AJA exists to unite and empower Australian Jews through education, advocacy, and the strengthening of Jewish identity and support for Israel.
Founded in 2017, AJA is a national, membership-based community organisation guided by Torah and centre-right Australian values. We now have thousands of members across every state and territory, representing a broad spectrum from completely secular to highly religious, and we have grown to become the largest Australian Jewish organisation on social media.
AJA proudly advocates for centre-right policies that promote individual liberty, economic freedom, limited government, strong national defence, and the primacy of Australian law. Support for Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people is central to our worldview.
AJA Tzedakah is a separate entity primarily focused on combating antisemitism, including threats from the far-left, far-right, and parts of the Islamic community.
We work closely with politicians from all parties except the Greens, Australia’s only significant antisemitic political party. AJA frequently briefs politicians and is invited to make submissions to state and federal parliaments. While we do not endorse political parties or candidates, and have political affiliations, we have taken a strong stand on key issues affecting the Jewish community. AJA was the only Jewish organisation to oppose Labor’s failed Voice Referendum and Misinformation Laws and has consistently opposed Australian tax money being sent to the Palestinian Authority or UNRWA.
AJA is a trusted voice in the media, regularly providing commentary on issues affecting the Australian Jewish community and Israel. Our opinion pieces have been published in major newspapers such as the Australian Financial Review (AFR), The Australian, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, and Jerusalem Post. AJA representatives have been interviewed on all major Australian TV networks and numerous radio stations. We are also widely featured in Jewish media, including the Australian Jewish News (AJN), Jewish Report, J-Wire, and J-Air.
AJA is the largest Australian Jewish organisation on social media, with tens of thousands of followers and a monthly reach in the millions across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
AJA provides educational opportunities for the Jewish and wider community. Our Wednesday Night Weekly Zoom Speaker Series features prominent international and local figures, including politicians, journalists, ambassadors, and subject-matter experts. We also organise in-person events for young adults and the broader community, hosting distinguished speakers from Australia and around the world.
AJA collaborates with other Jewish organisations, synagogues, and rabbis, as well as diverse communities that share our concerns, including Christian, Iranian, Hindu, and Aboriginal leaders.
AJA advocates for policies that strengthen Australia-Israel relations and enhance cooperation between the two nations.
Dr David Adler is a medical graduate of the University of NSW, where he received the medical faculty prize for general proficiency and leadership.
Robert has a legal background and served as AJA Public Affairs Director for two years before being appointed CEO.
Tamir was born in Israel and moved to Australia at the age of 13. He is a former member of the Brisbane Jewish community and has been residing in Melbourne for the past 20+ years. He was a past leader in Betar youth group and the current president of Betar Parents and Friends Vic. His career to date has been divided equally between the IT industry and currently the Defence industry specialising in business development.
Born in South Africa and raised in Sydney, Teneille graduated from UNSW with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) & Bachelor of Music and began her career in the Sydney Jewish Community after spending time furthering her education in Israel.
David Parasol is the Managing Director of CT Solutions Australia Pty Ltd. A Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience, David specialises in assisting family owned and emerging business enterprises.
A South African graduate in Theoretical Physics, Engineering and Business Management, Brian Levitan worked on the NASA Mariner Mars Mission.
Terry Davis arrived in Sydney from London in 1983 and is a member of the North Shore Synagogue congregation. He has been enthusiastically Zionist since his teens, as a member of the Federation of Zionist Youth in the UK. He is an occasional contributor to the letter pages of the Australian Jewish News and The Australian, with a distinctly right of centre worldview of domestic and Jewish matters.
Mark Friedgut is the Vice Chairman of Kehillat Kadimah and is barrister at the Sydney Bar practising primarily in the equity, commercial, corporate, insurance and defamation fields, and has acted in constitutional disputes in the Federal, Supreme and High Court. Previously a barrister (advocate) in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mark has also practiced as a partner in a South African firm of solicitors, and was a litigator with Freehills in Sydney between 1992 and 2008.
Gideon is the immediate former Director of Policy at the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), Australia's leading conservative think tank.
Ezequiel is an experienced commercial lawyer and company director with over 30 years’ Australasian legal experience. He has worked both in the corporate sector and in private practice. Ezequiel started his Australasian career in private practice and achieved Partnership in large established Australian law firms. Ezequiel also had distinguished career as a lawyer and senior executive in the private sector including 5 years as general counsel & company secretary of Airways New Zealand.
Lev is a former National Executive Member and Director of AUJS as well as the former Branch President of the Caulfield Young Liberals.
Courtney is a wife and mother of three children based in Melbourne. She has been working in industrial cyber security since 2016 and prior to that worked in management consulting since 2006. She holds a BA from Harvard College, a MA from Middlebury College and a MBA from Georgetown University. She is originally from the United States.
With a career in the security and risk-management arena spanning nearly three decades, Daniel Lewkovitz has been involved with security operations on every scale.
Adam is a Registered Counsellor, Therapist and Human Resources Consultant with over two decades of experience passionately delivering quality behavioural and leadership development for individuals, teams, and organisations in highly complex scenarios and operating environments. Adam holds a current professional registration with Counsellors Victoria.
There are many others across Australia who play a role in AJA activities behind the scenes. Some of these people are currently or formerly in senior leadership positions in the Jewish Community.
AJA is committed to Jewish tradition and practice and regularly seeks guidance from many of Australia’s most senior Orthodox Rabbis.
