The JCCV is a curious umbrella organistation for Jewish organisations in Melbourne.  Back in December 2009 they formed a reference group to look at discrimination and vilification of people who are gay within the Jewish community in Melbourne.  I’d suggest that they care more about their religion than they do about people being vilified.

Well, the reference group has at last produced a report, of sorts.  The JCCV announced it on their website – the media release says:

The JCCV aims to distribute the report as widely as possible.

Yet there is no way to get the report from their website.  The link provided seems to just download a PDF of the media release.  I’m sure it’s just an oversight on their part and one they’ll fix shortly.

So, off to J-Wire, that site reprints the whole report.

For a brief moment, I thought that at last, they had seen the damage that religion can do to people.  In particular, the damage that is done by allowing vilification of someone based on their identity, sexual, gender or otherwise.  The reason people find it acceptable to vilify ‘the gays’ is because it’s written into the ancient texts.  Plain as the ink on the page.  It follows to address the ongoing vilification and rejection of people who are gay you need to address that very first issue.

The reference group recognised that Jewish Halacha¹ prohibits gay sexual behaviour and, according to orthodox rabbinic interpretation, lesbian sexual behaviour. The reference group recognised that it does not have the power to change Halacha and therefore confined itself to issues involving discrimination, vilification and mental health issues. It was hoped in this way the reference group could produce a useful report for the community.

Nicely side-stepped.  The only reason there is discrimination, vilification and therefore mental health issues is because some nutter somewhere wrote it down in a book and that book is the source of all discrimination and vilification that permeates throughout the western world (and increasingly in African nations).  To simply try to side-step it is wrong.  It is the root cause.  Shrugging your shoulders and pretending that nothing can be done is just fool-hardy.

As an umbrella organisation they represent many different versions of Judaism, their membership is made up of orthodox, progressive and conservative religious groups as well as some secular groups.  It’s puzzling as to why they only accept the orthodox version of homosexuality as being wrong when they have such a diverse membership base.  For many of the other JCCV constituents, homosexuality is simply not an issue, in fact some of them go so far as to embrace homosexuality as part of the normal fabric of life.   It doesn’t seem to me that they are truly being representative when the orthodox position is taken as the default by the JCCV.

The report makes no mention of the Union of Progressive Judaism’s great work in accepting people from all walks of life. Somehow the UPJ seem to have worked their way around the silly ancient texts and were able to issue a statement on gender and sexual equality, making it clear that you can’t treat some people as different based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

I waded my way through the many lines in the report and found nothing that you couldn’t guess all by yourself or that isn’t already generally available.  There’s a list of recommendations at the bottom of the report.  Broken into three sections. Recommendations for schools, rabbis and community organisations.  There’s no mention of anything that the JCCV itself will undertake to further promote these recommendations.  In fact, any course of action is sadly lacking.

Look at these recommendations under the community organisations:

All community organisations should adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination and vilification based on a person‟s sexual orientation and gender identity.

Community Organisations should provide training for their staff and facilitate education for their members and volunteers relating to these issues.

Jewish Community Libraries should incorporate texts, DVDs and other resource material relevant to Jewish GLBT and gender identity issues to ensure there are sufficient resources for members of the community who are seeking education or appropriate reading/viewing material in this area.

Community organisations, particularly synagogues and/or rabbinical associations could facilitate trips to Australia by Rabbis or educators who can speak on the issues facing members of our GLBT community, particularly those in the Orthodox community.

Community support organisations ensure they are kept up to date with the latest research and developments and have in place adequate support services for the Jewish GLBT community. It is also necessary that members of the Jewish GLBT community are made fully aware of these services.

It would have been good if they would adopt the Llama Recommendations:

1. That a Jewish support group for the GLBT community be established as part of the JCCV (Suggestion: Aleph Melbourne)
2. That that support group become a full member of the JCCV
3. That a JCCV working group be established to work with schools, Rabbis and community organisations to assist in monitoring and providing resources to ensure they work towards the recommendation as suggested
4. That the JCCV works to breaking down the barriers established by Jewish Halacha.
5. That the JCCV calls for full equality in marriage under Australian Law

The whole process was so promising.  It falls down dramatically in the last recommendation.

It is strongly recommended that a review be performed within 3 years to ascertain the extent to which the recommendations contained in this report have been adopted and the impact that has been affected within our community.

So, nothing happens for the next 3 years?  The schools, rabbis and community organisations go about their business with no need to report or any system to monitor or get assistance.

