The Voice of Youth: Being Jewish in NZ

We have a very special podcast to share with you. Listen in to this conversation between four young Jewish Kiwis, recorded on their iPhones, as they chat about life as young Jews in New Zealand at the moment.  One is from Wellington, one at Dunedin university and two from Auckland. They tell of their experience of living in Israel this year, to returning home and facing the antisemitism in New Zealand which has arisen as a result of the war in Gaza.

Jemma, Abby, Sara and Maia discuss what Jewishness means to them; the obligation they feel to speak on political issues, even when they’d prefer not to; antisemitic incidents; the different experience of being Jewish in Israel; the self-censorship; the silence of friends; Jewish identity; the social media battle, blocking by “friends”, “doom scrolling” and much more.

These young women share their fears and concerns but also demonstrate hope and resilience, nicely summed up in these words:  

“If I want to express my Judaism, I will express my damn Judaism”.

If you’d like to reach out to Jemma, Abby, Sara and Maia, you can contact them through: trustees@jewishlives.nz

Habo - short for Habomin

Shnat - Habonim Dror Shnat program is an intensive 9-month educational and leadership program in Israel.