SYDNEY, June 17 (JTA) — An Australian government agency has struck a blow against a Jewish dating service. The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in the state of Victoria has informed Ann Ivamy-Phillips that her plan to set up an agency that would deal only with Jewish clients would be considered a violation of the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The president of the tribunal said Ivamy-Phillips had failed “to show there is a strong social need or that the exemption would redress a cultural disadvantage.” Ivamy-Phillips had told the tribunal that it was a commandment in the Torah for Jews to marry other Jews and that the aim of her agency would be to preserve Jewish culture. The president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Nina Bassat, said in an interview that “it is difficult to see what group of people would have been disadvantaged by the operation of such an agency.” Bassat said “the only aim of the agency seemed to be to increase the possibilities of Jewish people who sought to meet other Jewish people.” Approximately 45 percent of Australia’s Jews live in Victoria.
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