The whole reference group experiment had such promise to actually take on discrimination and vilification and offer some concrete ways to combat it.  Instead the JCCV has delivered what appears a rushed and badly produced set of recommendations published on a long weekend in the dying days of the presidency of John Searle.

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The arrest and charging of one David Samuel Cyprys, 43, a security guard at Melbourne’s Jewish boy school, Yeshivah College, is no doubt sending shock waves through the small community.  I’ve blogged about it already today.

The Jewish organisation, the Anti-Defamation Commission has been quick to point the finger at the media, and say that they haven’t covered anything up at all.  The ADC, according to their facebook page:

 fights antisemitism and racism and promotes respect and justice.

For the Jewish population of Melbourne, I believe this is an important aspect to ensure that antisemitism is challenged wherever it occurs.

The ADC on their website say this:

ADC has acted to defend the Jewish community over implications that it covered up sexual abuse. Media coverage of the trial of David Cyprys on indecent assault charges has unfairly implicated the entire Jewish community after a court was told sections of the community had protected the alleged sex offender.

The article that I quoted from The Age said this:

PROMINENT members of the Melbourne Jewish community lied to the police, covered up an alleged sex scandal and protected a man accused of repeatedly molesting children from a school in St Kilda East, a court has been told.

But, just quickly, keeping in mind the size of the Melbourne Jewish Community, lets look at this.  The chairman of the ADC is Anton Block, who was also a previous president of the JCCV.  The president of the JCCV is John Searle, who is a previous chairman of the ADC.

The ADC, according to this blog from Mikeybear, is an arm of the JCCV.  There also exists a community group called the CSG, the Community Security Group, that is controlled by the JCCV.

The CSG is voluntary, the webpage says:

The Community Security Group (CSG) is a team of skilled and dedicated volunteers who are carefully selected and appropriately trained.

My understanding is that Cyprys was involved in many ways within the community.  He was a security guard, on the board at the Elwood Talmud Torah Congregation and taught karate.

While the ADC is quick to distance itself, they seem to be suggesting it’s the media that’s got it wrong.  In fact, it seems to me that the media has reported information presented in court by the Police.

There’s some other questions here that should be asked and answered by these interconnected organistations that come under the stewardship of John Searle, who recently has been appointed to the role of  chairperson of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission².  In the interest of not covering things up, let’s understand how far entrenched Cyprys was in this community.  Did he have any involvement with the CSG?  Did he collaborate with the JCCV?  What other relationships did he have with members of the Executive of the JCCV?  And where does his unnamed partner fit in?

With Searle going into such a high profile position, surely these questions need answers.  The last thing VEOHRC needs is the scandal of a cover up.

Finally, without fully understanding how someone who has a known history of indecent assault managed to get involved in so much community action, why not hold the whole of the jewish community as responsible.  Surely someone from the school or one of the other organisations knew and should have shared this information.

In The Age in July this year:

In 2000, Mr Waks said, he was horrified to see Mr Cyprys was still providing security for Yeshivah Centre.

Come on, how can this happen?  Here’s someone asking the question and yet Cyprys continues for another 11 years.  It’s really appalling and needs a full and proper investigation with the Melbourne Jewish community.

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It goes to show that religious people are more inclined to be concerned with their own reputation than the safety of the children entrusted to them.  In a previous blog I covered the way that some in the Melbourne Jewish community have attempted to keep all this hush hush.

From 1984 to 1991 this low life allegedly used his position to gain access to children and abuse them.  It’s a story we see again and again in all walks of life, from the scouts to the catholics to schools and now, like a great big pelican dropping, the Jewish community.

And what do you think the community does?  You’d hope that they would ring the police, but alas, the ”high-standing members of the Jewish community” did nothing.

”They failed to act in any way to protect children and the matter has been swept under the carpet,” Senior Constable Metcher told Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Why would that be?  Why, years and years after the events, after all that has gone before in other religious based schools and institutions, would you continue to employ a person with such a history?

Asked on what she based this, Senior Constable Metcher said: ”Based on the lies told to police and information that has been twisted and covered up.”

And when the truth starts to bubble to the surface this so-called community lies, twists and covers it up?  How disgusting.

Is the well-being of the children of so little importance to the ‘high-standing members of the Jewish community’ that the reputation of a school should prevent them from taking proper action to deal with these things.

In the previous blog I quote the head of the JCCV:

“If there is sexual abuse, victims must be encouraged to make reports and must not be made to feel that they’re going to be ostracised or punished in any way whatsoever,” Mr Searle said.

