From celebrated director Klaus Härö (The Fencer, One Last Deal, My Sailor, My Love) comes a powerful true story of resilience and defiance, based on real events during World War II and adapted from Rony Smolar’s book, Uncle Stiller. Ville Virtanen (Bordertown) delivers a standout performance as businessman Abraham Stiller, a pillar of Helsinki’s Jewish community who did everything in his power to help the Jewish refugees.
Helsinki, 1942. The state of Finland has made an alliance with Nazi Germany. Only one man is trying to stop the Finnish security services which were operating in secrecy, turning over Jewish refugees into the hands of Gestapo. As Nazi influence grows, Stiller finds himself torn between his personal life and his politics, and must risk everything to protect his community.
A moving drama that shines a light on the plight of Jewish refugees in Finland during WWII, Never Alone showcases the inspiring humanitarian efforts of a man who risked everything to protect them, in a gripping story of courage, and the fight for hope amidst overwhelming adversity.
Directed and co-written by Snævar Sölvason (From Iceland to Eden), Odd Fish is a heartwarming tale of dreams, identity and acceptance, set in a small community in the picturesque Westfjords of Iceland.
During the summer, childhood friends Hjalti (Björn Jörundur, Trapped) and Björn (newcomer Arna Magnea Danks), run a seafood restaurant in the fishing village in which they were born and raised. Despite their vastly different personalities, the two have a successful business partnership, and their restaurant is popular. They have long dreamed of keeping the restaurant open all year round, and when an unexpected opportunity arises, they finally get the chance to do so.
But, when Björn suddenly reveals a long-held secret to Hjalti, their long-standing friendship is tested and prejudices come to light. Faced with changes that reveal new perspectives on life and identity, the two of them must each re-evaluate what matters most.
An endearing story imbued with warm humour, Odd Fish is a tender reflection on the power of friendship.
The Jews of Pride stall at the Pride Across Cultures event on June 25. Photo: Michael Barnett.
During the pride month of June, a broad range of cultural and faith groups from Melbourne’s LGBTIQA+ community came together at the Collingwood Town Hall for the inaugural Thorne Harbour Health “Pride Across Cultures” event on June 25.
Amongst the dozen stalls were Jewish groups Aleph Melbourne and Jewmos, and newly formed group Young Jewish Queers for Jewish queer teenagers aged 13 to 18.
Michael Barnett of Aleph Melbourne said that amongst those who came to their stall were recent arrivals to Melbourne’s Jewish community from Israel and from interstate. Others came to share their support for the Jewish community in these challenging times including Matt Mackenzie from the Department of Home Affairs and Victoria Police LGBTIQA+ liaison coordinator Jeremy Oliver.
Barnett told The AJN that Mackenzie has been working closely with the Jewish community to understand their safety needs post-October 7, and Oliver has been instrumental in providing protection for the Jewish contingent at the Midsumma Pride March and at the Pride Across Cultures event.
Jarod Rhine-Davis of Jewmos delivered a presentation in the breakout room on the events being organised for this year including a queer Shabbat dinner to be hosted at Temple Beth Israel on August 15.
Freshly showcased on the night was Young Jewish Queers Melbourne (YJQ) formed to create a safe space for Jewish queer teenagers, who recently hosted a film night. Speaking to The AJN about starting YJQ, Nick Wainstein said, “The reason why I started YJQ is so that I could build a community and a space where I don’t feel the need or pressure to hide my identity. Whether that be being queer or Jewish.
“Having the experience of that constant feeling of not being fully accepted or being safe in either of the communities that you’re a part of is really isolating. And so that’s where YJQ comes in.”
Wainstein added, “YJQ is a place for queer Jewish teens to meet each other and to see that there are other people like them. This is a space where they don’t have to choose between being a queer person or being Jewish.”
Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal has distanced herself from donations by her husband’s family trust to controversial conservative lobby group Advance Australia days after she released recommendations on how the government needs to respond to rising hate towards Jewish people.
Australian Electoral Commission donation records lodged by a company Segal’s husband John Roth is a director of show that the Roth family trust, Henroth, gave $50,000 to Advance in 2023-24.
Advance Australia has previously said a vote for Labor is endorsed by the Chinese Community Party, that teal candidates are hidden Green politicians and accused left-leaning politicians of being “mostly on the same side as Hamas”.
