New roof body for Australian shuls
A NEW roof body for shuls around Australia, called the Council of Orthodox Synagogues of Australia, has been established.
PETER KOHN
A NATIONAL system of dinei Torah (Jewish courts) and liaising over kashrut issues are two areas that the newly launched Council of Orthodox Synagogues of Australia (COSA) is hoping to explore.
The roof body for shuls across the country was established in Sydney earlier this month, timed to coincide with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s (ECAJ) annual conference.
A national body for Australia’s Orthodox shuls has been in ferment for a number of years, according to COSA’s founder and inaugural president, Romy Leibler.
Ros Fischl, former president of The Great Synagogue, was elected vice-president, Mark Cohen from South Australia was chosen as treasurer, with Adam Levine from Perth as honorary secretary.
Leibler said COSA will partner with the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia (ORA) to improve services to the Orthodox community, and will seek representation on the ECAJ.
He said in Victoria and NSW, there is no shortage of community organisations providing services.
“Through a national body, there is scope to engender cooperation and leverage from each other’s experiences to create more efficiency and transparency in the manner in which services are provided.
“In addition, a state such as Western Australia is maturing in size and there is scope to see it develop and refine its own institutions with the assistance of a national body.
“There are also the challenges to assist the smaller communities of South Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.”
Leibler said availability of dinei Torah as an alternative to mainstream courts in commercial disputes should not be limited to Victoria, as it is now, but should be accessible nationally.
On kashrut, “one can argue that having one kashrut authority might be more beneficial. I don’t know the answer to that, but the most important thing is that one has to work with the incumbent organisations and individuals,” Leibler told The AJN.
COSA will also help Orthodox shuls draw greater funding for security, Leibler said.
Following COSA’s inaugural meeting, a cocktail reception was held at Central Synagogue, attended by a large number of rabbis, presidents and leaders of communal organisations.
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