JOFA conference to discuss orthodox feminism
The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Australia will host its first-ever in-person conference dedicated to discussing orthodox feminism and the state of women’s inclusion in Australia.
The conference will be hosted by JOFA Australia’s partner, the Ark Centre, in Hawthorn East and is being supported by major community organizations and philanthropists, including Launchpad Australia via a Dave Grant, the Besen Foundation, the Spotlight Foundation, the Erdi Foundation and Ark Centre.”
“The interest in this conference has been unprecedented, so we expanded the number of tickets available to accommodate for the demand,” said JOFA Australia President Nomi Kaltmann. “Men and women have enquired about attending from across Australia, and there is great demand for spaces which include a wide range of women from diverse orthodox backgrounds, from Rebbetzins to lay people who all want to see Australian communities do better on including women in all areas of public Jewish life.”
Open to both men and women, the conference includes 15 female speakers as well as morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Tickets are free of charge, but bookings are required. The Executive Director of JOFA in North America, Daphne Lazar Price will be flying in from Maryland in the United States to give a keynote address.
“We have had to expand our original vision for this conference,” said JOFA Australia President Nomi Kaltmann. “The interest has ensured that the bookings have grown in recent weeks, and we have increased the number available to ensure that people who want to come to this groundbreaking conference will have the ability to do so.”
JOFA conferences in the United States have had a long-lasting positive effect and change for women in their orthodox communities, and Kaltmann is hopeful that the success of these conferences will be replicated in Australia.
“The equation is simple: women represent 50% of the population, so if we want to increase representation of half the population, we have to ensure that orthodox communities are doing their best to make space for women and appoint them into leadership positions wherever possible,” she said.
Since launching just over two years ago, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Australia has provided opportunities to Australian women that actively promote leadership and support women’s Torah learning, public speaking, teaching and engagement. To date, 200 Australian women from six Australian States and Territories have received scholarships to complete training courses about Judaism and has been well-received by communities across Australia.
If you would like to book a ticket to the JOFA Australia conference, you can do so here: trybooking.com/CJJUH
JOFA Australia, t, seeks to expand the spiritual, ritual and intellectual opportunities for women within the framework of halakha (Jewish law), by advocating meaningful participation for women in family life, synagogues, houses of learning and Jewish communal organisations to the fullest extent possible.
On Sunday, 13 August,
playing catch-up to progressive jewish women .mazel -tov