Glen Eira College's first Hebrew class with visiting parliamentarians

By Jonny Schauder
The Background and Vision
Back in August last year, I published my first article on Galus Australis about working with Glen Eira College. The article was part of a strategy to improve the services and options that Jewish students can access at the state school located in the heart of the Melbourne Jewish community. There were three pillars in the original vision: Hebrew as a language subject alongside French and Chinese; the VCE Religion and Society elective being offered from Year 10 with a Judaism stream for those interested; and before- and after-school services better coordinated to meet the needs of those teens who want extra religious or spiritual inputs, whether Orthodox or Liberal.

Success
I am very pleased to report that Hebrew has been formally accepted at the College, and commenced as a curriculum elective for year 7 students. The subject started in term two 2012, with seven students enrolled.  It has been very well received by the community, the school, and the students. The students receive three in-school hours of formal Hebrew tuition per week.

The movement has also been very successful in creating awareness and support for the idea that state schools can be more responsive to the needs of their local Jewish communities.

More students were looking to enrol in this first Hebrew offering at Glen Eira College, but unfortunately we were too late to be able to adjust for the limitations of timetabling, subject clashes and classroom allocations. The original plan was to commence in 2013 but the take-up was sufficient to initiate the subject a year early. At Glen Eira College, there are about 95 students enrolled in Year 7, so the uptake was about 8% of the student body.

Endorsement
A few weeks ago, the Victorian Minister for Education, Martin Dixon, and the MP for Caulfield, David Southwick, visited Glen Eira College together with two Senators to tour and endorse all the language programs being delivered. Minister Dixon was reported to be very impressed with the Hebrew offering.

Resourcing
The Glen Eira College campus is excellent. The School really benefited from the government investments of the past few years. I invite everyone to go and have a look around. The facilities being offered by the School for the Hebrew subject are brand new and cutting edge, with multimedia classrooms and resources having very generously been made available by the Principal, Lesley Lamb.

We recruited a wonderful young teacher who is passionate about bringing Hebrew to life for the students in fun and practical ways. My own tour of the subject gave me both pride and hope that the Hebrew elective could begin to fill the gap that exists in Jewish Education. Those of us who either prefer a more diverse educational environment for our children, or simply cannot afford the Jewish day school system, will have great confidence that their children will find a happy balance at Glen Eira College and be able to augment the educational experience with their own choices.

Whilst the funding of this year’s Hebrew class has required private investment, the ambition is that at least 20 students will enrol in 2013. If that level of participation is achieved, the subject can access more government funding, or even become completely free of student fees, charity, or sponsorship. We are committed to this goal.

The Future
It is hoped that the remainder of the vision will be fulfilled. The school has been wonderful, open, and appropriately careful and conscientious in its consideration of how to best implement the ideas we put forward. I hope these achievements put pressure on other state secondary schools such as Mckinnon, Brighton, and Bentleigh Secondary to follow the precedent and offer Hebrew for their very large Jewish student bodies. Of course, the Hebrew subject is not just for Jewish kids. It is hoped that non-Jewish kids might also choose to access the subject as we go forward.

I have repeatedly been asked: “Yes, but what else will you offer the Jewish kids?” For now, the agenda is as simple as the original vision. That being said, UJEB continues to provide a wonderful social base for Jewish students on campus to meet on a weekly basis, and also provides camps and other outside-school social activities. But one thing has inspired me about the journey so far.  Either because of or simultaneous to Hebrew being introduced, the School has embraced other elements of importance to the Jewish community. For example, because many of the kids taking Hebrew are observant, Orthodox, traditional, or just culturally conscious, the School has begun accounting for Jewish Holidays in its planning.

Similarly, this year, Glen Eira College stopped for a two hour Holocaust memorial for the entire student body. The memorial focused on a child survivor and Red Army soldier telling their stories. Quite coincidentally (but on reflection very meaningfully), the Hebrew subject was launch on the eve of the 70th Yom HaShoah. The assembly itself was run by Year 9 students at the school who felt the population of the College should unite on the issues of respect, acceptance, and tolerance for all.

