Published: 9 December 2022
Last updated: 5 March 2024
About a quarter of Australian Jews are migrants or children of migrants from the former Soviet Union but their culture is often excluded from mainstream community events.
In November, Jews with roots in the former Soviet Union who live in Australia heralded their heritage with a pair of long-awaited festivals in Sydney and Melbourne.
Limmud FSU Australia hosted both festivals in partnership with the Zionist Federation of Australia.
Due to Covid lockdowns, the events, which each attracted 200 people, were the first large scale in-person events for the community since 2018.
About a quarter of Australia’s 120,000 Jews were born in the former Soviet Union or are children of immigrants from the former USSR but many do not connect with the rest of the Australian Jewish community.
Limmud FSU organises gatherings all over the world to strengthen Jewish identity and a sense of Jewish community among Jews with roots in the USSR.
Among the attendees was Luiza Levenfus, 44, who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan at age 12 before moving to Melbourne when she was about 20.
She says Jewish identity is at risk in Australia’s multicultural society.
“There is a big risk of losing our connection to Judaism,” Levenfus said. “I feel like my kids don’t understand the Jewish side of things, even though their mom is Jewish and their dad is half-Jewish and half-Russian — especially in the suburb where we live.”
That’s why taking the time to go to the Limmud FSU festival was so important, she said.
“People there get me. I don’t have to explain to them why I have tears when I hear Hebrew songs,” Levenfus said. “We’re all on the same page.”
