Australia Loses Professor of Semitic Studies
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A Publication of the Australian Council of Christians and Jews SCENECSCENE h r i s t i a n a n d J e w i s h NOV 2010 NUMBER 82 Australia loses professor of Semitic Studies Library, now houses the archives of Alan Crown, emeritus Professor in over eighty individuals and several Semitic Studies at Sydney University key Jewish organisations including and a world renowned figure in Samar- the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies itan and Dead Sea Scrolls Studies, has and the Australian Zionist Federa- died in Sydney on 2nd November, 2010. tion. Prof. Crown was instrumen- He was 78. tal in introducing Yiddish at the Prof. Crown was a distinguished schol- University. ar and talented teacher. While Samari- He has written, edited, translated or tan Studies were his speciality, he pub- contributed to twenty-five books, lished books and articles ranging from and at least 115 articles: truly an the Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical texts extraordinary life of extraordinary to Jewish and Christian theology, Aus- achievements. tralian Zionism, Yiddish language and Professor Crown had many friends culture, Jewish education, and Australi- who will mourn his loss deeply. He an Jewry, and published translations is survived by his wife Sadie for from Hebrew. Prof. Crown was also whom he had a deep devotion. He involved in interfaith activities, and was acted as a mentor for many who a founder member of the NSW Coun- would seek his advice. While he cil of Christians and Jews. maintained a personal commitment Alan Crown was born on 28th January to his students, sometimes ringing 1932 in Leeds, England and gained a up in the middle of the night when traditional Jewish education. Both par- he had a particularly good idea, his ents were teachers, and Jewish educa- standards of scholarship were high tion became a key focus in his life. At and he could be severe when work Leeds University his B.A. was in He- Professor Alan Crown AM was not up to standard. brew, Geography and History, and he He inspired his students, of whom obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Prof. Crown was recognised inter- I was one, to give of their best. Education in 1955. From 1955-1957 he nationally when he was appointed People found him approachable, was a sergeant instructor in the Royal acting President (1987-88) of the his office being a hive of industry. Army Educational Corps, and was a Oxford Centre for Post Graduate Alan Crown was my boss for twen- schoolmaster at Bramley County Sec- Hebrew Studies. In 1988 was ap- ty seven years, ever challenging me ondary School, Leeds from 1957-1959. pointed administrator of the Inter- to ―go that extra mile.‖ The life he Encouraged by Professor John Bow- national Qumran (Dead Sea lived has made the world a better man, one of his teachers in Leeds, he Scrolls) Project for the Oxford place. gained his MA (with distinction) at Centre. Leeds in 1958 and began doctoral stud- A Jewish college at the University Marianne Dacy ies. of Sydney was a dream realised by Alan obtained a teaching post at Prof. Crown when a substantial Mount Scopus College, Melbourne, endowment was left for that pur- This issue: and emigrated to Australia with his pose. Mandelbaum House opened wife Sadie and two daughters, remain- in 1996. Crown was College Chair- Around the Traps, page two ing in Melbourne from 1959-1962. In man and Joint Master and also Editorial Boycotting Israel, page two 1962 he became a lecturer in Semitic founded Mandelbaum Publishing. Studies at Sydney University, working With an office at the College, Prof Abbott and Frederick Toben, page three with Associate Professor Colin McLau- Crown was warmly interested in rin. Prof. Crown became Head of De- every resident and their welfare. Feature: Jews of the Outback, page four partment in 1983 for thirteen years In 1983 he founded the Archive of and five until his retirement. The university Australian Judaica to arrest the loss awarded him a Personal Chair in Se- and deterioration of archival mate- Order Now: Christian Jewish Liturgical Calendar, 2010-2011 mitic Studies and he was appointed a rial on the history of Judaism in Member of the Order of Australia in this country. The collection, held Coming up—Advent, Chanukah, page 1995. within the University of Sydney seven scene number 82 page 2 Around the TRAPS... Sydney: Kristallnacht 2010 National Bank of Romania has decided to Auschwitz director speaks honor Miron Cristea, even after consideration Piotr Cywinski, the Director of the Auschwitz- of his anti-Semitic actions and statements,‖ Birkenau Memorial and Museum, was the key- Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of note speaker at the Australian Jewish commu- the Anti-Defamation League, said in a letter to nity‘s Kristallnacht