glbt – Page 10 – mikeybear

“Taking out the Trash” by Galus Australis editors Ant Frosh & Rachel Sacks-Davis

On Facebook, Ant Frosh gloats about his wife Rachel Sacks-Davis “taking out the trash”; a not-so-nice euphemism for outing a person who claimed to be a member of the GLBT community that they didn’t believe was. The person in question is a member of the GLBT community, as I have been advised by the person in question.

Ant Frosh’s public Facebook wall revealed this conversation:

Which refers to these two conversations on their blog (here and here):

Ant Frosh and Rachel Sacks-Davis out 'Akiva'

Outing someone at the best of times is a deplorable act of cowardice. Gloating about it and referring to them as trash is simply degrading and about a low as it gets.

A public apology to ‘Akiva’ is required.

Colt David Hansen: gone but not forgotten

Just recently I wrote about the It Gets Better Project, in response to the spate of youth suicides in the USA. This amazing project, by Dan Savage and his team, has brought visibility of suicide in same-sex attracted youth as high as the office of the President of the USA.

A bit further back in May I wrote about victims of religious bigotry. Sadly this problem shows no signs of going away. There are still desperately unhappy people who are struggling with their sexuality and not receiving the help they need from their parents, family and peers. Worse still, their plight is often diminished or simply erased.

Thanks to some great people out there, such as Eric Ethington, this invisibility is being turned around. We are able to get a better understanding of the true person, and their life, loves and the wonderful impact they had on their friends and networks they contributed to.

Just the other day Colt David Hansen of Salt Lake City, Utah died. It is unclear if his death was accidental. From what I understand he had been struggling with depression and questions were raised as to whether this was due to a conflict with the Mormon faith. We may never find out the truth. You can read about the story as it has come to hand on Eric’s site “Pride in Utah” here and here. Also take time to read the comments from friends and family.

Colt David Hansen

I have been trying to raise awareness around this issue of religious intolerance of homosexuality in the fundamentalist/Orthodox Jewish world for a long time now. One year ago I wrote an article about it on Galus Australis and just recently have contributed to a discussion on the same site about some seemingly misguided efforts to address it in the local Jewish community.

It’s only a matter of time before news of a suicide due to intolerance of sexuality comes to light in this community. I don’t want this to happen but it is inevitable. Right now the community is for the most part burying its collective head in the sand about it. There has been some superficial discussion, but for the most part the community leadership won’t acknowledge the problem and is certainly not in any hurry to address it.

Malki Rose on John Searle’s patronising response to a bogus issue

[SOURCE]

On Galus Australis Malki Rose talks about the Jewish Community Council of Victoria’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Reference Group. I have written about this ‘reference group’ a number of times.

I refer to a section of Malki’s article on Galus, followed here by some correspondence between Geoffrey Zygier of the JCCV and myself, and finally ask a question of Malki.

Mr Searle said that the GLBT reference group, comprising of a mix of individuals who had approached him with their concerns, also seeks to gauge the mental health concerns and risks, which young GLBT Jews may be facing.

Thus far, the reference group, which includes a qualified psychologist, has noted that there are relatively few instances of discrimination or vilification being perpetrated against GLBT Jews by ‘straight’ Jews.

Perhaps it is possible that smaller numbers of openly gay Jews equates to less instances of vilification or discrimination?

In speaking with Mr Searle, I suggested that some of the discrimination and exclusionary behaviour may also be too subtle to measure and also far more prevalent in the Orthodox community where the Halachic concerns play a stronger role in the community’s treatment or subtle exclusion of GLBT Jews.

Many GLBT Jews, having been excluded by the Jewish community as deviant or ‘people best avoided’, become disenfranchised and abandon the Jewish Community, seeking solace in the potentially more accepting embrace of the non-Jewish GLBT community, whose inclusiveness seems much more all encompassing.

On the surface this sounds really good, but there’s a very big trick being played by John Searle. The JCCV released a statement for Mental Health Week on October 4 2010. As I did in 2009, I asked the JCCV to make mention in this statement of the mental health issues that same-sex attracted Jews face. Of course, the JCCV obliged in making some mention of the issue, but also as in 2009, this year they again deflected the problem from the real issue affecting closeted same-sex attracted people in the Jewish community to the diversionary issue of Jews in the GLBT community.

