For centuries, Jewish life has thrived Down Under, in lands that are among the most remote in the world. A small group of Jews was among the first Westerners to arrive in Australia. Maintaining tradition and Jewish identity was essential for those who chose to live in this part of the world. After World War II, Australia would become a refuge for thousands of Holocaust survivors. Today, Australia and New Zealand are home to an unprecendented number of synagogues, Jewish schools, and cultural and religious organizations. I am thrilled to announce my Jewish Heritage Tour of Australia/New Zealand for November 2009.

Sydney's Great Synagogue Photo courtesy of amyisrael

Photo ©Sydney's Great Synagogue

Rimona Kedem Window Photo ©Melbourne Hebrew Congregation

Join Joy in Australia This November 2009!
CHAI AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND SHOMER SHABBAT TOUR
An Exhilarating Discovery of Indigenous and Jewish Experience Down Under
First-Class Touring of Auckland • Rotorua • Melbourne • Philip Island • Dandenong Ranges • Blue Mountains • Sydney
November 4-22, 2009 (18 Days/17 Nights in Australia/New Zealand, plus Guided Round-Trip Air from Los Angeles)
A SMALL GROUP TOUR with Maximum 25 Travellers / Minimum of ten travelers to proceed
NOTE: Space subject to availability / Initial deposit to hold the space must be received by June 15, 2009
Special Pricing for early bird registration by May 15, 2009

This tour is joined by and includes presentations by Tour Scholar-in-Residence Joy Katzen-Guthrie
as well as Jewish scholars and specialized guided tours in every city
Our tour is in arrangement with Travel Harmony, specialists in Australia/New Zealand travel

CLICK TO VIEW HIGHLIGHTS of this Magnificent Itinerary
Please click to contact Francine at Travel Harmony today if you are interested!

In Auckland, the Auckland Hebrew Congregation and Congregation Beth Shalom serve the Jewish community. The historic former Princes St. Synagogue is fully restored and furnished. Melbourne's first formal synagogue, founded in 1848, the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, completed in 1930, with its Corinthian pillars, copper dome, bimah carved from Tasmanian blackwood (possibly the finest example of timber work in Australia) and its stained glass windows created by the Israeli artist, Rimona Kedem, seats more than 1300. The graceful domed St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation, founded 1872, is Melbourne's traditional Orthodox Congregation. Melbourne's Jewish Museum of Australia displays Jewish culture, history and religious practice. The Museum is a national institution dedicated to the conservation, preservation and exhibition of Jewish heritage, arts, custom and religious practice in all its diversity. In particular it illustrates the Australian Jewish experience. Through its exhibitions it tells of the common experience of migration, displacement and the challenge of adaptation to a new land. The Great Synagogue, is one of Sydney's most opulent and historic heritage buildings. The Synagogue has stood on its present site for well over a hundred and twenty years. The Sydney Jewish Museum, with its exhibits of Holocaust and Australian Jewish History, is dedicated to documenting and teaching the history of the Holocaust. Housed in the historic Maccabean Hall, the museum is a testimony to the fortitude and endurance of the human spirit.

These congregations, which our group will visit in addition to a magnificent itinerary of local historical, indigenous, and nature sites, are only a sprinkling of the many congregations and Jewish organizations that serve the diverse Jewish communities of Australia and New Zealand. Peruse this site to see more examples of the unity, commitment, and strength of the Jews Down Under. Visit the Australia Jewish Links section for a much more detailed listing of the Jewish communities of Australia and New Zealand. And join me in New Zealand and Australia this November for a one-of-a-kind experience Down Under. ~Joy

AND KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ...

SPRING 2010 ... Planning is underway for an Argentina/Chile Jewish Heritage Tour tentatively in April 2010 following Pesach. The itinerary and pricing are now being arranged and the tour will be announced as soon as possible. The travel will tentatively include Buenos Aires, a Jewish Colonies Tour of Entre Rios, Igazu Falls, Calafate, and Santiago. If this tour is of interest to you, please e-mail me immediately at joyfulnoise@earthlink.net to be included in the mailing list for updates regarding the tour. I will serve as Scholar/Artist in Residence on this tour and would love for you to join me!

CHINA ... I continue to assist in the planning of private or group tours to China and am happy to help you create an itinerary for yourself, your family, or your group to travel when it is perfect for you. I do not have any planned visits to China myself at this time, but hope to return to see much more of the country with a small group visiting the northern and southern Silk Roads. Please e-mail me at joyfulnoise@earthlink.net if you have an interest in this kind of visit to China or if I may assist you in creating a personalized tour.

I wish you many happy, healthy travels and a year of insight and beauty in 2009.

Joy Katzen-Guthrie