Only Jewish school in South Australia to close its doors

Massada College, a "Jewish Primary School and Early Learning Centre" was founded in 1975 in Adelaide, South Australia.

By JTA
Students 521 (photo credit: courtesy)
Students 521
(photo credit: courtesy)
SYDNEY, Australia – The only Jewish school in South Australia will close this week.
Massada College, which was founded in Adelaide in 1975, will cease operating on July 8.
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The school has been plagued by financial strife for years, and was bailed out on numerous occasions by benefactors, including Melbourne’s Rabbi Joseph Gutnick.
The school’s financial woes were largely a function of dwindling enrollments as the Jewish community in the South Australian capital has shrunk from about 2,000 in the 1970s to less than 1,000 people at the last census.
Massada went into voluntary administration in January, with debts of more than $500,000.
The school catered to some 20 primary school students, many of whom were subsidized and most of whom were offspring of the city’s three rabbis.
The Australian Council of Jewish Schools said it accepted the decision with "regret" and noted that the school had "maintained the excellent academic record of the school" during the recent troubled times.
There is still an operational Orthodox synagogue and a Progressive congregation in Adelaide.