Tag: Jewish

Voters Guide to Marriage Equality in Jewish Melbourne

This guide is aimed to assist voters living in the main Jewish neighbourhoods in Melbourne best select candidates who have comprehensively demonstrated or pledged their full support for marriage equality.

Levels of support for “same-sex marriage” listed for each electorate in this guide are taken from the “News Ltd 2010 Same-Sex Marriage Poll”.  The raw data is available in the resources section below.

Incumbent candidates are listed in capital letters.

Feedback, corrections and updates are invited via the form below.  Information is provided here in good faith and on the understanding that it is correct.

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Candidates & Electorates

Higgins

Support for “same-sex marriage” in electorate:

  • For: 57%
  • Against: 27%
  • Don’t Care: 17%

Candidates who fully support marriage equality and are allowed by their party to vote for it:

Candidates who support marriage equality but are prevented by their party from voting for it:

Candidates who oppose marriage equality:

Goldstein

Support for “same-sex marriage” in electorate:

  • For: 50%
  • Against: 28%
  • Don’t Care: 22%

Candidates who fully support marriage equality and are allowed by their party to vote for it:

Candidates who oppose marriage equality:

Melbourne Ports

Support for “same-sex marriage” in electorate:

  • For: 61%
  • Against: 20%
  • Don’t Care: 19%

Candidates who support marriage equality and are allowed by their party to vote for it:

Candidates who support marriage equality but are prevented by their party from voting for it:

Candidates who oppose marriage equality:

Hotham

Support for “same-sex marriage” in electorate:

  • For: 44%
  • Against: 32%
  • Don’t Care: 24%

Candidates who fully support marriage equality and are allowed by their party to vote for it:

Candidates who oppose marriage equality:

Kooyong

Support for “same-sex marriage” in electorate:

  • For: 54%
  • Against: 29%
  • Don’t Care: 18%

Candidates who fully support marriage equality and are allowed by their party to vote for it:

Candidates who oppose marriage equality:

✡ Candidate has declared a Jewish identity
Candidate has declared a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex identity

Parties

Parties that support marriage equality in their policy platform and require their candidates to vote accordingly:

Parties that support marriage equality in their policy platform but allow their candidates to vote on their conscience:

Parties that don’t currently have a position on marriage equality but allow their candidates to vote on their conscience:

Parties that oppose marriage equality in their policy platform and require their candidates to vote accordingly:

Independent candidates may vote for or against marriage equality as they choose.

Resources

Mount Scopus continues to ignore the needs of its LGBTQ students

Posted on Facebook by Daniel Baker on August 20, 2013 and reproduced with permission:

Mount Scopus continues to ignore the needs of its LGBTQ students. Here is my most recent letter to the Principal and the head of the Board:

Dear Rabbi Kennard and Ms Kennett,

Thank you for your email dated August 12.

I must say that I am disappointed with your response. My emails dated 24 June and 25 July were responses to and questions on Rabbi Kennard’s letter dated 18 February, and it seems disingenuous to suggest that that letter could somehow provide the answers to the very comments and questions it raised. I have explained in a number of emails why Rabbi Kennard’s response was insufficient and, in some cases, erroneous – for instance, in its comparison of homosexuality to Shabbat violation. The school’s refusal to respond to these concerns raises serious questions about its commitment to equality and student well-being.

Additionally, and beyond the immediate issue of same-sex attracted students, I must say that your response raises concerns about the way the School treats concerned stake-holders. When I began calling on Mount Scopus to join the SSCV, and when my campaign was gaining significant public attention, Rabbi Kennard urged me to keep this matter private. He promised a constructive and meaningful dialogue in the interests of protecting the safety and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer students. While I appreciated his letter dated 18 February, I do not think that a single letter followed by continued refusals to engage further constitutes real dialogue. To the contrary, it seems to reflect a lack of good faith on the part of the Principal.

As I have acknowledged on numerous occasions, it is of course the prerogative of the Principal and the Board to determine the school’s direction. What I seek is not an immediate policy change along the lines I have suggested, but a considered response to the 5 key points I raised in my email of 25 July. Those points are directly raised by Rabbi Kennard’s letter of 18 February, and the School’s claim to care about its same-sex attracted students cannot be taken seriously until they have been addressed.

I note that according to your email the correspondence between me and Rabbi Kennard was addressed at a recent meeting of the Board. Are you willing to make the notes of this meeting available to the public?

I look forward to your response.

