The Jewish Independent

1 week ago | thejewishindependent.com.au | Deborah Stone

From one angle, Josh Burns looks like the ideal candidate for the substantial proportion of Melbourne’s Jewish community who live in Macnamara, the electorate including Caulfield, St Kilda, Ripponlea and Balaclava. Burns, 38, grew up in Caulfield and lives in St Kilda, went to Mount Scopus College, and played basketball for Maccabi, where he was a rare beast as a 1.91 metre (6ft 3) Jewish boy. Plus he has the advantage of incumbency and being a Labor MP in a safe Labor seat.

2 weeks ago | thejewishindependent.com.au | Deborah Stone

The Jewish Independent acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and strive to honour their rich history of storytelling in our work and mission. Enter site I recently told a friend that I wasn’t looking forward to Pesach, a festival I consider to be a culinary desert. “But you can eat rice!” she replied.

3 weeks ago | thejewishindependent.com.au | Ittay Flescher

There's a bridge in northern Israel, spanning the main artery of Road 6, that bears a banner with three simple words: "No Other Land." As I drove past it last week, returning to Jerusalem after a holiday in Haifa, I found myself pondering: was this message placed by a Jew or an Arab? If placed by a Jew, it could be a reference to the historic and biblical connection of our people to the Land of Israel and the right to a Jewish state.

3 weeks ago | thejewishindependent.com.au | Deborah Stone

As campaigning for the May 3 election begins, Labor is fighting to retain the Melbourne electorate of Macnamara with a pitch for the Jewish vote. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles joined local MP Josh Burns today to announce an $18 million investment to support the creation of the Jewish Arts Quarter (JAQ) in Elsternwick.

1 month ago | thejewishindependent.com.au | Deborah Stone

The electorate that represents most of Melbourne’s Jewish community has been a Labor seat for more than 100 years, but Jewish community disappointment with the Albanese government could change that in the upcoming federal election. Macnamara, formerly known as Melbourne Ports, represents a swathe of Melbourne’s southeast, including the “shtetl suburbs” of Caulfield, St Kilda East and Ripponlea, and the gentrified progressive-voting inner suburbs of Port Melbourne and St Kilda.