Limmud Oz 2021

Where did Jews fit in the white/non-white dichotomy of 19th and 20th century Australia? In 1891, rumours began that 500,000 persecuted Russian Jews were to be resettled in Australia. Although quickly refuted, the story provoked an intensely negative reaction in the press, in colonial parliaments, and even within Australia's Anglo-Jewish community. In 1924, with heightened pogroms and the imposition of US quotas, questions about the racial desirability of Russian Jewish migrants arose again. We'll explore these moments as a window into the question of the colour of Jews in a White Australia. Despite being notionally accepted, the whiteness of Jews was never guaranteed.