I wrote to Geoffrey Zygier about this, as he was the contact for the media release, expressing my concern over the language used:

From: Michael Barnett
Sent: Tuesday, 5 October 2010 1:37 PM
To: Geoffrey Zygier
Subject: In response to the JCCV Media Release: Assistance for those in Need

Hi Geoffrey,

I refer to the JCCV media release “Assistance for those in Need” issued yesterday.

You state “There are also particular concerns about mental health issues faced by members of the GLBT communities.”

As I have previously advised the JCCV, and as Professor Anne Mitchell would have advised the JCCV GLBT Reference Group earlier this year, the problems that same-sex attracted people experience that lead or contribute to mental health issues, self harm and suicide are frequently happening to people who do not identify with the GLBT community. To state otherwise is misleading.

Urgent attention needs to be paid to people in the Jewish community who are struggling with their sexuality or who are in the closet. It is the intolerance of homosexuality that is the problem, not because people are same-sex attracted.

I strongly urge the JCCV to acknowledge this situation, and stop inferring the problem is only or mainly with people in the GLBT community.

I would appreciate a response on this matter and would be happy to have a discussion with you if you require further clarification.

Regards,
Michael.

I received this response:

From: Geoffrey Zygier
Date: 8 October 2010 14:53
Subject: RE: In response to the JCCV Media Release: Assistance for those in Need
To: Michael Barnett

Hello Michael

I accept what you say and the statement was not meant to infer otherwise. On reflection it could have been phrased more clearly.

Good Shabbos

Geoffrey

Geoffrey Zygier I Executive Director I Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV)
The Voice of Victorian Jewry
306 Hawthorn Road South Caulfield VIC AUST 3162
03 9272 5579 I 0413 731545
http://www.jccv.org.au

I then sent the following email, which currently remains unanswered:

From: Michael Barnett
Date: 8 October 2010 15:24
Subject: Re: In response to the JCCV Media Release: Assistance for those in Need
To: Geoffrey Zygier

Thank you for this Geoffrey. Would you consider issuing an amended media release, with an appropriate revision of this statement?

Perhaps: “There are also particular concerns about mental health issues faced by members of the Jewish community who are same-sex attracted or who have a gender identity disorder.”

I believe it would be a really positive way to move forward, especially considering the serious nature of the issue.

Regards,
Michael.

Yet as Malki writes above, John Searle is talking about GLBT people being excluded or ill-treated by others in the Jewish community. This is not the real problem, if it is even a problem. If the truth be known, it is actually a diversion, set up to show the JCCV’s funding source that it is doing something to include GLBT people in the community.

Searle refuses to engage on the topic that is the most serious, the one where people who are same-sex attracted, who do not identify as GLBT, are not even able to talk about their situation and live in fear of expressing their true sexual orientation.

I ask Malki to explain why she is supporting this action to address a ‘bogus’ issue and is not challenging the JCCV on why they are side-stepping the real issue? I understand that “something is better than nothing”, but this “something” is extremely patronising.

The Potential Wedding Album

In Australia it is currently illegal for two men, two women, or two people who just don’t identify as a male-female couple to get married.

There is no logical or valid explanation for this discrimination. The legislation was put in place in 2004 under the Howard Government and remained in place under the Rudd Government and the current Gillard Government. None of these “leaders” can justify this decision aside from a woeful “because”. We all know they did it so they didn’t lose the vote of the hateful and bigoted Christian lobby.

Let’s pretend for a moment, however, that instead of legislating hate, the government decided to legislate love. What might this love look like? The Potential Wedding Album is a beautiful glimpse into this dream of what could be, and dare I say it, what will soon be.

Take a wander through the pages of this magnificent piece of work. Journey through the lives of the photos you see, and the happy people in them. There is a lot of love and joy there. If marriage was permitted to be between any two consenting adults, just think what a better society we would have.

The world will still go on when same-sex couples can marry. The sky won’t fall in. There won’t be a cataclysm or a rapture, but there will certainly be enrapture. What there will be is an abundance of love, happiness, acceptance, inclusion, and so much more.

Religious fundamentalists, whether they be Jewish, Muslim, Christian or whatever, will increasingly be shown to be the intolerant, narrow-minded bigots and haters that they are. Their beliefs, or more accurately, their make-beliefs, which are based on antiquated, irrelevant nonsense, have no place in the 21st century. These ideologies and dogmas need to be expunged from humanity because of their destructive and hurtful capacity.

Sooner than later our society will accept and nurture the relationships between homosexual couples, bi-sexual couples and couples that simply don’t conform to the stereotypical male/female gender binary.

Love is, by far, the best option.

