Aleph Melbourne

Executive Council of Australian Jewry rebukes Rabbinical Council of Victoria’s anti-marriage equality statement

Statement by Anton Block, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry

“The President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Anton Block, has rejected as “alarmist” suggestions that an amendment to the definition of marriage in Australian civil law will in some way open the door to a future infringement of the religious freedoms of those who believe in the traditional definition of marriage. He was commenting on a controversial statement issued by the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) urging Australians to vote “No” to proposed reforms to Australia’s marriage laws that would recognise same sex marriages.

“The RCV statement was issued without proper thought or understanding of the way Australia’s Constitution and legal system work”, Mr Block said. “There is no basis for believing that a change to the civil law definition of marriage would be a potential threat to the rights and freedoms of religious institutions and leaders to conduct religious marriages or to affirm religious teachings about marriage. Religious marriages are outside the scope of the Marriage Act, which relates only to civil marriages. It is alarmist to suggest otherwise, and wrong for the RCV to use its authority in religious matters in this way.”

Mr Block added: “All people are entitled to have their dignity respected, regardless of their ethnicity, religious affiliations and beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, or any disability.”

The President of the RCV and at least six other rabbis who are members of the RCV have since dissociated themselves from the RCV statement.

Rabbi Daniel Rabin’s personal apology for RCV statement on marriage equality

I would like to personally address the recent RCV statement on the upcoming postal vote and any hurt that it has caused in the community. The RCV should not have told people how to vote and refrained from making a divisive statement.

The statement has caused immense anger and pain and has alienated many who already feel isolated within the community. I deeply regret the hurt that has been caused and as President of the organization I sincerely apologise for this.

I feel that at this point any comment I make on inclusivity will sound disingenuous and I will take the overwhelming responses I have received as an opportunity to reconsider how future Halachik statements are disseminated in regards to sensitive community issues.

Caulfield Hebrew Congregation responds to the RCV statement on same sex marriage

6 September 2017
15 Elul 5777
Rabbinical Council of Victoria is out of touch
The statement released by the Rabbinical Council of Victoria on same sex marriage is wrong for many reasons. We believe the debate around same sex marriage and the associated legislation is a civil matter not a religious one. To interfere in a matter of civil law, and attempt to influence all citizens, goes beyond the scope of the RCV.
The statement has already caused deep distress to many across our community.
It is divisive and damaging and is also likely to further alienate many others from Orthodoxy, if not Judaism itself.
Caulfield Shule members can be assured that Rabbi Genende was strongly opposed to the RCV releasing a statement at all on this matter. The Rabbi has since resigned from the Executive of the RCV.
Caulfield Shule stands by its reputation of being inclusive, speaking out about injustice, building tolerance and drawing people closer to Judaism in a way that is personally meaningful.
We take this opportunity to wish all of our members a Shana Tovah and may the new year bring health and happiness to us all.
Anthony Raitman – President
Rabbi Genende – Senior Rabbi
Caulfield Hebrew Congregation responds to the RCV statement on same sex marriage

ARK Centre Statement on Same Sex Marriage

Response to the RCV:

As an Orthodox Jewish Community Centre ARK Centre rejects the recent statement released by the Rabbinical Council of Victoria with regard to the upcoming Same Sex Marriage postal plebiscite “encouraging citizens to vote ‘no’ to reforming the Australian marriage laws.”

We do so for two main reasons:

First, the plebiscite is a secular matter, not a religious one. There is separation between church and state in this country and this vote poses no threat to our ability to freely practice our religion.

Second, as Jews we need to be sensitive to matters of discrimination. We must never take any freedoms for granted. We have fought for generations to ensure our own religious liberties and must never back down from advocating for the abolition of any and all discrimination.

Wrong for Rabbinical Council of Victoria to interfere in civil marriage

This Monday (Sep 4 2017) the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) issued a statement (incorrectly dated Sep 9 2017) advising the Jewish community to vote “No” in the proposed postal survey on whether the Marriage Act should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry.

20170904-rcv-statement-supporting-no-vote-on-marriage-equality-postal-survey

Changes to the Marriage Act enabling same-sex marriages will not impact authorised ministers of religion, as the existing protections under the Marriage Act will remain in force, allowing them to refuse to solemnise those marriages they object to.

The letter issued by the RCV draws on misleading, inaccurate and irrelevant information, failing to cite any sources.

