The following political statement has been supplied by Melissa Lowe who is running as a candidate for Hawthorn District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.
Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.
As the former Manager of Student Equity at Swinburne University, I’ve seen firsthand the economic, social and health consequences of discrimination.
Discrimination damages mental health and denies people the economic and social opportunities to fulfill their full potential. It forces good people to live in hiding – simply due to who they are, or who they love.
I am aghast at the proposal by the Liberal Party to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to re-legalise discrimination against people on grounds of gender or sexuality. It’s time that we see the end of division and discrimination as an election strategy.
Michael Barnett, co-convenor of Aleph Melbourne welcomed Southwick’s “personal guarantee to look after the best interests of LGBTIQ+ people” but added that the organisation had concerns with the party’s policies. “I am concerned that the Liberal Party as a whole does not share his strong support for our wellbeing. One just has to look at the untold damage they did to trans people by running an anti-trans candidate like Katherine Deves in NSW in the recent Federal election,” Barnett told Star Observer. “I am also confounded as to what actual problem the Liberal Party feels it needs to introduce this legislation for. To my thinking they have fabricated a hypothetical scenario and are jumping in to save the day as the good guys. It’s the stuff of comic books, but it’s not funny,” added Barnett.
The following political statement has been supplied by David Southwick who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.
Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.
2 November 2022 Mr. Michael Barnett Co-Convenor Aleph Melbourne Via email: michael@aleph.org.au
Dear Michael,
Leading into the state election this November, I wanted to reach out to you and affirm my support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Over the years, I’ve been pleased to join you and members of Aleph at Midsumma and show allyship with a community that gives so much to our state. Our diversity – whether it be diversity of sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity, or gender identity – is our strength. Supporting all people, no matter where on the spectrums of sexuality and gender identity they may sit, is a fundamental part of what I believe in.
Recently, the Victorian Liberals supported the Andrews Government in passing laws to outlaw Gay Conversion Therapy. There is no place in Victoria for such barbaric practices and changing these laws ensured that.
The Liberals will protect religious freedoms to allow Jewish schools to employ people who are aligned with their values. These laws will not grant schools any power to terminate staff based on values and no existing staff would be impacted by the changes. Just as importantly, an individual’s sexuality, gender identity and ethnicity would also be equally protected from discrimination and unfair dismissal under these laws. Any proposed changes would only occur after extensive community consultation (including with Aleph) and would need to protect every single Victorian from discrimination.
I want to give you my iron-clad guarantee that any amendment to the Equal Opportunity Act will protect our LGBTQIA+ community from discrimination. As Liberals, our belief in equality is non-negotiable.
In 1981, it was a Hamer Liberal Government that decriminalised homosexual activity. In 2014, I was proud to be part of a Government that took the historic step to expunge these archaic convictions from the record. In 2017, as the Turnbull Government delivered gay marriage, I watched with pride as my former colleague Tim Wilson proposed to his now-husband Ryan on the floor of Parliament. A year later, a Federal Liberal Government put PrEP on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the very first time.
A future Victorian Liberal Government will deliver a dedicated professional legal support service for the LGBTQIA+ community, which will be based at the Pride Centre. We will also invest $1 million over 4 years into Joy 94.9, so they can continue to bring the community together.
I look forward to continuing working with Aleph to determine where funding, support and advocacy can be most impactful.
After the 26th of November, I hope to stand with you as part of a Victorian Liberal Government that supports, respects and protects every community and every Victorian. We will always defend equality.
Yours sincerely,
David Southwick Member for Caulfield Deputy Victorian Liberal Leader
One parent at Leibler Yavneh College is reported to not value “freedom and equality” for her children despite the school stating it won’t discriminate against LGBTIQ students and staff.
On the front page of The Australian today (“Keeping religion alive lies at heart of family’s values”; Dec 14 2018) Brad Norington and Elias Visontay write of parent Zoe Goodhardt’s decision to send her children to Orthodox Jewish school Leibler Yavneh College:
When it comes to freedom and equality, she says there are plenty of other schools for parents to enrol their children, but choosing a school for Ezra, Rami and Jasmine was about choosing a community.
The article concludes with:
Mr Morrison confirmed yesterday that his government had accepted most recommendations of a review by former Howard government minister Philip Ruddock into religious freedoms.
Attempting to defuse a parliamentary impasse over the treatment of gay students within religious schools, Mr Morrison will refer this issue for further review by the Australian Law Reform Commission.
Legislation enabling same-sex marriage has created theological and ethical difficulties for several religious schools, including Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Coptic-Christian and Catholic, where it may clash with traditional teachings
On November 27 2018 J-Wire reported of Leibler Yavneh College:
Principal Cherylyn Skewes and Chair Avi Gilboa stated: “Our College ethos is underpinned by Jewish Law (Halacha) which mandates love and compassion towards our fellow. As such, we ask that the Senate Inquiry ensures that no student or staff member suffers any form of discrimination including those relating to sexual orientation and gender.
It’s unclear exactly what Zoe Goodhardt had in mind when she was responding to a question from The Australian on “freedom and equality”, but what is clear is the position Leibler Yavneh College has made on not discriminating against LGBTIQ students and staff.