Jillian Segal and John Roth.Credit:Facebook
Segal’s role as envoy is to fight antisemitism and enhance social cohesion, and she has asked for endorsement of her report on combating antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explicitly said he did not want the report to be politicised.
In a statement, Segal said she had no influence on the donations made by Roth’s trust. “No one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won’t dictate his. I have had no involvement in his donations, nor will I,” she said.
ASIC documents show Henroth Investments Pty Ltd is co-directed by Stanley and John Roth. AEC donation records state the company lodged its donation return on behalf of Henroth Discretionary Trust.
The company has also previously given money to the Liberal Party. Henroth was named after their father Henry Roth, who was a successful property developer.
The brothers own gelato chain Gelatissimo which has stores across Australia and globally in the Philippines, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the US.
There is no suggestion Segal was aware of a donation or that it has affected her work.
Segal was previously a prominent lawyer and eventually partner for what was then called Allen, Allen and Hemsley before leaving to become a commissioner and later deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday.Credit:Dylan Coker
She has also served on boards for the Australian Securities Exchange, the National Bank of Australia, served on the council of the Australian War Memorial and was deputy chancellor of the University of NSW.
Segal also is the immediate past president of the Executive Council of the Australian Jewry.
Lobby group Advance Australia prominently campaigned against the 2023 Voice Referendum and during the 2022 and 2025 elections shared various banners and ads against the Greens, teal independents and Labor.
Trucks were seen across the country in 2022 with slogans comparing the Australian Labor Party to the Chinese Community Party, with an image of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and a caption stating: “CCP says vote Labor”.
The lobby group in late 2024 also released a petition, which remains on its website, calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stand up to pro-Palestine activists.
“[Pro-Palestine activists] have the full backing of the elites – the Labor/Green/Teal politicians, the media, the universities and the taxpayer funded bureaucrats and nonprofits are now mostly on the same side as Hamas,” the petition said.
The report has sparked wide-ranging debate as it includes recommendations to rate universities on how they have cracked down on anti-Jewish hate and stripping funding from educational institutions, cultural events and charities that fail to address antisemitism.
A controversial definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association was also recommended to be adopted by all Australian institutions.
The definition has been embraced by Jewish groups and some parts of the Australian government for its clarity and breadth, but attacked by critics, who argue it stifles free speech and conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Olivia Ireland is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, reporting on political breaking news and workplace relations from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect via Twitter or email.
How kosher is homosexuality? How Queer is the Torah? Being both gay and straight. The struggle religious schools face with queer students. All this and more at Limmud Oz 2025.
The “abomination” passage in Leviticus 18 and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 are the two main biblical texts that come to mind when thinking about biblical attitudes toward homosexuality. We will explore the history of how these two passages have been interpreted, beginning already in the biblical period itself.
Discover a new and exciting face of Torah! In this session, we will learn some Torah together (all levels welcome), and seek to understand how and where queerness can be seen within the text. How can our understanding of the stories, our traditions, and ourselves be made more meaningful?
This is a session on Jewish continuity. But it’s not old-school. It’s a musical(ish) performance about how God made me gay, but Torah (sort of) made me straight (sort of). Not in a homophobic way. It’s about love, intimacy, and how I went from the Closet to the Chuppah. Not in a hippie way. Really, it’s a Kabbalistic journey through the divine masculine and feminine, and finding wholeness in contradiction. Or something like that.
What is the state of ‘religious freedom’ in Australian schools? For example, may Jewish schools exclude non-Jewish students/staff? May an Anglican school force a Jewish student to attend chapel? How do religious schools deal with sexuality and dress codes? Religious schools juggle complicated questions – trying to avoid unlawful discrimination while also transmitting religious identity. We’ll explore what Australian Jewish schools can/can’t do compared to some other countries, and what the Religious Freedom Review (2018) had to say about these issues. We’ll also look at some examples of allegations of antisemitism in Australian schools, and what has happened to them.
Aleph Melbourne congratulates Monique Ryan and Josh Burns on retaining their seats of Kooyong and Macnamara in the 2025 Federal Election. They are strong advocates for LGBTIQA+ people and the Jewish community.
We are especially grateful to Monique and Josh for taking the time to write heartfelt and considered statements of support during the election campaign.
