Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex & Queer people in Melbourne's Jewish community. Founded 1995.
The Saturday Magazine program on JOY 94.9 invited Aleph Melbourne convenor Michael Barnett to talk about work of the organisation and LGBTIQ issues in Melbourne’s Jewish community.
This interview was broadcast live to air from the JOY studios on April 4 2015 at 10:45am. Program host was David ‘Macca’ McCarthy with guest host Wil Anderson.
MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION – 28/07/2014
ALEPH MELBOURNE WELCOMES STATEMENT FROM JCCV REGARDING WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES CONFERENCE
Aleph Melbourne welcomes a statement from David Marlow, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) this morning in response to the news that some politicians from Victoria are attending a conference organised by the World Congress of Families:
“Any spreading of homophobia, homophobic hate speech or the virulent type of dangerous and disgraceful views on homosexuality spread by the likes of Pastor Scott Lively are completely unacceptable in Victoria and Australia. These sorts of views have led to bullying, violence and murder of gay people across the world, who just want to live their lives in peace and equality.”
Aleph Melbourne convenor Michael Barnett said “Kudos to the JCCV for speaking out against homophobia. No Victorian politician should be attending a conference organised by a hate group. The Jewish community works very hard to stamp out hate in all its forms and I’m grateful that the JCCV has recognised any association with this conference is unacceptable.”
Aleph Melbourne calls on Premier Denis Napthine and Prime Minister Tony Abbott to speak out against Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark and Federal MP Kevin Andrews attending this conference.
Further comment available from Michael Barnett on 0417-595-541 or michael@aleph.org.au
Benjamin Riley — February 27, 2014
A RECENT statement from a leading Melbourne-based Jewish group that said homophobia was unacceptable has been hailed as a turning point for the Victorian Jewish community’s relationship with its LGBTI members.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) has been ramping up its LGBTI-related activities over the past few years, including signing up to the No To Homophobia campaign and convincing over 25 of its member organisations in the Jewish community to do the same. Previous public statements by the JCCV have linked prejudice to negative mental heath outcomes for LGBTI people and said it was “okay to be gay”.
Executive director David Marlow responded to calls by the co-convenor of LGBTI Jewish organisation Aleph Melbourne Michael Barnett to clarify the JCCV’s position on homophobia.
“Homophobia, lack of acceptance and intolerance of homosexuality causes serious stress, anxiety and serious mental health issues and (is) not acceptable. All people should be welcomed and respected as valuable members of society and the community,” Marlow said.
Barnett told the Star Observer the statement is more significant than other LGBTI-related comments by the JCCV, arguing that calling homophobia “unacceptable” allowed the community to hold the council and its member organisations to account.
The JCCV represents a broad cross-section of Victoria’s Jewish community, including many Orthodox Jewish organisations with prevalent homophobic views.
Barnett believed such an explicit stand against homophobia was significant as the JCCV represented a broad Jewish community.
Speaking to the Star Observer Marlow agreed, and also believed the JCCV was one of the first representative organisations from any major religion in Australia to take a stand against homophobia.
Marlow said while the anti-homophobia initiatives have enjoyed broad support from JCCV members, there was some resistance.
“There have been some on the more Orthodox side who have not been as welcoming but there are certainly Orthodox synagogues and some Orthodox rabbis who are very welcoming, and some who are not,” Marlow explained.
“You can have your position from a religious standpoint, but from the point of view of how you deal with people and how you accept people and how you treat people — that’s the angle we’re trying to take.”
Marlow didn’t disagree with Barnett’s claim the wording of his most recent statement was significant, but said the JCCV was committed to education as a way to hold some member organisations to account for harmful homophobic views.
“We have a diversity of views on a range of issues from all our affiliate members… If we kicked an organisation out because we disagree with them, that doesn’t change them or fix anything,” he said.
Marlow said he expected the gradual shift in social attitudes around LGBTI people would continue to be reflected in the views of the JCCV’s member organisations.
February 16, 2014 by J-Wire Staff
Aleph Melbourne has welcomed the recent statement from David Marlow, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, where he unreservedly stands up to intolerance of homosexuality.
Aleph responds to: “Homophobia, lack of acceptance and intolerance of homosexuality causes serious stress, anxiety and serious mental health issues and are not acceptable. All people should be welcomed and respected as valuable members of society and the community.”
Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said “Whilst the JCCV has been increasingly passionate over the last 12 months in standing up to homophobia, and in stating that being gay is ok, this is the first time the JCCV has actually made a claim that any intolerance of homosexuality is unacceptable.”
Barnett added “Hearing these words from a representative of the JCCV shows they understand that members of the Jewish community have been hurt by intolerance of their sexual orientation, due to factors like inflexible religious attitudes and a lack of education.”
Aleph Melbourne calls on the JCCV to raise the issue of intolerance of homosexuality with its member organisations, especially those who continue to promote intolerance of homosexuality, and help build a safe, inclusive and affirming environment, that not only accepts but visibly celebrates all people as valued and equal members of the community, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) has made a significant step towards equality by publicly acknowledging for the first time “it’s okay to be gay”.
Following the JCCV’s release of a statement in support of the No To Homophobia campaign, co-convener of LGBTI Jewish organisation Aleph Melbourne Michael Barnett criticised the JCCV’s failure to publicly affirm gay people in society.
The JCCV responded with the comment: “It’s okay to be gay.”
A follow up statement confirmed the organisation’s position.
“The JCCV joined the No To Homophobia campaign because members of the GLBTI community experience harassment and abuse. This is not ok,” it stated.
“That’s why we joined the campaign, started the reference group—to acknowledge that it’s ok to be gay and to help with reducing mental wellbeing issues and harassment.”
Barnett praised the response, saying it is particularly significant given a majority of the JCCV’s constituent organisations are from the conservative, often anti-gay Orthodox Jewish community.
Barnett called on the JCCV to take further steps in support of the LGBTI community, by working with Jewish organisations like Aleph on strategies to address high rates of suicide, mental health issues and self-harm amongst young LGBTI people.
“A good way to do get this message out to the community is to make it a condition of JCCV membership that affiliate organisations implement such strategies in their organisations,” Barnett said.
Note: the background to this story can be found here.
Monday September 02, 2013
Host: Dylan Adler
Topic: Religion and Queer Youth
Guests (Youth): Anthony, Sunny, Kassy
Guests (Elders): Matt Glover (MGA Counselling Services), Michael Barnett (Aleph Melbourne), Andrew Wheatland (The Spirit Lounge – Joy 94.9)
Segment One: Dylan introduces his youth guests, who discuss their individual experiences of religion, what it means to them, and issues and confrontations they have encountered in following their beliefs.
Segment Two: We watch a movie by Marco Fink from Minus18, Religion and Queer Youth
Segment Three: Our youth guests are joined by a group of elders, who assist in exploring further the panels combined experiences and questions of religion and its meaning to them, and the GLBTI community.
(YouTube: “QYT: Queer Young Thing – Religion, 02SEP13”)
ABC Radio National – The Religion Report
The Religion Report 19th May, 1999
John Cleary: Today is about fundamental change, from Melbourne to Romania.
…
But first to the pressure of change closer to home, and the issue of homosexuality in religion is once again the cause of a deepening split, this time in the Jewish Communities Council of Victoria.
Orthodox members of the Council are maintaining their rage over moves by a gay Jewish organisation called ALEPH Melbourne, to join. While ALEPH has so far failed in its bid to be an affiliate member, there are renewed threats from Orthodox groups that they’ll quit in protest is ALEPH is accepted.
And today, a provocative invitation for the JCCV, (Joint Communities Council) President, Dr Phillip Bliss, to step down over his very support of ALEPH.
Toni Hassan spoke to Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky and the head of ALEPH, Michael Barnett, and prepared this report.
Ronald Lubofsky: The JCCV was very seriously threatened by this. There are a number of organisations that would have possibly seceded from the board had this been successful.
Michael Barnett: These are the sorts of attitudes that really do the most damage to people who are having troubles dealing with their sexuality. That’s why we have such a high youth suicide rate.
Ronald Lubofsky: There are certain things which they don’t like talking about, but they have done now because it’s forced into the open and is sort of they want to enter into Jewish schools, into sex education. And this is something which will ring the alarm bells with Jewish parents.
Michael Barnett: There’s nothing whatsoever in our organisation’s objectives or ideals to say that we are going to infiltrate or we’re going to convert or we’re going to subvert or whatever. We’re just a very straightforward support group and social organisation, we don’t have a hidden agenda.
