins another one for helping the reduction of smokers. J-Wire wishes them all Mazeltov.
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Two AOs and another AM and OAM
The morning brought the news from readers that we had missed four Jewish recipients of the Australia Day Awards.
The Traitors Circle
Book review by Dr Anne Sarzin
Israeli ‘large scale operation’ to find last hostage
Israel says its military is conducting a “large-scale operation” to locate the last hostage in the Gaza Strip as the United States and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move into the next phase of their ceasefire.
Feintooner
This week’s cartoon: Bored with Peace
Senior Australian of the Year – Henry Brodaty
Psychogeriatrician Henry Brodaty, who was awarded an OA by his country in 2000, has been named Senior Australian of the Year.
2026 Australia Day Awards: The Jewish Recipients
JWire congratulates all Jewish recipients of this year’s Australia Day Awards.
Holocaust descendants reunited amid troubled times
Descendants of a family separated by the Holocaust say finding each other has brought “sunshine” into their lives at a dark time for Jewish people worldwide.
First ever Israeli bobsleigh team qualifies for Winter Olympics
Israel’s bobsleigh team has qualified for the Winter Olympics for the first time, to be held next month at venues across Lombardy and northeastern Italy.
KKL-JNF earmarks tens of millions of shekels for projects across Israel
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) has approved budgetary and planning measures totalling tens of millions of shekels to strengthen communities and enhance social resilience in the Galilee, the Negev and the “Gaza Envelope.”
Trump’s end run around the old world order
The fact that it was formally unveiled in Davos, Switzerland, told us everything we need to know about President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.
Don’t forget Iran!
The pace and range of U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign-policy initiatives are simply dizzying.
Our Guy: Israeli wheelchair tennis star aims for Grand Slam sweep
Israeli tennis player Guy Sasson is on the cusp of one of Israel’s greatest sporting milestones.
On the other hand
Approximately 70,000 Israelis are estimated go hiking in the coming days, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) said recently, issuing several warnings in light of recent stormy weather.
Memorial in the suburbs
Sydney’s Southern Sydney Synagogue hosted a communal gathering to live stream Chabad of Bondi’s “Light Will Win” memorial, marking thirty days since the tragic Bondi attack in which fifteen innocent people were murdered.
Hamas-linked symbols sprayed on smashed Melbourne monuments on Day of Mourning
Damaged historic monuments in central Melbourne were defaced with symbols associated with Hamas on Australia’s National Day of Mourning, Thursday 22 January, sparking condemnation from political leaders and the Jewish community and prompting a police investigation.
Second teen arrested following antisemitic ute attack on Jewish boys in East St Kilda
On Friday, Victoria Police arrested a second teenage boy in connection with an antisemitic incident in which Jewish schoolboys were chased by a white ute in St Kilda East.
A Caesar in the White House
This was the week when much of the West woke up to the realisation that the old world order was dead. A new one was being born, and they didn’t like it at all. And it’s far from clear that Israel can rest easy either.
US pitches ‘New Gaza’ development plan at WEF
A US plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip, including residential towers, data centres and seaside resorts, was presented in Davos by Jared Kushner.
The Haskalah
The word Haskalah conjures up a period of upheaval in eighteenth century European Jewish life.
SHIR to perform at ‘Australia Day Live’ in historic first for Jewish music
SHIR will take to the stage at ‘Australia Day Live’ this Monday night on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, marking a first for the national event and a moment of deep significance for the Jewish community.
Sydney Opera House memorial reclaims a national symbol after Bondi attack
Flags above the Sydney Harbour Bridge flew at half-mast last night as families of the victims, Jewish leaders and political figures gathered at the Sydney Opera House for a national memorial service marking the deaths of 15 people in the Bondi Beach antisemitic terror attack.
Sold down the river
Betrayal and abandonment are situations that have regularly confronted Jews over the last two thousand years.
‘Literally unbelievable’: families mourn Bondi victims
It is impossible to put a timeline on when normal life can resume for those who lost loved ones in the Bondi massacre.
Bondi terror attack is ‘a stain on our nation’, PM says
The deadly terror attack on a crowd celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach was an attack on the Australian way of life, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.
Faith leaders unite in shared grief after Bondi attack
Religious leaders have gathered to deliver a message of hope as they mourned those killed in the Bondi massacre.
Condolences are not leadership
While Parliament has stood to offer condolence motions following the Bondi Beach terror attack, Australians have been told that unity, grief, and social cohesion are our shared response.
Shabbat Bo
Mezuzah
New Zealand Holocaust commemorations as antisemitism surges
As New Zealand observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, January 27, the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand says that the “warning signs” of the 1945 atrocities are “again visible today.”