Australia Day is often described in public commentary as being a day to honour and celebrate the unique culture and achievements of the Australian nation. But this day – January 26 – marks the day on which the English arrived on Australian shores, colonising this land. This colonisation – which has involved genocide, dispossession, and […]
In the past two weeks there has been an unprecedented attack against human rights activists in the Israeli media and in the Israeli political system. This includes what appear to be trumped up charges against two Jewish and one Palestinian employee on the basis of spying by semi-privatised intelligence agencies funded by settler organisations and […]
Background We are living at a time of unprecedented biophysical crisis. Human civilisation is facing a perfect storm of problems driven by climate change, environmental destruction and pollution, biodiversity loss and resource depletion, all of which are intensifying global socio-economic and regional problems. Two centuries of exploitation of readily accessible energy resources have facilitated […]
The AJDS formally acknowledges that we, as an organisation, have members who live and work on the land of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung peoples of the Kulin nation, owners of the Melbourne region. We also have active members in other parts of Australia, all of whom reside on Aboriginal land. We pay our respects to […]
The following statement, of which the AJDS is signatory, was initiated by an international Jewish network of groups and individuals working for justice in Palestine. Together, we reclaim Jewish identity not as a nationalist identity but as one that celebrates our diverse roots, traditions & communities wherever we are around the world. We believe that it is […]
On Thursday 15 October, the JNF Annual Dinner is being held, this year featuring two speakers: Nir Barkat, the Mayor of Jerusalem, via video link up, and Judy Feld Carr CM. While there is broad community support for the JNF within the Melbourne Jewish community, this kind of support is troubling. As Mayor of Jerusalem, […]
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society condemns the Coalition government’s decision to join the bombing campaign against Syria. This military intervention will do nothing to bring down Assad or ISIS, but rather will contribute to the daily toll of human life in that region of the world. The power tensions in the region cannot be resolved […]
Sign our petition now! At the end of July the AJDS together with APAN presented a panel of speakers at the triennial ALP National conference to discuss the realities of the failed peace process and how we can move forward. We presented our position that recognition of Palestinian statehood and addressing settlement expansion in the […]
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) has been associated with the Renate Kamener Orations in the past, as Renate was a dear member and supporter of AJDS. The choice of speakers has always been up to the Kamener Family, and we are participating again this year in order to honour her and raise funds for indigenous students. We […]
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) is deeply disappointed at the actions of the 2015 Limmud Oz organising committee in recent efforts to exclude voices from their program. The headline of an article published in the Jewish News on May 11th boldly exclaims: “Limmud-Oz promises ‘something for everyone.’” They quote one of this year’s volunteer […]