NSW Rabbinic Council to establish Jewish registry
RABBI Yoram Ulman was elected the president of the Rabbinic Council of NSW (RCNSW) last week, and he has some big plans for the organisation.
RABBI Yoram Ulman was elected the president of the Rabbinic Council of NSW (RCNSW) last week, and he has some big plans for the organisation.
The new president told his colleagues that he wants to establish a central marriage, circumcision and baby-naming registry to enable rabbis to easily determine who is Jewish.
The registry, which will be similar to those established in South Africa and Israel, will be established in cooperation with the Sydney Beth Din and the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia.
Currently when a couple asks a rabbi to be married, the onus is on each individual rabbi to conduct research to assure that the couple is Jewish.
However, with the introduction of the registry, the responsibility will fall on the Sydney Beth Din.
Although Rabbi Ulman was unavailable for comment, Rabbi Chaim Ingram, who was re-elected as RCNSW honorary secretary, said this is a great development for the entire community.
“We are very excited about it and we are going to pursue this,” Rabbi Ingram said. “This will benefit the entire community because it will centralise everything and it will make sure there are no mistakes that fall through the net.
“Occasionally there are heart-braking cases when we discover that someone is not Jewish and this will all be able to be investigated and sorted out in good time with the introduction of the registry.”
The executive of the RCNSW was also elected at the annual general meeting on Tuesday.
Rabbi Eli Feldman was elected vice-president, Rabbi Paul Lewin was elected as honorary treasurer and Rabbi Yossi Feldman will stay on the executive as the immediate past president.
“If I can provide a good service to the community and do something positive then it will be great,” Rabbi Eli Feldman said. “I just want to help the Jewish community.”
JOSHUA LEVI
Rabbi Yoram Ulman (left) has been elected the new president of the Rabbinic Council of NSW. He is pictured with RCNSW honorary treasurer Rabbi Paul Lewin.
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