Anti-Defamation Commission Must Speak Out

[SOURCE]

As per the media release below, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has spoken out about the hate and bigotry perpetrated by Carl Paladino (who acted it in conjunction with Ultra Orthodox Jewish leaders in New York), against gay men and women.

I call on the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) in Victoria to speak out and support the Anti-Defamation League in their criticism of Carl Paladino and anyone else who sends a similar message of hate and intolerance, especially in our community.

Paladino’s attack on gay men and women in New York is an attack on all gay men and women, including those here in Victoria, Australia.

The ADC claims it has no authority to speak out on homophobic hate when it is targeted at Jews. I genuinely believe this is an act of cowardice. If the organisation was genuine in its care about Jews in Victoria, especially gay and lesbian Jews, it would take a stand. If it remains silent on this issue it will confirm to all that it is does not take the issue of hate and discrimination seriously.

I quote from the ADC Mission Statement:

The ADC supports the following objectives stated in the preamble to the United Nations Charter:

“to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and

to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and

to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, …”

The ADC aims to serve the Jewish and wider Australian community by reducing antisemitism, and combating racism and religious and ethnic prejudice. We seek to secure justice and fair treatment for all people.

This is matter of human rights. The ADC must speak out immediately. As an arm of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, the ADC must act in the best interests of all members of the Jewish community.

ADL Denounces Carl Paladino’s Comments Denigrating Homosexuality

New York, NY, October 12, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today criticized Carl Paladino for a series of anti-gay remarks, including his assertion that children should not be “brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option.”

Ron Meier, ADL New York Regional Director, issued the following statement:

We are appalled by Carl Paladino’s comments denigrating homosexuality and suggesting that a homosexual lifestyle is not “valid.” His statements are an affront to all New Yorkers, and are particularly disturbing in light of several recent hate crimes targeting the LGBT community in the New York Metropolitan Area.

We have repeatedly urged all candidates to refrain from appeals to prejudice and bigotry. Such appeals are offensive, counterproductive and contrary to our nation’s democratic values.

Earlier this year, ADL urged our national leaders – and candidates – to commit themselves to restoring civility to our public discourse. We renew that call today. A truly effective candidate is one who engages in thoughtful and reasoned debate and rejects divisive and hateful rhetoric. That is an essential ingredient of leadership.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, ADL neither supports nor opposes candidates for political office.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Letter to the JCCV regarding Mental Health Week 2010

From: Michael Barnett <mikeybear69@gmail.com>
Date: 1 October 2010 16:29
Subject: JCCV and Mental Health Week 2010
To: John Searle <president@jccv.org.au>
Dear John,
Mental Health Week in Victoria runs from October 10 to 16 this year⁽¹⁾. Last year the JCCV published a media release⁽²⁾ in time for Mental Health Week and included alarming figures on the extent mental health problems have on same-sex attracted youth.
There has been a spate of youth suicides in the USA that have come to recent public attention⁽³⁾. This news has been deeply disturbing.
I would be keen to know what actions the JCCV is taking to help prevent tragic outcomes such as these in the Melbourne Jewish community. The JCCV formed a GLBT Reference Group in December 2009⁽⁴⁾ and has been briefed by a qualified academic on the facts surrounding intolerance of homosexuality. This problem exists in all societies where any intolerance of homosexuality prevails.
I would be keen to discuss this matter at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Michael.
1) http://www.mentalhealthvic.org.au/index.php?id=44
2) http://www.jccv.org.au/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=22&cntnt01returnid=59
3) https://www.matthewshepard.org/we-must-all-protect-youth-from-suicide
4) http://www.jccv.org.au/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=5&cntnt01returnid=59

Sol Encel and Liam Getreu on society’s minorities

Sol Encel is someone I wish I had known more about in his life than in his death. Reading his obituary moved me deeply. His genuine and selfless concern for people is a rare quality these days. Michael Pusey wrote (19/08/10):

Encel was a broadly educated and deeply scholarly liberal intellectual who cared mightily about public ethics. He believed that a society is only as good as the way it treats its minorities.

Liam Getreu had a piece first published in the Jewish News (17/09/10): “Why are we failing future generations?“. He shares a similar wisdom to Encel on minorities:

The ancient maxim that where there are five Jews there are six opinions should be translated here into our community’s targeting of different groups so as to maximise Jewish engagement. Ask the Russian or Israeli expat populations if the Establishment is meeting their needs; they’ve formed their own communities because we, by and large, struggle to include them our communal activities. We need events and campaigns for them, as well as young people, secular Jews and GLBTs to ensure the future strength of the Jewish population in Australia.

