At the Gala Banquet in Honour of the "Kadimah"

L-R: Michael Danby-MP, Cesia Goldberg, Yosl Winkler, Alex Dafner, Philip Chester-SZC

The history of the ‘Kadimah” reflects much of the story of 20th century Jewish migration and settlement in Australia.  Its fortunes wax and wane with the influx and decline of immigration in general and Jewish immigration to Melbourne in particular.  Over all it is a proud history of exemplary service and self-sufficiency, and a pioneering example of cultural autonomy, within an increasingly dependant multi-ethnic, multicultural society.  Above all the “Kadimah” fulfilled the vital cultural, linguistic, intellectual and social needs of that nascent, dislocated Jewish migrant community.  Sometimes however, it also served as a platform for the expressions of anguish and struggle, much of it transplanted and reflecting the turbulent and tragic Jewish experience in 20th century Europe.

The Jewish National Library “Kadimah” was founded on the 26th December 1911 and was first located at 59 Bourke Street, just down from the Victorian Parliament in central Melbourne.  The founders were predominantly recently arrived immigrants, Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia. The fact that the inaugural “Kadimah” Committee and its first 80 members led by President Yehushe Rochlin, chose to launch this secular, cultural initiative “davke” on Boxing Day and so near the bastion of  Melbourne's establishment, illustrates both their confidence and deference to the “arumike  svive”/ “surrounding environment”.  This was, after all, 60 years prior to the launch of  “Multiculturalism” as a national social policy.

The five and a half thousand Jews of predominantly Anglo-Germanic background who lived in Melbourne at the time of the founding of the “Kadimah”, were hardly welcoming of their new brethren from Eastern Europe.  After all, most of these “Veltlekhe folks Yidn”/ secular folk-Jews were escaping the turmoil of the “old world” and the failed revolution of 1905.  Like all “latest Green arrivals” they embarrassed and threatened the previously settled and more established “Melburnians of Hebraic persuasion”.  Right from the start of the founding of the “Kadimah” the disparate member factions began wrangling over languages and the character of the new institution.  English and Hebrew were at first the preferred languages of the majority of members and Yiddish was still looked down upon by many.  And so, it was not surprising that the Hebrew name “Kadimah” (”Forward/Progress”) was chosen by the founding committee.

Just prior to WWI as the membership rose steadily to more than 200, the “Kadimah” decided to move to larger premises.  In 1915 it was relocated at 38 Drummond Street Carlton, where the cheap rents were attracting the new migrants in greater numbers.  At the end of “the War to end all Wars” came a lull which saw “Kadimah’s” activities almost cease completely.  Then in 1919 an ensuing struggle amongst the membership, essentially a battle between the leftist supporters of the 1917 Russian Revolution and Zionist supporters of the 1917 Belfour Declaration on Palestine, led to significant defections and forced a merger with the pro-Zionist "Hatchia" organisation. When one of the shining lights of the East European Yiddish literary renaissance, Perets Hirshbayn arrived for a series of lectures in 1921, he was welcomed like a movie star and proved to be a harbinger of a new, dynamic, Yiddish dominated era.  In 1926 the “Kadimah” broke away from ”Hatchia”, again forming an independent organisation. 

By 1933, as Hitler came to power in Germany, marking the beginning of the end for European Jewry, the “Kadimah” blossomed into a fully fledged cultural centre and built new and larger premises in Lygon Street Carlton.  The new building also contained a 400 seat capacity theatre hall and library.  Boldly renamed the “Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library “Kadimah”, its numerous activities included lectures, recitals, concerts, debates, plays, dance evenings, and a youth committee was formed to coordinate special activities aimed at the growing number of younger members.  With the arrival of such Yiddish luminaries as the writer-poet Melekh Ravich and pedagogue Josef Giligich, the “Kadimah” published the first ever Yiddish book in Australia.  This was “Der Oystralisher Almanach”/”The Australian Almanach” which appeared in 1937.  A year later the pioneer Yiddish writer Pinkhas Goldhar published his excellent “Dertzaylungen fun Oystralye/Stories from Australia” and the Yiddish weekly "Di Yiddishe Nayes" began circulation under his editorship in 1939.