That’s right, he wants the victims to be encouraged to make reports.  Of course, what he should also have been doing is making sure that those with the knowledge, those in positions of authority, should have been fully co-operative with the investigation.

Everyone that covered this up should be held accountable, the high-standing should hang their heads in shame and resign.  Their names should be spread across the community as collaborators to the alleged offender and they should no longer enjoy the trust of their community.  They are now in the league of low-lifes too.

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There are reports of sexual abuse and cover ups happening in Melbourne’s jewish community.  And just like other religious organistations there’s a scramble to denounce and distance your synagogue from the perpetrators.  Good thing too.

But then there’s still the apologists who try to cover up and minimise the dreadful impact that abuse has on the victims, they try to minimise the shame that may be brought upon them.

The worshippers believe Rabbi Telsner, the spiritual head of Yeshivah, was questioning the right of individuals to ventilate their concerns. One worshipper felt “outraged and threatened” when the rabbi asked the congregation “who gave you permission to talk?” Rabbi Telsner declined to clarify his remarks yesterday.

The good rabbit doesn’t want people to talk about the issue?  If you belong to this shul then you should be demanding a full investigation, you should be demanding that everyone who hid this abuser, or who knew of his record, should be thrown out of the synagogue in disgust.  There is no excuse for shielding those that commit offences against harmless children.

Then there’s the president of that community organisation called the JCCV

“If there is sexual abuse, victims must be encouraged to make reports and must not be made to feel that they’re going to be ostracised or punished in any way whatsoever,” Mr Searle said.

What a dumb arsed attitude.  Perhaps what he meant to say is “We will support all victims to tell their stories, we’ll help you navigate your way through this with love and support”.  Instead we get this attitude of making the victims do the action, with a sort of semi threat that if they tell the story they may well be ostracised or punished, because he says that they must not be made to feel, which means the reality is that they will be ostracised and punished, just not outwardly.

Tim Minchin really needs to do a song for the jews.

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It’s about time he got a blog to further the cause!

Michael has a very keen sense of justice, and has gone out to ruffle a few feathers, not to feather his own nest, but to better help those least able to help themselves.

I’ve blogged before¹ about his efforts in addressing the ingrained homophobia within the orthodox jewish community, the complete ineptitude of the JCCV to deal with matters of hate and the impact that religion has on young people struggling to address their sexuality.

Michael has his detractors, he has those who think his approach is wrong and have gone out of their way to undermine his efforts while not offering any assistance to those most in needs. Fuck you, I say to them. The world needs more people like Michael that are prepared to take on the inane stupidity of religion and to demonstrate how that effects people and to simply ask that we speak out against it.

Here, it’s easy – religion causes harm. Young people in fundamental environments are more likely to kill themselves because of their parents religious intolerance and that shit needs to be called for what it is.

Go read. Sign up, register, comment. Help. Stop being an apathetic bastard, no wait, that’s me, or Shadforth.

Big willy waving at Mikey Bear – he’s got a cape you know.

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Bullying is an insidious power game.  As if it isn’t bad enough trying to grow up and be under pressure from a bully just because the bully doesn’t like you, if you also happen to be gay you have to deal with your school mates picking on you and making your life hell.

Where does this come from.  Why is it that when you ‘out’ yourself as different that this somehow gives others permission to bully you and treat you like something other than human?

While I’m sure there are many reasons, one of them must surely be religion.  Having religions continue to treat homosexuality, and other orientations apart from heterosexuality , as abominations must have an influence on the adherents to that particular faith.

Take the work that Michael Barnett¹ in trying to get the JCCV to take the jewish orthodox community in Melbourne to task for their complete and utter intolerance of homosexuals.  Michael has long been saying that young people are more likely to commit suicide if they identify as anything other than heterosexual, and that the problem is the attitudes of ‘orthodox’ jews teaching their children that gay people are abominations.  The JCCV as ‘the voice of Victorian jewry’ seem unable to challenge the orthodox view.

Too many people let religion get away with this.  It is no longer acceptable to let the vilification of people happen within a religious context.  The jews, the catholics and the members of the Liberal Party should not be allowed to say derogatory statements about anyone based on their sexuality.  The message is heard by your children, it’s a message that says that gay people are fair game, it’s a message that permits violence and bullying to occur against gay people.  While we continue to allow this to happen, children will die.

Being threatened, having bottles and rocks thrown at you, having abusive language hurled your way is unacceptable way for children to treat other children.  Somewhere a parent has used the ‘hate’ speech and this is picked up by the children who then repeat adopt the vile attitudes of the parents and an unsuspecting child becomes the focus of the bullying, that can lead to depression, and that can lead to suicide.

