The New South Wales Council of Christians and Jews 1942-1946: Australia’s First Formal Channel for Interfaith Dialogue

Abstract

The New South Wales Council of Christians and Jews was Australia’s first, albeit short-lived, official channel for interfaith relations. The plans to establish the Council were announced at a protest meeting held at the Sydney Town Hall in November 1942, at a time when news of the Holocaust began to be revealed. Relations between Christians and Jews were already strained at this time due to problems of antisemitism and anti-refugee hysteria in the media, government and the Australian public.

The creation of the Council was a response by Christian and Jewish denominations to the suffering experienced by Jews at the hands of the Nazis. It was modelled on a similar, successful Council in Britain and was important in that it was the first time that representatives of various Christian denominations, especially Anglicans and Catholics, as well as representatives from both Orthodox and Liberal Judaism, officially met to discuss issues of common concerns in order to create better relations and understanding between the two faith groups in Australia.

This thesis will examine the relations that existed between Christians and Jews in Australia during the colonial period and the early twentieth century, prior to the Council’s establishment and then analyse the reasons leading to its establishment, as well as its accomplishments. Emphasis will be placed on the key roles played by certain Council leaders during its brief existence, especially Rabbi Dr Israel Porush and Bishop Charles Venn Pilcher. The thesis will also examine the reasons for the Council’s demise after the war as well as its legacy.