Category: Jewish

Jewish Care Victoria and Jewish Community Council of Victoria: Standing against Conversion Therapy

 

STANDING AGAINST CONVERSION THERAPY
A unique piece of research from La Trobe University, in conjunction with the Human Rights Law Centre and Gay & Lesbian Health Victoria, has highlighted the impact and harms of LGBT conversion therapy.

At its core, conversion therapy asserts that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are ‘sexually broken’ or ‘psychologically damaged’ and therefore in need of redirection and reorientation to repair their sexual orientation or gender identity. To achieve this purported aim, conversion therapy imposes a range of practices such as electroconvulsive therapy, exorcism, hypnotherapy, intensive group prayer and other psychological strategies. The impacts according to those who have experienced such therapies include severe trauma, stress and often long-term psychological damage.

Of concern is the report’s finding that these practices continue today in a broad range of faith communities.

Jewish Care and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria firmly condemn the principles and assumptions that underlie the practices of conversion therapy, and we are proud to acknowledge and celebrate diversity and hold strong to the belief that it is a human right for all individuals, including those who identify as LGBTIQ+, to live free from prejudice, harm, harassment or abuse.

 

Jewish Care Victoria and JCCV stand against LGBT Conversion Therapy | J-Wire

A unique piece of research from Melbourne’s La Trobe University, in conjunction with the Human Rights Law Centre and Gay & Lesbian Health Victoria, has highlighted the impact and harms of LGBT conversion therapy.

The Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice: Responding to LGBT conversion therapy report explores the history of LGBT conversion therapy in Australia through the lens of 15 LGBT individuals with lived experience, with a focus on the use of conversion therapy in faith-based communities including the Jewish community.

At its core, conversion therapy asserts that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are ‘sexually broken’ or ‘psychologically damaged’ and therefore in need of redirection and reorientation to repair their sexual orientation or gender identity. To achieve this purported aim, conversion therapy imposes a range of practices such as electroconvulsive therapy, exorcism, hypnotherapy, intensive group prayer and other psychological strategies. The impacts according to those who have experienced such therapies include severe trauma, stress and often long-term psychological damage.

Of concern is the report’s finding that these practices continue today in a broad range of faith communities.

Jewish Care and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) firmly condemn the principles and assumptions that underlie the practices of conversion therapy, and we are proud to acknowledge and celebrate diversity and hold strong to the belief that it is a human right for all individuals, including those who identify as LGBTIQ+, to live free from prejudice, harm, harassment or abuse.

“It is a dark day to think that individuals are still not accepted for who they are and how they identify,” says CEO Bill Appleby. “Conversion therapy is a violation of the principles of social justice and human rights, and Jewish Care condemns such practices as archaic and harmful. They should not be tolerated.”

The value of inclusion or hachlala underpins the work of Jewish Care and is at the heart of all service delivery. “If we are truly to embrace diversity and work together for a just and equitable society, we need to stand up for those who are marginalised in our community. For an individual to feel forced to choose between their sexuality or gender identity and their religious community is extraordinarily painful. It is for this reason that I felt compelled to take a stand on this important issue,” said Mr Appleby.

JCCV President Jennifer Huppert said, “We must ensure that our community is inclusive for all community members and that our community organisations maintain inclusive practices and procedures to ensure LGBTI individuals and their families feel welcome, respected and valued.”

In addition to other activities to ensure the inclusion of LGBTI community members, Jewish Care is currently working to achieve Rainbow Tick accreditation.

For further information on the Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice: Responding to LGBT conversion therapy report, visit https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2018/release/report-on-lgbt-conversion-therapy-harms

‘Independent, Jewish, gay’ – ABC Insiders

‘Independent, Jewish, gay.’ @frankelly08’s final observations after the #Wentworth by election.

Queer @ JIFF 2018

Enjoy the following queer offerings at JIFF 2018.  Full programme here.

