Author: mikeybear

MR: Aleph Melbourne Congratulates Colin Krycer OAM

MEDIA RELEASE
JANUARY 26 2024

ALEPH MELBOURNE CONGRATULATES COLIN KRYCER OAM

Aleph Melbourne sends a hearty Mazal Tov and congratulations to Co-Convenor Colin Krycer OAM on receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the LGBTIQ community.

Colin has been an amazing contributor to Aleph Melbourne since 1997 and the wider LGBTIQA+ community since the late 1980s.

Within Aleph Melbourne Colin has committed himself to supporting LGBTIQA+ people in the Jewish community.  The Jews of Pride contingent in Pride March would never have been the success that it is without Colin’s amazing skills.

Most notably, Colin has selflessly dedicated many years and countless thousands of hours to supporting people living with HIV/AIDS initially through the Victorian AIDS Council and ongoing volunteering efforts through Thorne Harbour Health, along with additional past associations with the AIDS Memorial Quilt Project and Candlelight Vigil.

Colin also has a long and proud association with JOY Media since it launched on World AIDS Day in 1993.

We are so proud of our Colin.  He is a quiet, behind-the-scenes kinda guy.  He doesn’t seek or want attention, and just gives of himself, tirelessly.

Thank you Colin for your commitment, passion, enthusiasm, guidance and sense of humour.  We are so much richer for what you do and who you are.

END

MEDIA CONTACTS
Michael Barnett OAM (Co-convenor) | michael@aleph.org.au | 0417-595-541
Colin Krycer OAM (Co-convenor) | colin@aleph.org.au | 0411-441-691

Photograph of Colin Krycer (Credit to Michael Barnett):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vFdoDHcrxKDwQHL3I656ne2l4eEnHaQ-/view?usp=sharing

Josh Burns MP – Constituency Statement: Dr David Zyngier

[Source]

Federation Chamber
CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Zyngier, Dr David

Thursday, 30 November 2023

Mr BURNS (Macnamara) (09:33): I rise with sadness to acknowledge the passing of Dr David Zyngier this past weekend. David was a sitting councillor in the city of Glen Eira and a passionate advocate for social justice, education and our community. David’s passing came as a great shock to all of us. David was the son of Holocaust survivors from Poland, and he was the first in his family to complete high school and attend university. He graduated from Monash University, where he later returned as an academic and as an educator.

David was a well-respected member of our Jewish community. We didn’t always agree on things—in fact, we often didn’t agree on things—but I respected his intellect and his willingness to tackle difficult issues. He was a leader in the youth movement Hashomer Hatzair, a principal of the King David School, an active member of his synagogue, a member of the Jewish Climate Network and a fierce advocate for LGBTIQ+ rights in our community. He was elected as the councillor for Camden Ward in the city of Glen Eira just a few years ago, and he quickly became a passionate advocate for climate action and public services on the council. He co-founded the Glen Eira Emergency Climate Action Network and helped to develop the council’s target of achieving net zero council emissions by 2025.

David and I belonged to different political parties. Indeed, not only did he not vote for me but he actively campaigned against me at the last election. He was a proud member of the Greens. But, before he drifted into that journey, David actually launched my campaign, in 2014, when I was a candidate in the state election. He was a friend. I think he probably had sympathy for both our parties, but in the end he made the decision, he stuck with it and he was proud of that association.

David was respectful, kind and compassionate. He was an active member of our community and he always sought to represent people in the best way he knew how. He came into my office frequently. He would sit down and, as we had a cup of tea, he would try and convince me of what actions needed to happen, usually on a council matter. He would push for things like greater bike paths, greater active citizenship and, obviously, climate action as well. He joined our campaign in the referendum and was a big part of the Macnamara for Yes campaign, even though he was unwell at the time.

Throughout his life he committed himself to research, to education, to activism and to community life. He was a good man, he was a smart man, he was a community man and he enriched our community by all of his efforts. To his wife, Suzanne, and his children, Romy, Talia and Joel, I send my deepest condolences. I also send my condolences to the Greens and the broader Greens community. As we say in the Jewish tradition, may his memory be a blessing.

20231130-Josh-Burns-MP-Constituency-Statement-for-Dr-David-Zyngier

[PDF]

Life is a Disco: The Aleph interviews

On the afternoon of October 7 Susie Danziger and I arrived at the JOY studios in St Kilda to record interviews with Demetra Giannakopoulos for her show Life is a Disco.

