Challenging religious bigotry
Oh the irony.
Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen writes to Jarryd B:
Dear Jarryd,
I appreciate your consideration of questions of decency of behaviour. The internet seems to invite, unfortunately, a level of incivility, which would not be there were people talking to each other face to face.
…
Jarryd B writes of Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen in a comment on this blog:
LOL.
Monash University believes it’s acceptable to have an association with an academic who likens homosexuality to incest and bestiality. Would it foster as good a friendship with a known Holocaust denier?
[SOURCE]
Monash University has issued the following statement regarding Dr David Irving:
Monash University is home to freedom of expression amongst our diverse staff and student population and encourages expert academic views, however Dr David Irving is not commenting on behalf of the University or the Faculty of Arts and the University does not endorse his comments. Monash University reiterates its respect for the dignity of all human beings, regardless of belief in the Holocaust.
They have further advised that Dr David Irving holds an adjunct/honorary role at the university, which entitles him to an email address and entry in the university’s staff directory.
Dr David Irving has expressed a number of vehemently and distressing racist and anti-semitic views as published on the Australian Supremacist Association web site. These views were further substantiated by the mX newspaper in an interview they conducted with him.
Monash University begins their vision and long-term strategy with:
Monash is a university of progress and optimism.
and continues with:
The areas of focus outlined by Monash Futures include:
- the ability to attract, recruit and retain the world’s best talent in both the academic and professional staff cohorts
- ensuring we have the reputation to attract the best students – to make Monash their university of first choice
Dr David Irving is a person with virulent, historically incorrect and disproven views on the Holocaust. If Monash is truly “a university of progress and optimism” then people with antisemitic, racist and nihilistic views toward the Holocaust are antithetical to this vision and have no place in the university’s ranks.
I contend that whilst Monash University continues the adjunct/honorary appointment of Dr Irving and whilst he has any opportunity to engage in any manner in the academic realm, through or on behalf of the university, Monash University are doing the greatest disservice to their students, their reputation, their vision and humanity as a whole.
I ask Monash University to make the continuance of Dr David Irving’s adjunct/honorary role conditional on him refraining from promulgating a nihilistic discourse on the Holocaust in any official and/or public capacity and to obtain from him a written assurance of this understanding.
If Monash University sincerely respects the dignity of all human beings, regardless of “racial purity”, they will ensure people with nihilistic attitudes toward the Holocaust have no voice on their campuses.
I suggest anyone who has a concern about the university’s ongoing association with Dr David Irving contact Professor Ed Byrne, Monash University Vice Chancellor and President directly.
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If this scenario would outrage you, sign this petition.
The kosher food bill has become unsustainable for many Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families. Rabbi Yehuda Levin has realised that chemically castrating the husbands will fix this problem.
Hot on the wisdom of Rabbi Yehuda Levin’s suggestion that chemical castration is an effective remedy to the problem of having homosexual urges, he’s realised that the problem of escalating kosher food prices can be countered by chemically castrating religious Jews after their second child.
Levin claims the benefit of this therapy is twofold. Firstly, the family size is kept to that which can sustain the burdensome cost of the kosher food bill. Research has shown that most Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families having three or more children are financially stressed, primarily due to the kosher food bill.
The additional benefit that Levin explains is that the poor balabatishe housewife is given a break from the burden of being shtooped crazy. He admits that families of 8-15 are not uncommon in frum communities and in those situations, the typical mother suffers from the complications of looseness and prolapse, the former due to the large shmechel she has to sustain on a daily basis, and the latter, due to the frequency at which she has to give birth.
However, Levin has realised that should there be a legitimate medical reason not to chemically castrate the husband, his recommendation to mitigate the risk of an unwanted pregnancy is to engage in the practice of the “tuches shtoop“, saying that it’s satisfying for both the husband and the wife, it’s halachically approved and there’s zero chance of an unwanted pregnancy, boruch hashem.
The ECAJ have complained to SBS about discrimination and stereotyping. Consider this reply from SBS to the ECAJ, challenging issues of discrimination and harmful behaviour in the Jewish community.
Consider this conversation* between Sally Begbie, SBS Ombudsman and Peter Wertheim, ECAJ Executive Director regarding the ECAJ complaint about the screening of “The Promise”, a situation that has even made the mainstream media.
