My Letter to the AJN Editor

My letter to the Australian Jewish News, in response to their unbalanced coverage of the JCCV’s latest statement on GLBT exclusion.

In response to the AJN’s unbalanced coverage of the JCCV’s latest “open mouth, change feet” statement of GLBT “inclusion” (I think they actually meant “exclusion” – they seem to get the two concepts mixed up so often these days), I have submitted this Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

I welcome the historic resolution on Gender and Sexual Equality that the assembly of World Union for Progressive Judaism recently passed at their convention in San Francisco.  This resolution condemns bigotry and discrimination and calls for equality of gay and lesbian people in all facets of the community.

This approach by the WUPJ is in direct contrast to that being suggested by the JCCV-endorsed Rabbi Chaim Rapoport who “contends that the GLBT community must accept that they cannot become official members of the JCCV as this would fracture the Jewish community”.

The position that the JCCV and Rabbi Rapoport are taking on this matter of inclusion and acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members of the Jewish community is in direct contradiction with the best practices of Australian health professionals expert in the area of human sexuality.

I strongly urge the JCCV to adopt a more inclusive, transparent and secular approach to this serious matter.  It seems that the JCCV have forgotten that they are not a religious organisation and that they represent a diverse range of religious and non-religious interests.

Michael Barnett.

I managed to keep the letter to under 250 words and have submitted it well in advance of the deadline for the AJN Letters column, so I’m sure they’ll publish it in the next edition.

5 thoughts on “My Letter to the AJN Editor”

  1. I think Rabbi Rapoport is indulging in a little sophistry here. GLBTIQ membership of the JCCV would not by itself “fracture the Jewish Community” – Rabbi Rapoport and his fellow Orthodox would be the ones to fracture the Jewish community if the JCCV were to admit GLBTIQ Jews. His statement appears to me to be a veiled threat.

    1. Doug, this is exactly the same as the language used by the Orthodox rabbis in 1999 when Aleph Melbourne applied for JCCV membership. The Orthodox threatened to leave the JCCV if Aleph Melbourne gained membership.

      It’s a divisive, homophobic attitude used by the Orthodox bloc to wield their influence and control over the JCCV, and the JCCV bends over backwards to accommodate them.

      The politics in the Orthodox world and the JCCV are filthy.

  2. Now here’s an interesting thought. Who amongst the JCCV and rabbis of Melbourne are actually Jewish?
    Have they read Shlomo Sand’s book ‘The Invention of the Jewish People”? Probably not. It leaves us pondering as to how many of us are actually Jewish. How many Israelis, particularly the rabbis running (ruining?) the country, many of whom are from the USA but have origins in central and eastern Europe are actually Jewish?
    Why have so many Jews changed their names so that they don’t sound “Jewish” any more? My name, De Saxe is a case in point. I believe my great-great-grandfather was originally Menachem Mendl – and he ends up in London as John De Saxe but still Jewish???)in the 19th century?
    All these so-called Jewish Community Council of Victoria people who are homophobes seem to have forgotten what it is like to be harried, hounded and murdered because one was Jewish -Hitler, Stalin and a few others come to mind. So, we will just allow GLTH (Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, HIV/AIDS) Jews to undergo the same torture that so many of our families have undergone over time. They are all just too disgusting for words. And now the zionist lobby in New York, led by a famous (Infamous) porn star has been responsible for a glbt centre in New York to cancel an apartheid-Israel celebration by threatening to cancel all funding to the organisation from Jewish groups!! Where will it all end?

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