‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ Gets a New Look For Mother’s Day

Lslea Newman’s iconic picture book “Heather Has Two Mommies” had a simple beginning. A woman approached Newman on the street in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she lived at the time, and said her family needed a book to which her daughter could relate. Meaning that she wanted to read a book to her daughter that featured a family with two moms.

Accepting Nominations: Landres Courage for Dignity Award

Keshet, the leading national organization working for the full equality and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Jews in Jewish life, is now accepting nominations for the 2nd annual Landres Courage for Dignity Award, expressing the commitment of Dr.Peter z”l and Renata Landres to the equal dignity of all people.

Keshet Honors Norman Spack & Cast of Transparent

Keshet honored a couple of Boston folks for their efforts on behalf of the transgender community.

Shaping Intentionally Inviting Communities: LGBTQ Inclusion in Conservative Synagogues

Over ten years later, much has changed in the Conservative Movement in the area of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) inclusion, and positive steps continue to be taken every day.

Why Jewish communities welcome 7-year-old transgender kids

As society grows more accepting of trans community, doctors seek to save teens’ lives by helping them transition at increasingly early ages.

Hebrew College graduate hired by California temple

Last month, Tom Chai Sosnik, a 13-year-old living in California, came out as transgender at his Jewish school, Tehiyah Day School. In the video of his coming out, he said, “I am no longer Mia. I never really was. And now I finally stand before you in my true and authentic gender identity, as Tom.”

FOCUS ON TRANSGENDER INCLUSION IN JEWISH COMMUNITY AWARDS

Two Boston-based individuals—a doctor and a filmmaker, both leaders in the movement towards transgender inclusion—are being honored at Keshet‘s annual awards dinner on April 30.

‘Safe Spaces’ For Orthodox LGBTQ Students Spreads On Campus

Program that began at YU gets new grant and intercampus launch.

British, Jewish And Gay? Here’s Your Yenta.

Transgender rabbi lauds teen’s coming out as embodying Passover spirit

Pasadena's Becky Silverstein, an out trans rabbi, says Tom Chai Sosnik, 13, took the same kind of risk Israelites took when leaving Egypt.

An Open Letter from a Transgender Rabbi to Trans Teens Everywhere

Last week the story of Tom Chai Sosnik, a teenager who came out as transgender at Tehiyah Day School, his Jewish day school, made headlines. Inspired by Tom’s courage, and the need to support transgender and gender-expansive teenagers everywhere, Rabbi Becky Silverstein penned the open letter below to Tom and teenagers like him, which Jewish LGBT rights advocacy group Keshet proudly shared on Transgender Day of Visibility.

Philly day school bathroom seen as symbol of transgender inclusion

At most Jewish day schools, naming honors tend to be attached to grand spaces — auditoriums, prayer spaces, gymnasiums and the like. But at the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, a pluralistic day school in suburban Philadelphia, Patrick Rock’s name will forever be associated with what might seem to be a rather ordinary space: a bathroom.

Purim’s Power: Despite the Consequences –The Jewish Push for LGBT Rights, Part 3

This Purim, I’m reminded of the power of coming out and speaking out, despite the consequences.

Queer Jewish Women Need to Create Their Own Spaces

I disagree with the idea that we need Jewish organizations to open the door to us.
We need to open our own doors.

Gender blender: Keshet’s Gender Schmear celebrates Purim

On February 26, Keshet, the San Francisco nonprofit that works for the full equality and inclusion of LGBT Jews in Jewish life, their friends, families, and allies, invites the community to attend Gender Shmear, Keshet's annual Purim celebration.

Maura Pfefferman and the Changing Face of Our Jewish Community

12 years ago, I was invited to the Jewish federations' national Young Leadership Division (YLD) conference to participate in a session called "Alternative Faces of Judaism." I was representing Keshet, the LGBT Jewish inclusion organization I lead, and I opened my remarks with what I thought was a witty observation: "I did my best to find an alternative face to put on before leaving my hotel room this morning."

Idit Klein honored at Chai in the Hub

Idit Klein, Executive Director of Keshet, was honored as one of 18 leaders in the Jewish community at at Chai in the Hub on Saturday, January 31.

2015’s Top Ten Social Justice Haggadahs & Supplements

“Turn and turn it, for everything is within it,” is a Talmudic saying that is ever-true about the annual crop of social justice-themed haggadot, supplements, and inserts for your Pesach seder. (See our picks from 2014 too.) This year’s newcomers include JFREJ’s #BlackLivesMatter haggadah, one for a socially responsible cocoa, Bend the Arc’s 50th anniversary of Selma, and another about the Palestinian Nakba.

Whole Self Movement

Brook Wilensky-Lanford interviews Rabbi Becky Silverstein: the transgender rabbi on religious rituals, gender fluidity, and the language of LGBTQ inclusion.

Keshet hosts first-ever LGBT awards event

The Bay Area's LGBT Jewish community will honor three outstanding leaders for their contributions to the community at the inaugural Glimmer gala this weekend.