The Perth Hebrew Congregation (PHC) is Synagogue located in the Perth suburb of Menora, Western Australia. Established as an organization in 1892, it is the oldest of three shul serving the Jewish community in Perth. Seating is provided for 544 men downstairs and 532 women upstairs. The synagogue includes facilities for daily services, educational programmes, child care, a library, a mikveh and a bookshop.[1][2][3][4] In July 2004, the shule was heavily defaced with anti-Semetic vandalism. [5][6]
The first two scrolls in the possession of the Perth Hebrew Congregation were gifts from members of the Montefire clan.[7]
The synagogue received a grant of A$60,000 (WA) as part of the National Community Crime Prevention Programme (NCCPP). The project was to "design and erect a perimeter security fence complete with access controls around the premises of the Perth Synagogue". The rationale was for protection of the premises and population in the event of a potential attack on PHC.[8]
The first Jewish congregation in Western Australia was founded in Fremantle in1897, while the Perth Hebrew Congregation was founded in Perth in 1892 and opened its synagogue in 1897. The Fremantle synagogue was built in 1902 was short-lived as the congregation was absorbed into the Perth Hebrew Congregation in 1907. For the more orthodox Jewish settlers, the more Anglicized services of the Perth Hebrew Congregation had no appeal. They formed the Perth Jewry Association built built a synagogue known as the Palmerston Shule. Possible conflict between the two congregations was avoided thorough the leadership of Perth Jewry's first minister, Rabbi D. I. Freedman who served in the Perth Hebrew Congregation for 42 years from 1897 up until his death in 1939.[9]
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