JIFF 2018

THE PRINCE AND THE DYBBUK (KSIĄŻĘ I DYBUK) POLAND, GERMANY / 2017

“Outstanding… one of the most amazing biographies of the 20th century.” — The Spiegel

The director of the Yiddish classic The Dybbuk is remembered as a Polish aristocrat, Hollywood producer, a rogue and liar, and an open homosexual. But who, really, was Michal Waszyński (born Moshe Waks), the son of a poor Ukrainian Jewish blacksmith, who died as Prince Michal Waszyński in Italy? Waszyński made 40 films with Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani, Orson Welles and other stars, but his most spectacular creation was his own life.

Presenting a modern take on the narrative of the Wandering Jew, The Prince and the Dybbuk asks whether it is ever possible to cut oneself off from one’s roots, and at what cost.

Winner Best Documentary on Cinema at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.

82 MINS / ENGLISH, ITALIAN, HEBREW, YIDDISH (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

DIRECTOR — Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski
CATEGORY — Documentary

DEAR FREDY (FREDY HAYAKAR) ISRAEL / 2017

“People loved him. Their eyes sparkled when they talked about him, and they accept him as he was.” — Director Rubi Gat

The extraordinary story of Fredy Hirsch, a charismatic gymnast and youth leader who provided care and dignity to over 600 Jewish children.

Born in Germany, Hirsch was 19 years old when the Nuremberg Laws were published, forcing him to flee to the Czech Republic. Soon deported to Auschwitz, Hirsch used his experience to entertain and comfort the children of the camp, and collaborated with members of the underground to plan a revolt that never came to pass. Combining survivor testimony, exquisite animation and archive, Dear Fredy explores the life and legacy of an unsung queer Jewish hero.

74 MINS / HEBEW, ENGLISH, CZECH (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

DIRECTOR — Rubi Gat
CATEGORY — Documentary

STUDIO 54: THE DOCUMENTARY USA / 2018

“[A] thrilling and definitive documentary [that] captures the delirium — and the dark side — of the legendary New York disco, and imprints us with an indelible portrait of the nightclub that became the apotheosis of the disco era: the freedom, the excess, the aristocracy, the pulsating pop glory.” — Variety

Studio 54 was the epicentre of 70s hedonism – a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolise an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two Jewish friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club’s hallowed threshold, this feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.

98 MINS / ENGLISH

DIRECTOR — Matt Tyrnauer
CAST — Steve Rubell, Ian Schrager
CATEGORY — Documentary

SAVING NETA (LEHATZIL ET NE) ISRAEL / 2016

“Touching and rewarding.” — The Jerusalem Post

Four women with nothing in common find their lives profoundly altered by an encounter with a mysterious stranger. A collection of stories spanning the seasons, each episode introduces a woman ‘on the verge’: a career police officer unable to cope with the stress of work and her teenage daughter; a lesbian cellist ambivalent about raising a child with her partner; a mother who plans to tell her children she’s getting a divorce; and a businesswoman who goes home for her mother’s funeral and must institutionalise her mentally challenged sister. Impacting each of these fractured lives is Neta, a drifter struggling with his own personal crisis.

This sensitive and thought-provoking contemplation of femininity and parenthood won the Audience Award at the 2017 Jerusalem Film Festival.

90 MINS / HEBREW (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

DIRECTOR — Nir Bergman
CAST — Benny Avni, Rotem Abuhab, Naama Arlaky, Irit Kaplan
CATEGORY — Feature

RED COW (PARA ADUMA) ISRAEL / 2018

“An intriguing tale of forbidden first love.” — The Hollywood Reporter

Benny, an only child who lost her mother at birth, lives with her fundamentalist father in a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. As her father becomes more and more obsessed with a red heifer that he believes will bring the redemption, Benny drifts further away and into the arms of Yael, a young new woman in her life. She embarks on a personal journey that will shape her religious, political and sexual consciousness.

This sensitive and assured coming-of-age film won Best Israeli Film, Best Debut Film and Best Actress at the 2018 Jerusalem Film Festival.

