Progressive Jews say 'sorry' to first Australians

Jewish News June 6, 2012

In its opening salvo, a newly established advocacy centre set up by Australia's Progressive Judaism Movement has sent a formal apology to Aborigines on the occasion of National Sorry Day.

The statement by the Jewish Religious Action and Advocacy Centre (JRAAC) acknowledged injustices suffered by Australia's indigenous peoples, in particular those who were forcibly removed from their families in the era of the so-called stolen -generations.

Union for Progressive Judaism (UPJ) executive director Steve Denenberg told The AJN the statement was sent to the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples last week, to mark May 26, which has become known as National Sorry Day.

The statement reiterated former prime minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations in 2008 for what he described as "the indignity and degradation ... inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture".

The JRAAC statement said the organisation "apologises to Australia's indigenous people ...

There have been Jews in Australia since the first European settlers arrived. We say sorry for what we, as non-indigenous Australians, have done to devalue and destroy indigenous culture and the lives of indigenous people.

"We call on the Australian government to collaborate with Aboriginal elders and leaders to find solutions for the challenges that indigenous Australians face. The Jewish Progressive community will strive to right the wrongs of the past and to make the future better for all Australians."

National Sorry Day, which is also known as Sorry Day - National Day of Healing, was first commemorated on May 26, 1998, a year after the tabling in Parliament of a landmark report about the removal of indigenous Australian children from their families.

JRAAC was formally launched in Melbourne last week at an event addressed by UPJ president David Robinson, and via internet link by US Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Centre of Reform Judaism, and Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Centre, which is linked to Israel's Progressive movement.