Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council

When I received the invitation to speak at a Sydney event designed to help educate Muslims about Islam, I was both happy to accept and curious as to how my comments would be received...

Book-ended by beautiful Jewish and Muslim religious chants and a presentation on the wisdom of the late Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), the participants had a unique opportunity for open, honest, informed and passionate exchange of wisdom, opinions and knowledge. This remarkable session was towards th

"This is the Hamsa. This is the Hand of Fatima. This is (hesitation) a star". In a typical Moroccan jewelry shop, the proprietor was discussing the recurring motifs in his necklaces, rings and decorations. The "star" was a Magen David, the well-known Jewish symbol. The jewellery, religious ritual

Jeremy Jones, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council's Director of Community and of International Affairs, who has unparalleled experience in the operation of the Federal Race Discrimination laws, has responded to comments by a number of cross-bench senators who have called for the abolition

It was mid-afternoon, mid-Ramadan. Other than one sleeping traveller, and a handful of workers, the mosque complex in Kaifeng, Central China, was deserted. It was an eerily quiet place in an otherwise bustling, noisy city. I had come to the mosque with an energetic, enthusiastic member of one of th

By misusing and abusing Holocaust terminology, one risks not only being and sounding morally and intellectually offensive, but giving succour to the very people one purports to stand against.

I felt a firm grip on my arm - the sudden, unexpected gesture at once a sign of solidarity and an appeal for support. We, amongst Jews and Catholics from five continents, were standing on the grounds of the Treblinka Murder Camp, fighting back tears as we sang, together, psalms and hymns. We had a

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council is both pleased and proud to congratulate Jeremy Jones, AM, on his receipt of the Stepan Kerkyasharian AO Harmony Award yesterday...

When any of my discussions turned to the subject of the current tensions and prospect for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, condemnations of the obsessive Israel-bashers in the West were passionate and consistent and often contained the same advice - let people exposed to crazed anti-Is

The Festival of Chanukah, which this year was celebrated in early December, has come to be identified with the concept of religious freedom. In many communal and public candle-lighting ceremonies, this theme was dominant, with the right to worship freely celebrated and restrictions on this freedom

Polish political leader and trailblazer in Polish-Jewish dialogue Andrzej Folwarczny visited Australia this week to share his experiences in raising awareness of the Jewish heritage of Polish towns, cities, and communities.

October 28, 1965 is a date which should be respected and honoured. It was on this day, at the meeting of the Second Vatican Council, that the Catholic Church adopted the declaration Nostra Aetate, effectively acknowledging that close to two millennia of teaching of contempt towards Jews had brought

Visiting the new POLIN Jewish Museum in Warsaw can be a challenging experience. In the heart of the destroyed ghetto, a site of immense evil, of persecution and deprivation, a walk through its many impressive exhibitions is a walk in the company of ghosts. With cultural, historical and political re

There is a wonderful Indonesian celebration known as Hallal bi Hallal. Shortly after the end of Ramadan, Indonesian Muslims, and their guests, gather to strengthen interpersonal bonds and make peace with each other, just as during Ramadan they had been concentrating on their relationship to, an

This June the American Jewish Committee (AJC) hosted its annual Global Forum conference in Washington DC, bringing together leaders and commentators to grapple with the defining challenges of our time in Jewish and Israel affairs - including rising antisemitism, the anti-Israel boycott, prospects fo

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) is disappointed at the Vatican's latest move to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Since the 2012 UN resolution accepting Palestine as a non-member observer state, the Vatican has been referring to the state of Palestine, but this treaty

On a sunny mid-winter's afternoon in Jerusalem, a group of travellers stopped a passerby and asked for the direction of Mecca. After a brief, friendly exchange, the men and women began afternoon prayers - in Yad Vashem, Israel's Museum and Monument to the victims of the Nazis' genocide. Later, those

AIJAC's Jeremy Jones was interviewed on ABC Radio National's "Religion and Ethics" program about leading a landmark AIJAC-sponsored delegation of Indonesian Muslim leaders to Israel, where they enjoyed an intensive week-long tour of the region...

The words were delivered in a matter of fact manner. The speakers were calm, rational, authentic and authoritative.The information the two men shared was spine-chilling. Both were from the Central African Republic. One Christian, one Muslim, each committed to their faith and to the well-being of the

Today's Update features commentary on two significant events of the past few days - Pope Francis' important, but somewhat controversial,  three-day visit to Israel (here's the text of Pope Francis' speech on arrival in Israel) the Palestinian territories and Gaza, and the major gain