Published: 6 June 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
A new program is bringing Australian Jews together around shabbat tables to understand Indigenous issues and promote a Yes vote in this year’s referendum.
Shabbat is traditionally a time for Jews to gather with their loved ones, share a meal, and converse after a busy week.
A new initiative is encouraging Australian Jews to use that time to join the national conversation around Indigenous rights and understand the value of voting Yes to constitutional recognition and a Voice to Parliament for Indigenous Australians.
Shabbat Table Talks provides guided materials to encourage at-home conversations in the lead-up to this year’s referendum.
Anyone can become a Shabbat Table Talks host, simply by inviting a group of people to Shabbat dinner for two powerful conversations, ideally three to four weeks apart. Hosts will receive practical advice and materials to help them guide the discussions.
“It’s not enough to vote Yes yourself. We need all Australians who support an Indigenous Voice to talk with their family members and neighbours,” said the program’s initiator, The Jewish Independent general manager Ilona Lee.
“These conversations give us the opportunity to dispel misinformation and counter negativity and racism in our community and beyond. The more people who step into the role of host, the more informed the Jewish community can be about this historic opportunity.”
Shabbat Table Talks is a project of The Jewish Independent and the National Council of Jewish Women. It adapts Kitchen Table Conversations, a model created by the Victorian Women’s Trust to encourage civic engagement through the kind of honest dialogue that women have traditionally had around kitchen tables.
Executive Director of the Trust Mary Crooks said the model has been used for 20 years. “We know it works.”