Invitation
I continue to invite anyone interested to join our movement. All you have to do is tell others about the vision and ideas, discuss the concept with your family and friends, and help those who might benefit directly from the program to access Glen Eira College. And of course, should it suit your needs, please enrol in the program for next year!

I appreciate the opportunity Galus Australis gave our movement nine months ago, and the opportunities to publish updates since. I will keep everyone informed of developments as we hopefully go from strength to strength!

Jonny Schauder is one of Melbourne’s leading consultants in the area of Change Management, High Performing Teams and Leadership. He is a Psychologist and has lectured on Negotiation and Influence in the Monash Business School MBA, and is managing director of The Change Agent Network.

How important are umbrellas?

By Michelle Coleman
Your peak body that is. For Victorians, this is the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV).

Is it really ‘the voice of Victorian Jewry’? Does it truly represent 60 organisations and 65,000 Jews? Is it doing enough for our community? These are important questions to debate if we are committed to having a strong and engaged community whose needs are effectively championed within a wider multicultural Victoria.

Perhaps a good starting point is to define the role of a peak body. According to a comprehensive Industry Commission, a peak body must not only represent its members but provide much more:

“A peak body is a representative organisation that provides information dissemination services, membership support, coordination, advocacy and representation, and research and policy development services for members and other interested parties. ….. the peak council role does not involve direct service provision.”

Industry Commission (1995), Charitable Organisations in Australia. AGPS, Melbourne, p 181.

How does the JCCV measure up against these functional criteria?

Information dissemination services: Health check = 3 (on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent)
The JCCV offers two main communication services via email. What’s Nu is a weekly service filled with information and tips relevant to member organisations, while Jewish Community in Action goes out several times per year to approximately 10,000 individuals, keeping them informed about what’s happening in the Jewish community.

The JCCV plenum (the ‘parliament’ of the organisation) eight times per year is an opportunity not only for us to disseminate information to our members but also to listen to and debate the views of those in our community.

Given that the community numbers more than 60,000, the reach of the JCCV’s communications could be improved. We need to develop strategies to encourage more members of the community to subscribe. Let’s start now: if you’re not already receiving our e-bulletin click here.

Membership support: Health check = 4
Many peak bodies focus on representation at the expense of supporting their membership. While the JCCV may have been guilty of this in the past, this is not so today. The current executive and staff are focussing heavily on initiatives to support and provide development opportunities to our membership, including professional networking and development events, workshops for lay and professional leadership, and discussion groups for executive directors and CEOs.

The JCCV is also in the process of putting together a youth summit and a project to assist university students in combatting extremism on campus. The youth are our future and providing them with the support to grow into our next leaders is essential.

We are now providing good support services to our members. If we continue to grow and improve these, hopefully we will score a 5 in the not-too-distant future.

Coordination: Health check = 4
The JCCV coordinates the Community Calendar of Events, organises community events such as the Yom Hashoah commemoration and the annual volunteer awards night, coordinates with council for the special operation of traffic lights on Sabbaths and festivals, works with Victoria police to ensure the accurate collection of statistics on anti-Semitic incidents, and assists members in finding partners for collaboration on various initiatives.

Two Jews will always equal three opinions, but it’s reasonable to say that as a whole our community functions fairly smoothly. Little wonder then that other ethnic groups regularly tell us that the Victorian Multicultural Commission has advised them to model their community leadership on that of the JCCV.

Advocacy and representation: Health check = 4
The Victorian and Federal Governments, their agencies, the media and ethnic and religious groups have long recognised the JCCV as the representative body of the Victorian Jewish community.
The channels of communication between the JCCV and government, and the JCCV and various NGOs, are wide and open, with traffic flowing both ways.

Moreover, the JCCV’s advocacy is effective. For example, over the last 12 months we have successfully lobbied government against the BDS campaign and to preserve kosher slaughter.

While the JCCV’s member organisations are diverse, there are a number of significant organisations that for various reasons have chosen not to affiliate with the community’s roof body. We cannot claim to be fully representative while sectors of the community remain outside our umbrella. To them we say that we would be able to better represent you if you would come to the table. We believe that the security and welfare of our community is the responsibility of all.

