Keshet Statement on Executive Order Harming Trans Youth

January 29, 2025

By Keshet

Boston, MA, January 29, 2025 — We are horrified by the Administration’s cruel executive order last night seeking to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. This assault on trans and nonbinary youth — alongside attacks on immigrants and other marginalized communities — is profoundly hateful and dangerous. While many of the policies the President is promoting will not be enforceable, we know the words themselves harm LGBTQ+ youth and their families.

Let us be clear: it is vicious actions like this executive order that can jeopardize lives, even if their legal impact remains limited. These attacks seek to promote bigotry and legalize discrimination. As people who come from a tradition that sees each one of us as created in the divine image, we recognize these actions as defaming God and betraying the preciousness of life; we see these actions as motivated by people in power seeking to create a world in their narrow image — certainty not God’s.

The pace of threatening executive orders issued by this Administration has been and will remain dizzying. But we know this deluge is, first and foremost, a tactic that is designed to shock, confuse, and terrify. Executive orders cannot override the Constitution or become federal or state laws. To repeat: these executive orders are not law. Our LGBTQ+ legal advocacy partners are already filing lawsuits, as they have against state laws restricting or banning life-saving medical care for trans people. We implore that our elected officials in Congress and state governments use all the powers at their disposal to fight back.

We certainly will. Keshet remains unwaveringly committed to the safety and well-being of trans and nonbinary youth and their families, to a vision of a world where we all are embraced for who we are and all of us can access the healthcare we need. We urge our Jewish community leaders and institutions to send a clear message to trans youth and their families: you are beautiful and essential. Within the sanctuary of our Jewish community, you can thrive and live in safety and dignity. And we will never stop fighting for you.

ABOUT KESHET

Keshet envisions a world in which all LGBTQ+ Jews and our families can live with full equality, justice, and dignity. By strengthening Jewish communities and equipping Jewish organizations with the skills and knowledge they need to make all LGBTQ+ Jews feel welcome, we work to ensure the full equality of all LGBTQ+ Jews and our families in Jewish life. We also create spaces in which all queer Jewish youth feel seen and valued and advance LGBTQ+ rights nationwide. Visit keshetonline.org to join us.

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