Presentations and seminars were provided to many different community groups:
(i)A group of vulnerable Jewish female teens about self confidence and esteem.
(ii) Young Jewish singles and newlyweds about love, respect and healthy relationships.
(iii) Dover Heights community about marriage, connection and sexuality, and healthy relationships.
(iv) Kallah teachers at the Kallah and Mikvah lady conference, speaking about healthy relationships, focusing on potential issues that might arise for the brides with whom they’re working, the indicators that could assist Kallah teachers in identifying domestic violence, and best approach and strategies to follow up with brides about whom they were concerned.
(v) The Child Protection Taskforce convened by the Jewish Board of Deputies.
(vi)The Royal Commission into Institutional responses to child sexual abuse providing background information regarding CALD issues associated with the Jewish community.
(vii)National Council of Jewish Women of Australia (NCJWA) presenting a workshop on domestic violence at the National Conference of NCJWA.
(viii)The Limud Oz Festival of Ideas as a member of a panel discussing domestic violence in diverse communities. The panel was convened by Interfaith Organisation, Together for Humanity and included leaders of the Christian and Muslim faiths. The title of the session was ‘Look how they treat their women’. A discussion about feminism, domestic violence and religious texts.
July 2013 - June 2014 | Community Events
Presentations and seminars were provided to many different community groups:
(i) Our Big Kitchen - A talk titled Healthy Relating for Young Adults
(ii) Adolescent discussion group around sexuality issues
(iii) Dover Heights Shul – Relationships and Intimacy for Women
(iv) Wolper Hospital – A series of two talks to Kallah teachers and Mikvah attendants: Healthy Relationships and Sexuality. This event was initiated by Leoni Jacobs, a physician at Wolper and JAAFv, notably Deborah was involved in several planning metings. The overall goal of the two day seminar (conducted over two weeks) was to educate Kallah teachers about particular sexual health issues and relationship issues for women and to encourage them to take an expanded role with their brides. In addition to Caron who was very well received, speakers included an endocronologist, Marianne Marsh, a gyneacologist, a physiotherapist, Shamara Lurie and Leonie Jacobs who presented on related halachic issues.
(v) workshop to the Mum 4 Mum group around the dynamics of DV
(vi)Dr Pelcovitzseminars
In collaboration with JTAFV (Jewish Taskforce Against Family Violence) JewishCare; Jewish House; Jewish Learning Centre; Kesser Torah College; National Council for Jewish Women (NCJW) and Wolper Jewish Hospital, we hosted Dr David Pelcovitz, acclaimed international speaker, for several public events.
Dr Pelcovitz is a Professor of Psychology and Jewish Education at Yeshiva University, NY. He has published and lectured extensively on a variety of topics related to education, parenting and child mental health and his areas of research include family violence, the impact of domestic violence, stress management, transmitting values to children and adolescents and coping with trauma and loss.
The following are copies of the powerpoint slides for:
1. the presentation at National Council for Jewish Women (NCJW) titled “Trauma: new approaches –working with children and adolescents experiencing family violence.”
Presentations and seminars were provided to many different community groups:
(i) Rabbis - addressing the prevalence of domestic violence in their communities.
(ii) Staff and parents at Kesser Torah College regarding child protection strategies
(iii) Hatzollah on recognising domestic violence indicators, and management strategies
(iv) NCJWA's Mum 4 Mum
(v) Jewish Board of Deputies
(vi) Limmud Oz
July 2011 - June 2012 | Community Events
Several community events were co-hosted with JewishCare in relation to guest speaker Rebbetzin Heller’s visit to Australia. These were facilitated by Jodie Lowein conjunction with the Sarzan Family. The events which had specific JAAFV input and contributions include:
Workshops in five Jewish Day schools – seen as one of the highlights in terms of relevance for JAAFV’s mission regarding prevention. Feedback from staff and students was very positive regarding Rebbetzin Heller’s insights on dating and relationships. Rabbi Krebs spoke to the Boys at Moriah college and was very well received.
‘Understanding the complexities of Jewish family dynamics’ – targeting professionals and mainstream service providers regarding culturally specific concepts and concerns. Judy Levitan provided factual information in relation to family violence at this event
‘Intimacy and Judaism’ – attended by over 250 women. Caron Kaplan provided the introduction drawing on her experience working as a sexual health counsellor
‘Insights into parenting’ - held at Kesser Torah College with a focus on postitive role modeling and conflict resolution.
Overall, these events and the messages about family violence that were conveyed reached a significant number of people in the community as well as generating ideas for future events and projects. For example, JAAFV is exploring the possibility of organising follow up workshops with Kallah teachers as well as facilitating additional talks for high school boys regarding healthy relationships.
In collaboration with JTAFV (Jewish Taskforce Against Family Violence) we hosted Debbie Gross, acclaimed international speaker, for several public events.
Debbie presented to a number of targeted groups, including psychologists, rabbis and rebbetzins, youth group leaders, mikveh attendants and school principals and counsellors. Debbie was able to share her considerable experience as the founder and director of a crisis centre for women in Israel. Feedback from each group was extremely positive, with Debbie presenting a range of information on family violence to some groups for the first time whilst with others taking knowledge to higher levels of expertise.
28 November 2010 | Navigating the Minefiled of Family Violence
Through discussion of a dramatic, hypothetical case study, an expert panel (the judge, the rabbi, the academic, the GP, the social worker, the police, the service providers, the men’s group facilitator, the school counsellor) grappled with the complexities, contradictions and controversies that exist in the area of family violence.