Research and policy development services: Health check = 2
The JCCV does not provide comprehensive research services for our community. Research into various issues is being admirably led by Professor Andrew Markus of the Monash University Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation. The JCCV sits as an advisor on this project’s steering committee.

Nevertheless, with research in hand, the JCCV plenum has developed an extensive policy platform over the years.

The JCCV would be a more comprehensive and effective roof body if it were to provide research services for our community. Unfortunately, a lack of resources means this is not possible.

So to go back to our original questions, is the JCCV really the voice of Victorian Jewry? Does it truly represent 60 organisations and 65,000 Jews? We believe it does. Via our affiliates, we speak for the majority of our community and are recognised outside the community as the body to turn to for issues regarding our community. Our advocacy has been proven to achieve results and we are committed to continuing and indeed increasing our efforts on the community’s behalf into the future. We welcome your constructive feedback.

Is the JCCV doing enough for the community? Definitely not! There is so much more that we would like to do and could do if we were better resourced. To remain relevant, viable and effective, and to increase our efforts on the community’s behalf, we need the support of our community.

The JCCV is currently in the midst of our annual appeal. Your generous donation will ensure that all we do for you, for the organisations you value, and for our community can continue.

Intermarriage was much rarer when there was more anti-Semitism of the type featured in this 1947 Oscar winner

In an article first published in the New Jersey Jewish News, Paul Golin argues that fear of intermarriage is not a logical reason to fund Jewish day schools. It is equally relevant to the Australian Jewish community.

A classic Jewish-communal false narrative re-emerged recently in the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, of all places, by Peter Beinart, of all people. (See “The Jewish Case for Vouchers”).

The narrative goes something like this: if only Jews were more Jewishly educated, they’d intermarry less.  Let’s increase support to Jewish education like day schools so Jews better understand why they shouldn’t intermarry.

Why is this narrative false? And why does it continue to be propagated?

There’s no debate that intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews began its ascent in America during the mid-1960s, from single-digit rates to nearly 50% of all marrying Jews today. Since the late 1980s, there have been more intermarried households created than in-married (Jewish/Jewish) households.

Clearly, something dramatic happened in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s to foster this change.  From the narrative about Jewish education that Beinart and others suggest, you’d think there existed a flourishing network of Jewish day schools, sleep-away camps, and supplemental education in the early 1900s that suddenly got wiped away in the middle of the century—and then we all intermarried.

Of course that’s not what happened, and in fact, there’s no evidence to suggest that Jews were better Jewishly educated back when intermarriage rates were negligible. Jewish education in all denominations is stronger today than ever before. Jewish educators are more professionalized, colleges across the nation now include Jewish Studies courses and majors, and supplemental education is supported by peer trips to Israel and service-learning initiatives. Exponentially more day schools were created after intermarriage rates rose than ever existed before it.

It wasn’t higher levels of Jewish education that kept intermarriage rates so low in the first half of the 20th Century, and it’s not lack of Jewish education that drives high intermarriage rates today. There are many other, more important factors. Primary among them: the rest of America simply stopped hating us.

While American Jews never faced genocidal anti-Semitism, before the 1960s a marriage between a Jew and non-Jew was equally, if not more, tragic to the Gentile parents than to the Jewish parents. American anti-Semitism declined dramatically after the Civil Rights Movement, pride in Israel’s 1967 war victory, and Jewish success in a wide variety of professional endeavours. Today, Americans are philo-Semites. When it comes to marriage, many consider Jews to be a “catch.”

Of course, if this was still the 1940s and they wanted to “catch” us, they’d have to come to our neighbourhoods to find us, because most Jews were effectively ghettoized and quotas kept us out of many jobs and colleges. Today Jews are spread as far into the suburbs and exurbs as anybody else, and work and study in all the same places as any other Americans. And people marry who they meet, study, and work with. A majority of Jews no longer see choice of marriage partner as the make-or-break statement about their own Jewish identity that many communal leaders still believe it is.

