Alex Fein Explained

Alex Fein is a community activist, writer and businesswoman, living in Melbourne, Australia. Since 2009, she has been a key player in Australian Jewish media.[1] Her activism utilises multimedia tools, focusing on social justice, good epistemic practice in biomedical research and policy development, transparency, Orthodox Judaism and feminism.

New media activism

Fein was an early adopter of various online channels in organising for social justice.[2] Her blog, The Sensible Jew,[3] was at the forefront of a campaign against homophobia in Australia's Jewish community, and she has since been an outspoken proponent of LGBTQI inclusion in organised Jewish communal life.[4]

In 2013, she took over the editorship of online Jewish affairs magazine, Galus Australis.[5] Here and elsewhere, Fein campaigned against the culture of cover up that emerged from the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. Fein contended that there was a rabbinic culture inimical to transparency and the rule of law.[6] Fein was also responsible for 'outing' federal politician, Michael Danby, who in the 2013 Federal Elections produced separate 'how to vote' cards which Fein contended pandered to Haredi prejudices.[7]

Alex Fein is a founder of #ausPol Daily, initially positioned as "a non-partisan hub and resource dedicated to getting people & parties who believe in compassionate, evidence-based government elected".[8]

Feminism and Orthodox Judaism

The worldwide push to redress systemic discrimination against women in Orthodox Judaism became central to Fein's activism after her marriage to an Orthodox Rabbi in 2011. A long time feminist,[9] she is an advocate of a systems approach to the religious community's pathologies, identifying the Haredi hegemony over the rabbinate and their attitudes towards sex and sexuality as common factors linking such issues as homophobia, the cover up of sexual abuse, and violence against women (including igun/gett refusal). She contends that there is space within authentic Orthodoxy for reconciling feminism and the rights of the individual.[10] She is a firm believer in the need for Orthodox women to have the skills and capacities to lead their congregations.[11]

Interfaith work

In 2015 Fein, together with Bracha Rafael established an interfaith publication called, The Colony.[12] It formed a launchpad for Fein's activism against Islamophobia.[13]

Macroscope

Fein founded Macroscope, a communications and product development company specialising in biomedical research counter-disinformation.[14]

Judy Wilyman incident

See main article: Judy Wilyman. Following The University of Wollongong's conferring a PhD on Judy Wilyman for a thesis skeptical of vaccination, Fein opened a change.org petition calling on the Department of Education and Training to take disciplinary action against the university.[15] The petition was unsuccessful.[16]

Controversies

Fein has strongly condemned what she perceives as a corrupted organisational and philanthropic culture in Jewish Australia.[17] Her own philanthropic activity has been unconventional, and her opposition to establishment practices has been criticised as simplistic and naive. In one article, a conservative community activist whom she had criticised[18] accused her of an 'evidence-light prosecutorial indictment of the community.'[19] Fein responded to this criticism by saying that it was this very style of argument that was driving away an entire generation of young Jews.[20]

These debates have been recorded and analysed in the wider Australian media[21] [22] and in scholarly work conducted by Monash University[23]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Australia & Israel: A Diasporic, Cultural and Political Relationship. Shahar. Burla. Dashiel. Lawrence. 1 September 2015. Sussex Academic Press. 9781782842231.
  2. Web site: A Sensible Jew joins the AICE. 21 January 2010. Jwire.com.au. 14 December 2017.
  3. News: Blog takes on the 'swill' who speak for Jews. June 7, 2009. Tom. Hyland. The Age. August 28, 2022.
  4. PM. ABC. Radio National. Jewish leaders accused of ignoring homophobia. 16 September 2009. It's not enough to say that homophobia is problematic. I think all people of good faith would like to see concrete action.. 14 December 2017. Alison. Caldwell.
  5. Web site: Alex Fein - Galus Australis - Jewish Life in Australia. Galusaustralis.com. 14 December 2017.
  6. Web site: Cognate Socialist Dystopia: THESE ARE ALEX FEIN AND BRACHA RAFAEL. Geoff. Seidner. 18 February 2015. Cognatesocialistdystopia.blogspot.com.au. 14 December 2017.
  7. Web site: Labor MP creates second how-to-vote card 'to avoid upsetting Jewish voters'. Oliver. Milman. 28 August 2013. 14 December 2017. Theguardian.com.
  8. Web site: About - #auspol Daily. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20200803075233/https://auspoldaily.com/about. August 3, 2020.
    1. auspol Daily
    . August 28, 2022.
  9. Web site: Israeli activist feminist Hamutal Gouri - updated from The Gender Agenda. www.stitcher.com. 14 December 2017.
  10. Web site: Immersion. 10 February 2016. Radio National. 14 December 2017.
  11. Web site: Parshat Korach. Shira.org. 14 December 2017.
  12. Web site: Account Suspended. www.thecolony.com.au. 14 December 2017.
  13. Web site: Australian Muslims find support in the Jewish community - Right Now. 11 April 2016. Rightnow.org. 14 December 2017.
  14. Web site: Alex Fein's schedule for Limmudoz. Limmudoz2016.sched.com. 14 December 2017.
  15. Web site: 'Travesty': petition against UOW anti-vaccine thesis. GLEN. HUMPHRIES. 17 January 2016. Illawarramercury.com.au. 14 December 2017.
  16. Web site: Petition · Simon Birmingham: Stop the University of Wollongong's Spre…. 5 January 2022. 7 January 2020. https://archive.today/20200107040000/https://www.change.org/p/simon-birmingham-stop-the-university-of-wollongong-s-spread-of-disease-and-death-via-anti-vaccination-phd. bot: unknown.
  17. Web site: Alex Fein, Author at Jewish Women of Words. Jewish Women of Words. 14 December 2017. 28 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180328094450/http://jewishwomenofwords.com.au/author/alex-fein/. dead.
  18. News: There are as many Jewish opinions as there are Jews. Dvir. Abramovich. 30 August 2009. 14 December 2017. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  19. Web site: What sensible Jew? - The Australian Jewish News. 4 September 2009. Jewishtimes.net.au. 14 December 2017.
  20. Web site: Oh Dvir! Now It's Official - The Sensible Jew. Sensiblejew.com. 14 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518150701/http://sensiblejew.com/2009/12/oh-dvir-now-its-official/. 18 May 2017. dead.
  21. News: The return of the Sensible Jew. Tom. Hyland. 23 August 2009. 14 December 2017. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  22. News: Teal activist in bitter row with Jewish leaders. The Australian. John. Ferguson. August 25, 2022. August 28, 2022. One of the teal movement's most senior strategists has savaged key Jewish community figures for years and was locked in a toxic legal and social media dispute with a former colleague that included an intervention order being taken out against her..
  23. Web site: Rewriting the Rules of Engagement: new Australian Jewish connections with Israel - +61J. 3 January 2017. Plus61j.net. 14 December 2017.

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