JewishCare invited JAAFV to take part in an evening with Bill Hewlett from Relationships Australia and Cathy Milwidsky from Moriah College presenting in an event that covered the topic of arguments amongst parents and how this affects children, practical parenting strategies and modelling healthy conflict resolution.
June 2010 | Limmud Oz
Judith Levitan, a member of our management committee travelled to Melbourne in order to contribute to a panel discussion on family violence which was part of the Limmud Oz initiative.
25 May 2010 | Mental Health and Family violence
JAAFV provided speakers at an event arranged by the Wolper Jewish Hospital addressing the issue of “Mental Health and Family violence” (Mental health aspects of family violence; The legal avenues to address domestic violence; Violence against older women).
12 November 2009 | Wearing many hats
Managing the boundaries between the professional and the personal (a seminar for Rebbetzins & Kallah Teachers).
Teacher, Counsellor, Wife and Mother......just a few of the many roles taken by Rebbetzins and kallah teachers. This seminar will offer tips for containing the effects of difficult professional interchanges (such as hearing about domestic violence, concerns about children) from entering the personal sphere and impacting relations with family & friends.
Speaker: Dr. Clara Zilberstein
Dr Clara Zilberstein with Rebbetzin and Kallah teachers
15 November 2009 | Raising Boys... Raising Girls
Covering ideas related to the role of parents and grandparents in teaching the children in their lives about healthy and respectful relationships.
Speakers: Rabbi Michoel Gourarie and Dr. Clara Zilberstein
It is possible to request access to an audio file of the speakers at this event by emailing JAAFV on info@jaafv.org.au.
Rabbi Gourarie, Judith Levitan (JAAFV management committee) and Dr. Clara Zilberstein
Rabbi Michoel Gourarie
Founder and director of Bina - Sydney. Born in South Africa and educated in the U.S and Australia, Rabbi Gourarie is known as a passionate educator with inspiring classes that are well structured and informative. Rabbi Michoel Gourarie lectures on a wide range of topics with a special emphasis on Personal Growth and Self Development, including self esteem, parenting, communication and relationship building.
17 November 2009 | Relationship forum for Israeli Women
Informal discussion in Hebrew about healthy relationships.
Speaker: Dr. Clara Zilberstein
18 November 2009 | Really Relating
Achieving a more fulfilling relationship
A forum for married women
Speaker: Dr. Clara Zilberstein
November 2009 | A week with Dr Clara Zilberstein
NOVEMBER 2009 - a week with Dr Clara Zilberstein
Dr. Clara Zilberstein is a Clinical Psychologist from Los Angeles, where she was in private practice for 30 years. She was also Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Aside from private practice, she is an expert on Women's Journeys, personal and professional, as well as on the Spiritual Journey.
One of her great interests is the integration of Psychology and Judaism.
Dr. Zilberstein has consulted internationally in Jewish education, presented workshops on issues of Jewish family and parenting, is an expert on communication and finding oneself within relationship and marriage, and while residing in Jerusalem, was the host of the Radio-West Talk Show, "Staying Sane." Dr. Zilberstein has worked in the field of domestic violence and is most interested in prevention as well as education within the Jewish community. Dr. Zilberstein was privileged to live in Sydney, Australia from 1999 until 2005, where she practiced and lectured widely within the Jewish Community. She and her husband, Dr. Steve Bailey, have recently made aliya. Dr. Zilberstein currently resides in Jerusalem and Los Angeles, where she is on the Faculty of the Academy for Jewish Religion, a transdenominational School of Judaica.
3 August 2009 | The Politics of Relationships
North Shore Temple Emanuel (Chatswood)
28 Chatswood Avenue
7.45 for 8pm start – 9.30pm
The art of Intimacy (Caron Kaplan, Therapist)
Why women stay in unhealthy relationships (Agi O’Hara, Snr Lecturer, University of Sydney)
Between March and August our committee members attended seminars, conferences and lectures of interest and continued to provide community education initiatives in a variety of settings, on topics such as:-
Healthy relationships and domestic violence (Year 12 girls of a Jewish day school
Child protection issues (Year K boys and girls of a Jewish day school)
Q and A sessions in drawing room settings, with Caron Kaplan, sex therapist
The dynamics of domestic violence (WIZO presidents);
Aspects of Jewish divorce, including domestic violence, ghett refusal and agunot (Limmud Oz);
16 March 2009 | Intimacy and Judaism
The Jewish Alliance Against Family Violence in conjunction with JewishCare, hosted a forum in Sydney titled Intimacy and Judaism. 200 women turned up to listen to a panel of speakers including local speakers Nechama Dina Moss, rebbetzin of Nefesh Synagogue, and Caron Kaplan of JAAFV. Guest speaker, Sheiny New from the Melbourne Jewish Taskforce Against Family Violence addressed the issue of sexual assault in marriage.
Many important questions were raised by the audience, several of these focussed on the issue of confidentiality and mandatory reporting. It was important to clarify that mandatory reporting only relates to family violence when children are involved and deemed at risk.
There is no requirement to report family violence when there are no children involved. In this context discussions of this nature with rabbis, rebbetzins, GPs and psychologists can remain confidential.
Feedback following the event was very positive, and requests for follow-up events were made from several sources.