91 MINS / HEBREW (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

DIRECTOR — Tsivia Barkai
CAST — Gal Toren, Moran Rosenblatt, Avigail Kovari, Dana Sorin
CATEGORY — Feature

 

AGMC Conference 2018: Melbourne’s Jewish Community: Going from “gays not welcome” to “we support marriage equality” in under 20 years

An exploration of the transformation of attitudes toward LGBTIQ people within Melbourne’s Jewish community from the 1990s to current day.

2018 AGMC Natioal Conference - Register Now.png(Click above or here to register)

Melbourne’s Jewish Community: Going from “gays not welcome” to “we support marriage equality” in under 20 years
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Sat Sep 22, 2018
Training Room
Community groups in action

Description
An exploration of the transformation of attitudes toward LGBTIQ people within Melbourne’s Jewish community from the 1990s to current day. This session includes the screening of a 10 minute documentary “Aleph Melbourne – Celebrating 20 Years – 1995-2015”. It also includes an exploration of how the 2009 shooting at the Tel Aviv LGBT Youth Centre was the catalyst for a series of events that shattered the decade-long silence since the Victorian Jewish community leadership rejected the membership application of a gay men’s group to them endorsing marriage equality 8 years later.

Learning objectives/outcomes:A greater understanding and appreciation of the issues, sensitivities and nuances around LGBTIQ inclusion in Melbourne’s Jewish community.

30 minute Oral Presentation and Video

Speaker
Michael Barnett
Convenor, Aleph Melbourne

20180922 AGMC - Michael Barnett - Aleph Melbourne session

The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools | Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

Together with KeshetUK, the Chief Rabbi has been working to produce this unique and essential guide for Orthodox Jewish schools on the welfare of LGBT+ pupils.

SOURCE: The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools

Guide for Orthodox Jewish schools on the welfare of LGBT+ pupils.

For many months, together with KeshetUK, the Chief Rabbi has been working to produce this unique and essential guide.

Entitled “The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools”, it is aimed at school leaders, and sets out how they should provide for the welfare of LGBT+ students.

Following the release of the document, the Chief Rabbi said, “This is a document which I believe is an extremely significant milestone and will have a real and lasting impact on reducing harm to LGBT+ Jews across the Orthodox Jewish community. Our children need to know that at school, at home and in the community, they will be loved and protected regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.”

Dalia Fleming, Executive Director of KeshetUK said, “KeshetUK is proud to have worked closely with Chief Rabbi Mirvis and Jewish LGBT+ people to create “The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools”. KeshetUK now looks forward to working with with schools, Rabbis and educators across Jewish communities, supporting them to implement this guide so they can ensure their LGBT+ students reach their potential, free from homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, discrimination and fear.”

In order to view the full document click here.

201809-The-Wellbeing-of-LGBT-Pupils-A-Guide-for-Orthodox-Jewish-Schools

Historic Day as Organisations Pledge Support for LGBTI

On Thursday 30 August, Jewish Care Victoria and nine other faith-based organisations came together to pledge commitment to inclusivity for all LGBTIQ people who seek services.

 

Historic Day as Organisations Pledge Support for LGBTIQ

On Thursday 30 August, Jewish Care Victoria and nine other faith-based organisations came together to pledge commitment to inclusivity for all LGBTIQ people who seek services.

Co-hosted by Jewish Care and Temple Beth Israel, the historic event was attended by CEOs and representatives of participating organisations, all of which are part of the Faith-Based Service Provider Network.

Jewish Care is committed to developing and implementing inclusive practices for all members of the Victorian Jewish community. In addition to signing the multi-faith pledge, Jewish Care is working towards achieving Rainbow Tick accreditation.

 

20180804-Historic-Day-as-Organisations-Pledge-Support-for-LGBTIQ_FINAL

JCCV marks decade of “strong advocacy”

SUMMARY OF JCCV’S LGBTI INCLUSION ACTIVITIES

2009 – formation of the LGBT (at the time) Reference Group.