Stop fucking around.  Make the vilification laws extend to churches, stop the hate and challenge it at every opportunity you get.

Somebody’s life may depend on it.

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Friends

One way to elevate this entire discussion to a higher level (in theory at least) is to remember that Jewish law does not end with Torah. Even if you believe – as some do – that the entire Law was handed down to Moses on Sinai, it is not just Torah. Indeed, I grew up believing that one thing really commendable about Judaism is the exhortation to keep thinking and asking questions! So, there is also Mishnah, Codes and Responsa and, as far as I know, the last of these continues in our own day. Jews of whatever flavour, if they wish to call themselves knowledgeable or religious, are supposed to know of these texts and the tradition of ongoing questioning and discussion which underlies them.

Now, it may be (and here I confess my own ignorance on such matters), that in the centuries since Torah, the Rabbis, in their (finite!) wisdom, have managed to “spin” just about all the issues that were raised in the previous posting: stoning a wayward child, an adulteress, a Sabbath breaker, etc. It seems, however, that the prohibition proscribed in Lev. 18 and elsewhere remains in force. If so, then presumably the present generation of Rabbis and other leaders can explain, clearly and unambiguously, why this is so.

In other words, what does Jewish scholarship and learning say about homosexuality today? One thing is clear. It cannot legitimately just keep quoting Lev 18 at us, for reasons I hope to have made clear. So, let us challenge our detractors to justify their point of view without merely quoting Torah; indeed, without merely quoting any particular text. Surely the whole point of Jewish learning is, as I said, to go on questioning and thinking…. And so we ask, again and again, exactly what is wrong with who we are and/or with what we do with one another in private?
L

What a quaint notion. The torah, the word of god, is the rules given to the mighty Moses for all mankind to live by. Now you’d reckon that it’s pretty straight forward, at least our modern translations are pretty straight forward. However, you can ignore the word of god if you get a couple of rabbits to find a good enough reason to find a loop hole in the text and thereby subvert the original meaning. The jewish people have been doing this for thousands of years, and it’s what I have been saying all along. Just change the rules, you’ve done it before, and its time to do it again.

But…

If you are going to pick and choose which rules to change, which rules are hard and fast, which ones are open to interpretation or which ones don’t apply because the temple is not there, then how do you choose? What inspiration can there be. If you’re going to bring into question one of these rules, then you should bring them all in to question, and for that reason alone the whole lot can be thrown out because if you can reinterpret one rule then the whole lot are corrupt and not necessary.

As you go through your mind and find all the ‘buts’, you know that you can please yourself as to what you believe. The real issue I have with the current ongoing saga with the JCCV and it’s purported job of representing the jewish people of Victoria is that they continue to apply antiquated rules to people who don’t believe in it. The orthodox perspective continues to pervade the attitude of sexuality and it’s out of step with the real world, the JCCV don’t call them to account for that attitude and the homophobia continues with very little opposition.

So by all means get the nasty book reviewed, change the rules, then go the next step and change the attitudes.

This just in the Inbox:

Who is this person “Bruce Llama”, and what connection do they have with the GLBT, Jewish Life, Knowledge of Torah (Jewish Bible / Old Testiment)?

I am Bruce.  I have been here since before the beginning and I expect I will be here until the end.  I dwell in the Great Lit and the Great Unlit. Read the rest here

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In The Age newspaper, the Executive Director of the JCCV, one Geoffrey Zygier¹, wrote a letter² to defend what he calls the “Jewish Bible”.  In the letter he says:

He ignores such commandments as “You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” and ”[If] a stranger comes into your midst … you shall not do him wrong … you shall love him as yourself”.

He uses these quotes, which look like they might be from Leviticus 19, to suggest that Jews have an obligation to be nice to the strangers, the letter is in relation to asylum seekers in Australia.

Let’s just have a bit of a look at Leviticus 19.

13: You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him.

