Mansions in Maroubra: making a Jewish South African home in Australia

Jews of South African origin make up approximately one out of every seven or eight Jews in Australia. In studies of migrant communities in Australia, South African Jews are seen as uncontroversial and unproblematic, and therefore, somehow unworthy of further analysis. This article argues that it is precisely the uncontroversial nature of South African Jewish migration to Australia that is interesting. How are South African Jews able to make themselves at home in Australia? In this article, I draw on interviews with South African Jews who have come to Australia since 2000, and who have settled in Sydney. This is a qualitative study of their migration experience. How do they understand their migration? What constitutes home for them? What is it about Australian society that allows South African Jews to make home here with such apparent ease? Their experience offers broader insights into the nature of Australian multiculturalism in the early twenty-first century.