Aleph Melbourne is appreciative of the other candidates who supplied statements of support for LGBTIQA+ people: Kath Davies (Independent/Chisholm), Alana Gallie-McRostie (Greens/Goldstein), Zoe Daniels (Independent/Goldstein), and Sonya Semmens (Greens/Macnamara).
A special thank you goes to outgoing MP Zoe Daniel who has consistently been a friend and ally of LGBTIQA+ Jews, and whose commitment to equality and decency remains without question.
The Voters Guide is designed to inform voters in Melbourne’s predominantly Jewish suburbs who want to select candidates who have comprehensively demonstrated or pledged support for LGBTIQA+ equality and inclusion.
This election the guide covers Victorian electoral divisions (as per October 2024 electoral boundaries) with 1000 or more people with Jewish religious affiliation as at the 2021 census. The selected divisions are Chisholm*, Goldstein, Hotham, Isaacs, Kooyong, Macnamara and Melbourne*.
* Included due to the abolition and redistribution of the division of Higgins.
Individual candidate statements indicating commitment to LGBTIQA+ issues
Indicators advising whether a candidate is LGBTIQA+, an ally, or opposed to LGBTIQA+ equality
Indicators advising whether a candidate is Jewish, or is perceived to hold antisemitic views
Links to candidate/party platform/policies on LGBTIQA+ issues
Links to How To Vote cards
We encourage voters to locate their voting district, review their candidates’ levels of support for LGBTIQA+ issues and vote in a manner that prioritises LGBTIQA+ equality.
The guide will be continually updated as more candidate information comes in, or as developments on candidates arise.
HISTORY
This guide is the eighth in our series of election guides since 2013:
This guide is designed to inform voters who want to select candidates who have comprehensively demonstrated or pledged support for LGBTIQA+ equality and inclusion.
This election the guide covers Victorian electoral divisions (as per October 2024 electoral boundaries) with 1000 or more people with Jewish religious affiliation as at the 2021 census. Note: Due to the abolition of the division of Higgins, we have included Chisholm and Melbourne in the guide.
What to look for in candidates that PRIORITISE LGBTIQA+ equality: * A supportive candidate statement * [BEST] A comprehensive LGBTIQA+ policy platform and/or unequivocal commitment to LGBTIQA+ issues (green tick) * [OK] A policy platform that shows a moderate level of support to LGBTIQA+ issues (yellow tick) * [BARELY OK] A policy platform that shows a weak level of support to LGBTIQA+ issues (black tick) * Are declared as an ally. * Are declared as LGBTIQA+ (although this is not an indication of a candidate’s political priorities)
What to look for in candidates that OPPOSE LGBTIQA+ equality: * A warning symbol against their name in the LGBTIQA+ column * A policy platform that is inconsistent with LGBTIQA+ equality (red cross)
What if a candidate has not declared themselves as an ally and/or does not have an LGBTIQA+ policy platform? We recommend you contact the candidate or their party and ask them directly. We do not yet have enough information on them to show their level of support.
Feedback, corrections and updates are invited via our contact page. Information is provided here in good faith and on the understanding that it is correct.
The Jews of Pride contingent came to life again at the 30th Midsumma Pride March on Sunday February 2, 2025.
Enjoy this compilation of clips taken from the day showcasing the diversity of Melbourne’s Jewish community, celebrating LGBTIQ+ people and our families.
Aleph Melbourne is committed to both the welfare of LGBTIQA+ people and combatting antisemitism in Melbourne’s Jewish Community.
On discovering J United’s decision to fund a campaign with money from Advance (“Jewish-led anti-Greens campaign launches“; AJN Jan 30 2025), the latter an organisation that strongly campaigns against transgender rights, Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett responded with a letter to the editor.
Funding alert
It alarms me that J United has resorted to taking money from conservative lobby group Advance, which has campaigned hard against LGBTIQA+, Indigenous and other progressive causes for many years. History has taught us that people who are intolerant of diversity tend to be intolerant of Jews too. When a Jewish organisation takes money and in-kind support from Advance, they are inadvertently harming other vulnerable minorities in the pursuit of eradicating antisemitism.
I can’t say whether Advance genuinely care about Jews and antisemitism, however I am confident their motivation is not rooted in benevolence. They are a hardline outfit that promotes division and intolerance. I call on the Jewish community to fundraise from reputable sources.