For leaders in the Jewish community who spend almost all their time serving and working among their fellow Jews, it might be easy to forget that Jews are only 2% of the US population. But Jews are only 2% of the US population! That our intermarriage rate is only 50% is actually a remarkable success. Compared to other ethnicities in this country—and many Ashkenazi Jews do see their Jewishness as an ethnic identity—our intermarriage rates are no worse than third and fourth generation Irish-Americans or Italian-Americans. Intermarriage rates among Japanese-American women have reached as high as 90%.

So why is the anti-intermarriage narrative solely focused on Jewish education?  The obvious reason is because nobody is going to suggest we turn back the clock on societal acceptance or the freedom to live where we want, even as we wax nostalgic and recall a time of low intermarriage rates as the “good old days.”

The less obvious explanation may be the more powerful: it’s about money. In Peter Beinart’s case it’s about getting the US taxpayer to cover his children’s day school tuition through school vouchers. For the organized Jewish community, it’s about garnering support for one of its core businesses, Jewish education. Nothing seems to sell to Jews better than fear—in this case, fear of intermarriage and of the intermarried—and fear is best spread by misinformation.

Beinart’s op-ed quotes a pseudoscientific study claiming that day schools increase a Jewish child’s likelihood of marrying another Jew “by 14 percentage points.” To claim, as that study does, that you can “control” for all other factors like whether the individual’s social structure is within an Orthodox or secular community, or whether she believes in God or not, or whether he later lives in Seattle or the Upper West Side, in order to proclaim day-school attendance as the cause for Jewish in-marriage breaks the very basics that any Sociology 101 student would learn about cause-and-effect.

Beinart’s misunderstanding of demography is also apparent when he compares the American Jewish community’s 50% intermarriage rate to those in other countries that send more of their children to Jewish day schools, suggesting that Canada’s 35% intermarriage rate or France’s 40% rate somehow represents “success.” A 35% individuals intermarriage rate actually means that there are as many intermarried households created as in-married households (if three Jews intermarrying at 35%, two of those Jews marry each other to create one households, while one of those Jews marries a non-Jew to also create one household). In France, it means that for as long as they’ve “successfully” maintained “only” a 40% intermarriage rate, there have likely been more children born to intermarried than in-married parents. The difference in Jewish population growth in those countries will not be determined by Jewish day schools, but rather by the lack of denominations that accept patrilineal Jews, which will push away many more families than we lose in the US.

Whether or not Beinart should be responsible for understanding the nuance between the “individuals” versus “couples” rates of intermarriage is debatable, but one group that must understand Jewish statistics better is our Jewish communal leadership, which continues to hire the same two or three agenda-driven advocate/sociologists over and over again for decades. If you really want to know how effective your programs are, or what is really happening among the Jewish population, why hire Jews who care deeply about seeing specific outcomes? Why not hire any of the countless non-Jewish firms who couldn’t care less about what they find, and only care that the way they find it is scientifically sound?

Because, of course, then you have to be prepared to have your narrative challenged.  A new intermarriage narrative has emerged in much of the community, even as the old one refuses to die. The new narrative demonstrates how essential the inclusion of intermarried families is in Jewish life, even in day school communities. In the new narrative, Jewish education is not a vaccine against dreaded outcomes, it’s the sharing of wisdom and heritage that impacts positively on individuals, whether they have two, one, or no Jewish parents. Fear of intermarriage as a motivating factor for doing anything needs to be expunged from our communal institutions, to be replaced by the joy of sharing what we love about being Jewish with all who might benefit.

Paul Golin is associate executive director of the Jewish Outreach Institute and co-author with Rabbi Kerry Olitzky of the forthcoming book, How to Raise Jewish Children…Even When You’re Not Jewish Yourself.

Courtesy of www.njjewishnews.com

While over the years, based on a range of reports, the Catholic Church has been the major public culprit in the way they have handled sexual abuse allegations, clearly they are not the only ones within the religious sphere. From my own experience and knowledge I can testify that there has been widespread sexual abuse against many children within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Victoria, which was practically common knowledge to both community members and its leaders.

