The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies is doing everything within its power to enable the Sydney Jewish community to practice its religious activities in a COVID-safe way.

J-Wire Newsdesk
August 31, 2021

CEO of The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies Darren Bark said: “Importantly, we have already had success with allowing weddings to take place from 3 September. This success followed the special exemption we obtained for the live streaming of religious events.

Since July we have been going through a detailed exemption process to allow for shofar blowing to take place. This involves multiple applications for multiple locations.

We are grateful to be working with rabbis, Synagogue leadership, the Rabbinical Council, our community and other faith groups.

We are continuing to make representations to the NSW government to ensure that religious practices are prioritised as restrictions get lifted.

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies is meeting with the most senior Health decision-makers this week to progress these discussions.

In addition, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has formed a coalition with other like-minded religious groups to progress the restoration of religious activities.

As COVID-19 cases in Greater Sydney continue to rise, the community is reminded to comply with all Public Health Orders in place.

In a joint statement from the Board and security group CSG, they clarified that CSG would need three days to prepare for the necessary operation to supply suitable security for outdoor shofar-blowing.

J-Wire understands that NSW Health is not prepared to give its decision on the application for granting permission for blowing a shofar until closer to the time.