Toni Hasssan: Some of the high emotion echoed at a recent meeting of the Jewish Communities Council of Victoria. On one side is ALEPH Melbourne, a group whose objective is to provide assistance, support and companionship for gay and bisexual Jewish men. Michael Barnett is the group’s President.
Michael Barnett: The objection to our application was that a homosexual or gay organisation is contravening Jewish law because homosexual practice is one of the forbidden acts in Jewish law. In Leviticus 18, 22 it says –
Toni Hasssan: Well that’s commonly argued. How do you get around that?
Michael Barnett: It’s not an issue for me. I mean I’m not a religious Jew and if I was, it wouldn’t bother me either way I don’t think, because that’s me as a person doing what I want to do. But that doesn’t come in to our organisation. Our organisation isn’t set up for the practice of homosexuality, it’s for the support of homosexuals, which is a slightly different issue, very subtle.
Toni Hasssan: And do you think the Rabbis, the conservative Rabbis who rejected your proposal, do not see that distinction?
Michael Barnett: Oh well, they may see it, but they choose to ignore it I believe. They are very stubborn people, they stick to the letter of their law and it may be a guise for homophobia, it may not be. But either way it has no bearing on the JCCV, it’s not an issue as far as I’m concerned, or our members are concerned.
Toni Hasssan: Ronald Lubofsky is Rabbi Emeritus at the St Kilda Synagogue. For him the inclusion of ALEPH amounts to tampering with the Ten Commandments.
Ronald Lubofsky: The core of the philosophy, the religious philosophy, the political philosophy of being Jewish, is in the written word. The Christians call it the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures. Some would reduce it to the Ten Commandments etc. and that excludes the notion of homosexuality, and as a consequence it’s a contradiction in terms. You simply cannot consider the two ideals as being compatible. So true enough, the members of this group are Jewish and it may well be that they are secular in their intent, but I’m afraid that as a group, as an organisation, they cannot claim parity as individuals absolutely. This is a point which I and others have made, that Jewish gay people, lesbian people, they can join synagogues, they can join the organisations which are represented under the umbrella of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, they can be the Presidents of those organisations, but as an organisation, as an ideology, they’re not compatible.
Toni Hasssan: Doesn’t the JCCV, the Council in Victoria, recognise sporting organisations, many voluntary organisations of that nature?
Ronald Lubofsky: Yes, what you’re saying in actual fact is a point of view which many espouse, but there is simply no comparison. You’re talking here of fundamentals of life, you’re not dealing here with a sporting organisation where people make a choice to do this or to do that. These are individuals who do not produce families, these are individuals who perform sexually in a way which is aberrant, to say the least, with regard to Judaism. It is something which runs counter to the fundamentals of Judaism, that is the family unit. It’s not simply playing a sport.
Toni Hasssan: What’s really got under the noses of Orthodox groups affiliated with the Jewish Communities Council of Victoria is the public support given to ALEPH Melbourne by the Council’s President, Dr Phillip Bliss. Without his support, the matter wouldn’t not have seen the light of day. Rabbi Lubofsky.
Ronald Lubofsky: If he followed the Westminster rules, he should resign, because it was something that he espoused, it was a motion that he himself moved. He now indicates he’s prepared to take it further. He’s going to endanger this organisation as a result of his monocular vision.
Toni Hasssan: Are you calling on him to resign?
Ronald Lubofsky: No, I’m not, I’m just saying that he should. That would be a normal procedure in any other organisation. If there’s something which the President wants his organisation to follow and he is prepared to go as far as he was, knowing how controversial the whole thing was, and that it could well have his organisation disintegrate, and he was roundly defeated under those circumstances I’m surprised that he’s still there.
John Cleary: Perhaps an issue for the attention of anti-discrimination bodies. Don’t know. That report from Toni Hasssan who’ll be back a little later in the program to talk with ABC Jerusalem correspondent Jim Gale about the religious influence in Monday’s General Elections.
…
Aleph Melbourne Media Release
March 28 2013
“JCCV tackles homophobia, but must prove it is serious”
Aleph Melbourne congratulates the Jewish Community Council of Victoria for aligning themselves with the No To Homophobia1 campaign, as announced2 in this week’s Australian Jewish News.