What has also become abundantly clear is that the mishandling of these cases of abuse by the ultra-Orthodox institutions has been negligent if not criminal. There have been numerous examples where victims and their families have been made to suffer, subsequent to the abuse, by these institutions and their leaders, especially when they have sought to seek justice. There are also a number of cases in which these religious institutions and their leaders irresponsibly removed paedophiles from their institution without ensuring justice for the victims and ignoring the safety of other children, who in some cases were later abused by the same perpetrator.

From my personal experience I hold the Yeshivah Centre directly responsible for the widespread sexual abuse that has gone on there over many years. They knew about it yet failed to act. Through their mixed messages, non-cooperation with the authorities and insensitivity I am deeply concerned that the Yeshivah Centre has not understood the gravity of the situation, nor how they should deal with these serious allegations. They are continuing the victimise the former victims and their families. They are being disingenuous when they claim to be doing all they can for the victims and the police—in fact it is an outright lie.

I am convinced that this wide-ranging inquiry—including the ability to compel witnesses to testify—would uncover more evidence of abuse and cover-ups.

For the sake of justice for past victims and for the future safety of our children, this proposed course of action is imperative—it is indeed long overdue. No institution should be above the law and it is about time these religious institutions are held to account. In our case, many of the former victims of the Yeshivah Centre plan to hold that institution and its leaders to full account in due course.

…No chametz shall be seen within your houses…

…Burn it…

…Rid yourself of it…

Anyone would think it was a bad disease or a Communist in Reagan’s living room. It has always been that thing we get rid of. Lock away. Throw out. Something we don’t give much conscious thought to other than to eliminate it.

How can we sleep while our breads are burning?

The conversation of Pesach, in spite of its many accents, has always lead to an unequivocal message of freedom. It is the experience that the Haggadah, the text that recounts our story from slavery to freedom, encourages us to re-live each year:

“In every generation one must see himself as though he personally left Egypt”

The obvious extension of this imagination imperative is the litany of passages throughout the Torah that command us to protect the ‘widow, orphan and stranger’; the historical outcasts and adjuncts of a biblical community. And why should the Jewish People, of all nations, be called upon to especially empathise with this vulnerable subclass? The Torah explains:

“(Because) you know what it was like to be slaves in the land of Egypt”

It has always been clear to me that our story of freedom was meant to be echoed around the world and pursued relentlessly; justice, justice you shall pursue (Deuteronomy 16:20). Which is precisely where a rare and new(ish) opportunity arises. To transform what was once a spring-cleaning of unwanted food into a yearly opportunity to make food donations to the poor part of the Pesach preparation ceremony; part of the ethical obligation that this festival calls upon us to perform.

Which is why Jewish Aid will be teaming up with Fare Share this Freedom Season to help break bondages of hunger; a relentless slavery of the body and mind.

FareShare is a not-for-profit organisation that has been fighting hunger since 2001, giving away healthy, nutritious meals to the hungry and homeless in Victoria using donated food. By rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted or end up in landfill, FareShare moves one step closer to achieving its goal of one million meals a year.

What is remarkable about this year’s “Chametz Drive” campaign is that for the first time it will involve the combined efforts of high school students across almost every Jewish day school in Melbourne. As collection bins are planted throughout schools this week and next, students will be asked to bring from their homes all non-perishable, unwanted grain products and canned legumes and vegetables for collection. And with the help of Informal Jewish Education department staff, enthusiastic social action student committees and Jewish Aid and FareShare volunteers, Jewish aid hopes to deliver thousands of non-perishable, nutritious food packages to FareShare in order to contribute to that goal of one million meals.

With the knowledge that 4.45 million tonnes of food goes to landfill every year in Australia, now more than ever do we feel the importance of conscious eating and our place within a broader community where many cannot rely on shelves of food when they open their pantries and fridges.