17: You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

18: You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Of course there’s lots more in there – but as I’m dealing with a religious matter, I’ll only extract those parts that actually support me and ignore the rest.  And there’s the crux of the matter.  While Geoffrey is busy berating a ‘stranger’ and giving him a lesson on jewish morality, talking of obligations, the organisation that he is the Executive Director of will not take its orthodox membership to task about their intolerant view on homosexuality.  He does not remind them of their obligation to not oppress their neighbour, he does not berate them when they hate their brother in their heart, he takes no action when they bear a grudge or take vengeance against the sons of their own people.  Of course, if he has taken them to task then perhaps he could supply those letters or just let us know.  The JCCV still refuses to acknowledge the problem that fundamentalism in judaism causes in young homosexuals growing up in an orthodox environment.  If you can pick and choose which bits of the bible you want to use to support your cause, then perhaps its possible to also ignore those parts that are no longer acceptable.  Bits like this:

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 (New International Version)

A Rebellious Son

¹⁸ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, ¹⁹ his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. ²⁰ They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard.” ²¹ Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.[SOURCE]

So, you might get stoned for just being a rebellious teenager. There’s one that we don’t do anymore!

Deuteronomy 13:6-11 (New International Version)

⁶ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, ⁷ gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), ⁸ do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. ⁹ You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. ¹⁰ Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.[SOURCE]

If your friend is of a different faith and they ask you to attend a church/mosque/synagogue service you should stone them to death.  There’s one that we don’t do anymore!

Leviticus 24:10-16 (New International Version)

A Blasphemer Stoned

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) ¹² They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.

¹³ Then the LORD said to Moses: ¹⁴ “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. ¹⁵ Say to the Israelites: ‘If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; ¹⁶ anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death. [SOURCE]

God is a bastard.  There’s one we don’t do any more.

Leviticus 20:26-27 (New International Version)
²⁶ You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

²⁷ ” ‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’ ” [SOURCE]

Ever read your stars?  Anyone ever asked what your star sign is?  Ever thought you’d heard a voice?  Had a friend who thinks they’re psychic?  You should stone them.  There’s one we don’t do any more!

Numbers 15:32-36 (New International Version)

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

³² While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, ³⁴ and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶ So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses. [SOURCE]

Oh, this one is good.  Some poor bastard is out getting wood on a Saturday afternoon, the nights are probably cold, or his wife is giving birth and he needs to boil water, or he needs to sacrifice a lamb to god.  He’s very naughty and gets stoned.  No if and buts about it, no mitigating circumstances taken into consideration, that’s it, you fucked up, prepare to get pelted with fucking big rocks.  There’s one we don’t do any more.

Leviticus 18:22 (New International Version)
²² ” ‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

So, don’t lie with a man if you’re a man, there’s one we don’t do any more…. it’s ok to lie with a man.  But wait… that is detestable.  I wish we could say that’s one we don’t do anymore!  Alas, people from fundamental/orthodox backgrounds continue to treat homosexuals as sinners and think they are detestable.  They don’t stone people any more, as a society we find that detestable, so much gets washed away as society progresses, and yet some still cling to stupid silly statements in a book that is by and large ignored by most of its adherents.

Finally, Geoffrey Zygier says

[he’s]insinuation that the Jewish Bible’s teachings lack compassion is wrong.

Not is not.  You’re being very selective.  You’ve picked a couple of passages out of the bible to pretend that those words represent compassion.  The bible is not compassionate, the JCCV lacks compassion and its time to stop quoting silly outdated texts are a defence for your actions, but that’s fucked and just plain wrong.

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The AJN Watch, a blog written by a sky pixie believer, is outraged that the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV)  should be establishing a reference group to look at issues for people who are gay and jewish.  The author trots out predictable lines about how most people don’t accept homosexuality, and how homosexuals are noisy.  At least he’s changed his stance a bit and now admits to understanding that there are specific issues around being jewish and gay.  Although his advice is still off.

Anyway, the laughable bit for me, the real laughable bit is that he talks about pandering to the noisy and minuscule gay lobby.  This coming from a person from a small noisy and minuscule group – orthodox jews.  He’s very noisy and very minuscule, and yet he wants the bigger organisation to listen to him.  If you don’t listen to him he will get very upset, he’ll stamp his widdle feet and wun awound bawling until somebody kisses him better and makes it all awright again for him.

Putting the author of AJN Watch down as another religious nut job.

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I myself am a religious Jew and as such pure evil down to the black venomous ooze running through my veins, and the sympathy I may have had for your cause has evaporated. The chief reason behind this is you.

See what being religious does to you, what a way to think about yourself. Black venomous ooze indeed.  I think he means that, but his comment is not clear.  Either way, what a crock! That anybody or any religion can evoke such feelings in any person is absurd, and yes, I know he’s talking metaphorically, but fair dinkum what an arsehole of a god he has. How will he ever rid himself of the black ooze?  Perhaps 40 years in the desert might help….

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• Booba and Circumcision
• Circumcision and The Almighty Ego
• Grossman and Sex
• Pell is sorry?