Australian Jews

Australian Jews
יהדות אוסטרליה
Total population
91,022250,000[1] (0.4%–1% of the Australian population)
Regions with significant populations
Melbourne, Sydney and other metropolitan areas
Languages
Religion
Judaism · Jewish secularism
Related ethnic groups
Israeli Australians

Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, (Hebrew: יהודים אוסטרלים, romanizedyehudim ostralim) are Jews who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. In the 2021 census there were 99,956 people who identified Judaism as their religious affiliation and 29,113 Australians who identified as Jewish by ancestry, an increase from 97,355 and 25,716, respectively, from the 2016 census.[2] The actual number is almost certainly higher, because being a Jew is not just about being religious, but the census data is based on religious affiliation, so secular Jews often feel it would be inaccurate to answer with "Judaism". Also, since the question is optional, many practising Holocaust survivors and Haredi Jews are believed to prefer not to disclose their religion in the census.[citation needed] By comparison, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz estimated a Jewish-Australian population of 120,000–150,000[3] (not limited to adherents of Judaism), while other estimates based on the death rate in the community estimate the size of the community as 250,000, which would make them 1% of the population. Based on the census data, Jewish citizens make up about 0.4% of the Australian population.[4] The Jewish community of Australia is composed mostly of Ashkenazi Jews, though there are Jews in Australia from many other traditions and levels of religious observance and participation in the Jewish community.

Geographic distribution of the Jewish population of Australia (by reported religious affiliation, or by ancestry if no other religion is reported), by Statistical Areas 1 (SA1)[5]
  1. ^ Self-identifying population of 91,022 according to: Core population of 112,800 and enlarged population (Jewish ancestry) of 120,000-135,000 according to:
    • DellaPergola, Sergio (2015). World Jewish Population, 2015 (Report). Berman Jewish DataBank. Retrieved 19 April 2017.

    120,000-250,000 according to:
  2. ^ "2016 Census". www.abs.gov.au.
  3. ^ Raphael Ahren (25 March 2011). "JAFI Reforms May Hurt Australian Immigration to Israel, Leader Says". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ^ Graham, David (2014). The Jewish population of Australia: key findings from the 2011 census (PDF). Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation, Monash University. ISBN 978-0-9874195-7-6. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  5. ^ ""Census of Population and Housing - Cultural Diversity, 2016, TableBuilder"". Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).