When we being our Pesach seder, we begin with a somewhat confusing declaration:

“Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who are in need

come and share our Passover (meal)”

If we have already begun our meals, isn’t it already too late to make such an invitation? And when we say it within the confines of our homes, levitating in aromas of chicken soup and family banter, who would hear our call anyway? And if someone is truly hungry, would it be easy for them to seek us out and find our meal?

It seems that the overtly impractical timing and nature of this declaration in fact sheds light on its essential nature and our ethical obligation. That our meal has already begun. That we can’t rely on the hungry to come to us. And if we have sat down to our meals and there still remains one hungry person who is out there who has missed our belated, symbolic invitation – we have failed to prepare for Pesach properly. This declaration is meant to fall on deaf ears.

Jewish Aid, Fare Share and our Jewish students are starting that work now, so that when the sun sets and the first night of Pesach begins, there will be no one left to invite. Everyone will have a meal.

 Joel Lazar is a volunteer with Jewish Aid.

After three months in the Israeli Defence Forces, I can look back on all that I have learnt and gained with a sense of pride and achievement. It is only when thinking to the future, to the hardship that awaits me, that the reality of the next three years proves scarily daunting. I arrived on my draft date at the recruitment office north of Tel Aviv with the naive excitement that only an Oleh Chadash has. We stored our bags and began what would be almost a 10 hour process of interviews, medical checks, paperwork, and equipment reception. At the end of the afternoon, after entering the offices as civilian teenagers, we walked out the door at the other end of the complex as soldiers – ready to be broken down mentally and physically, and eventually painstakingly rebuilt.

The hardest part of the first few weeks was the challenge of being thrown into a melting pot of cultures; ranging from Moroccan and Yemenite to Russian and Belgian. To add fuel to the fire, we were all suddenly forced into a disciplinary framework of formality and mandatory punctuality – down to milliseconds.

After the initial shock wore away, we began to actually feel like soldiers; learning how to shoot from different positions, about Israeli warfare, and spending weeks camped out in the field sub zero conditions without much warm clothing.

Throughout this, I and the other English speakers struggled a bit more than the Israelis. Having to pass tests and learn how to operate weaponry is hard enough without the language barrier. However, one thing that was universally intense and emotional was our swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall. In that moment, I could tell that all of us – almost a thousand new recruits from the Nahal and Shaldag brigades – were feeling the exact same emotions; that being pride in our new positions as defenders of the Jewish homeland as well as a feeling of excitement for the years, ranks, and missions ahead. But most of all, a sense of connection to our history; an understanding that those paratroopers, who liberated the Western Wall in 1967, were just like us – youths protecting and serving for the sake of a tradition that dates back thousands of years.

Thoughts like these are what strengthens and saves me at the toughest of times. I have begun to learn from our lengthy and fast-paced marches, all of one’s strength comes from willpower and mental fortitude.

Another thing that also never fails to encourage me is the support from civilians; striking up a conversation with a stranger on a bus, for instance, and being told how much he appreciates all that combat soldiers do in defence of the State.

At the end of the day, it is very hard to be surrounded by comrades talking to their family constantly, and receiving weekly packages filled with food from home. For Lone Soldiers, talking to family is something that we only get to do on weekends via Skype.

On a larger scale, Nahal itself often struggles to provide its soldiers with things like warm clothing, utility supplies (rope, string, tape, gun oil), and enough food to ensure that everyone is satisfied.

At the request of Nahal’s 50th Battalion Quartermaster, anyone in Australia who would be able to donate any of the aforementioned items, or assist financially, your support would be greatly appreciated. Every dollar and piece of thermal clothing donated could help supply and comfort the soldiers who stand guard night and day, rain or shine, on Israel’s volatile borders.

Personally, I hate seeing people suffer from the cold and not having enough supplies to properly secure their combat vests.
Looking nervously and hopefully forward to the next three years of service.

Kovi Rose is a Mount Scopus graduate who made aliyah in March 2011. This is an entry for his aliyah journal that he is writing for Galus Australis.

For those wishing to donate, please contact the author at kovirose AT gmail.com

Kovi Rose, Platoon 1B, Battallion 50, Nahal Brigade.