Civil marriage in Australia is not subject to the requirements of Jewish law (Halacha). Orthodox rabbis have no right to interfere in the lives of people who do not wish to engage in an Orthodox Jewish marriage.

It would be appropriate for the RCV to desist from issuing negative statements on civil marriage while there is no proposed impact to their ability to perform their religious duties.

More Jewish homophobia from Rabbi Chaim Ingram and Paul Winter on J-Wire

Repeat Jewish offenders Rabbi Chaim Ingram and Paul Winter post their homophobia on J-Wire.

The following comments appear on a J-Wire article beneath a photo gallery captioned:

Around 150 guests attended the panel discussion dealing with Marriage Equality in Australia at NCJWA NSW.

Moderator: Dr Justin Koonin; Panel: Justice Stephen Rothman, Professor Kerryn Phelps, Tiernan Brady & Lauren Reinhardt, organised by NCJWA NSW Social Justice Chair Nadene Alhadeff.

Rabbi Chaim Ingram says:

August 7, 2017 at 8:30 pm

Enough with the euphemisms. The forum was dealing not with marriage equality but with same-sex marriage. Even if, G-D forbid, SSM is legalised in Australia, we shall not have marriage equality. Polygamists, polyandrists devotees of menage-a-trois and advocates of the right of bisexuals to be married to a man AND a woman simultaneously – not to mention other exotic varieties I would rather not name – will still feel disenfranchised. No doubt at least one of the above will be the next great cause for the so-called equality brigade to champion.

Paul Winter says:

August 8, 2017 at 4:14 pm

I absolutely concur. The call for same sex marriage on the basis of equality is deceptive. People who are fixated or regressed to that point in life when children play with those of their own sex are not equal to people who have attained psychosexual maturity. Many have many admirable qualities and abilities – and here Alan Turing comes to mind – but they have a developmental flaw.

And then there is the appeal to love – homosexual love is the same as the love of anyone else. But we do not know how others love, we only know how we ourselves love. And if the issue is love, why deny that to children, to siblings or to those who love many people. What makes same-sex relations so special?

And then we also hear of the gender fluid. How any person can feel like a person of the opposite sex was a mystery to me until my youngest grandchildren then 7 and 5 1/2 commanded my wife and me to “pretend” in a game they were playing. People wanting to marry should be beyond the pretending stage.

And then, why call it marriage? Why not a commitment contract? I submit, the same sex people are uncomfortable with their sexuality and by appropriating the term marriage, they seek to diminish their anxiety by their pretense that they are no different to anyone else.

My advice to them: accept yourselves before you demand acceptance by others; you are not disadvantaged in Australia – you are accepted as equals as human beings – so stop your agitation, fit in and grow up.

Reply
Sam Goldmansays:

August 8, 2017 at 5:47 pm

Rabbi I am in full agreement with you. You forgot to mention child bride marriages, so frowned upon by society. Those participating in that form of marriage, that are jailed now, will also want equality in marriage too.

Reply

POSTSCRIPT – 11-Aug-2017
J-Wire have unpublished these comments after they received a complaint about them. See the comments on an archived copy of the article here.

“Harry Elkus” and the Caulfield Synagogue anti-homosexuality protest

A document protesting a gay rabbi was being shared around the Melbourne Jewish community.
Intolerance of gay people is unacceptable.

Gay orthodox rabbi Steven Greenberg was billed as guest speaker at the Caulfield Hebrew Congregation on Friday June 16 2017:

Rabbi Steven Greenberg guest speaker at CHC

It came to our attention last week that a document “HERESY-CHC” was being distributed around the Melbourne Jewish community calling for concerned members of the Jewish community to protest this event:

Heresy pamphlet

The document contains the name “Harry Elkus” in the Author field of the document Properties:

Heresy document properties

It also came to our attention that some of the information in the flyer was apparently misleading:

FYI

(i just received this from a protest organiser)

==========================

Please send this out ASAP

To the Melbourne Jewish community,

Yesterday an email was disseminated to the community calling for a public protest outside Caulfield Shule during its upcoming event this Friday night.

Following consultation with leading communal Rabbonim we hereby inform the community that the planned protest has been cancelled. We discourage anyone from participating in any public protests as it will only serve to escalate the controversy surrounding the issue.

