A message from the Jewish community in Australia, one of the youngest Jewish communities in the English speaking countries, was brought to America by Mr. Morris Symonds, a leader in Jewish life in Australia, who is on a short stay in New York on his way to Europe and Palestine.
Mr. Symonds, who is treasurer of the Great Synagogue of Sidney and president of the Union of Sidney Zionists, has had a remarkable career, rising from a penniless immigrant boy from Kovno to one of the captains of industry in Australia. As a resident of Australia for the last forty years, Mr. Symonds witnessed the growth of the country and the development of Jewish communal life there.
The Jewish population of Australia now numbers over 25,000, having the characteristics of a well organized body, Mr. Symonds stated when interviewed by the representative of the “Jewish Daily Bulletin.”
Many Australian Jews, such as Orwell Phillips, Judge George J. Cohen and Lieutenant Col. A. W. Hyman, hold high positions in the Australian government and parliament, devoting, at the same time, their energies to the Jewish religious life in the country. Despite the fact that the greater bulk of the Jewish population is native-born, the synagogue ritual is strictly traditional and Reform Judaism has not developed there, Mr. Symonds stated.
“There is no anti-Semitism in Australia, the Jewish citizens being held in high esteem by their neighbors both for their upright living and their contributions to the economic, cultural and political development of the country,” he stated. An interesting detail of the situation in Australia was related by Mr. Symonds when he stated that by an arrangement with the Jewish communities, the public school authorities allow Jewish religious teachers to give instruction to the Jewish children in the public schools during school hours.
“There is a possibility for Jewish immigrants to settle in Australia, particularly on the land. Australia, with a population of only six million, could accommodate larger numbers. There is no restriction against the immigration of Jews, the government giving preference, however, to prospective farmers.”
Mr. Symonds will visit many European cities and will go to Palestine.
Mrs. Kate Heimbach, pioneer resident of Chicago and one of the founders of Sinai Temple, Chicago, died at the age of 84.
The monthly immigration statistics for the United States for February, 1926, show 30,673 admitted and 11,683 departed.
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