The United Jewish Education Board (UJEB) today expressed support for the Special Religious Instruction (SRI) program, but called on the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) to review its implementation to ensure all students were treated fairly, regardless of whether they choose to participate in the program.

The commencement of the VCAT action against DEECD had, according to UJEB president Mr Yossi Goldfarb, “… raised concerns from the families of over 1,200 Jewish children who receive Jewish SRI. While there is room for improvement in the current system, the provision of SRI to smaller religious groups is a critical cornerstone for a multicultural Victoria.”

“The Jewish community in general, and UJEB families in particular, appreciate the opportunity that the SRI program provides to our children. Rather than being eliminated, the SRI program should be maintained in its current format, but improved so that children are not marginalised. DEECD should also consider ensuring that a genuine alternative to religious education is offered in parallel to SRI for families seeking this option.”

UJEB provides Jewish Studies to more than 1,200 children in over 35 government primary schools, and has been doing so for almost 120 years. “We have never, and will never, set out to proselytise; we simply wish to provide Jewish SRI to families seeking this education for their children,” Mr Goldfarb said.

“In our opinion, the VCAT case seeks to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’. Fairness for all children can be achieved though better implementation of the current program. We think there’s a better “third way” that could offer an acceptable compromise for all, and we’d be happy to speak to anyone interested in genuine dialogue on this important issue,” he concluded.

We think this challah is meant to read: צדק צדק תרדוף (Justice, justice shall you pursue)

By Max Kaiser

Research recently commissioned by the Australian Jewish Democratic Society shows the mainstream community is seriously out of step with the views of many Jewish young people.

In the research report, 13 people under the age of 45 years provide a snapshot of the views of politically progressive young Jews. Speaking frankly, they raise concerns about the exclusive nature of the Melbourne Jewish community and its domination by right-wing Zionists who block open debate about Israeli Government policy.

As one participant expressed “Why can’t we oppose the Israeli Government without being labelled as self-hating Jews?” This participant also wants to hear “a fresh voice that is not centred on the experience of 1939-45 and is free from the self-centred, insular focus on Israel”.

These sentiments were echoed several times over, with the young research participants unanimously valuing a socially progressive Jewish voice in the Jewish community to counter conservative and “myopic” views of the Jewish mainstream.

The ECAJ’s (Executive Council of Australian Jewry) recent 31 page complaint to SBS about the television series ‘The Promise’ illustrates this growing divide well. In my view and the view of my peers, it is not a good look for the Jewish community in the 21^st century to seek to censor television programs because they are critical of Israel. The ECAJ pretends that it is a representative organisation of Australian Jewry when in actual fact they only represent a small segment, and reflect a very conservative set of politics.

Many Jews of my generation want to challenge the idea that Jews in Melbourne speak with one voice. We want to challenge mainstream Jewish positions on the Israel/Palestine conflict. We want to stand in solidarity with Indigenous people in Australia and their struggles for land rights and justice. We oppose the vilification and detention of asylum seekers seeking refuge in Australia. We support urgent action to combat catastrophic climate change. We want to build a feminist world and create spaces that are open to people of all sexualities.

The young people interviewed for the AJDS research project placed a lot of value on an organisation like the AJDS existing in order to provide ‘A Jewish voice amongst progressives and a progressive voice amongst Jews’. Progressive young Jews are crying out for organisations that reflect their values.

There’s a large vacuum that exists in the Jewish community for young people concerned about social justice and environmental sustainability. We aspire to fill it.

To provide an opportunity to further explore what kind of Jewish community young Jews want, the AJDS is hosting a forum called ‘Re-imagining the Jewish Community: A forum for Young Jews’.  The forum will be held on Sunday March 4 at 3pm. Young people interested in attending should contact Max Kaiser at co.ajds@gmail.com

The AJDS research report, ‘Enhancing the AJDS’ Engagement with Young People’ was researched and written by Dr. Helen Rosenbaum. Max Kaiser (aged 24), comes from a social activist background and became the AJDS’ Community Organiser in October 2011.

