Students use computers (illustrative)
Students use computers (illustrative)Israel news photo: Flash 90

The only Jewish day school in New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington has closed after over 25 years of serving the community.

Founded in 1985, the Moriah Jewish day school had nearly 60 students at its peak, but fewer than 20 students aged 5 to 13 in recent years, prompting it to close its doors.

As part of its renowned Holocaust education program, the school became involved in a project to amass 1.5 million buttons, representing the Jewish children murdered by the Nazis.

“The closure of Moriah College is viewed with regret by both the New Zealand Jewish Community and the rest of the country,” Stephen Goodman, president of the New Zealand Jewish Council, told J-Wire in August, after first learning of the decision.

“While relatively small Moriah has added to the spread and understanding of Jewish values in Wellington and across the rest of New Zealand,” he said, adding that, “any loss” to Jewish education “diminishes us all.”

Wellington is the second largest Jewish community after Auckland, which is home to the majority of the country’s estimated 7,000 Jews.