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Eddie Jaku turns 100 To celebrate his 100th birthday on 14 April 2020, Eddie has requested donations to the Sydney Jewish Museum to ensure his story of survival and his messages of hope, resilience and respect continue to inspire positive change in future generations. Find out more -
Campaign for good On Human Rights Day, the Sydney Jewish Museum launches a campaign that urges people to practise small acts of kindness on an everyday basis to make the world a more accepting and welcoming place.
The campaign aims to inspire those it touches to Be A Mensch, because right now the world needs more mensches. Find out more -
Where History Has A Voice The Sydney Jewish Museum is a living museum, where history is kept alive and dynamic to continue to speak to future generations in a way that will always resonate. Find out more -
Permanent exhibition The Holocaust Located over three levels, this exhibition traces the persecution and murder of European Jews from 1933 to 1945.
The exhibition also recounts the new lives forged by Holocaust survivors following their arrival in Australia and their contribution to the rich, multicultural fabric of contemporary Australian life. Find out more -
Permanent exhibition Holocaust and Human Rights This exhibition traces the history of human rights and focuses on major human rights issues in Australia. Using digital technologies and interactive spaces, this exhibition invites visitors to challenge their perceptions and reflect on topics that may prove irresolvable. Find out more
The Sydney Jewish Museum is temporarily closed
The health and wellbeing of our Holocaust survivors, visitors, volunteers and employees is of utmost importance to us. To best ensure protection of everyone in light of the spread of the coronavirus, the Sydney Jewish Museum is temporarily closed.
As the situation changes rapidly, we continue to monitor developments and will keep you updated as we make further decisions about our operating hours in the coming weeks.
Follow the link below to read the full statement.
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Exhibitions
Coming soon
Jews from Islamic Lands
Until the 15th century, most Jews lived in Islamic lands. This exhibition traces the lives of Jews living in the Middle East, Asia Minor, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula from ancient times.
It tells a tapestry of stories from across these regions, of flourishing, tolerance, expulsion and displacement, as well as how these Jews have continued to celebrate their vibrant cultures in new places across the world.
Permanent Exhibition
The Holocaust and Human Rights
This exhibition outlines human rights achievements and challenges, and focuses on some of the key human rights issues facing Australia today.
The Holocaust and Human Rights uses interactive media and new digital technologies to explore local issues pertaining to the rights of refugees and asylum seekers; people with disabilities; Indigenous people; and the LGBTIQ+ community.
Upcoming Events
Events Lunchtime Lecture – The influence of Islamic design on synagogues
Wednesday 24 June at 1.15pm
Free
Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton will examine the influence of Islamic design on synagogues from the nineteenth century onwards. He will reference examples of architecture from Europe, America, Australia and India.
See Full Calendar
Campaign for good
Now, more than ever, our societies need more individuals practising small acts of kindness on an everyday basis, working towards making the world a more accepting and welcoming place. In other words, we need more mensches.
Be A Mensch is a reminder of the impact that kindness, humility, integrity and personal responsibility can have on the world – small acts that can make a better society, one person at a time. Be A Mensch is a call for the lessons of history to inspire humanity and empathy.
A mensch, in Yiddish, is a person of integrity, morality, dignity, with a sense of what is right and responsible. But mensch is more than just an old Yiddish adage. It is relevant now, across the world, more than ever.
Learn More about Be A Mensch Discover more
SJM blog
Celebrating one of the strong women in the Purim story
March 6, 2020
Celebrating one of the strong women in the Purim story On International Women’s Day, and on the eve of Purim, we look at one of the powerful women in the …
Survivor Portraits – Peter Rossler
March 5, 2020
Peter was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1930, and was nine years old when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. Life as Peter knew it began to change.
Australia – A Territorial Solution of the Jewish Problem
March 4, 2020
In April 1938 – following the Anschluss, or annexation, of Austria into Hitler’s Great Germanic Empire – a bizarre plan was hatched which has evaded history books. On the eve of the Holocaust, Australia was selected as a suitable site for solving the ‘Jewish Problem’.
Be a voice
Become a member
BE A VOICE for inclusion, tolerance, respect, empathy and human dignity.
Through the support of Museum Members, the Sydney Jewish Museum is able to open more minds and hearts to the realities of the stories from the Holocaust, and the lessons this history can teach today about how to be better people in a caring world.
Our Members help us ensure our exhibitions, education programs and cultural events continue to inspire the thousands of student and adult visitors that pass through the Museum’s door each year.
Through their generosity, our Members are voices for inclusion, human dignity, respect and tolerance.
Teacher training
NESA-approved events bringing teachers together
The Sydney Jewish Museum offers regular professional development seminars for teachers, and the opportunity to engage with other teachers at our Teachers' Network events, which are held four times a year at the Museum.
Teachers' Facebook group
Join our Facebook group just for teachers
Connect with fellow teachers and Museum educators to build a conversation about teaching history and the Holocaust in the classroom.
Join our new SJM Learning group on Facebook to continue to conversation online.
Where History Has A Voice
The Sydney Jewish Museum’s tagline, “Where history has a voice”, distills the origins of the Museum and its mission that continues to transmit across generations.
The objects within the collection and on display in the Museum’s exhibitions tell compelling stories of their owners and contribute to the narratives that the Museum tells within its walls. Testimony, accessible digitally and face-to-face, anchors the objects in the display cases to real world events, and gives life and narrative to history.
The Sydney Jewish Museum is a living museum, where history is kept alive and dynamic to continue to speak to future generations in a way that will always resonate.
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The story of Righteous Among The Nations, Siek and Anna Attema
As part of our Be A Mensch campaign, we are highlighting people whose respectful, inclusive and empathetic actions have made a positive difference in the face of adversity and inhumanity.
In this article, we shine light on two ‘mensches’ whose stories feature in our collection. Siek and Anna Attema were Dutch farmers who hid Mia Polak and her sister for two years on their farm in Gaast-Friesland, Holland, during World War Two.
Due to the selfless actions of Siek and Anna Teema, Mia and her sister survived the war. They were the only survivors of their family.
Read More
What’s On Newsletter
Keep up to date on all Museum events and exhibitions.