One of the oldest synagogues in the Australian Commonwealth was closed during the High Holy Days for lack of worshipers for the first time in 25 years.
The synagogue, which was consecrated in 1846, is that of Launceston, the second largest city in Tasmania, which is the smallest island state in the Commonwealth. The local daily newspaper showed a lone would-be worshiper standing outside the locked gates of the synagogue on Yom Kippur.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