The No To Homophobia campaign aims to challenge all forms of harassment and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people. With the JCCV signing up for these values it paves the way for greater acceptance and inclusion of GLBTIQ people in the Jewish community and will work to reduce the extreme marginalisation and intolerance that GLBTIQ people face at the Orthodox end of the religious spectrum.
As the only organisation representing the combined interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Melbourne’s Jewish community, Aleph Melbourne all too frequently sees the effects of intolerance of sexual orientation and gender identity, especially when it emanates from within the Jewish community.
A recent example of homophobia in the Victorian Jewish community is when Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen3 called for the defunding of the Safe Schools Coalition Victoria program and published his beliefs that homosexual people should undergo sexual reorientation therapy to make them heterosexual.
Another example of homophobia in the Victorian Jewish community is the Rabbinical Council of Victoria writing a submission4 to the Australian Senate opposing changes to the Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to obtain civil marriages.
Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett asks of JCCV President Nina Bassat “Signing up to the No To Homophobia campaign is definitely a step in the right direction, but how is the JCCV going to counter homophobic attitudes from the intolerant sections of the Jewish community, especially when it comes to equal recognition of our relationships under Civil law and other forms of legalised intolerance such as that where Jewish organisations are allowed to discriminate against LGBTI people, especially when they are Jewish. It’s simply not enough for the JCCV just to ask their membership to also sign up. That is not affirmative action.”
Barnett states “The JCCV must show that joining No To Homophobia is a sincere attitude change and not just window-dressing. The lives of vulnerable same-sex attracted and gender diverse youth are at stake here and there is no room for hollow platitudes.”
Aleph Melbourne looks forward to the seeing the JCCV bring along its constituents in this new chapter and the accompanying benefits to the community that this entails, in particular building stronger and more inclusive families and reducing the rate of youth suicide, self-harm and mental health issues.
Aleph Melbourne also looks forward to the JCCV taking proactive initiatives to counter homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in all Jewish schools by recommending they all join the Safe Schools Coalition Victoria5. There is also ample scope for the JCCV to work with Jewish sporting organisations to reduce homophobic intolerance and promote positive role models in those spaces.
Contact Michael Barnett on 0417-595-541 for further comment.
ENDS
ALEPH MELBOURNE MEDIA RELEASE:
NOT ALL AUSTRALIANS SHARE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS MICHAEL DANBY
27 MARCH 2013
Aleph Melbourne, a support organisation that advocates for the welfare of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people of Jewish background, welcomes local MP Michael Danby’s elevation to the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Arts.
Danby’s electorate of Melbourne Ports covers an area with significant Jewish and gay populations. Many Aleph Melbourne members are constituents in his electorate.
On J-Wire [1] Danby asserts that in Australia people from all backgrounds are able to have so much opportunity and demonstrates this by relating how in just one generation, as a child of refugees, he became a member of the Federal Executive.
In the same paragraph Danby then quotes the late Jewish Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson about the necessity for obligation and gratitude.
Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said in response, “It’s rewarding that someone like Michael Danby can attain an elevated status in society coming from such humble beginnings, but the reality is that not all Australians share the same opportunities as him.”
“Danby casually throws around platitudes and quotes, but he needs to distance himself from extreme views held by the likes of Schneerson, a person who believed homosexuality was destructive and abnormal.” [2]
“Danby plays well to his Jewish constituency but recklessly ignores his large gay constituency. Just last year he abstained from the Parliamentary vote on marriage equality, a vote that would have seen him practicing what he preaches, giving his gay and lesbian constituents the opportunity to marry, an opportunity he is privileged to have.”
“He may well consider his gratitude an obligation, but he shows no gratitude to those gay voters who may identify as Jewish and who continue to support him.”
Barnett called on Danby to distance himself from the homophobic and intolerant teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and to support marriage equality so that all Australians can have equal opportunity, regardless of their backgrounds.
“It’s time Danby came out and wholeheartedly supported marriage equality. He has the right to get married. We all should. He’s no better than the rest of us. We’ve had enough of him just simply keeping quiet or delivering half-baked answers. He needs to stand up and be counted.” Barnett said.
ENDS.
Contact: Michael Barnett (0417-595-541).
[1] http://www.jwire.com.au/news/danby-becomes-parliamentary-secretary/33503 (Mar 25, 2013)
[2] https://borngay.procon.org/source-biographies/menachem-mendel-schneerson
