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.

LGBTIQA+ Rights in Israel: An International Comparison | Nicholes Family Lawyers

LGBTIQA+ Rights in Israel: An International Comparison – Podcast Episode 45

JCCV and ZV support new Israeli surrogacy statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Please see our statement alongside Zionism Victoria regarding Israel’s Supreme Court decision to remove restrictions for same-sex couples and single men to become parents.

“The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) and Zionism Victoria (ZV) welcome the decision handed down by Israel’s Supreme Court that removes restrictions for same-sex couples and single men to become parents. As the elected Jewish Victorian roof bodies in our community, we advocate for the interests of all our constituents and fully support this inclusive statement on surrogacy in Israel.

The ruling said that “[a]s it has been determined that the [current] arrangement is unconstitutional, ‘a lack of political feasibility’ cannot justify the connotation of severe harm to basic rights.” The court ruled that restrictions on surrogacy for same-sex couples and single fathers in Israel must be lifted within six months, giving authorities time to prepare for the change.

Surrogacy was previously permitted for heterosexual couples and single women in Israel but the law excluded same-sex couples and single men.

Daniel Aghion, President of the JCCV states that “Good parents are defined by the love and care for children, not by the gender and sexual orientation of parents.”

Yossi Goldfarb acknowledges that Israel, once again proves to be a beacon of democracy and inclusiveness in the Middle East.

The JCCV and ZV stand by our LGBTIQ+ community members and wholeheartedly welcome this change.”

Eytan Fox showcase at 2021 Mardi Gras Film Festival

The 28th Queer Screen – Mardi Gras Film Festival (18 Feb – 4 Mar) kicks off soon! Select films are screening online, available nationally for the first time.

This year, the festival is excited to have the Director Focus showcasing the works of Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox.

Screening is his latest film Sublet, alongside three retrospective works Yossi & Jagger, The Bubble and Time Off.

Eytan Fox – Yossi & Jagger
Eytan Fox – Time Off
Eytan Fox – The Bubble
Eytan Fox – Sublet

Rabbi Claims COVID-19 Vaccine Can Make People Gay | Star Observer

Rabbi Claims COVID-19 Vaccine Can Make People Gay

The Aguda – Pride In The Livingroom: Michael Barnett

On August 2 2020 Michael Barnett from Aleph Melbourne participated in “The Aguda – Pride in the Livingroom” Project. Watch Michael tell his story:

Melbourne Synagogue Distances Itself From Vile Remarks | Star Observer

Melbourne Synagogue Distances Itself From Vile Remarks

The Caulfield Synagogue in Melbourne has disassociated itself from derisive comments made by one of its board members on social media against LGBTQI diversity. https://t.co/iebYGugUH9
— Star Observer (@star_observer) July 16, 2020

Limmud Oz 2020: The Queer Sessions

See below for details of the three LGBTIQ+ sessions at this year’s Limmud Oz. More details online.

Sunday, June 7 • 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Israel that you don’t know

Hen is an energetic activist and advocate for his people. As the son of Mizrahi Jewish refugees from Iraq and North Africa (Berber Jews from Tunisia), Hen has a unique and important voice in today’s discussions, sharing his family’s story as part of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. As a young Israeli, Hen served in the IDF for almost five years as an openly gay commander. During his service as a lieutenant in the COGAT unit, he worked as an intermediary between the Israeli Defense Forces (the IDF), the Palestinian Authority, the UN, and many non-governmental organisations that operate in the West Bank.

SPEAKER
Hen Mazzig
Hen Mazzig is the son of Mizrahi Jewish refugees from Iraq and North Africa. He has written for the LA Times, NBC News, Haaretz, The Forward, Jewish Chronicle and International Business Times. Since 2016, he has worked as a freelance consultant to help pro-Israel and social justice causes, and has also volunteered as the head of the Transgender and Health department at the National Israeli LGBTQ Task Force “The Nir Kates Center” in Tel Aviv.

Monday, June 8 • 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Proud to be Jewish; proud to be gay

Jarod has had a long journey with his gayness. A longer one with his Judaism. His life has its share of conflict. Inner turmoil. Some painful memories. But the focus will be on the inspiring moments he has had on his Jewish gay journey. Ultimately, his life is a tale of unwavering love, positivity and understanding. Because he has waded through the darkness, the light shines twice as bright. And I’m here.

SPEAKERS
Jarod Rhine-Davis
Jarod is a Jewish gay man living his best life in Melbourne, and has a keen interest in bringing the Jewish and LGBTIQA+ communities together. He actively volunteers and as a job is involved in helping disadvantaged people to find employment. He is looking forward to sharing his story.

