Auckland’s only Orthodox congregation and Community Center

As Auckland ‘s only Orthodox Synagogue and Community Centre, Auckland Hebrew Congregation is the hub of Jewish living in New Zealand. The AHC has a main centre in Auckland Central and an Eastern Suburbs Stiebel. The synagogue was designed by John Goldwater, a Jewish New Zealander, whose design projects include the Dunedin, New Zealand Synagogue.

New Zealand ‘s earliest non-Aboriginal settlers were whalers, mariners, escaped convicts from Australia and Jewish traders. Three of New Zealand ‘s prime ministers had Jewish ancestry. Of the three, Julius Vogel, who served twice in the 1870s, was a practicing Jew. The other two, Francis Bell, PM during the 1920s, and John Key, the current PM (2014 ), had Jewish mothers. Although anti -Semitism is almost non-existent in NZ, Mr. Key was recently forced, under the Official Information Act, to answer whether he was a “shapeshifting reptilian alien in disguise”. Key told reporters, “I ‘ve taken the unusual step of not only seeing a doctor but a vet, and both have confirmed I’m not a reptile ….. I’ve never been in a spaceship, never been in outer space, and my tongue’s not overly long either.”

The Jewish population, estimated at around 7,500, is less than a quarter of one percent of New Zealand’s total population of 4.2 million. The majority the country\’s Jews reside in Auckland and Wellington on the North Island, though a significant number , estimated at about 1,000, live in Christchurch, Dunedin and other cities on the South Island.