Comment by Jonathan Barnett on letter by Daniel Baker

 

Gay Ketubah Offerings Let Same-Sex Couples Enjoy Jewish Marriage Tradition | Huffington Post

Gay Ketubah Offerings Let Same-Sex Couples Enjoy Jewish Marriage Tradition | Huffington Post.

First Generation of Transgender Rabbis Claims Place at Bimah | Forward.com

First Generation of Transgender Rabbis Claims Place at Bimah | Forward.com.

Schools defend right to expel gays | Sydney Morning Herald

Schools defend right to expel gays | Sydney Morning Herald.

…

Not all religious education authorities were opposed to removing the exemptions, though.

”While Jewish schools jealously guard against any incursion into our ability to teach the Jewish religion in a manner consistent with its tenets, and consider those tenets and that ability fundamental to our existence,” said Len Hain, executive director of the Australian Council of Jewish Schools, ”we do not see any practical limitation, or the imposition of any practical burden on that ability from the amendments deleting the specific exclusions to the Anti-Discrimination Act.”

…

Jewish Teacher Strikes New Legal Blow in Gay Marriage Fight | Forward.com

Jewish Teacher Strikes New Legal Blow in Gay Marriage Fight | Forward.com.

World Union of Progressive Judaism passes resolution in support of Marriage Equality

The following resolution on Marriage Equality passed by overwhelming majority at the International Assembly of the World Union of Progressive Judaism on May 1 2013.

All of the suggested resolutions can be viewed here.

World Union for Progressive Judaism

WUPJ International Assembly Meeting
May 1st, 2013 – Jerusalem, Israel
Suggested Resolutions

8. WUPJ Proposed Resolution on Marriage Equality

(Proposed by Resolutions Committee)

Whereas the World Union for Progressive Judaism condemns all forms of bigotry and discrimination in our society as being incompatible with the preservation of human dignity which is destructive of tzelem elohim, and;

Whereas the WUPJ upholds the principle of treating all people equally whether by gender, age, colour or sexual preference, and;

Whereas the WUPJ has long championed full equality of women in our movement and in society generally, and;

Whereas the 2011 International Assembly of the World Union for Progressive Judaism called on all institutions, colleges, congregations and youth groups to give equal opportunity to gay and lesbian bisexual transgender and inter-sex members (GLBTI), especially in terms of leadership and learning and to be aware of gender issues when developing study curriculum, and;

Whereas the 2011 International Assembly of the World Union for Progressive Judaism called on all institutions associated with the WUPJ to treat GLBTI couples in the same manner as married heterosexual couples and families. This call included commitment ceremonies, and family membership fees.

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the 2013 International Assembly of the World Union for Progressive Judaism calls upon all institutions associated with the WUPJ to promote, where possible, marriage equality within our movement, and to join with others to support legislation to help guarantee the legal rights of GLBTI couples to marry civilly and religiously, and to secure their marital legal rights in full equality to heterosexual couples.

NCJW Celebrates Supreme Court Rulings that Advance Marriage Equality | NCJW

NCJW Celebrates Supreme Court Rulings that Advance Marriage Equality | NCJW.

NCJW Celebrates Supreme Court Rulings that Advance Marriage Equality

June 26, 2013, Washington, DC — The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) applauds today’s rulings on marriage equality in United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry by the US Supreme Court. NCJW CEO Nancy K. Kaufman released the following statement:

“Today’s decisions by the US Supreme Court represent a gratifying and historic step towards justice and equality for same sex couples under our nation’s laws. The 5-4 decision in United States v. Windsor is as significant as it is simple: DOMA, the 1996 federal law barring recognition of same-sex couples, was a violation of equal protection for legally married same-sex couples. NCJW is gratified that the Court’s decision in this case grants same-sex couples the respect, rights, and recognition that they deserve and for which they have struggled for many years.

“The ruling in Hollingsworth v. Perry that the sponsors of Proposition 8 did not have standing to challenge California’s marriage equality law, restores justice for same-sex couples in that state who found their marriages cruelly invalidated by a ballot measure. Although the impact of the decision does not extend beyond California, NCJW hopes that this decision serves to highlight the uneven rights of LGBT people around the country and will inspire more states to join the growing number of marriage equality states. NCJW, long an advocate for marriage equality, pledges to redouble its efforts to win this important right nationwide.

“These decisions are a victory not just for the LGBT community but for all who value equality and fairness.”

The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. NCJW joined amici briefs on the sides of Perry and Windsor, emphasizing our Jewish values for social justice by working towards laws and policies that provide equal rights for all.

Contact: Brianne Nadeau
202-265-3000 Brianne@rabinowitz-dorf.com