Union for Progressive Judaism corrects Rabbinical Council of NSW’s submission to Marriage Equality Senate enquiry

The following note was sent from the Union for Progressive Judaism to the Senate committee on the morning of April 3 2012:

“Good morning

I am aware that submissions to the Senate enquiry have closed.  However, I do hope that it is possible to provide some clarification regarding a submission that was made to you by the Rabbinical Council of NSW Inc.

In their submission they state that “The Rabbinical Council of NSW represents all Orthodox and mainstream synagogues in NSW”.  However, this is far from the case.

It is true that they represent a number of Synagogues that have an affiliation to the Orthodox denomination of Judaism.  However, they do not represent the many thousands of people in the State who are affiliated to the Progressive, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Renewal denominations of Judaism.  These Synagogues are definitely part of the “mainstream” of  our community even if their views may differ from the Rabbinical Council.

While there are a range of views on this topic in the community there is no question that the views of the people who are members of the Synagogues that are not Orthodox are undoubtedly better reflected in the comments included in the submission made by our organisation to the enquiry panel which is totally supportive of Marriage Equality.

I do hope that this clarification can be shared with the committee,

With thanks for your assistance”

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