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But within the queer community, there’s a lot of anti-religious sentiment. We also do this through Pride Shabbats and a “Pride in the Living Room” interview series.įor many queer Jews, there’s a desire to hold onto Judaism, because it’s given them so much. Hence, I took over Jewmos, a program that aims to repair relationships between queer and Jewish communities in Australia. When I returned from Argentina, I wanted to support queer Jews who were struggling with their identity, and remind them that, no matter what, they deserve the very best. What is it, and why did you decide to lead it?Ī painting by Jarod Rhine-Davis (painted with his mother, Anne Rhine-Davis) Talk about your queer Jewish group in Australia, Jewmos.
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This trip taught me that, though we may be alone, we’re together.
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We may have come as people living our own separate lives, but we leave as mishpacha (family).” When I got up, I said, “I look around me and see friends, I see leaders, I see people who have achieved so much and gained so much on this trip. I had so many conversations on this trip that dug beneath superficial small-talk and became a spiritual dialogue, which can be difficult to find in the queer community. In the final moments of the Entwine trip, each of us shared something that had really resonated with us along the way. Why is JDC important for the Jewish world? What has it added to your life? We were linking the threads of our experience, our history. There was something spiritual about a group of people who know what it’s like to face discrimination, both as Jews and as queer people, singing together. All of us were there, still in our Pride outfits, arm in arm. Which moment from the trip stands out to you most? Why?Īfter we attended Pride in Buenos Aires, we went to the roof of our hotel. Those of us who identified as more Jewish, and who had wrestled with our queer identity, were able to share ideas and stories with those who were less connected to traditional Jewish life.
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It was invigorating to be in a space with other queer Jews. And so, the third purpose of this trip was to revisit and see the fruits of JDC’s work almost 20 years later. In 2001, Argentina had a huge financial crisis, and JDC provided essential aid to the most vulnerable Jews. Two, it was about returning to a place that JDC had helped. One, it was about exploring our queer identity and the local queer culture. Then JDC Entwine came along, and I signed up for the LGBTQ+ trip to Argentina. I would ask myself: How can I be authentically Jewish in queer spaces and authentically queer in Jewish spaces? Where did you go and what did you do?īefore the Entwine trip, I often felt like I wasn’t a whole person but two half-people stitched together. In Melbourne and Sydney, there’s a larger Jewish community, so it’s a bit less centralized because there’s enough people within each denomination for you to splinter off and form your own group.Īnother reason why Jewish Australians are unique: We speak Hebrew with an Australian accent! Regardless of your background, whether you’re Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative, the Perth Jewish community is very cohesive. In Perth, there’s only one Jewish school in Western Australia. What is it about the Australian Jewish community that someone from another country might not immediately understand? What makes the Australian Jewish community unique? Jarod with the B’nai B’rith Jewish Changemaker Award