Adam Samuel
Adam Samuel is a Jewish/gay award-winning radio broadcaster and journalist, working with KIIS, GOLD, 3AW and JOY 94.9, and notably associate producing the Melbourne AIDS Conference. Adam is also a festival and event MC, and is often seen walking along Glenhuntly Rd with a really large cup of coffee!

Sunday, June 14 • 12:00pm – 1:00pm
All about Chava: the representation of queer Jewish women in film

From the lounge-rooms of Sydney, we bring you a taste of HaSodot, our grassroots film club catering to queer Jewish women. Join us as we watch and discuss the portrayal of queer Jewish women in contemporary film and television. We will examine the ways in which television and film represent (or misrepresent) our experiences and how this may impact our lives and identities.

SPEAKERS
Liora Baram

Shoshana Gottlieb
Shoshana is a writer and playlist maker based in sydney. She spends her time watching, reading about, and discussing film and television. her mother thinks she would’ve made a great doctor.

16-yr-old brutally stabbed by his own brother | J-Wire

16-yr-old brutally stabbed by his own brother

July 28, 2019 by J-Wire Newsdesk

The Jewish LGBTIQ+ community in Australia has responded with “shock and revulsion” to news of a brutal attack against a 16-year-old youth at a LGBTIQ+ youth hostel in Tel Aviv on Friday.

According to reports, a teenager was seriously wounded just outside the hostel when he was stabbed in the chest and leg, apparently for religious reasons, by his own brother.

The incident comes within days of the 10th anniversary of the murder of a 26-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl and the injuring of at least fifteen others, most of them minors, at the “Bar-Noar” LGBTIQ+ youth centre in Tel Aviv on 1 August 2009. It is also five years since 16-year-old Shira Banki was stabbed to death at Jerusalem’s gay pride parade.

Commenting on the latest incident, Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said, “The attack on a resident at an LGBTIQ+ youth emergency centre is a chilling reminder of how much harder we need to work to break down the intolerance and ignorance that exists in many communities”.

“The 2009 attack in Tel Aviv was the catalyst for a remarkable transformation in the Jewish community in Australia, and as a result our community has come to value the importance of including and embracing its LGBTIQ+ people” Barnett said. “We are a better, stronger and more cohesive community as a result, although we also know there is much more work to do. Beliefs and attitudes that incite hate and violence are never acceptable, and we must call them out in all their forms. Our thoughts are with the injured boy and wish him a full and speedy recovery.”

Co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim, described Friday’s stabbing as “extremely disturbing”.

“Israel has made great strides in recent years in encouraging respect for and acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people, and it is light years ahead of neighbouring countries”’ Wertheim said. “But there is still a long way to go. In Israel, as elsewhere, LGBTIQ+ people still face all too frequent acts of violence motivated by hatred in a social climate that is inflamed by bigoted statements from people in positions of authority. We hope the young man who was attacked makes a full and speedy recovery and that his ordeal serves to spur political and religious leaders to greater efforts to stamp out anti-LGBTIQ+ violence, and the hatred that gives rise to it.”

Ronit Horwitz Peskin explains why she’s attending the Jerusalem Pride Parade with her children