2011 – release of report into discrimination and vilification of LGBT Jews in Victoria.

2014 – JCCV supports and encourages affiliates to support No to Homophobia.

2014 – JCCV wins Hey Grant from the Victorian Government.

2015 – JCCV 1st ever LGBTI Symposium held with approximately 80 attendees with panels from the LGBTI Jewish spectrum. Attendees were cross-denominational.

2015 – Keshet Australia admitted to JCCV as an affiliate – the first Jewish LGBTI organisation affiliate.

2016 – Launched JCCV LGBTI service directory https://bit.ly/2mviycZ

2016 – Youth video winner announced form previous year’s completion.

2017 – Mental Health Forum in light of RCV’s statement to the government’s plebiscite

2017 – JCCV supports civil marriage equality with motion moved by National Council of Jewish Women and seconded by AUJS.

Doron Abramovici comment on JCCV LGBTI achievements - Jul 20 2018.png

“A decade of strong advocacy for LGBTI equality and inclusion! I am very proud to have volunteered for the JCCV for a decade and served on the board for almost 4 years. We have achieved great things together! #lgbti #lgbtiinclusion #mentalhealthmatters #socialinclusion #lgbtijews Big shout out to John Searle, Anton Block, Nina Bassat, Jennifer Huppert, Original Reference Group members Julie Leder, Nathan Rose, Andrew Rajcher, Sally Goldner, Immediate part Executive Director David Marlow and the community for welcoming change.” — Doron Abramovici

Historic meeting between GLBT Jews and Jewish Community Council of Victoria – Dec 7 2009

MEDIA RELEASE
GAY & LESBIAN JEWS ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE WITH THE JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF VICTORIA
December 7 2009

In an historic meeting on Thursday December 4 2009 at the Beth Weizmann Community Centre between the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) members of the Jewish community, discussions were had forging the way for increased inclusion, acceptance and visibility of GLBT Jews in the Jewish Community in Victoria.

In a letter to Aleph Melbourne, a social and support group for GLBT Jews, JCCV Executive Director Geoffrey Zygier wrote “The JCCV wants to get a better understanding of Gay Jews’ concerns” and added that “John [Searle] has made clear, under his presidency the JCCV has reaffirmed its opposition to vilification and affirmed its wish to [be] as inclusive as possible”. Zygier went on to add that “However the details of what form this might take have to be worked out; we’re still at the information-gathering stage.”

Aleph Melbourne co-ordinator Michael Barnett welcomed this opportunity for dialogue with the JCCV, particularly in light of recent incidents involving homophobic intolerance and hatred directed at GLBT Jews in Melbourne and in Israel.

Attending the meeting were gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews from a diverse range of religious and cultural backgrounds. A variety of issues were raised and discussed in a healthy and at times robust manner with the JCCV representatives. A seven-point list of suggestions (see attachment) of how the JCCV could increase the inclusion, acceptance and visibility of GLBT people in the Jewish community was presented at the meeting. In a positive step, JCCV President John Searle advised he would discuss the issues raised at the next Executive meeting of the JCCV in 2010 and report back as to how the organisation plans to approach the issue.

Whilst raising the issue of membership of the JCCV as a way for GLBT Jewish organisations to gain greater inclusion and visibility within the Jewish community, Barnett stated that this was not currently on the agenda and had not been since the JCCV rejected Aleph Melbourne’s initial membership application in 1999 due to the uncertain process by which the JCCV determines suitability of applicants.

Aleph Melbourne looks forward to further dialogue between the JCCV and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members of the Jewish community in 2010 and waits for homophobic intolerance in the community and barriers to equality, inclusion, acceptance and visibility to be identified and eliminated.

For further comment contact Michael Barnett on 0417 595 541 or via contact@aleph.org.au.

20091203 Suggestions to JCCV for increased GLBT inclusion

 

20091117 Daniel Baker response_to_JCCV_invitation for discussion re GLBT inclusion