The rocky path to public acceptance of gay Jews in Australia

Twenty-five years ago, as editor of The Australian Jewish News, I was informed that a Jewish float would participate in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for the first time.

It was February 2000, and I had been frequently touched by heartfelt appeals from Sydney activist and journalist Dawn Cohen for Jewish gays to be accepted in the community. So there was no doubt in my mind that this was a significant moment, both for LGBT+ Jews and the community itself.

I published a photograph of two of the participants on the front page, respectfully attired in black and featuring a pink Magen David on their shirts. I had a sense that the photograph would not be universally well-received, so I notified the publishers that matters might get heated.

Did I say might get heated? Within hours of the paper hitting the street, I received calls from the NSW Rabbinical Council and Sydney Beth Din. Their message: a stern invitation to attend a combined meeting of both organisations. After consulting various communal figures, I respectfully informed the organisations that I was declining to attend the meeting.

I then published an editorial explaining my rationale to publicise the Jewish participation in the Mardi Gras, followed by a further editorial on my refusal to attend the rabbinical meeting.

The AJN received an astonishing 210 letters to the editor on the issue during the next three weeks – compared to the usual weekly dozen letters. It was unprecedented in the newspaper’s 120-year history. Remarkably, the overwhelming majority of the letters, which filled three pages each week, unequivocally endorsed the newspaper’s position, which supported the right of Jewish gays to be accepted as gay.

In addition, 25 Jewish public figures, including judges, professors and former Executive Council of Australian Jewry presidents, took out a quarter-page advertisement supporting Jewish gays, while the Sydney Morning Herald published a front-page story on the controversy and ABC TV devoted a 40-minute segment to it, interviewing Orthodox rabbis, a Jewish lesbian couple and me.

The AJN won the Non-Gay Media Award for its stand on human rights, edging out the ABC and Sydney Morning Herald. Some months later, I attended a meeting of Dayenu members - the Jewish LGBT+ support group – where everyone present took it in turns to describe how the episode had proved to be a watershed in changing perceptions of what it meant to be gay, softening communal attitudes on the issue and improving relationships within families.

I took numerous controversial positions during my 18 years on the AJN. The one which continues to resonate most poignantly, given that it effected real change, was going to the barricades on behalf of the right of Jewish gays to be seen and accepted as gay. The victory lies in the fact that there has been a Jewish float in the Mardi Gras every year since then (except for a hiccup in 2006).

While the momentum motivated continued Jewish participation in the Mardi Gras, it sputtered elsewhere in the community, until various individuals and organisations began to add their voices to the cause. In the 25 years since, Melbourne’s Temple Beth Israel and Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue have held Gay Pride Shabbat services and dinners, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria has adopted a LGBT+ social-inclusion project and some Jewish schools have set up LGBT+ support groups.

More significantly, a number of Orthodox rabbis, including Ben Elton from the Great Synagogue in Sydney, and Melbourne’s Gabi Kaltmann and Yaakov Glasman, began to speak out strongly against ostracising gay Jews. “The truth is we are all members of the community and some of us identify as LGBT+,” Rabbi Elton told a panel discussion in 2016. “It’s not a case of making room. It’s not a case of allowing in. They’re part of our community. You’re a person, you’re a Jew, you’re welcome. That’s all there is to it.”

Elton also condemned hateful language that was expressed by some Orthodox rabbis in regard to the LGBT+ sector. “Rabbis who write in such a way don’t speak for what I can safely say is the majority of the Orthodox rabbinate in Sydney,” he emphasised.

In 2017 the country endured the ructions of the same-sex marriage debate, with NSW Supreme Court Justice Stephen Rothman – president of Sydney’s Great Synagogue at the time – proposing a powerful motion to the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies plenum in support of the principle. The motion passed by an overwhelming majority.

But in 2024, relations between Dayenu and the Mardi Gras organisation hit a low point when a grassroots group called Pride in Protest announced it would use the parade to “demand a free Palestine” and would march with a float themed “Trans Pride, Not Genocide”.

After further hostility from activists - including labelling the Israeli occupation “apartheid” and charging Israel with using the LGBT+ community to “pinkwash genocide” - Dayenu reconsidered its participation in last year’s Mardi Gras, but ultimately decided to participate.

“It has never been more important for us to take pride in our Jewish heritage, take pride in our queer identity and celebrate our unique place in the Mardi Gras family, supported by our Jewish community who are standing strong by our sides with love,” Dayenu president David Klarnett said at the time. 

Meanwhile, Jewish members of the LGBT+ community reacted angrily to a letter to the Prime Minister from the Mardi Gras organisation in regard to the Israel-Hamas war, calling for an “immediate and enduring ceasefire” without mentioning Hamas or October 7.

Mardi Gras responded: “Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has always stood for peace, inclusivity and the right of all individuals, including both Israeli and Palestinian LGBTA+ communities, to live without fear and free from persecution.

“The wellbeing of all members of our community, irrespective of their background, is of paramount importance to us. The letter expressed concern for both the Israeli and Palestinian LGBT+ people affected by the ongoing conflict. We are equally supportive of our Jewish and Palestinian community members, and our commitment is to always advocate for peace and safe spaces.

“We understand the complexities and sensitivities of such issues and the impact they can have on individuals within our community. It is not our intention to cause distress or feelings of unsafety. We value the voices of all our members and are committed to ensuring that every individual feels safe, respected and represented in our events.”

Dayenu will celebrate its 25^th anniversary at the Emanuel Synagogue on February 9. The Sydney Mardi Gras will run from February 14 to March 2. CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS