The dichotomy of the Jewish leadership when it comes to Hitler and homophobia

The Jewish community is intolerant of hate perpetrated against it but not by it. Why this dichotomy of attitude?

A guaranteed way to find out if the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Anti-Defamation Commission are still in business is to report a rogue Hitler reference to them and measure how many milliseconds it takes for them to issue a media release and demand an apology by the perpetrator.  Take for example this recent example involving Macquarie Bank.

Yet these very organisations have moral constipation when rabbis from their community, such as Chaim Ingram or Shimon Cowen, to name two of the more obnoxious, say that gays should consider taking their lives for being homosexual, or make claims that we can be cured of our homosexuality, as if it’s an illness.

Imagine for one minute if a Muslim or Christian cleric were to say that Jews should consider taking their lives for their religious beliefs or because their way of life was considered an illness.  It has been proven by their past actions that the ECAJ and the ADC, along with other organisations such as the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and every other Jewish organisation in the country would be screaming livid.   Yet stunned silence when it comes to these anti-gay statements by Jewish “leaders”.

I hold in complete contempt every single person and organisation complicit in the silence that is being perpetrated when these vile rabbis are not howled down.  Why are people so scared to speak out against these perpetrators of hate?  What illness has affected this community when they are more outraged at statements of hate and intolerance against them than those from their midst?

Equal Love Rally, Melbourne, August 11 2012

On August 11 several thousand people rallied against eight years of being second class citizens and then participated in a mass illegal wedding.

Eight years after the Howard Liberal government introduced the delightfully discriminating Marriage Amendment Act (2004), we’re still rallying for marriage equality.

A fruity message highlighted the discrimination:

We cant-elope
We cant-elope

Ernie & Bert were planning their wedding in New York (and Colin was planning his wedding to a handsome police officer):

While Ernie & Bert want to marry in New York, Colin has his eyes on a handsome policeman
While Ernie & Bert want to marry in New York, Colin has his eyes on a handsome policeman

Straights were fighting hate:

Straights against hate
Straights against hate

There were thousands of people there:

Huge crowds!
Huge crowds!

Two gorgeous guys got illegally married to each other:

Even gay zombies want to get married
Happy illegally married

Enjoy all the excitement of the day – photos on Picasa and Facebook.  View all my Equal Love Rally posts here.  Please contact me if you want to use any of my photos from this event.

Julia Gillard aligns herself with Christians who believe “gays reproduce by molesting kids”

When the prime minister of Australia starts supporting organisations that believe gays reproduce by molesting kids, their time is up.

Today it came to my attention that Prime Minister Julia Gillard is appearing as keynote speaker at the 2012 Australian Christian Lobby National Conference.  It also came to my attention that an aligned radical Australian Christian organisation is claiming that “gays reproduce by molesting kids”.

It’s inexcusable for the leader of the nation to remotely associate herself with any organisation that espouses such hateful views

Julia, its time to leave the house.

Meeting Anna Burke, Federal MP for Chisholm

Gregory and I met with Anna Burke. We talked about being second class citizens. She talked about appeasing the Greek Orthodox Church. She has a dyke in her office who likes that I called Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard first class c*nts.

20120811 Meeting with Anna Burke MP for ChisholmYesterday Gregory and I met with my federal MP Anna Burke (Chisholm). We talked about how the law makes us feel like second-class citizens and how our relationship is inferior to the others of Gregory’s 10 married siblings and my brother’s.

Anna told us her concern was that she had two vocal Greek Orthodox Churches in her electorate who were putting the pressure on her to vote against marriage equality and that there weren’t the numbers to support it.

I suggested maybe she ramp up the quality of the response facility on her web site, to help gauge the level of support more effectively. She didn’t seem too keen.

However Anna’s assistant Janet was extremely supportive and wants the law changed so she has the right to marry her girlfriend. It’s nice to know there’s a dyke in the Anna Burke office keeping Anna honest.