It’s disappointing comment was not sought by The Australian from the school’s principal, as this would have offered the necessary degree of balance and perspective that is typically absent from this publication’s content.
Sending her three children to Leibler Yavneh College at Elsternwick, in Melbourne’s southeast, is a form of “life insurance” for Zoe Goodhardt.
But this is an insurance policy like no other. It is the guarantee, Ms Goodhardt says, that her family’s Jewish faith and way of life can continue untrammelled.
So it is no surprise as rising secularism clashes with the beliefs and values of traditional faiths that Ms Goodhardt, 32, has rushed to support Scott Morrison’s pledge to protect religious freedom.
The Prime Minister’s commitment to overhaul federal discrimination laws, revealed in The Australian yesterday, is intended to introduce new provisions prohibiting discrimination against the right of individuals to practise their religions.
“I think it’s our right, and the right of the school, to cultivate a community at the school in line with their ethos and values,” Ms Goodhardt says.
When it comes to freedom and equality, she says there are plenty of other schools for parents to enrol their children, but choosing a school for Ezra, Rami and Jasmine was about choosing a community.
At Yavneh College, that community is based around the modern orthodox school’s mission to adhere to Jewish law (Halacha), ethical behaviour (Derech Eretz) and Zionist ideals.
Mr Morrison’s pledge on religious freedom will allow Yavneh to keep its strict admission policy permitting Orthodox Jews only.
“I know the kids could get a great education at a public school, but I want them to grow up in a community with our values,” Ms Goodhardt says.
“It’s problematic to think that the school I and my family have grown up in wouldn’t have the right to continue with their culture.”
Ms Goodhardt, a marketing manager, lives with her husband, Dan, and their children in Caulfield North, a suburb in the heart of Melbourne’s Jewish community, the nation’s largest.
Both also attended Yavneh.
Zoe Goodhardt’s parents were the children of Holocaust survivors, originally from Lodz, Poland, who arrived in Australia after the war looking for a safe Jewish community.
Mr Goodhardt, a counter-terrorism analyst, arrived from England as a boy with his parents, whose similar quest was “for a free Jewish community”.
The family, says Ms Goodhardt, feels safe but with much thanks to the Jewish community in Melbourne that has been able to grow. Daughter Ezra, 6, has just finished Grade 1 at Yavneh while Rami, 4, has completed senior kinder at the school; Jasmine, 1, will start at the Yavneh creche next year.
In its mission statement, Yavneh says the school strives to develop resilient, independent learners equipped to “participate effectively as Jews in the outside world”. The school embraces Australian heritage as well, encouraging students to take pride in it and contribute to the nation’s future.
Mr Morrison confirmed yesterday that his government had accepted most recommendations of a review by former Howard government minister Philip Ruddock into religious freedoms.
Attempting to defuse a parliamentary impasse over the treatment of gay students within religious schools, Mr Morrison will refer this issue for further review by the Australian Law Reform Commission.
Legislation enabling same-sex marriage has created theological and ethical difficulties for several religious schools, including Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Coptic-Christian and Catholic, where it may clash with traditional teachings.
Moriah College’s statement on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Aleph Melbourne warmly welcomes Moriah College’s statement rejecting all legislative exemptions that allow faith-based educational institutions to discriminate against students and staff.
Further to their statement “We expect staff to act publicly in a manner that is not inconsistent with the ethos, tenets and values of the school.” the school advises “that Moriah’s expectations are the same for, and of, all staff”.
UJEB’s statement on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Aleph Melbourne warmly welcomes a statement from the United Jewish Education Board (UJEB) rejecting discrimination against students, parents, teachers or other members of staff on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Sholem Alecichem College rejects discrimination on the grounds of sexuality or gender identity.
Aleph Melbourne warmly welcomes Sholem Aleichem College’s statement rejecting legislative exemptions that allow faith-based educational institutions to discriminate against students and staff.
A Senate inquiry looking into the the issue of whether faith-based schools should be allowed to discriminate against students, teachers and staff is due to report on Monday.
It’s examining whether exemptions which allow religious schools the right expel same sex students and dismiss gay teachers should stay in place.
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised amendments to discrimination law to make clear no student at religious school should be expelled on the basis of their sexuality.
Guests:
Michael Kirby, former High Court Judge
Jeremy Stowe-Lindner, Principal of Bialik College, Melbourne
Abdullah Khan, Principal of the Australian Islamic College (Perth & Adelaide) and Chair of the Islamic Schools Association of Australia
Mark Spencer, Executive Officer Policy, Governance and Staff Relations at Christian Schools Australia
Mount Scopus Memorial College calls for the removal of discrimination against staff and students on the basis of sexual orientation.
Aleph Melbourne warmly welcomes Mount Scopus Memorial College’s submission to the inquiry into legislative exemptions that allow faith-based educational institutions to discriminate against students, teachers and staff.
Submissions to the inquiry are open until November 26 2018
Aleph Melbourne warmly welcomes Sholem Aleichem College’s statement rejecting legislative exemptions that allow faith-based educational institutions to discriminate against students and staff.
A Senate inquiry looking into the the issue of whether faith-based schools should be allowed to discriminate against students, teachers and staff is due to report on Monday.