Challenging religious bigotry
This week the Australian Jewish News reports on the JCCV’s news about gay and lesbian “inclusion”
Last week I commented on the latest news from the JCCV regarding homosexuals. This week the Australian Jewish News (in Melbourne) reports on the JCCV.
Write a Letter to the Editor (letters@jewishnews.net.au). Keep it under 250 words. Do it now.
Last Sunday was the 16th annual Pride March in St Kilda. Melbourne’s weather started out a little rainy and overcast, but cleared in time for the parade, leaving an abundance of blue skies and sunshine.
Kaye Sera always brings a ray of sunshine, and a pink plastic penis.
Behind-the-scenes magic was performed by Colin Krycer, back with a vengeance after missing the prior year’s parade due to an appointment with a heart surgeon.
Pride March celebrates the diversity and under the umbrella of the Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council marched a diverse array of cultural organisations.
I’ve posted my photos from the day in Google Photos and Facebook. Enjoy them and feel free to comment.
Ilana Leeds enjoys bringing bestiality into the conversation. What is her obsession with the topic? Clearly it is a viewpoint endorsed by the AJN Watch web site that publishes her bigoted, hateful and bullying opinions unchallenged.
- Ilana said…
- B’H No one is judging. On a deeper level, we have to look at homosexuality as equated with bestiality and understand that both activities require the individual to submit to baser instinctive behaviours on one level that requires much effort to control. If we support marches for ‘gay rights’ and support a gay lifestyle, then why are we not marching to support child sex offenders because surely they are ‘just one of many variations of HUMAN sexuality’? Child sex offenders will use that argument to negate criticism of their behaviour to and say that they were merely ‘helping children to express their inner sexual desires’. I know that people like Mikeybear who runs Aleph have great issues with my views on the subject and I want to get away from the personal aspect of it, because there are many worthwhile and gentle sensitive gay people who contribute to society in many very worthwhile ways. However, I for one am not going to support a gay lifestyle and I certainly will not march in favour of sexual behaviour and lifestyle that I disagree with. If I had two people going for a job and both were equally qualified and one was gay, would I hesitate to hire a gay person, definitely not. Would I go to a gay nightclub (despite the fact that I do not hang out at night clubs and never have seen it as a desirable activity), definitely not, but would I stop a gay person coming to a function I (for arguments sake held) definitely not, but I would require a certain code of conduct. Am I in favour of sending my son to a Jewish Youth Group that supports same sex marriage – definitely not, because those sorts of values are not what I want for my son. I had a similar answer to someone who suggested that I remove my son from a school and send him the Caulfield Community School because they believe he has ‘behaviour issues. Now, the Caulfield Community School may be very worthwhile for the sons and daughters of XXXX (removed by blogmaster) and if I wanted my son to become like those poor little blighters and for him to get an education in the social mores of fringe dwellers, I certainly would see that as an option, but I do not. It would be the beginning of the end of him and corrupt him, Now when we choose a youth group, we want certain values to be supported and espoused. I have not come across anywhere in Jewish literature that homosexuality is a Jewish value, although people will argue that David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship. I believe that had a deep relationship that was purely spiritual in its essence and love. I think it is very hard for us in these days, when we are so connected to the material and physical world, to conceptualise a love or a relationship that is on a purely spiritual level without physical or sexual expression. I can understand how a mother’s love for her child may entitle her to go beyond condemnation of socially unacceptable sexual behaviour and she may endeavour to ask for acceptance of her child and indeed support from the wider community for her child’s sexuality. However, while the wider community can accept her child as who he or she is, we should avoid accepting his or her deviant sexual behaviour as the norm and indeed we should avoid supporting it as the norm.
- Friday, December 17, 2010 10:06:00 AM
Adam Braitberg was part of the Equal Love Rally in Melbourne on November 20, 2010. I took a photo of him and a friend Tyger-Lee Baise, both proudly displaying their blue Habonim Dror shirts, and showing their support for equal human rights for all Australians.
Because they participated in this rally, as part of a Jewish organisation, they came under attack on the AJN Watch web site. You can read all about it in my previous blog. Keep an eye on the comments on the AJN Watch site though, as the conversation continues (to dismay).
Yesterday Adam’s father, George, made a profound statement, and in doing so has moved me deeply.
