Tag: Orthodox Judaism
Rabbi Claims COVID-19 Vaccine Can Make People Gay | Star Observer
Woman of Valor (אשת חיל) – Mobile Film Festival Women’s Empowerment
From the Mobile Film Festival (1 Mobile, 1 Minute, 1 Film – Women’s Empowerment):
As a secular straight student at Jewish University, I have witnessed the struggle of the Orthodox Jewish LGBTQ community to gain recognition from the University. The natural tension between tradition and innovation arouses my curiosity, especially when there are those who suppose that some of our biblical heroes loved their same sex, like David and Jonathan. I wanted to touch on this ongoing conflict between faith and self expression. Is there another way by which we can live and let live?
Directed by: Lara Vosburgh
Country: United States of America
Pathways Melbourne LGBTIQ+ meet-up group – JOY 94.9 interview
On September 17 2020 (5:43pm) Leah Boulton, founder of Pathways Melbourne, spoke on JOY 94.9‘s Drive program about a new confidential meet-up group for LGBTQIA+ people with life experience in Orthodox Judaism who want to talk about their sexuality, gender etc in a safe space.
Email Leah Boulton at leah@pathwaysmelbourne.org for more information, or visit www.pathwaysmelbourne.org/events.
Pathways Melbourne starts group for LGBTIQ+ people with life experience with Orthodox Judaism
Pathways Melbourne is setting up a confidential group for people with life experience as an Orthodox Jew who want to talk about their sexuality, gender etc in a safe space.
Contact Leah Boulton (leah@pathwaysmelbourne.org) for more information.
Gay Jews resent attitude of community | AJN (1982)
Zoe Goodhardt, Liebler Yavneh College, religious freedom and equality
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.
Keeping religion alive lies at heart of family’s values
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.
Teacher loses job at Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne after revealing she is transgender
Livia Albeck-Ripka from The New York Times reported in her October 18 2018 article “In Some Australian Schools, Teachers Can Be Fired for Being Gay”:
In Melbourne’s Orthodox Jewish community, a teacher reported losing her job after revealing she was transgender.
It is alarming to read that a teacher has lost her job because she revealed her gender identity and not for any failure to perform her duties as a teacher.
This sends a message that transgender people cannot freely express their gender in a workplace that is exempt from adequate anti-discrimination protections, thereby making their workplace unsafe for them.
Transgender people experience significant levels of discrimination in society due to intolerance, which feeds into elevated levels of suicidal ideation. Schools should be places of learning and knowledge, not intolerance.
If a teacher was sacked for revealing a Jewish identity this would be seen as anti-Semitism, yet it seems there’s another standard for Jewish schools when the act of revealing a gender can lead to termination of employment.
This is a clear case of double standards and is entirely unacceptable.
The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools | Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
Together with KeshetUK, the Chief Rabbi has been working to produce this unique and essential guide for Orthodox Jewish schools on the welfare of LGBT+ pupils.
SOURCE: The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools
Guide for Orthodox Jewish schools on the welfare of LGBT+ pupils.
For many months, together with KeshetUK, the Chief Rabbi has been working to produce this unique and essential guide.
Entitled “The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools”, it is aimed at school leaders, and sets out how they should provide for the welfare of LGBT+ students.
Following the release of the document, the Chief Rabbi said, “This is a document which I believe is an extremely significant milestone and will have a real and lasting impact on reducing harm to LGBT+ Jews across the Orthodox Jewish community. Our children need to know that at school, at home and in the community, they will be loved and protected regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.”
Dalia Fleming, Executive Director of KeshetUK said, “KeshetUK is proud to have worked closely with Chief Rabbi Mirvis and Jewish LGBT+ people to create “The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools”. KeshetUK now looks forward to working with with schools, Rabbis and educators across Jewish communities, supporting them to implement this guide so they can ensure their LGBT+ students reach their potential, free from homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, discrimination and fear.”
In order to view the full document click here.
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