memorial services. Piotr M. Romanian President Traian Basescu. A. Cywiński is Director of the Auschwitz- Canberra: Jews, Muslim elect- Birkenau Memorial and Museum, a post he has ed to parliament held since 2006. Between 1982-1993 Dr Three Jews - and the first Muslim ever - were Cywiński resided in Switzerland and France as elected to Australia‘s federal parliament last a result of his father's, Bohdan Cywiński, politi- August. Michael Danby, Mark Dreyfus and cal exile. He has created a website for Jewish Joshua Frydenberg — all from Melbourne — culture and history in Poland: "Diapozytyw.pl". emerged victorious in the federal elections. Jerusalem: Kosher? Peacocks? Frydenberg, a former adviser to John Howard, became the first Jewish Liberal representative in Canberra since Sen. Peter Baume in 1991. The election also saw the first Muslim ever to be elected to Parliament: Ed Husic won the seat of Chifley in western Sydney for the ALP. Melbourne: CCJ gives thanks NSW Council of Christians and Jews present- Two members were honoured by Victorian ed the annual Kristallnacht commemoration CCJ recently. They are the Rev. Fr Paul Duffy on 5 November in Martin Place. Kristallnacht, SJ and Dr Jack Opie, both of whom retired at the ‗Night of Broken Glass‘, was the night in the 2010 Annual General Meeting. Fr Duffy 1938 during which synagogues in Germany served on the executive of the CCJ Victoria for and Austria were burned to the ground. ‗The over 11 years. Dr Opie was, according to the A restaurant in Jerusalem (named ‗Eucalyptus‘) Night of Broken Glass‘ is generally recognised CCJ, coerced into taking on the position of has hosted an extraordinary dinner to preserve as the beginning of the Holocaust. The service Honorary Treasurer of the Council in 1996. the ancient kosher food traditions. The six- was conducted by Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, Knowing little about interfaith dialogue then, page menu included treats such as fried locust, aided by the Emmanuel Choir and Fay Suss- Jack‘s insights today have informed his late pigeon broth and cow's udder in saffron. Chef man‘s Klezmer Connection, (pictured). career as a dramatist. With Fr Paul Duffy, Moshe Basson served and 18 course menu of a Romania: Jews slam bank who is writing a history of the CCJ Victoria, all vast range of weird and wonderful species - members wish both gentlemen a long and considered kosher in the Bible - including gi- Jewish groups criticized Romania‘s central enjoyable retirement. raffe, elk and even grasshoppers. Jewish tradi- bank after it decided not to withdraw from tion dictates the food laws must be passed on circulation a newly minted coin commemorat- Sydney: living with neighbours orally - meaning that many are in danger of ing an anti-Semitic church leader. The coin Eastwood‘s Uniting Church is to hold a semi- disappearing from the menu forever recently. honours the late patriarch Miron Cristea, who nar on ‗living with the neighbour who is differ- But at least one creature has disappeared from as prime minister from 1938 to 1939 stripped ent‘, highlighting relations with Buddhist Aus- the orthodox menu: the peacock is one of 30 about one-third of the Romanian Jews of their tralians. The seminar will host representatives birds in a 19th-century book on kosher poultry. citizenship before World War II. Cristea led of Tzu Chi, the Buddhist charitable organisa- But it's unlikely any orthodox Jew will ever eat the Romanian church from 1925 to 1939. tion, as well as members of the Uniting it again- because no one alive remembers how ―We are shocked and disappointed that the Church, on 20 November 2010. to slaughter it the kosher way. Editorial: Boycotting Israel Scene readers will recall last July that the Na- Both Judaism and Christianity affirm the message. The July statement fails to teach – tional Council of Churches of Australia responsibility of religious leadership to teach. that is, dig into our shared religious tradition (NCCA) issued a media release calling for ‗a ‗Teach your children‘ says the Torah; ‗go and apply the lessons of our history-in-faith - boycott of goods produced by Israeli settle- forth and teach all the nations‘ says the Gos- to the contemporary dilemma. The call to ments in the occupied Palestinian Territories‘. pel. Teaching is a significant theme in the boycott is an ill-considered and politically Delegates had no prior notice of the resolu- Scriptures. cheap judgement. The NCCA has demonstrat- tion, which were introduced late on Sunday 11 By contrast, the Bible is much more ambiva- ed the very opposite of the servant-leadership July 2010 and voted on early the next morning. lent about the idea of judging. Hebrew Scrip- called for by the Gospels, as the statement was The call to boycott was made without refer- tures repeatedly assert that God alone is the delivered with no regard to the NCCA‘s claim ence to the Aust.