South Head to close its doors
Members of Sydney’s South Head Synagogue have been told to collect all their personal effects including Talliths and prayers books by noon tomorrow [Friday] when the administrators will shut down the building.
The synagogue’s president James Hochroth has emailed the membership that the incumbent spiritual leader Rabbi Benzion Milecki had written an article published in an Israeli Hebrew-language religious website, www.bhol.co.il, last Sunday “full of Lashon Hora”.
The article was written in Hebrew and J-Wire has received a translation.
James Hochroth wrote in the email: “It includes personal attacks on me, on other rabbis and our synagogue, as well as many other statements that are either untrue or misleading. This is not the behaviour one expects of our rabbi. It is time for him to go and leave us to pick up the pieces and try to rebuild.”
The cash-strapped synagogue was put under administration on April 26.
Rabbi Milecki’s employment had been terminated by the administrators and had been barred from the synagogue unless signed a document agreeing not to carry out any rabbinical duties. He did not comply and security guards were employed by the administrator to bar his entry.
On June 22nd,a decision by the Supreme Court in Sydney ruled the termination is void and that it should have been dealt it with halachically. It awarded costs to Rabbi Milecki who resumed his position as the shul’s senior rabbi.
In a further letter to the members, the administrators Dean-Willcocks Advisory said that have advised the Management Advisory Committee they could not invoice memberships as “it would be inappropriate for the Administrators to send up the upcoming seat maintenance invoices as they could not guarantee the ongoing activities.”
The administrator that outgoings had now reached $200,000 and they would need a third party to finance the “Company” and if that is not forthcoming they would have “no option other than to cease the Company’s operations”.
On June 23, the administrators were told by the Management Advisory Committee they could not guarantee the funding and that “the view of the Committee was that the administrator should proceed to a liquidation of the Company”.
The Administrators said that “there is no apparent source of any future earnings or funding that the only commercial decision available is to close the operations of the Company and prepare its assets for sale”.
Members have been told that the administrator will a time for all members who had been unable to collect their personal possessions.
30% of Australians have no religion. This may explain poor attendance at many religious institution.
Moishe, very strange…ask the ” Rabbi “….