SALLY BEGBIE: Hi Peter. It’s Sally Begbie from SBS calling. It’s about the letter we’ve received from you regarding The Promise.
PETER WERTHEIM: Hi Sally. Thanks for calling. How may I help you?
SALLY: I’ve read the complaint, all 31 pages. It took me a while to get through the document. Very thorough and comprehensively researched I’ll have to admit.
PETER: Indeed.
SALLY: It’s about stereotyping, and discrimination of Jewish people. Those are the main concerns?
PETER: Yes, that’s correct. Stereotyping, discrimination, negative attitudes of Jews.
SALLY: I see. Yes. That’s a concern we take seriously at SBS.
PETER: That’s good to hear.
SALLY: And no doubt, it’s something your organisation takes just as seriously, stereotyping and discrimination.
PETER: Absolutely. We pride ourselves on our efforts to prevent and reverse such attitudes. If you take a moment to review our web site you’ll see we give those issues priority amongst the many issues we care about.
SALLY: That’s excellent to hear. In reviewing the complaint that we’ve received I have been doing some research into issues and attitudes amongst the community you represent, to gain a more complete understanding of the situation. I’ve had some interesting findings.
PETER: Oh, yes?
SALLY: Well, it seems that there appears to be an area of concern into discrimination that the ECAJ has remained silent on, that some in your community are demanding a more vocal response.
PETER: Please explain.
SALLY: In particular, it seems that the ECAJ values equality and egalitarianism, yet has no comment to make on the issue of marriage equality. That would seem to me to be a strange position to take, considering your organisation does not stand for discrimination in any way whatsoever.
PETER: That’s a difficult area Sally.
SALLY: Discrimination? It really doesn’t seem that difficult to me.
PETER: No, not discrimination. Marriage. It’s a complex issue for some in the Jewish community.
SALLY: But your organisation does not stand for discrimination.
PETER: Correct.
SALLY: And yet you’re prepared to remain tolerant of some discrimination?
PETER: No, we don’t stand for discrimination of any type.
SALLY: So you’re supportive of efforts to remove discrimination facing Jews in same-sex relationships?
PETER: It’s not so simple Sally.
SALLY: It is to me. Discrimination is discrimination.
PETER: Of course, but not all discrimination is the same.
SALLY: However you look at it, it’s still discrimination. There’s another issue that has come to my attention. If I may.
PETER: Certainly.
SALLY: I’ve read that some in your community are concerned about attitudes that are upheld amongst certain religious leaders and members of the community whereby homosexuality is considered a condition that can be overcome with reparative therapy. The concerned parties seem to be calling on your organisation to speak out against these attitudes, claiming they’re proven to be harmful to members of the community who are being asked to overcome their orientation. They’ve provided you with evidence from leading professional bodies claiming these are harmful and ineffective therapies.
PETER: I’ve heard these concerns.
SALLY: Do you take them seriously? The claims that they are harmful to members of the Jewish community who are being forced to undertake them?
PETER: Absolutely. The ECAJ does not for one minute want a single member of the Jewish community to undergo an iota of suffering or come to any harm. We would extend that concern to the wider community as well.
SALLY: And you would then want to ensure that your community had a clear and unambiguous understanding that it is inappropriate to refer people to practitioners of these untoward therapies?
PETER: It would be our desire to ensure no member of our community came to any harm.
SALLY: So what I am hearing is that your organisation takes the issues of discrimination and harm seriously and wants to ensure the ongoing and increasing welfare of the members of your community, the Jewish people of Australia.
PETER: Effectively. Yes.
SALLY: Then it would seem to me, Peter, that it would be to your organisation’s advantage to show the rest of us that it does take these issues seriously and take a stand on them. You are asking SBS to take a stand against discrimination and stereotyping affecting the Jewish people, but what I see is that there are members of your community who are lacking the necessary protection from your organisation and who are at the mercy of harmful attitudes that have not been reined in.
PETER: Of course, we want a positive outcome for all parties.
