Alex Dafner, Yiddish: "Jews in Aust. joined the rest of the country in honouring former PM, Bob Hawke" 19.5.2019

Jews in Australia joined the rest of the country in honouring the just deceased former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, and recalled his many achievements for the country, but also remembered his warm friendship and relationship with the local Jewish community and Israel, as well as his efforts to allow Jews to emigrate from the former Soviet Union, which allowed several thousand of them to also settle in Australia. Several Australian Jews stood as candidates representing the main political parties and as independents in the just completed Australian elections on the 18th May 2019, with the two electoral divisions of Macnamara in Melbourne and Wentworth in Sydney, both with sizable Jewish populations, locked in a particularly close contest, where their stance on Israel and the Palestinians was an additional factor on top of the general issues presented. Australians were more than usually interested in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, which was for the first time being held in Tel-Aviv, Israel, from the 15th to 18th May, and where Aussie singer Kate Miller-Heidke competed as a finalist, a fact that gave Australians the opportunity to see pictures of the vibrant life of Tel-Aviv, as well as the tight security measures around the city and sea shore employed against threats of rocket and terror attacks.

Source: SBS