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Op-Ed: Jewish organizations have made great strides in gay inclusion—but must do more

BOSTON (JTA) — At the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, 50 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Jews and their allies gathered in a small room on the ninth floor of the conference hotel. The event was not part of the official GA program,…

Arts & Culture Student, Jewish School Star in Documentary on Jewish Lesbian

In the poignant opening frames of the new film “Hineini,” Shulamit Izen thumbs through stacks of books at her local library, searching for an answer to the following question: “Is it possible to be Jewish and a lesbian?” In the hourlong documentary, filmmaker Irena Fayngold looks back at Izen’s quest…

A journey of many paths: Stories of LGBT religious lives in Colorado

Many faithful people don’t need to think twice about how spirituality plays out in their everyday lives and relationships — but for LGBT people, faith and life are deeply intertwined when we’re forced to reflect and reconcile a religious community and LGBT community that don’t see eye- to-eye. We hear about…

A Not-So-Super Hero?

PJ Library is a national organization that sends free, Jewish-themed books to families around the country. Each month a new book is delivered. This year, “The Purim Superhero” (link below) was offered for free by request only. While some members of the Jewish community hailed this decision, many others thought…

Battle over Purim children’s book with two dads

The line between respecting diverse religious beliefs and violating the rights and dignity of gays and lesbians is at the center of a debate between gay advocates and the PJ Library over a children’s picture book featuring a family with two fathers. “The Purim Superhero,” by Elisabeth Kushner, was published…

Idit Klein, Founder of Keshet

Bio: Idit Klein has been an activist for equality and social justice for the past 20 years. Since 2001, she has served as Executive Director of Keshet. In Massachusetts, Idit helped mobilize Massachusetts rabbis and synagogue members to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. She also served…

For LGBTQ Families, Support and Friendship

Fourteen years ago, when Nancy Smith’s son was a senior in high school, he told his parents he was gay. “It was a surprise to us. It wasn’t something we were suspecting,” says Smith. “We both had our own reactions and our own processes. This was years ago. Even though…

LGBT Leaders Here Mixing Sorrow With Action

Just hours after the shooting rampage at an Orlando gay nightclub that left 49 dead and 53 injured, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), the oldest and largest LGBT congregation in New York, joined a vigil in the West Village with hundreds of others to mourn the…

FOR LGBT ORTHODOX JEWS, GROWTH OF SOCIAL MEDIA CREATES A SAFE SPACE ONLINE

Growing up in an ultra-Orthodox family in Brooklyn in the 1970s, Moshe struggled with his homosexuality. “I went to yeshiva and there were no gay characters on television,” said Moshe, who asked that we not use his real name. There was no discussion of gay issues at the yeshiva, either,…

Moses Has Two Mommies

Tonight is the first night of Passover, when Jews around the world gather to celebrate freedom from slavery in Egypt, under the leadership of a man who had two mommies. Moses and his sister Miriam, the story in Exodus tells us, were born to a Hebrew woman. The Egyptian pharaoh,…

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