To be sure, they have ideas and they have leaders. When people are putting up their hands, pleading to be listened to, and crying out to be involved, actively, in putting this into action, we can ill-afford to dismiss them. When people are begging to lead, who are we tell them no? When this community means so much to so many people, we have to find a way to include them.

Too often passionate activists are dismissed or lambasted, publicly ridiculed or swore at, blacklisted or threatened, and that cannot continue. Those who represent us, and those we look up to have to be worthy of their epithets and one of their top priorities has to be creating a community for the whole of our people, not only a portion.

I live at the intersection of two minority communities. I was brought up in the Jewish community in Melbourne. Indeed, Jews are a minority in Australia at roughly 0.5% of the population. Some 15 years ago I found myself in a community of people defined by my homosexual orientation, a characteristic that many in the Jewish community struggle to accept as normal and actively discriminate against.

I am continually staggered at how the Jewish community, a people who suffered the worst atrocities humankind has ever perpetrated on itself, can exclude and bully a smaller, more vulnerable community of people. It’s as if a lesson was not learnt.

Sol Encel and Liam Getreu are inspirational people, for their insight, compassion and humanity.

Ilana Leeds, a victim of Jewish religious brainwashing

Ilana Leeds posted a hateful comment on Galus Australis. She is a narrow-minded bigot who contributes to the high rate of youth suicide.

[SOURCE]

Ilana Leeds posted a hateful comment on Galus Australis:

1. Same sex marriage – I do not particularly (along with a few others) like having homosexuality presented to me as ‘normal’. It is not and while I do not advocate discrimination against people who are practicing homosexuals, I think if they want marriage and all the other things that go with it,(Like the adoption of children) they need to give up their deviant practices and return to a heterosexual lifestyle and put themselves in order. Children deserve to have a normal family situation as far as possible.

Ilana Leeds believes her god demands she say this because she’s been brainwashed to believe it.

Ilana Leeds is a narrow-minded bigot whose attitudes and beliefs contribute to the high rate of youth suicide.

Her partner in crime Shoshana Silcove is just as shameful.

Israeli Supreme Court rules Jerusalem to fund gay community equally

Very exciting news just in from Jerusalem Open House.

Dear friends,

After almost five years of legal struggle, we, at the Jerusalem Open House, are proud to announce that the Israeli Supreme Court decided this morning that the Jerusalem Municipality must fund the LGBT community as it does other sectors of society. This, after years of homophobic refusal of City-Hall to support the JOH and its activities.

The direct result of this ground-breaking ruling is that no official body within Jerusalem will be able to discriminate Gays, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual people as a policy.

It’s a time of celebration here at JOH, but it’s also a time of gratitude. We want to thank you for supporting our struggle and being by our side. . You gave us not only the means, but also the strength to bear-on. You have a part in today’s victory.

In the spirit of the High Holidays, we’re happy to see that the judges in Jerusalem has finally fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy: “And I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City.”

With this down, we now remain with merely 699 places in the Israeli law where the LGBT community suffers from discrimination. We look forward to our next challenges!

Warm regards from Jerusalem,

Yonatan Gher,

Executive Director

Click here to find out about all the convenient ways to support the Jerusalem Open House.

Is Suicide Prevention Australia genuine about preventing suicide?

Is Suicide Prevention Australia genuine about preventing suicide when it endorses the work of the Salvation Army?

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. A lot of people are seriously trying to save a lot of people’s lives. On the surface this looks like a genuine effort, and for the most part it is, but look a little deeper and not everything is as rosy as you’d like to think.

Suicide Prevention Australia endorses the Salvation Army in their attempts to curb suicide. Yet the Salvation Army does not believe homosexuality is acceptable. In fact the Salvation Army does not even acknowledge same-sex attracted people as an at-risk group on their Suicide Prevention Resources & Information page, despite rates of suicide amongst same-sex attracted youth currently reaching alarming levels.

Read my recent and unanswered letter to Ryan McGlaughlin, CEO of Suicide Prevention Australia. I urge you to write to him as well and ask him the same questions as I do. Why does SPA continue to endorse the Salvation Army, an organisation with homophobic attitudes that are harmful to same-sex attracted youth? Why is Suicide Prevention Australia staying silent on this matter?

SPA need to speak out loudly against the Salvation Army and any other organisation that is intolerant of homosexuality. Until then they can’t be seen to be serious about preventing suicide.