Michael Barnett Ashwood, Vic
AJN Letters to the Editor; February 14 2025
Aleph Melbourne will continue to stand up for the rights, visibility and inclusion of all LGBTIQ+ people, both in the Jewish community and beyond it.
UPDATE: March 12 2025
Two responses to this letter were published in the Australian Jewish News (“Defending Advance” by Michael Burd; Feb 21 2025 and “Straightforward” by Dan Coleman; Feb 28 2025):
‘It brings tears of happiness to my eyes, knowing that we’ve done something good, challenging tired and outdated attitudes that fester in the darkness’
The Jews of Pride at the Midsumma march in 2024. Photo: Peter Haskin
Sunday, February, 2 2025 was the 30th anniversary of Melbourne’s Pride March, now part of the Midsumma Festival. There has been a continuous Jewish presence in Pride March since at least 1997, more prominently since the formation of Jews of Pride in 2018.
Despite a forecast maximum of 38 degrees, for a second year in a row, we turned out in numbers to show our support for LGBTIQA+ diversity.
We saw the return of Jewish Care and the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJWA) to our ranks, along with first time appearances for Maccabi Victoria, Shira Melbourne, Meretz Australia and Etz Chayim Progressive Synagogue.
Stalwart groups Aleph Melbourne, Jewish Lesbian Group of Victoria, Temple Beth Israel, Pathways Melbourne, Netzer, SKIF, Habo, Hashomer Hatzair, Zionism Victoria, the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), Melbourne Holocaust Museum, Kehilat Kolenu, the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) all had a strong presence, in person or in kind.
Special mention to Jewish politicians David Southwick and Josh Burns, both who supported Jews of Pride for a second year with a joint statement of support, whilst Josh dropped in to visit SKIF and David marched with us.
Notably, it was wonderful to have Philip Zajac join us for the first time, setting the record for the first sitting president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria to join Jews of Pride.
A key ingredient of the contingent is the sound truck, blasting Jewish music down the street. Yiddish favourite Chiribim Chiribom made a cameo appearance in the mix, to return more prominently next year, whilst Hava Nagila, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Od Lo Ahavti Dai and contemporary Israeli songs brought the crowds to life and smiles to everyone’s faces.
After the parade someone said to me, “I wonder if we’ve been gaslighting ourselves. The people on the sidelines actually loved us,” to which I responded by saying that “yes, they do, this is St Kilda, and yes, a lot of people do love Jews, despite the scourge of antisemitism we find ourselves in right now”.
Together with Colin Krycer, we spend months planning Jews of Pride, to bring a moment of solidarity, hope and optimism for the Jewish community, to be publicly and safely Jewish, standing up for the rights, inclusion and celebration of LGBTIQA+ people and families. We bring together different ways of being Jewish, in our politics, practices and backgrounds, yet we come together as one, with shared purpose.
As I reflect on the successes of our previous years, and look at the growing number of groups joining us, I feel a sense of achievement. It also brings tears of happiness to my eyes, knowing that we’ve done something good, challenging tired and outdated attitudes that fester in the darkness.
This year was different for me, in a special way. In 2006 Aleph Melbourne combined with Lebanese and Arab gay men in Pride March. That was one of my proudest moments of all the years I’ve attended Pride March, showing how we can do things better. At the end of this year’s parade, as I walked back to the Jews of Pride truck with our shiny new placards, flags and a set of fresh memories, I happened past the Queer Arabs Australia truck parked nearby, their group still dancing to wildly wonderful Middle Eastern Music.
There was definitely love in the air, such is the spirit of day. Shvitzing and sore, I stopped for a moment, found their leader, Bas, and introduced myself. He extended a welcome with a hug and refreshing drink from his esky. I told him of what happened in 2006, and how that made me feel. I felt a sense of connectedness, two people from different communities, but with much in common. We talked of how there might be a way we can start a dialogue, and see if something positive can come from that. I believe that even on the welcoming streets of St Kilda, at a pride march, queer Jews and Arabs can come together, in love and in hope, and help create a better future for all of us.
Lastly, a special mention goes to my husband Gregory Storer who did so much for the day, including designing a special security camera for the truck to help keep us safe, and also to Sammy Belleli who enthusiastically helped bring the truck to life.
Jews of Pride will return in 2026, renewed, refreshed, standing up for decency and for our community.
Michael Barnett is co-convenor of Aleph Melbourne.