As news of the looming disaster in Europe reached Australia, the Melbourne Jewish community  rallied, beginning with a “Kadimah” initiated protest against the Nuremburg Racial Laws.  And whilst in Europe one tragedy followed another, the “Kadimah” continued its cultural activities interspersed with further rallies, protests and solidarity meetings.  The communal appeals, fund raising and attempts to speed up the immigration process, became the prime concern during and immediately following the war years.  The war in Europe raged and ravaged Jewish life everywhere, but local ideological battles also continued.  A spat over a 1944 “Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies” resolution supporting the declaration of a “Jewish Commonwealth in Palestine”, nearly split the "Kadimah" asunder. 

As realisation of the extent of the devastation of Jewish life in Europe unfolded, the "Kadimah" held the first Warsaw Ghetto Commemoration on the 19th April 1945.  Then in 1948, together with Jews everywhere, it joyously celebrated the establishment of the Jewish State in Israel.  Following the announcement of the new Australian Immigration policy in 1948, the post war trickle of Jewish refugees to Australia turned into a steady stream of newcomers.  Many of these new arrivals were Holocaust survivors and refugees returned from the labour camps in the Soviet Union, making Melbourne the home of the highest number of such survivors per capita, after Israel. 

The “Kadimah” soon became the focal point of the cultural and intellectual life of the growing post-war Jewish community, concentrated around the inner Melbourne suburbs of Carlton and Brunswick.  By 1950 there were 1000 members and a paid librarian had to be engaged to cope with the growing demand for books, magazines and newspapers.  A year later yet another schism threatened the future of the institution.  The leftist youth section was at odds with the “Kadimah” Committee.  Yet indicatively, both the leftist Bundist-SKIF and centrist Zionist-Habonim youth movements were permitted to use the “Kadimah” premises for their respective meetings.  The 1953 protest rallies against the Soviet Union’s persecution of Jews and the Doctors’ Plot and Slonsky Show Trials, again galvanised the community around the “Kadimah”.

The few surviving prominent actors and artists, such as Yakov Weislitz and Rokhl Holtzer, who were amongst the immigrants to find refuge in Melbourne, now built on an earlier, more amateurish, local Yiddish theatre tradition.  They established a new ensemble and later renamed it the “Dovid Herman Teater by der Kadimah” after the famous director of the Vilno Troupe.  This began a rich era of theatrical productions of a high calibre.  By 1953 they were staging five separate productions a year and the “Kadimah” membership had reached 1300. Melbourne’s reputation as a new centre of Jewish and Yiddish life soon spread around the world and  the “Kadimah”'s cultural and theatrical achievements came to the attention of overseas luminaries. 

From  the early 1950’s till the present day a steady stream of well known performers, directors and lecturers, visited these distant shores as guests of the "Kadimah", especially once flying became a more regular and affordable means of travel.  Amongst such prominent guests of the “Kadimah” were Mandl Man, Yankev Pat, Avrom Sutzkever, Shimon Dzigan, Zygmunt and Rosa Turkow, Dov Ber Malkin, Zerav Bovl Snr & Jnr, Sidor Belarski, Ida Kaminska, Josef Shayn, Prof Eliezer Naks, Dinah Halpern, Josef Rotboym, Leah Kenig, Tzvi Shtolper, Prof Klepfish, S Berkowicz, Shmuel Rudensky, Shmuel Segal, Shmuel Atzmon, M Tambur, Melekh Frydman, Nekhama Lifshitz, Yehuda Elberg, Michael Alpert, Prof Dov Noy, Prof Gershon Winer, Prof Moskowicz, Prof Avrom Novershtern, Prof Eugene Orenstein, and Adam Gruzman. 

These visiting luminaries unfailingly packed out the auditorium of the “Kadimah” and their guest presentations and performances were augmented all year round by an impressive array of local talent, lecturers, writers and poets, too many to mention and whose honoured memory would be offended by any accidental omission.  Many of the local writers and poets published their work in the “Kadimah”’s literary journal “Di Melburne Bletter/The Melbourne Chronicle”.  The Yiddish section, like the current issue, has been under the continuous editorship of writer-broadcaster Moishe Ajzenbud and the English section has been edited by a host of writer-editors including Ron Abel, Serge Liberman, Arnold Zable, Yvonne Fein, Zoi Juvris and Alex Dafner.

