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.
Enjoy these Jewish films at the Mardi Gras Film Festival, running from February 13-27 (Sydney & surrounds) and February 28 to March 10 (On-Demand Australia-wide) 2025. Session and booking details online.
Winner of eight Oscars (including best actress for Liza Minelli), this acclaimed musical tale of love and loss amidst the rise of far-right extremism remains as timely now as ever.
In 1931 Berlin, American cabaret singer Sally Bowles (Minnelli) works at the decadent Kit Kat Klub, alongside the eccentric Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey). When British academic Brian Roberts (Michael York) moves into the same boarding house, he’s drawn into her bohemian lifestyle. Despite Brian’s attraction to men, they become lovers – but the arrival of wealthy playboy Maximilian von Heune complicates matters when both fall for his obvious charms. With the collapse of the Weimar Republic looming, their love triangle plays out against the rise of Nazism, in Bob Fosse’s cinematic classic.
Screening in Sydney as part of the Hot Boys Shorts session is Park Life:
What starts as a transactional hook-up blossoms into something unexpectedly romantic and meaningful as Noah and Medhi wander the quiet streets of London after meeting while cruising. Sydney Premiere
“Awe-inspiring. Enthralling. Sabbath Queen is a rich and intimate portrait… One of the best films I’ve seen this year.” – The Hollywood Report
“An unforgettable protagonist… transformative… incredibly timely…one to watch for awards season.” – Hammer to Nail
Filmed over 21 years, Sabbath Queen follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis, including the Chief Rabbis of Israel.
He is torn between rejecting and embracing his destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer father, and the founder of Lab/Shul: an everybody-friendly, God-optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation.
Sabbath Queen joins Amichai on a lifelong quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion and ritual, challenge patriarchy and supremacy, champion interfaith love, and stand up for peace. The film interrogates what Jewish survival means in a difficult and rapidly changing 21st century.
Festivals and Awards Official Selection – Tribeca Film Festival, 2024 Official Selection – IDFA, 2024
At the height of the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1960s, teenage Jewish singer-songwriter Janis Ian pens a hit song about an interracial relationship. The song – Society’s Child – launches her illustrious career, but also ignites controversy.
Plunging into an emotional tailspin, she emerges from the ashes with an even bigger hit (“At Seventeen”) about body shaming. For the next six decades, Janis overcomes homophobia, music industry misogyny, and a life-threatening illness to produce an indelible body of work that continues to resonate around the globe.
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence chronicles the singer’s epic life journey from her childhood on a chicken farm in New Jersey through the release of the disruptive album ‘Breaking Silence’. With access to Ian’s incredible body of music, her vast archive, family, friends, and famed collaborators, this in-depth documentary tells the singer’s intimate life story against a sweeping historical context.
Festivals and Awards Official Selection – DOC NYC, 2024
She’s the most successful songwriter you’ve probably never heard of. Diane Warren has written mega-hits for the world’s biggest pop stars including Cher, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Beyoncé. She has 15 Oscar nominations for her indelible film songs, including “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” performed by Aerosmith for Armageddon.
This bold documentary that screened at reveals the prolific artist behind these hits. Born to humble beginnings in Van Nuys to a middle-class Jewish family, Diane was an outsider at home and in school. The third daughter to older parents (her sisters were already 24 and 20), Diane struggled to fit in. Music became her escape. With unrelenting tenacity she pursued pop success, ultimately catapulting herself to the top of the charts.
Known in the industry as a hitmaker, a legend, and a pain in the ass, this unabashed portrait revels in Warren’s signature self-deprecating humour. Featuring interviews with Cher, Gloria Estefan, Quincy Jones, and Toni Braxton, discover the true underdog story of an unseen music titan.
Festivals and Awards Nominee – Audience Award, SXSW, 2024
As you have heard i am the great niece of Doctor Magnus Hirschfeld. I am in fact a very proud great niece.
My late father was one of Magnus’s nephews. His mother jenny was a sister to magnus.
I am here tonight with my husband Leon, Our son Peter and his wife Judi, Our daughter Linda And 5 of our grandchildren. We have another son Andrew who lives in Sydney with his family but unfortunately he could not be here tonight.
We wish to thank Birgit and Kate and the Pride Committee for inviting us all here tonight to the opening of this important exhibition which we hope will be a great success.
My late father often spoke of Magnus, but we did not realize the extent of what Magnus had achieved during his lifetime until my husband happened to read an advertisement for a film on SBS called the Life Story of Magnus Hirschfeld – the Einstein Of Sex.
After numerous phone calls I was put in touch with Ralf Dose who is head of the Hirschfeld Society in Berlin. We have since met with him in Berlin numerous times and he has provided us with lots of information on Magnus. We are also in touch with the Bundesstiftung Magnus Hirschfeld which is a government body.
We are very grateful to both of these organisations and all the other historians who are now doing so much research into Magnus’s Teachings, Ideologies and Theories that are as relevant today as they were in the 1920’s and thirties.
We are now extremely proud that Magnus is getting the recognition he so justly deserves, and his name is being honoured so many years after his death.
While in berlin we have visited many of the monuments which have been erected in his honour.
Magnus found a balance between medicine and writing.
He wrote numerous books which were unfortunately destroyed at the Infamous burning of the books outside the Humbold University.
He co-wrote and acted in the first film ever to feature a homosexual character. It was called “Different From The Others”
In 1919 he established the Humanitarian Committee which consisted of Einstein, Tolstoy and other prominent people to try to have Paragraph 175 rescinded from the laws which stated that homosexuality was illegal and many people had been imprisoned for it.
It took until 1994 to be rescinded.
Also, in 1919 Magnus purchased a villa in Berlin naming it “The Institute For Sexual Research” and it provided educational and medical advice for many people who had come from all over Europe to seek help and receive a clearer understanding of their sexuality.
In 1933 when in Paris Magnus saw a newsreel of the destruction of his beloved institute he was devastated.
He had gone on a world tour lecturing and was warned not to return to Berlin as he would be arrested for being both Jewish and gay.
In Paris he again opened a clinic from which a guest list has recently been published with numerous prominent names.
With his health declining Magnus went to live in Nice where he died on May 14th 1935 at the age of 67.
After his death his long-time partner Li Tang who had also fled Berlin in the 1930’s was asked to come to Nice and was given an old suitcase with numerous books and manuscripts written by Magnus.
Following Tang’s death in Canada the suitcase was found in a dumpster which a passer-by spotted.
On opening it he found it was filled with Hirschfeld’s books and manuscripts.
He contacted the Hirschfeld Society and Ralf Dose flew to Canada and brought it back to Berlin.
Its contents are now housed in the library at the society.
Magnus had an extremely difficult life and all he really wanted to do was to help humanity.
His motto “through science to justice” I feel this says it all!
Thank you to all again and we wish the exhibition every success
