An Australian panel has ruled that a dating service catering exclusively to Jews is legal.
After the tribunal ruled in June that the service, run by a Melbourne woman, violated the country’s laws that prevent discrimination based on such factors as ethnicity or religion, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella organization for Australia Jews, submitted an affidavit on her behalf.
The council’s affidavit emphasized the size and structure of Australian Jewry and the difficulties that members of Australia’s Jewish community have in meeting potential Jewish partners.
Approximately 100,000 Jews live in Australia.
The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal said it had received enough information that there was a “clear need in the community for a service that this agency would provide.”
The deputy president of the tribunal, Cate McKenzie, stressed that the tribunal had taken into account the need of religious Jews to marry Jewish partners.
The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal exemption will last for three years.
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