On the road with NORA

J-Wire
February 22, 2015

http://www.jwire.com.au/on-the-road-with-nora/

Rabbi Selwyn Franklin

February 22, 2015 by J-Wire News Service

The New Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia is hitting the road with interim president Sydney-based Rabbi Selwyn Franklin preparing for visits to Melbourne and Perth.

Rabbi Franklin has announced that all positions in NORA are vacant following the resignation of former president Rabbi Meir Kluwgant in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A Membership committee under Rabbi Franklin’s chairmanship would be constituted to formalize criteria for membership in NORA. Chaverim are invited to apply for membership in NORA.

To effect the establishment of NORA which replaces the now defunct ORA [Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia, a steering committee has been created consisting of Rabbis Selwyn Franklin [Sydney], Chaim Ingram [Sydney] , Paul Lewin [Sydney], Daniel Rabin [Melbourne] and Marcus Solomon [Perth]. The name NORA itself is a temporary measure and the new organisation will be renamed by its incoming executive.

Invitations have been extended to a limited number of other Rabbis to become  members of the steering committee.

The steering committee intends to sign up members during the next two months once criteria have been formulated with a general meeting of all members in the pipeline for the first week of June to adopt a constitution which will govern the affairs of NORA and to deal with the matter of community redress in the event of Rabbinic moral failure.

Elections will likewise be held for positions in the reconstituted national Rabbinic body. In addition, an appropriate permanent name of the organization will be agreed upon.

Rabbi Selwyn Franklin told J-Wire: “I intend to consult widely and would welcome the insights and views of chaverim across Australia and New Zealand.
To this end, I will be visiting Melbourne this coming Tuesday (24 February) and holding meetings with various interested parties. In particular I’m grateful to Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick who is setting up a meeting with the RCV executive around midday and I would be delighted if any other interested Chaver would come along.
I will also be visiting Perth on Friday 6 March and will be similarly holding meetings with Chaverim there. I will continue to liaise with them and with other Rabbis in the smaller communities.

It’s early days and we are all still reeling from the aftermath of the Royal Commission. I am deeply mindful of the deep-seated suffering of the victims of child abuse under our charge and vehemently condemn the attempts to cover up the abuse. It’s very important to record that any one responsible for the abuse or the cover up will not be entitled to be a member of NORA.

Reconciliation and healing has begun.”