Speaking of Jews and lunch-boxes

By Yossi Goldfarb

Are the summer holidays too long or too short? My children will convincingly tell me just how short they are, while my wonderful wife, who does the lion’s share of child-minding while I escape to my blissfully airconditioned office, will similarly convince me of their egregious length.

Not in doubt, however, is the excitement that a new school year brings. New uniforms, new books, old and new friends all coalesce and form the pastiche that dominates our kids’ academic lives. The beginning of the school year is also the best opportunity to make sure that everything is in place. From lunch-boxes to the plethora of after-school activities, we ask ourselves just how we fit everything in last year, and shudder at the thought of having to do it again.

And then as the year moves on, as we find ourselves ferrying children to footy training and from gymnastics we think to ourselves, “something Jewish might be good for the kids too,” and then we move on to other things, and before we know it, it’s summer again and we’ve forgotten our good intentions. “Oh well, next year we’ll get right on top of the Jewish thing.”

If that’s happened to you, then stop reading now and get online to search the myriad Jewish offerings available to children in government and independent schools. Before school, after school, and even during school are all available options – and there is no time like the present to make sure the kids finish the year, a little more Jewishly enriched than they began it.

Of course, if you really want to go the whole hog (just a little pun intended), you could resolve to introduce a little more Jewishness into the home too. At UJEB, we’re keen to help you give your children a sense of identification with, and belonging to, our community. All we need is for you to remember to let us know.

Yossi Goldfarb is President of the United Jewish Education Board.

New presidents tend to bring fresh expectations

Articles about Jewish education, particularly those concerning making Jewish education more affordable, always resonate with the majority of our readers. Hence we are publishing this press release we received today from The United Jewish Education Board:

As of 2012, the UJEB board has endorsed the appointment of Yossi Goldfarb as President of the organisation.
Yossi has been involved in the Melbourne Jewish Community for over twenty years in both professional and volunteer capacities. Yossi is married to Sarah Hyman and has three boys. His school-aged children attend Caulfield Junior College and the UJEB Hebrew Centre Program.

Supported by the UJEB Board, Yossi is looking forward to seeing continued growth and increased success that UJEB has enjoyed for many years. With Yossi’s leadership, UJEB will continue to be developed as the Jewish community organisation that represents, delivers services and advocates for the community of people associated with government and non-Jewish independent schools.

In recent years, the composition of the UJEB board has changed to include members whose children are also part of UJEB’s programs. This perspective will naturally lead to the development of new and exciting initiatives. Through dynamic and creative programming, we will continue to service the growing number of more than 1,200 students who are part of the UJEB community.

Daniel Jenshel, who is now the Immediate Past President, had been the President of UJEB since August 2009. The UJEB Board along with the Management and all those involved in UJEB would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank Daniel Jenshel for the commitment and dedication he has displayed as UJEB President. During his Presidency, UJEB has enjoyed increased community support, increased attendance and enrolments across all programs and most importantly, continued and ongoing improvement in the range and quality of education provided.

Comments from Yossi Goldfarb:
“As a UJEB parent myself with a history of involvement in our community, I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the organisation. UJEB’s role in the community is more critical today than it ever has been at any point in our 120 year history. With 1,200 Jewish children attending our RE classes, Hebrew Centres, The Pratt Foundation Jewish Students Network and our camps it is critical that we not only give our children a quality Jewish educational experience, but that we also include the entire family in that endeavor.

In 2012 and in the coming years we are anticipating significant growth not only in the number of children and their families enrolled in our programs, but also in the range and reach of our activities. Our outgoing president, Daniel Jenshel, performed a wonderful job during his time at the organisation’s helm, and UJEB is really fortunate to benefit from the excellent springboard he provided.

During my term, I look forward to welcoming more people to UJEB and growing our family from all corners of our diverse community. I not only see UJEB as an organisation that delivers quality education to our 1,200 children, but also as an inclusive and representative voice for the hundreds, if not thousands of families with children enrolled in government and independent schools.”

For further comment, Yossi can be contacted via email at president AT ujeb.org.au