Leo Buchler has lived through two revolutions, two World Wars, life as an inmate at a Nazi labour camp and immigration to a country on the other side of the world.

Rebecca Davis speaks with some key Jewish fashion and beauty players who share insights and trend predictions ahead of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

In 2005, the much-loved author Elliot Perlman visited Amsterdam. He was on tour for his newly-released book, Seven Types of Ambiguity. While enjoying a walk by the canals, he couldn’t help but notice a very happy cat — “the most blissed out, contented living thing I have ever seen” — sunbathing in a bay window, said Perlman over tea in an Elsternwick cafe.

Combining travel with a wedding? It might present additional challenges for the bride and groom, but it’s pretty good for the guests…

As the latest trends hit the runways of Melbourne Fashion Week just in time for spring racing season, last week Rebecca Davis found the Australian and international Jewish designers of the catwalk.

“We walked the streets of the Al-Amari Refugee Camp, under the watchful gaze of men who sat in small clusters by shop fronts. At the entrance of Al-Amari stands a shrine which celebrates Yasser Arafat and the Camp’s “freedom fighters against the occupation” – Terrorists who have stolen the lives of scores of innocent Israelis. This was not the uncomfortable moment that I had foreshadowed. It was sickening, and I felt it in the pit of my stomach.”

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44. Today is R U OK? Day, imploring us to begin conversations with those around us and provide support in order to prevent the silence that leads to these staggering statistics. So, let's talk.

“I see all women as women.” Mushira Aboo Dia is an Israeli-Arab obstetrician and gynaecologist, practising at Hadassah Hospital and Bat Ami in Jerusalem. With deep divisions entrenched in a complex society, the maternity wards are no different. But there are also shared stories to be found, reflected Aboo Dia.

When Zara Sarzin had an encounter with the Jewish Abayudaya community of Uganda more than 10 years ago, little did she know that it would be the beginning of a special relationship that would literally save lives.

“This brand of salacious journalism, infuriatingly common across mainstream media outlets is sloppy at best, and irresponsible and hatemongering at worst.”

What do a dinner party in South Yarra, an ant extermination company and an Australian prime minister have in common? Walter Glaser shares his family’s story of survival against the Nazis.

Piles of shoes. It is a distinct memory that stands out for Ben de Winter when reflecting on his visit to Majdanek Concentration Camp on March of the Living (MOTL). He was 16 and it was snowing when he visited, the persistent Polish winter stretching into spring. And there in the darkness of memory and misery and a sea of leather, lay one small, pink shoe.

Melbourne is in the grip of fashion fever with the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF) currently underway. Rebecca Davis shares the contributions of the Jewish players on the fashion field.

Nigella Lawson talks food, family and her Jewishness with Rebecca Davis during her visit to Melbourne.

The 2017 Report on Antisemitism in Australia released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry reveals a 10 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents reported nationally.

As details have emerged of Weinstein’s alleged behaviour over the decades, one is left asking, how? How, in this age of the ever-present smart phone, eager to tweet, snap and share, has one of Hollywood’s best-kept secrets evaded the spotlight? As director Judd Apatow asks, what about the people who were signing the cheques for all these years?

When a Jewish woman from Israel and a Sudanese-Christian woman in Australia are brought together by their love for one child, a journey of migration and motherhood that transcends all boundaries ensues.

70 years ago, the Exodus 1947 ploughed across seas. The ship brimmed with more than 4500 Jewish refugees – and their hopes and gritty determination to rise from the ashes of Europe and join the Jewish homeland. It was not without controversy, but it was the ship that launched a nation. Rita Migdal shares her story.

The Joint Australia recently took part in a mission to Cuba, assisting the country’s 1500 Jews with much-needed aid. Learning that the island nation is more than pastel pops of baroque architecture and a cultural gem devoid of 21st century excess, the group discovered a Jewish history – and a Jewish present.

As the South Melbourne Market celebrates 150 years during May, Rebecca Davis explores the Jewish roles in the market’s story – a narrative underpinned by immigrant dreams.