Melbourne’s Jewish Community has come out in force to participate in the annual Pride March in St Kilda.
The largest contingent to date, this year saw community stalwarts Aleph Melbourne and the Jewish Lesbian Group of Victoria joined by a strong presence from youth groups Habonim Dror, SKIF, Netzer and Hashomer Hatzair. Members of AUJS and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria also marched in solidarity.
Also in attendance were David Southwick, MLA for Caulfield and Victorian Shadow Minister for Health Mary Wooldridge.
Pride March celebrates the rich diversity of Melbourne’s LGBTIQ community. Aleph Melbourne has participated every year since 1997. The significant presence of Jewish youth groups in Pride March over the past three years shows that increasingly, young people are passionate about equality, inclusion, respect and social justice.
Michael Barnett told J-Wire: “=”Having attended every Pride March since 1997 it is humbling in 2016 to see so many people from the Jewish community come together to show support for same-sex attracted and gender diverse people. That David Southwick and Mary Wooldridge stood with pride amongst the Jewish community on the day showed just how important recognising such diversity is to a healthy and productive society.
Good for you David Southwick. Hopefully you can help convince your colleagues in the Liberal Party to also accept same sex marriage.
Henry, if your federal MP is with the Liberal Party I’d encourage you to contact them and tell them to have a *free vote* on marriage equality, not a costly and useless plebiscite. Start here: http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/whereyourmpstands. You can also add your support to the GetUp! petition at http://www.equalitynow.org.au.
More photos from the day here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117320388330743625038/20160131PrideMarch