Tag: Aleph Melbourne

Media Release: Not all Australians share the same opportunities as Michael Danby

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

Bialik College joins Safe Schools Coalition Victoria

MEDIA RELEASE
March 1 2013

ALEPH MELBOURNE CONGRATULATES BIALIK COLLEGE
ON JOINING SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION VICTORIA

Aleph Melbourne congratulates Bialik College on joining Safe Schools Coalition Victoria today.  Bialik College is now the third Jewish day school in Victoria to join SSCV, following in the footsteps of long-standing member King David School and the more recent addition of Sholem Aleichem College.

Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said “Bialik College has shown true leadership in joining Safe Schools Coalition Victoria today.  It is a sign of commitment and maturity by the school that it places the welfare of its students foremost.  As a former student of Bialik College who struggled deeply with my sexuality during my high school years, I am confident my academic and social experience would have benefited by this type of initiative.”

Aleph Melbourne calls on all remaining Jewish day and after-hours schools to follow the leadership set by King David School, Bialik College and Sholem Aleichem College and similarly join SSCV.  The health and well-being of the community’s children must not be sacrificed, especially during some of the most critical years of their lives.

Suicide and self-harm have been demonstrated to be a serious problem amongst same-sex attracted youth when they are not accepted and affirmed unconditionally, with elevated level of risk to the norm.  The sooner all schools mitigate this risk by adopting “best practices” in regards to acceptance of diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status the better off the community will be.

CONTACTS:
Aleph Melbourne: Michael Barnett / 0417-595-541 / michael@aleph.org.au
Safe Schools Coalition Victoria: Roz Ward / 03-9285-5131 / r.ward@latrobe.edu.au

Clarifying the authority of the ECAJ « mikeybear

Clarifying the authority of the ECAJ « mikeybear.

Media Release: Government gives $20K grant to promote inclusive communities to homophobic organisation

ALEPH MELBOURNE
MEDIA RELEASE: GOV’T GIVES $20K GRANT TO PROMOTE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES TO HOMOPHOBIC ORGANISATION
JULY 13 2012

J-Wire reports [1] the Institute for Judaism and Civilisation (IJC) [2] has been awarded a $20,000 grant to produce a teaching manual of the shared values of Christianity, Islam and Judaism to strengthen resilience against violent extremism.  Aleph Melbourne welcomes government grants of this nature and sees them as a valuable opportunity to further relationships between religious communities.

Attorney General Nicola Roxon describes of the Building Community Resilience grants program [3]:

We want to support local projects to build stronger, more inclusive communities. … Grants such as this will fund practical new activities to assist individuals and communities to resist and disengage from intolerant ideologies and encourage positive community participation.

Director of the IJC, Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen, is on the record in his 2012 submission to the Senate on “homosexual marriage” [4] as inferring that homosexuality is prohibited by God and that to allow any recognition of homosexuals is to show defiance to the universal ethics of God.

Cowen was also embroiled in a controversy earlier this year where he openly advocated for reparative therapy for gay people and that the anti-homophobic anti-bullying program Safe Schools Coalition Victoria be de-funded. [5]

Cowen’s stance is clearly at odds with this shared values program, which is described as funding “practical new activities to assist individuals and communities to resist and disengage from intolerant ideologies and encourage positive community participation.”

Cowen and the IJC have blatantly demonstrated an intolerance of homosexuality.

Michael Barnett, Convenor of Aleph Melbourne said, “By allocating this significant grant to such an organisation that fosters intolerant homophobic ideologies is a slap in the face to all same-sex attracted Jews, Christians and Muslims who are trying to gain acceptance in their respective communities.  Further, it sends the message that homophobic intolerance is acceptable.”

Federal MP Michael Danby has commended Cowen and said that this grant will allow the faith communities to explore their similarities and avoid extremism.

Barnett said, “The irony of the situation is that followers of ultra-conservative religious perspectives common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, people like Shimon Cowen, believe that practitioners of homosexuality are sinners who should be shunned and actively discouraged from acting on their innate sexual orientation.  Some extremist viewpoints of these religions go so far as to say such people are worthy of death.”