We spent a good couple of hours in the studio at the back overlooking the huge peppercorn tree. The tree captivated me because it was full of birdlife, most notably a wattlebird and a currawong.

Demetra was a delight. She asked the most thoughtful questions and was congenial, sensitive and refreshing. We were at ease, and our conversation happened naturally.

I went first, Susie followed. We gave the JOY audience our all.

Following the interview I dropped Susie home and we went on with our day.

It was only a matter of hours later that the terrorist organisation Hamas perpetrated an unforgivable able act of evil upon innocent people in Israel.

Our interviews were edited and they aired over the subsequent two weeks.

The world had changed yet again. War had broken out.

It was very challenging, knowing that we had recorded interviews before the terrorist attack, with them going to air afterwards. It’s hard to say if we would have even done the interviews after October 7, just because of the way everything panned out.

Despite that, it was a privilege being part of Demetra’s show and having the opportunity to tell our stories.

Enjoy.

Interview with Michael Barnett OAM, Co-convenor of ALEPH Melbourne

Interview with Susie, Jewish mother of a trans son
Interview with Susie, Jewish mother of a trans son

2026 Census topic consultation – Phase two: Aleph Melbourne submission

2026 Census topic consultation – Phase two

We asked

From 27 July to 8 September 2023, the ABS undertook phase two of the 2026 Census topic consultation. This consultation invited feedback on proposed changes to Census topics.

During this consultation, the ABS specifically sought feedback on topics where further information was required to help inform our assessment and recommendation. These topics included:

  • Ancestry and Ethnic identity
  • Labour Force status
  • Main language other than English used at home
  • Number of children ever born
  • Number of employees (employed by owner managers)
  • Number of motor vehicles
  • Religious affiliation
  • Status in employment
  • Unpaid work – domestic activities

Published responses

Only answers from respondents who gave permission are published. However, all responses are included in the analysis of this activity.

Response-423841520-to-2026-Census-topic-consultation-Phase-two-Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-Citizen-Space

An open letter to the Australian LGBTIQA+ community

Aleph Melbourne was established in 1995 to provide a safe place for gay and bisexual Jewish men in Melbourne. Since then we have expanded to include LGBTIQA+ people, families and allies.

In all the years of the group’s existence we have lived in relative harmony with the wider LGBTIQA+ community.

However in recent weeks, since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and the ensuing war, many of our members, their family members and their friends have contacted me regarding reports of feeling unsafe in the LGBTIQA+ community.

These people have reported being scared of presenting as Jewish in public and on social media. There have been reports of antisemitism and calls for boycotting Jewish organisations by LGBTIQA+ people. There have been reports of feeling unsafe in LGBTIQA+ venues.

Aleph Melbourne’s purpose has always been to stand up for LGBTIQA+ people on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Now I am finding I need to support our members on the basis of their Jewish identity. This takes a personal toll on me, as it means I need to spend many more hours of my personal time fighting a different sort of intolerance.

I ask you, my friends, my community members, the leaders of the LGBTIQA+ community, to think of the ramifications of taking sides, especially when it has direct impact on the very people you care most about.

If LGBTIQA+ people are hurting in Melbourne or elsewhere in Australia because of antisemitism, or Islamophobia, or any sort of intolerance, then we are no longer a cohesive community. Together we stand. Divided we fall.

Please think hard before you take any side, especially if it’s going to cause division amongst your peers, friends, family (chosen or otherwise) or community.

Michael Barnett OAM
Co-Convenor, Aleph Melbourne.

Michael Barnett OAM: an open letter from tireless campaigner
Melbourne Jewish LGBT Group Co-Convenor Pens Open Letter

Queer Sessions @ JIFF 2023

Jewish International Film Festival 2023
October 23 – December 6, 2023

Full programme here.

Chanshi – Part 1 / Part 2

Chanshi is a dark comedy television series about a Jewish girl from Brooklyn who runs away to Israel to become the free, adventurous woman she was born to be. Unlike her peers, Chanshi carries with her a fantasy that good religious girls like her shouldn’t — a fantasy involving Israeli soldiers. She takes off for Israel under the guise of surprising her best friend, who has upcoming nuptials of her own, but her friend confesses that she thinks she is making a mistake and she’s a lesbian. Together they rebel against their traditional upbringings and find new ways of being young Jewish women.