Oh yes, and the email I called Julia and Tony first class c*nts, that tickled Janet pink. 🙂

John Searle, Keshet, Maccabi Victoria, Daniel Kowalski and Olympic Dreams

John Searle and Keshet Australia must reach out to Maccabi Victoria and help them fly their rainbow colours. It may just help someone achieve their Olympic dreams

Daniel Kowalski, Mikey & Gregory at Goldman Sachs; August 2 2012
Daniel Kowalski, Mikey & Gregory at Goldman Sachs; August 2 2012

Last night I attended the offices of Goldman Sachs in Melbourne for a diversity event hosted by their Gays, Lesbians and Mates (GLaM) network.  Guest speaker was Olympic medalist Daniel Kowalski.

Daniel described his journey from being a somewhat chubby kid in South Australia, a place not known for its swimming heroes, to becoming a silver and bronze medallist in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games in swimming.

Part of Daniel’s story revolved around how he found he lacked a degree of confidence and that something was holding him back from reaching his full potential.  He said that at the time he wasn’t fully certain what it was.  As the years went by he realised he was hiding his sexuality and this was having an impact on him.

Daniel Kowalski said he felt that if he had been comfortable with his sexuality he would have been able to stand up proud on the starting block, with a sense of confidence, and put in a far better effort.  He believes it may have helped him win gold instead of silver or bronze.

This leads me to a Keshet Australia panel discussion this Sunday evening, August 5 here in Melbourne.  The evening is entitled “The need for educating our Jewish community on GLBTI issues” and is moderated by John Searle.  John is the immediate past president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and currently the chairman (and only member) of board of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. From the advertising it appears he will be appearing on the night in a private capacity.

What’s especially exciting about Keshet bringing on board John Searle is that through his strong connections in the Jewish community and his involvement in the VEOHRC it places him in a unique position of being able to access and influence a significant number of organisations and people in the Jewish community about the need for a greater understanding of why discrimination against homosexuality is harmful.

On May 17 2012 the VEOHRC issued a media release in which it stated:

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission unequivocally stands against homophobia in all its forms and today reaffirmed its support for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).

As the agency responsible for promoting and protecting human rights in Victoria, the Commission sees the harmful effects that discrimination and inequality have on people and the hurt and damage caused by prejudice, vilification and damaging stereotypes.

Almost a year and a half earlier, in January 2011, the VEOHRC issued another media release on the Fair Go, Sport! initiative in which it said:

At its best, sport is a great way of keeping fit, healthy and socially connected. However, recent research highlights that sport can also be very unhealthy for gay, lesbian, bi‐sexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) people, many of whom have experienced discrimination and abuse in sports club environments.

Come Out To Play (2010), a survey of 307 lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender Victorians, showed that 42 per cent of respondents had experienced verbal abuse because of their sexuality while playing sport.

It’s evident that the VEOHRC is taking discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in sport seriously and is building bridges in the sporting community to help raise awareness of the harms of this discrimination.

The logical progression here, and perhaps the pink elephant on the sporting field, is to get the Jewish community’s sporting association, Maccabi Victoria, involved.  That’s where John Searle fits in perfectly, because as a person who is passionate about human rights, equal opportunities, removing discrimination and “educating our Jewish community on GLBTI issues”, all he needs to do is reach out to the team at Maccabi and show them how the VEOHRC, through Fair Go, Sport!, is benefiting the Victorian sporting community.

Maccabi Victoria itself is well placed to take adopt this sort of education, as it lists amongst its values: tolerance, healthy & positive lifestyles, strong community connections, achievement in sport and participation by all.  My earlier message about Daniel Kowalski exemplifies how a sporting community supportive of diverse sexual orientations would have assisted him in all of the same areas that Maccabi takes seriously.

I urge John Searle, together with Keshet Australia, to reach out to Maccabi Victoria and help them fly their rainbow colours for a stronger and healthier sporting community.  Who knows, it may just help someone achieve their Olympic dreams.

Queer as FxxK: Praise Jesus (or “Tom Cruise made me gay”)

Did Tom Cruise make you gay? Do you want to pray the gay away? Invest 10 minutes in this delightful video. Contains adult themes.

If you’ve ever felt that the “Pray the Gay Away” approach might be helpful, or that Tom Cruise made you gay, it’s worth investing 10 minutes in watching this video by the “Queer as Fxxk” project.

Note: this video contains adult themes.