SALLY: That’s good to hear. So do we. I appreciate your time today. We’ll be in touch.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria continues to announce measures to address the harms of underage drinking, yet arrogantly disregards the evidence that intolerance of homosexuality is equally, if not more destructive.
[SOURCE]
JCCV Contributes to Government Crackdown on Homophobic Intolerance
22 March 2011JCCV president John Searle today applauded the Victorian Government for its intended introduction of legislation this week, providing for $7,000 fines for adults who misinform children that homosexuality is wrong.
Searle had met with new Attorney-General Robert Clark soon after Clark’s appointment and had proposed this very innovation. He noted that he was extremely gratified with the hearing he had received and delighted that the Government was on the same page and that prompt action has been taken.
According to Searle, the significance of this legislation is that it will educate the community about appropriate behaviour and encourage adults to consider their actions and their duty of care to others.
Searle stated, “It is well established that homophobic intolerance can cause serious harm to developing brains. It is incumbent on older people, particularly those in roles of responsibility, to educate children about human sexuality and also to act as role models in regard to their own behaviour. If we expect young people to change their attitudes, we really need to focus on adults.”
“According to Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA)[1], gay, lesbian and bisexual people attempt suicide at rates of up to 14 times those of their heterosexual peers,” Searle added. “This groundbreaking research announced in 2009 sets a benchmark for understanding the extent of this grave problem, all too prevalent in our community, perpetuated by too many adults.”
“SPA cautions that those belonging to religious faiths that promulgate negative discourses about homosexuality are particularly vulnerable to suicide and self-harm. They also warn that conflicts between spiritual or religious beliefs and sexuality can result in significant psychological dissonance as well as division and exclusion from family, friends and community.”
The JCCV established a GLBT Reference Group some two years ago that has focused on revealing the issues affecting GLBT people in the Jewish community in response to pressure that the JCCV was directly contributing to this problem. This Reference Group has been seen as a whitewash and smokescreen to date but if taken seriously by the JCCV has the potential to actually achieve some useful outcomes.
For further information, contact John Searle, JCCV President, on 0412251344.
1 SPA: Suicide and self-harm among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Communities
I find going to the gym really rewarding. Tonight it was especially so because not only did I get to perve on some ultra-hot guys but I had a flash of inspiration, some might say it was divinely inspired, while I was pedalling away on the exercise bike.
There are a couple of issues that seem to be on the agenda about the offices of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria. One is how to deal with the problem of “alcohol abuse issues affecting Victoria’s Jewish youth”1. The other is that the JCCV and Rabbi Rapoport fear that if the GLBT community become members of the JCCV “this would fracture the Jewish community”2.
I have worked out a really simple solution to both of these problems. It’s simplicity floored me, and I’m sure you’ll feel similarly impressed.
Oh, I just remembered, there’s a third benefit that will come from this. A reduction in child abuse. You get three for the price of one. Such a mitzia!
The answer to the million dollar question? Stop circumcising boys. How simple is that?
You want to know my logic? Well, when a Jewish boy is born, he is circumcised, usually when he’s 8 days old. The mohel (the man who does the snip), according to some ancient Jewish customs3:
takes some wine in his mouth and applies his lips to the part involved in the operation, and exerts suction, after which he expels the mixture of wine and blood into a receptacle provided for the purpose. This procedure is repeated several times, and completes the operation, except as to the control of the bleeding and the dressing of the wound.
What happens here is the infant gets a feel for a man’s mouth around his penis, and this is impressed into his brain. Some baby boys, the more intelligent (and better looking) ones, remember this sensation as they go through puberty, and rekindle the desire to have a man’s mouth around their penis. This leads to their desire to grow up to be gay.
Other baby boys will, similarly, retain the taste of the alcohol and again, later on in their youth, will develop an obsession for more of the substance. This leads to the problem of alcohol abuse.
By stopping this cruel practice, we can effectively stop homosexuality, youth alcohol abuse and as a bonus, reduce the incidence of paedophilia.
It’s really quite amazing. Three remarkable outcomes from one simple action.
I’m so clever.
1) Parents and Alcohol, Educating our Youth
Mary had a little lamb (called Shadforth).
It’s fleece was white as snow.
Everywhere that Mary went.
She thought, mmm, lamb chops.