All I Can Do

All I Can Do is a powerfully moving and incendiary courtroom drama focusing on the legal aspects of sexual violence. Reut, a young prosecutor, reluctantly takes over a sexual assault case, based on the sole testimony of Efrat, a rebellious yet fragile victim who lives with her wild female partner. As the case evolves, Reut’s personal life resonates with the challenges of the case and the courtroom. Both women must learn to work together to learn the true nature of strength, love and sisterhood. 

jiff-2023-web-program

Aleph Melbourne statement on the attack on Israel

Aleph Melbourne stands in support of all innocent victims of war, condemns all atrocities, and hopes for a swift end to all violence.

Violence is never the answer.

Terror is never the answer.

Hatred is never the answer.

We express our condolences to families who have lost loved ones, and we wish for the speedy return of those taken hostage.

Crisis support in Australia is available from QLife and Lifeline.

Reflecting on history and looking to the future

I was recently approached by Hashy to deliver a talk at their 2023 Queer Night, having done so at their 2022 event.  I was delighted to be invited back, and warmly accepted the offer.

I asked the date and was told it would be Sunday October 15.  That’s going to be a big day for the country, being the day after the referendum.  I had to come up with a topic for my talk and after a few minutes I realised I had lived through a moment in history that perfectly connected my journey with Aleph with where we are today with the Voice referendum, and that would inform my talk.

Let me explain.

In 1998 Aleph Melbourne approached the Jewish Community Council of Victoria about applying to become an affiliate of the council.  The rationale for wanting to join the council was to be a voice for gay and bisexual men (as that was who we supported at the time, prior to us representing LGBTIQ+ people in 2007).  We wanted to have a place at the table, to talk about how we were discriminated against, faced unique health issues, suicide, stigma, taboo, etc.  We felt that if we had a voice at the council people might understand our issues better, and be more open to helping us defeat the hurdles and setbacks that challenged us.

Our application was supported by their executive and the then-president Philip Bliss.  We were also forewarned the journey might be difficult.  Our committee resolved to proceed with the application, which set in motion a chain of events that led to one of the biggest controversies the Melbourne Jewish community has ever experienced.  Once the news of our application hit the Jewish media there was constant media coverage, with many in the community – notably schools and youth groups – showing support, and (not so) many claiming a homosexual group in the Jewish council would divide the community and cause irreparable harm.  Orthodox Rabbis and conservative community stalwarts spoke stridently about how we had an agenda, and how halacha (Jewish law) considered homosexuality a sin, and Aleph was an organisation that was not deserving of a seat at the community table.

At one stage a collection of mainstream organisations threatened to withdraw their membership if Aleph became a member.  And then Rabbi Lubofsky stood up at the fateful meeting in May 1999 and wove a hurtful story of how Aleph wanted to go into schools (yes, we wanted to give educational books to school libraries), and how parents should fear our agenda.  We were apparently going to split the community, infiltrate schools, run rampant through the community and wreak harm at every step of the way.  I do remember in particular a young Gabi Crafti spoke up and eloquently spoke in favour of Aleph’s membership application.  She was the voice of reason, the voice of humanity, and the voice of a generation who understood why it was important for gay and bisexual men to be included, not excluded.

We failed in our opportunity to become a member of the council in 1999 at a vote of the plenum, but not by much.  In 2015 the now-defunct Keshet LGBT group did become a JCCV member, a sign of how times had changed.  In 2017 the JCCV affiliates voted unanimously to support the civil marriage equality campaign.  Being queer in 2017 was no longer the problem for the mainstream Jewish community that it was in 1999. 

In May 2020 Aleph, together with 21 other Jewish organisations, co-signed a statement “Voice, Treaty, Truth – Jewish organisations reaffirm support for First Nations Australians from the heart”.  Part of the statement, at the link prior, reads:

We reaffirm our full-hearted support for:
– amendment of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Constitution;

Aleph represents people who face discrimination, marginalisation and health challenges.  Our people also have a lot to offer society.  And on that basis we stand up alongside other communities who face similar challenges, have similar ideals and aspirations, and who want to live their lives to the fullest.  We all want gaps closed, disadvantages turned around, and lives celebrated.

To that end, with our history in mind, and having committed in 2020 to supporting a First Nations Voice, we stand strong in believing that a constituted voice will do more good than bad for first nations Australians.  The Voice is simply an advisory committee to the Parliament and the Executive Government, and amounts to a place at the table.

If you’re voting in the referendum, I urge you to take time to find out the facts and make an informed decision.  I certainly won’t tell anyone how to vote, but I know in my heart, having come on this journey, that it makes for an easier time if you have a voice at the table than if you don’t.

Michael.