Barnett calls on Danby and Roxon to revoke the $20,000 grant allocated to the IJC on the grounds that the IJC is a proponent of intolerant ideologies and to reallocate the funds to organisations that embrace diversity.

Further comment available from Michael Barnett on 0417-595-541.

[1] http://www.jwire.com.au/teaching-manual-to-be-produced-on-shared-values/
[2] http://www.ijc.com.au/
[3] http://www.livingsafetogether.gov.au/newsandblog/Pages/Building-resilient-communities.aspx
[4] http://aleph.org.au/2012/04/03/jewish-submissions-to-senate-enquiry-on-marriage-equality/
[5] http://aleph.org.au/2012/02/10/the-homosexual-anti-bullying-program-for-schools-an-unconscionable-strategem-afa-journal-vol-32-no-2-2011/

Update – January 5 2013 & October 5 2015

Since this media release was issued the AG web site link has changed. The new grants program page can be viewed http://www.livingsafetogether.gov.au/newsandblog/Pages/Building-resilient-communities.aspx. Details of the grant application in question can be viewed in full here and summary here.

Jewish Gays still excluded from Victoria Police Jewish Community reception « mikeybear

Jewish Gays still excluded from Victoria Police Jewish Community reception « mikeybear.

Australian Masorti welcomes same-sex ceremony guidelines | AJN

8 Jun 2012
The Australian Jewish News Melbourne edition
PETER KOHN

Australian Masorti welcomes same-sex ceremony guidelines

AUSTRALIAN Masorti rabbis and Jewish communal figures have welcomed Conservative Judaism’s decision to issue guidelines for its rabbis to conduct same-sex commitment ceremonies.

But groups representing the Jewish Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex (GLBTI) communities, while endorsing the move, noted it fell short of a fully fledged gay chuppah. Gay marriage is not legal in Australia.

The Rabbinical Assembly (RA), the American organisation for Conservative (Masorti) rabbis, voted last week in favour of issuing the rules under which its rabbis can conduct these ceremonies.

It follows the RA’s decision six years ago to allow its rabbis to officiate at same-sex ceremonies if they wished.

The RA has published two sets of guidelines, for ceremonies that more closely resemble a marriage, and for those that are more distinct from marriage.

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins of Emanuel Synagogue in Sydney, who has officiated at a same-sex commitment ceremony in Australia, welcomed the decision “which supports civil rights and equal rights for all Jews, regardless of their sexual orientation”.

Rabbi Adam Stein of Kehilat Nitzan in Melbourne said he was glad his movement approved same-sex ceremonies in 2006 and that it has now issued guidelines, but he would need to consult with Nitzan’s board before conducting such a ceremony. John Rosenberg, a founder of Kehilat Nitzan, told The AJN the guidelines are a positive move. “Masorti Judaism strongly supports inclusion and I think this is a wonderful move towards inclusion for all members of our community. But Rabbi Stein will need to provide guidance for the congregation in terms of what we do.”

Michael Barnett, convenor of GLBTI support group Aleph Melbourne, welcomed the guidelines, but called for a commitment ceremony to be made available to heterosexual couples. “Separate is not equal. With the Conservative Jewish movement creating a special class of religious marriage ceremony for same-sex couples, despite the positive message given by the recognition of these relationships, they are sending the message that the relationships between same-sex couples are second class and not equal to that of heterosexual couples.”

In Sydney, GLBTI support group Dayenu’s acting president, Kim Gotlieb, saw it as “a wonderful step forward in legitimising the loving bond and commitment that many same-sex couples feel for one another”, but noted that “kedushin” – the concept of a sanctified Jewish marriage – continues to be excluded from the ceremony. “However, the Masorti and Progressive synagogues in this country are poised to provide gay marriage, whenever the groundswell of public support manages to convince our politicians to move into line with prevailing international trends.”

[ Clarification: the reference to commitment ceremonies for heterosexual couples was printed out of context. It was submitted to the paper by way of comparison, in relation to Progressive Judaism in Australia currently offering same-sex Jewish couples a commitment ceremony, but denying this option to those heterosexual couples who would like religious recognition of their relationship but who do not want to get married.  — Michael Barnett ]