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Campaign for good
Now, more than ever, our world needs more people practising acts of kindness.
More ‘mensches’.
Join the mensch movement and follow our Instagram page via the link below. Find out more -
Become a Member
Our Museum Members are voices for respect, empathy and a better world.
In these challenging times, your membership is more important than ever to help us develop new innovative and engaging projects. Find out more -
Jews from Islamic Lands
An exhibition that tells the stories of Jews from Islamic lands through artefacts and photographs.
See intricately designed ritual objects, such as an elaborately adorned Torah cover – or a tik – from India, a Passover seder plate from Egypt, and a colourful wedding dress from Iran. Find out more -
Learn online with us
We have launched a range of new ways teachers and students can continue to connect with our artefacts and stories online!
Browse our online excursions, webinars for HSC students and teachers, and lesson plans. Find out more -
Holocaust survivor videos
Hearing a Holocaust survivor tell their story of survival is a moving and inspiring experience.
Their reflections on resilience, loss and rebuilding their lives can teach us so much about how to navigate the world and our shared humanity.
Browse snippets of short and long testimony by some of our Holocaust survivors. 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
Book into a public webinar
Our public online talk series
Our online talks series is another way for you to engage with the Sydney Jewish Museum while we can’t gather in person for events.
Follow the link below to browse and book your place in our upcoming public webinars.
Book into a Members' webinar
An exclusive series of webinars for Members
As part of our mission to educate and thank you for your support, Museum Members have access to an exclusive series of talks on topics including the Holocaust, Judaism, and human rights.
Follow the link below to browse and book your place in our Members' webinars
View All
Exhibitions
Now open
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.
Now open
Nostalgic Glimpses of a Bygone Era
Nostalgic Glimpses of a Bygone Era is an exhibition of paintings by Camille Fox, a Jewish artist who was born in the “golden era” in Alexandria, Egypt.
Camille has childhood memories of a charmed life in Egypt. She recalls memories of Mohammad, their ‘bawab’, who used to walk her to school, visiting her grandfather at his textile store in Anfushi, her grandmother sipping sweet black coffee in fine English porcelain cups and nibbling cakes in Alexandria’s finest tea rooms.
Upcoming Events
Public
My Two Lives
Sunday 1 November at 7pm
Tickets $15
96 year old Holocaust survivor Lotte Weiss survived Auschwitz, but was the only one of her family to survive. In this online talk, Lotte’s sons, Gary and Johnny, will tell us more about her miraculous and heartbreaking story of survival.
We will also screen a short film made by Sarita Gold, which profiles Lotte and her daughter in-law and artist Thea Weiss. Thea has produced multimedia artworks inspired by Lotte’s story.
See Full Calendar
Discover our collection online
The Sydney Jewish Museum collection consists of over 12,000 artefacts and over 1,000 oral histories and testimonies.
The collection began when the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors approached their members in the late 1980s for Holocaust-related memorabilia to found a museum. When the Sydney Jewish Museum opened in 1992, these objects found a permanent home.
While our curators are constantly researching and updating records, where some items may not have been updated since their entry, we have taken the decision to make our collection open to you online.
Discover collection
Browse members' webinars
New Webinar Series for Museum Members
Online Teacher Training
Professional development delivered via webinar
Join our educators for a webinar from the comfort of your home to gain deeper understanding of the topics on the curriculum.
Downloadable Lesson Plans
A range of resources to incorporate into your teaching materials
Sneak behind the scenes of the Museum to discover a range of case studies, videos, objects and images, that will help you bring history to life for your students.
Explore the Museum through video
Head Curator Roslyn Sugarman talks about a suitcase on display from the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Watch survivor testimonies
Holocaust survivor Olga Horak reflects the difficulties of forgiving and the importance of not having any hatred
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.
Follow us on InstagramBe the voice for respect, empathy and a better world
Become a Member
In these challenging times, the Sydney Jewish Museum relies on the support of its Members to ensure the lessons from the Holocaust and human history, that are at the core of the Museum, continue to inspire people to be more empathetic, aware and driven to make positive change in the world.
This year, while the Museum had to temporarily close its doors due to COVID-19, membership is more important than ever to help us develop new and innovative projects, from online exhibitions to digitally delivered school programs.
Discover more
SJM blog
Yom Kippur from Home
September 23, 2020
Yom Kippur from Home Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is often spent in synagogue. Of course, this year for most will be different. While we know we can still …
An Egyptian Rosh Hashana Seder
September 16, 2020
An Egyptian Rosh Hashana Seder The festival of Rosh Hashana is both a joyous celebration and the start of a period of ten days during which Jewish people engage in …
“Love each other. Be tolerant. Help each other.”
September 4, 2020
“Love each other. Be tolerant. Help each other.” “What legacy can I leave my children, grandchildren and great-grands? Much love. Yes… Love each other. Be tolerant. Help each other.” – …
Stronger together
Donate Now
Your support of the JCA helps organisations within the Jewish community, like the Sydney Jewish Museum, do incredible work.
If you are able and willing to support the community at this critical time, you can donate specifically to projects, like those of the Sydney Jewish Museum, or make a “simple” communal donation to JCA.
With your help, the Jewish community can be stronger together. Now more than ever.
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.
Read More
What’s On Newsletter
Keep up to date on all Museum events and exhibitions.