A conservative pro-Israel community organisation that opposes an Indigenous voice to parliament has hit out at representative bodies for actively campaigning on the referendum, saying the Albanese government’s proposal was “contrary to Jewish values and community interests”.
Many major Jewish organisations have backed the voice, saying it resonates with them because they understand what it’s like to be voiceless.
But Australian Jewish Association president David Adler, who sits on the advisory board of No organisation Advance Australia, took issue with Jewish Community Appeal – which asks the community for money to help fund organisations’ programs and services to those in need – giving money to a group advocating for the voice.
The NSW-based JCA gave social justice group Stand Up, which is running the Kol Halev Jewish voice for Yes campaign, a $200,000 grant.
Stand Up said that money had not been used for its voice campaign, which hosted prominent Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo at an event in Sydney on Thursday night. Its Victorian arm hosted Indigenous leader Marcia Langton in Melbourne this month.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria, the recognised roof body and voice of Victorian Jewry, supported Stand Up’s Melbourne launch.
“The Jewish community comprises a range of diverse opinions like the wider Australian community, yet some of the elitists in leadership positions seem to prioritise various left-wing and non-Jewish activism,” Dr Adler said.
Read the article by Rosie Lewis in The Australian.