I am Adam’s father. To those that see fit to judge someone you don’t know or have ever met, I ask you to explain what right you think you have to behave in this manner. As Jews we are well aware of the history of bigotry, slander and false accusation. To judge my son, without knowing him is perpetuate the belief that “difference” in itself is an excuse for hatred. How ashamed am I of Jews who show such intolerance. I love you Adam. Dad
George
Thursday, December 16, 2010 11:17:00 PM
Adam’s father is a wonderful role model for showing unconditional love and acceptance of his son Adam. He is an example to every member of the Melbourne Jewish community and the wider Australian society on how we must bring up our children. It is only with this positive and supportive attitude that we can start to overcome the horrifying level of suicide, self-harm and mental health issues that (religious) intolerance afflicts on Australia’s same-sex attracted youth.
Thank you Mr Braitberg. You and Adam have demonstrated far greater leadership ability and are infinitely better role models than those who currently claim to speak on behalf of the Jewish community. They don’t need a ‘GLBT Reference Group’ to arrogantly identify and address “our issues”. They need intelligent and compassionate leaders like you.
And the homophobic hate just keeps pouring in from AJN Watch.
Of course, silence will reign in the Jewish community because there’s no anti-Semitism or anti-Zionism here. Just some good old-fashioned homophobia, and we know that the leaders of the community don’t consider homophobia to be much of a problem because they won’t speak out against it.
Never mind if you’re a gay person being bashed by a homophobic thug in the street, as happened in Collingwood in October. But that’s ok, because it wasn’t an anti-Semitic attack and it wasn’t an anti-Israel attack. It was just a boring gay bashing. Gay bashing. Gay bashing. Gay bashing. Boring. Everyday. Gay. Bashing.
When will the leaders speak out against this hatred? Why are they so silent on the matter? Perhaps gay children are expendable.
Sending kids to a Jewish youth group used to mean that you hoped they would spend their time there being imbued with Jewish and mentchlich values and ideals.Habonim, it seems, has decided to go in the opposite direction.
We wonder how happy the parents are about this.
(Also it’s quite obvious that the AJN can’t find anything else newsworthy to report about this group.)
45 comments:
[SOURCE]
AJN Watch is spewing out more anti-gay sentiment by allowing the following comment to be posted on their blog:
Anonymous said…
- How shameful of Habo management to allow this. And the AJN is continuing is promotion of gays and their issues
- Tuesday, December 14, 2010 10:46:00 PM
Our issues? So when a young same-sex attracted person attempts suicide because they feel worthless and are full of self-loathing due to being told they are abnormal, it’s a gay person’s issue? What about the family and community of the young person? This intolerance amounts to psychological child abuse.
These fanatical Orthodox Jewish haters need to understand that intolerance of homosexuality is cruel, abusive and dangerous.
The leaders of the Jewish community must wake up quickly to the reality of the situation, stop feeding their egos and actually do something useful for a change. A good start would be to state that intolerance of homosexuality is harmful and then actively educate the community about it. They have been very active in doing this about alcohol abuse, but it seems child abuse is not enough of a concern.
It’s exactly one year since the Jewish Community Council of Victoria formed their GLBT Reference Group and to date exactly nothing has come out of it. At this rate they’re well on track to double their efforts in 2011.
Dr Helen Szoke, Commissioner of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, was guest speaker at the AGM of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) on November 22, 2010.
The address that Dr Szoke delivered at the meeting, entitled “Protection against hate crimes in Victoria”, is on the JCCV site here, or alternatively, here.
I have highlighted below the sections of the address that refer to same-sex attracted people, sexual orientation and gender identity.
In your case, you have a specific community of interest. In my case, our community of interest is all Victorians, whether they be people with a disability, people with different religious beliefs, people who are same sex attracted, people who are old or young.
and
I would also say that race and religion is a particular area of focus. But our own work shows that all areas of discrimination can be the basis of prejudice motivated reaction, and to this end, we try as a Commission to keep a broad focus, looking at the work of people with a disability, age discrimination, the prejudice experienced by people who are same sex attracted, which forms the focus of our work in the sport area.
and
In our view, this would mean strengthening civil and criminal provisions protecting people from hate conduct. Such remedies are necessary because hate crime and hate conduct have a disproportionate impact on particular groups – groups characterized by race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, impairment or homelessness – and their ability to realise other human rights. Call it the domino effect of discrimination.
and
In short, we have recommended that this model include: … A provision in the Equal Opportunity Act prohibiting offensive, insulting, humiliating or intimidating conduct against people, or a group of people, not just based on race or religion, but also sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, impairment and homelessness …
My hope, as I’m sure is also Dr Szoke’s, is that the leaders of the Jewish community, including those present at the AGM, will want to work to remove all hate crimes and intolerance of difference in their Jewish community. It is going to be a gargantuan effort to see it realized in the short-term, but with the right message coming from the top, the way forward will be significantly easier.
It really isn’t difficult to understand that intolerance contributes to unhappiness, which in turn contributes to self-harm. Conversely, acceptance and inclusion leads to happiness and an increased feeling of self-worth and belonging.
I ask those people who decry homosexual behaviour because “it is forbidden by the Torah”, if they really care about the people in their community and ask them to consider whose best interests they have at heart.
A dead child is dead for a long time.
Yes, it’s true. The JCCV, under the presidency of John Searle, want to work toward full acceptance of homosexuality in the Victorian Jewish community. It’s been reported in the Australian Jewish News (Melbourne edition,) on page 9 (Dec 3 2010).
Praise for the JCCV
AJN STAFFUNDERSTANDING and cooperation between faiths is key to promoting a better society, according to commissioner of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission Helen Szoke.
Szoke made the comments as guest speaker at last week’s Jewish Community Council of Victoria’s (JCCV) 3rd annual general meeting.
She explained the work of the commission, the importance of building a human rights culture, and law reforms planned for the near future.
Szoke also noted the similarities between her organisation and the JCCV, praising Victoria’s peak Jewish body for its efforts to stamp out hate crimes.
Changes to the JCCV executive included Matthew Lazerow and Helen Light joining, and Gerard Max stepping down.
With one year of his term remaining, president John Searle said he felt it appropriate to reflect on the JCCV’s achievements to date, as well as looking ahead to the next 12 months.
“In so doing, it is important to remember that five or 10 years ago, the JCCV was cash-strapped, not particularly well known and lacking in influence.
“Today, it is truly an influential body, capable or representing our community at all levels and whose input is sought by government, police, the media and many other bodies.”
Searle spoke highly of the Youth and Alcohol Project and thanks project office Debbie Zauder for her efforts.
He also made mention of the GLBT reference group formed by the JCCV, which is continuing to work towards combating discrimination, vilification and managing mental health issues.
You see, the only way that discrimination and vilification against GLBT people in the Jewish community, along with managing mental health issues in same-sex attracted people who don’t necessarily identify with the GLBT community (ie, they haven’t accepted their sexual orientation and may still reluctantly identify as heterosexual) will come about is when the JCCV work toward full acceptance of homosexuality in the Jewish community. It’s a bit like being pregnant. You either are or you aren’t. There are no half measures in taking on these challenges.
Some more good news to share. It’s now been 12 months since the JCCV formed their GLBT reference group and they have had a number of great successes as a result of this. These include
It really has been a great twelve months of success for the JCCV. Let’s toast a l’chaim to the next twelve.
PS. I’m still here waiting for you, when you’re ready to re-open the lines of communication John. My number is on the contact page here.
[SOURCE (refer agenda item 10.1)]
Almost twelve years ago, in 1999, Anton Block seconded the motion for the gay Jewish social and support group Aleph Melbourne to become an affiliate member of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV).
As history dictated in May 1999, this motion, put a second time after the first was deemed void due to a technicality at the March plenum meeting, failed to pass and the application by Aleph Melbourne was rejected by the JCCV. No further application for membership by Aleph Melbourne has been made since and, particularly during the term that Block was president, no invitation to reapply for membership was extended by the JCCV.
Having since served a three-year term as President of the JCCV (2006-08), and now appointed to the position of Chairman of the JCCV’s Anti-Defamation Commission, there has been nothing but silence from Block on his one-time support for gay Jews.
But why did Block go silent on this matter? Is he fearful that if he openly supports visibility and inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people in the Jewish community he might face a backlash from the Orthodox sector of the Jewish community? He will only stand to gain support and adulation from the large Progressive, Conservative, secular and other sectors of the community that express their unconditional support for GLBT Jews.
I understand that Block is on the mysterious “GLBT Reference Group” that the JCCV formed in December 2009. However his inclusion in this group has not been made public, as the JCCV has refused to disclose its membership. If Block is on this reference group, as I believe he is, then he must speak up about it, and he must speak up as to why he sits on it. I hope it’s for a more altruistic reason than kudos.
I put it to Block that maintaining this silence is harming the entire community, along with his credibility. The alarming rate of suicide amongst same-sex attracted youth does not bypass Jews. It is imperative that Block takes an active and vocal stance on fighting all intolerance of and working toward unconditional acceptance, visibility and inclusion of GLBT people in the Jewish community. Only then will he show he is capable of being a genuine leader in his community.
Last month Joe. My. God. posted the “Gay Orthodox Jews” video from the It Gets Better Project.
Please click here and watch it.