In the late 1950’s and early ‘60’s, as the Jewish migrant community became more settled and prosperous, it began to shift from inner city Carlton to the leafier, more middle class suburbs of Melbourne.  First southwards to St Kilda and Elwood, then gradually south-east to Caulfield,  Brighton and beyond.  The “Kadimah” was being abandoned by its former migrant patrons and had to follow the trend by moving south-east and building its present premises, the spacious Leo Fink Hall in Selwyn St.  The choice of the present position in Elsternwick was no doubt influenced by the availability, at its rear, of a unique facility and investment opportunity, Melbourne’s oldest operating picture theatre, “The Esquire (now Classic) Cinema”.  With a little renovation and building of additional changing rooms, “The Classic” doubled as a theatre for the performances of the very active “Dovid Herman Teater by der Kadimah”.  For many years the Hazomir mixed Choir at the “Kadimah“ also held regular concerts and sang at Holocaust Commemorations and Yom-Haatzmaut Celebrations, first under founding composer and director Boruch Kalushiner and after his tragic untimely death under Ben Segalov and Adrian Bartek. The choir also performed very successfully at competitions in Israel and to this day is very much missed by many of its former members and audience.

In 1970 with the rejuvenation of Australian theatre in general, a youth ensemble, the “Melbourne Yiddish Youth Theatre at the Kadimah” was founded and began performing Yiddish translations of English language plays, as well as classics from the Yiddish theatrical repertoire.  And whilst the older “Dovid Herman Theatre” gradually wound down its hectic run following the passing of such key figures as Yakov Weislitz, Shiah Tigel and later Yasha Sher, the younger troupe continued with their ensemble productions of locally devised musicals until the late 1990’s.

With the aging of the post-war Jewish migrant population, other initiatives of the "Kadimah" became a priority.  In 1984 under the dedicated stewardship of the veteran actress Rachel Lewita, the “Wednesday Club" began to function as an important weekly gathering for senior members of the community.  The clubs also included literary and cultural presentations, entertainment, lunch, games and much needed companionship.  It continues to function as strongly as ever, ably led for the past 12 years by the dynamic Cesia  Goldberg and assisted by stalwart “Kadimah” vice president and cultural and community activist Yosl Winkler with support from many other dedicated volunteers.  The National Library at the "Kadimah" the original “reason d’etre” for the founding of the institution in 1911, is undergoing a massive and much overdue cataloguing and modernisation process under the dynamic stewardship of vice-president Rachel Kalman OAM, with the assistance of other tireless volunteers. And the younger Josef Giligich foundation which fosters Yiddish education and book collections, has also found a home in he Kadimh National Library. The Kadimah reading circle also has its monthly meetings at the library under the stewardship of Jacob Dessauer.

The popular “Kadimah Concerts with Friendship” attract and entertain hundreds of people throughout the year and even though the membership has dropped to the levels of the earlier years, the “Kadimah” still manages to present some 50 substantial activities per year, making it one of the most active organisations within the Jewish community in Australia. And whilst it would be remiss not to mention the many dedicated “Kadimah kultur un gezlshaftlekhe tuer”/Kadimah's cultural and community activists", presidents, office bearers, volunteers and functionaries, who gave of their toil, talents and time for the betterment of the Kadimah’s and the community's cultural pursuits, it would also be unfair to mention some names and omit the names of many others, equally deserving of a mention. 

Those interested in these personalities are therefore encouraged to turn to the three “Kadimah Almanachs”, the AGM and committee minutes, the Presidents’ honour board and other records of the “Kadimah” which honour their names and contributions.  The challenge for the future is to make the “Kadimah” relevant to the needs of the second and third generation, Australian born Jews, offspring of those migrants who made this country and this institution a real “home away from the home” that was so cruelly destroyed forever.

Alex Dafner - President “Kadimah”