We also wish to clarify one aspect of the email distributed yesterday. Some in the community understood from the email that the (now cancelled) protest had the widespread support of the Rabbinate including, but not limited to, the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) and the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand (RCANZ). We wish to clarify that at no point were the RCV or the RCANZ consulted about the said protest. We apologise sincerely to both Rabbinic bodies for any implication otherwise.

We maintain our view that the event at Caulfield Shule should not be under the auspices of Orthodoxy but we recognize that public protests are counter-productive.

May Hashem help us in seeing Torah true Judaism upheld in our community.

It is deeply disappointing and disturbing that some members of the Jewish community wish to use their religion to demonise and further marginalise homosexual people. There is no room for discrimination or intolerance in the Jewish community.

Media Release: Aleph Melbourne documentary to screen at 2017 St Kilda Film Festival

MEDIA RELEASE
APRIL 26 2017

Aleph Melbourne is thrilled to announce our documentary “Aleph Melbourne – Celebrating 20 Years” will be screened in the prestigious 2017 St Kilda Film Festival.

A collaboration between Aleph Melbourne and YouthWorx Productions, the documentary is a culmination of over a year’s work and brings together 20 years of memorabilia, interviews and amazing outcomes.

The documentary will screen as part of the “Top 100 – 9” session on Sunday May 21 at 5:45pm. All film, session and booking information here:

https://www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au/program/session-9
https://www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au/film/aleph-melbourne-celebrating-20-years

Our documentary has already screened at the North Brisbane Film Festival (Jan 2017), the Respect Belfast Human Rights Film Festival (Mar 2017), the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival (Mar 2017) and will screen at the My True Colors Festival in Brooklyn, NY (Jun 2017).

For more information contact:
Michael Barnett
0417-595-541
michael@aleph.org.au

The Multilingual Rainbow Community Service Announcement (CSA) Project

JOY 94.9 has produced a series of multilingual community service announcements for broadcast on their station and across Australia.

Aleph Melbourne is featured in a Hebrew-language announcement as part of this project.

All announcements are available here.

There’s a lot of Israeli at the 2017 MQFF

We present the Israeli sessions at the 2017 Melbourne Queer Film Festival.

You can view the full programme here.

Desire Will Set You Free | Fri 17 Mar 10:15 PM | 92 mins | Germany | 2016 | Yony Leyser
Ezra (director Yony Leyser), an Israeli-Palestinian writer sunk deep into Berlin’s artistic underground, has a passing fascination with Russian hustler, Sasha (Tim Fabian Hoffman), while his acerbic friend Catherine (Chloe Griffin) attempts to sex her way free of her straight-edged girlfriend (Amber Benson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Like the city that provides its intoxicating setting, Desire Will Set You Free is packed with influences (from Isherwood to Bowie) and is under the influence. Tick off your Berlin scenester cameos: look out for performances from Nina Hagen, Peaches, Sookee, Blixa Bargeld and beefcake-electro oddities Rummelsnuff. English and German/Arabic/Hebrew with English subtitles.

Seventeen year old Naama Barash enjoys alcohol, drugs and hanging out with her likeminded friends. When the suburban teen meets the cool, more experienced Dana they explore Tel Aviv’s nightlife and a hesitant relationship develops between them. Meanwhile Naama’s sister has gone missing from her post at a nearby military base, diverting her family’s attention away from the new developments in Naama’s life. Drawing favourable comparisons to Blue is the Warmest Colour, Barash is about the dizzy rush of first love, and an original, energetic drama that defies the stereotypes of life in Israel. Hebrew with English subtitles.

Who’s Gonna Love Me Now | Wed 22 Mar 6:15 PM | 85 mins | Israel | UK | 2016 | Tomer Heymann, Barak Heymann, Alexander Bodin Saphir
“Who’s gonna love me now?” These words, spoken by an ex lover, resonate with Saar, who is HIV positive. After being barred from his Israeli kibbutz years earlier, and with his Orthodox family still unable to accept his sexuality, Saar established a new life in London, where the London Gay Men’s Chorus have become an extended family. Featuring some stirring performances from the chorus, Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? is a deeply affecting, intimate portrait of a man trying to balance his yearning for home with his desire to live life on his own terms. English and Hebrew with English subtitles

Fake It | Sun 26 Mar 3:30 PM | 23 mins | Israel | 2015 | Tzurit Hartzion
Zohar needs more photographs for her exhibition and asks her ex, Ella, to recreate things that happened before the breakup so that she can photograph them. Is it real or are they, faking it. Hebrew with English subtitles.