I’m about to post something that is probably more controversial than anything I usually post (and thats saying a lot), and it may get some people to defriend me, it may get some people to think less of me… and I’ll admit, part of me was planning on just not saying anything at all.
But I feel I must. But just know that because of the controversy, I do plan on not responding to the comments section here, because I have no interest in arguing with you. I’m just sharing my thoughts.
I am going to the gay pride parade in Jerusalem in a few hours.
With my kids.
Yes. That’s right. I identify as a chareidi woman and I am still going. And I feel its important to bring my kids too.
Before you get all in shock, let me say that I used to be “one of you”. I used to be opposed to the parade. I used to say “Fine, be gay, but why do you need to be proud of it? And show off about your aveiros in the holy city of Jerusalem.”
But I’ve changed.
You want to know why I’m going?
I’m going to show that you can be religious and not be a bigot. That you can be chareidi and not be a bigot.
The thing that changed my mind, the thing that made me decide that this year is the year I’m going to go, is finding out that some of my good friends are gay. And they feel that that means that God hates them. That their life isn’t worth living. That they’re an abomination.
The reason I’m going to pride is to say I care about you. I love you. I think you’re an awesome person. And the fact that you’re gay doesn’t mean you’re any less valuable as a person, any less worthwhile as a jew, any less loved by God.
I’ve heard some people say that gay people have a choice, they choose to be gay. From my experience with my close friends who are gay, I know its the exact opposite. Because of the religious community, because of wanting to fit in and be normal, they want more than anything to not be gay. To just be able to live a traditional family life, without all this pain. People don’t choose to be gay. That is how they are. Period. Yes, for some people there’s a spectrum and they can be happy with either a man or a woman, and honestly, in that case, I do think its preferable halachically for them to have a traditional marriage. But for those who can’t or don’t want to be with someone of the opposite sex for whatever reason, I don’t judge them.
To be honest, I used to think the answer to the “gay and religious” issue was to do like Josh Weed and marry the opposite sex to your best friend… until I learned that even he was divorcing, that no matter how much he tried to make his marriage work to a woman, it wasn’t fair to either of them.
Yes, the torah says that male to male anal sex is an abomination. That is a fact. That is a sin.
But you know what it doesn’t say?
It doesn’t say that being gay is a sin. That being gay is an abomination.
I’m going to pride to stand up against so called religious people who mock, bully, bellittle, and castigate others simply for “being gay”. I heard a story of a yeshiva bochur who didn’t even really know what gay was, let alone that he was gay, until after he was already bullied for being gay in yeshiva.
I’m going to pride to say that all human beings are worthy of love and respect.
And yes, the fact that some people that are gay do acts that are assur by the torah is true. But that is something private, and that isn’t anyone’s business but theirs and god. You’re supposed to be dan people lekach zechus, judge people favorably. There’s may ways for gay couples to be intimate without breaking an issur dioraysa (a biblican law).
The fact that someone is gay doesn’t mean they are doing anything that is a sin. There is not a single sin in the world that encompasses or involved “being gay”.
I’ve heard people oppose the gay pride parade because they don’t believe its appropriate to have a parade about peoples sex life. I’m sorry, but peoples sex life is not on parade in the Jerusalem pride parade. Being gay is not about who you have sex with. You can be a celibate gay person. You can be a gay person who only has hetero sex. Being gay is about an identity that you are, not what you do. (Yes, I have heard that gay pride parades in other cities are sexually explicit, and thats why I would never go to a gay pride parade in any other city. The jerusalem one is family friendly, g rated.)
I want to add also that pride is not just about gay people. It also involves asexual and demisexual people who are shamed and told they arent normal human beings because of their lack of interest in sex. I support asexuals. That’s how god made them.
Pride is also about trans people, who I support, because I know what it’s like to be uncomfortable in your own skin, to feel like there is this existential thing wrong with you, until you figure out your identity and live as you identify inside. (For me, by the way, that happened when I attempted to live as a dati leumi person, when my inside was saying thats wrong, I identify as chareidi.)
Pride is also about intersex, and if there’s ever an argument that “this is simply how god made me” with absolutely no outside influence, this is it. God made people intersex, and they also are worthy of love and respect. (And for the record, the torah has lots of talks about intersex people, its not even remotely controversial.)
An argument I’ve heard is “fine, be LGBTQIA, if thats how you are, but why do you need to be proud of it? Why have a parade about it?” and “What about hetero pride?”
When the world at large tells you you aren’t worthwhile, when it tells you that your existence is an abomination, when people put up signs around the city calling you abnormal, being proud of yourself is an act of defiance. A healthy act of defiance. Being proud to be LGBTQIA is saying i’m a worthy human being, not in spite of the hate I get or because of the hate I get, but simply I just am. Its not saying being LGBTQIA is better than people who are cis het, it is just saying “I am a valuable individual and when you say i’m not I will proudly stand up and say I am worthy”.
And as for “Why in jerusalem, and why specifically in a way and place that is inflammatory and offensive”, I say that Jerusalem has many LGBTQIA people just like any other cities. And if there were this parade going through chareidi areas, I’d be strongly opposed. But it isnt. And if people don’t like it, they can ignore it.
If you oppose the pride parade but support the israel day parade in america, youre a hypocrite. Both are types of people that the world at large says arent worthwhile/valuable, both bring out protesters, and both are saying “I will not let the hate around me bring me down. I am proud of who I am because I am a child of God/a human being.”
Lastly, I am going to the pride parade because the main tennet of the torah is “Viahavta lireacha kamocha”, treat your neighbor like yourself, treat other people the way you want to be treated. And what better way than you march at pride with everyone else, announce myself as an ally, and say “I don’t support hate and bigotry, because that’s not what my torah says.” And that’s what I’m teaching my kids by bringing them.