Dear friends-

I’m writing to invite you to join me on one or both unique tours I’ve planned for May 2010:  A Jewish tour of Tunisia and a culinary tour of Israel.  I’ve attached a pdf of the brochure for the tours and you can also click here to learn more online.  Whether or not you can join me I hope you’ll pass along this email to friends or colleagues of yours who might be interested.

We’re going to Tunisia to see the country generally and learn about the 2000-year-old Jewish community.  We picked May in order to witness and participate in the unusual Lag B’Omer celebrations on the Tunisian island of Djerba.  Among the Jews of North Africa, particularly Tunisia, Lag B’Omer is a time to pay homage to prominent Jewish scholars in North African Jewish history and a festival with some 4,000 Jews from Tunisia, France, Israel and elsewhere marks the occasion.  Tunisia and its Jewish Communities: Past and Present is a six-night tour of Tunisia with general and Jewish site visits, including the unique Lag B’Omer celebrations.

If you’re a foodie, interested in an extraordinarily unique tour of Israel, or both, Sip, Savor and Celebrate: A Culinary Adventure in Israel, a four-night tour, is for you. Gil Hovav, leading Israeli culinary journalist and television personality, has planned an exclusive itinerary that’ll have your five senses working overtime. See, hear, touch, smell and, of course, taste your way through the incredible ethnic diversity of Israeli cuisine. Gil will be our guide and several BGU faculty members will join the tour to share their culinary-related research.

I’ve just come back from Tunisia and Israel doing some prep work for the tours and am incredibly excited for the adventures that await.  I hope you can join me and encourage others to do so.

With warm regards,
Gabe Most

P.S.  The hotels and domestic airline in Tunisia are holding our group reservations until mid-December.  We’ll of course be taking registrations afterwards, but it’ll be a on a space-available basis, so we’re encouraging people to sign up sooner than later.

_____________________________________
Gabe Most
Director of Programs and Special Events
American Associates
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU)
1430 Broadway, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10018
212-687-7721 x109
gmost@aabgu.org
www.aabgu.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Israel’s LGBT Tourism Conference Met with Protest
Tel Aviv, Israel, October 11th

On Sunday afternoon local Palestinian and Jewish LGBT\queer activists held a protest against promoting LGBT tourism to Israel in front of the Tel Aviv gay center. The protesters intercepted a group of travel agents and other guests attending a conference that took place inside the gay center. The conference was organized by various Israeli institutes and International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA).
While entering, the guests went by the protesters, who were wearing T-shirts that read “QUEERS VISIT PALESTINE, NOT THE OCCUPIERS & OPPRESSORS”. Some of the protesters faces were covered with dirt, contrasting the concept of a “tourist attraction,” putting themselves on display, not as shining examples of gay Israeli privilege but as wounded dirty queers, embodying the ugly side of the occupation being masked by the gay tourism initiative.
Quotes
Haneen, one of the protesters said: “These conferences are trying to create an aesthetic facade that everything is rosy, when minutes from here there is poverty, exploitation, discrimination and occupation. We are against an event that bluntly deny and hide the dirt of our realities. It is our duty as queers not to overlook the oppression of others and to engage in their struggles”.
“At a time when Israel still holds Gaza under siege, controls, segregates and divides the West Bank - there is no place for a ‘business as usual’ attitude”, added Ayala Shani.
Yosef/a Mekyton: “Portraying Tel Aviv as safe and tolerant for LGBTQ people is done also by silencing the daily violence we experience in this city and strive to oppose”.

   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 7, 2009

  Contact: Jay Michaelson:jay@nehirim.org • www.nehirim.org

Statement of Leaders of LGBT Jewish Synagogues & Organizations
in Response to the Attack on the LGBT Youth Center in Tel Aviv on August 1, 2009

On behalf of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) synagogues and Jewish organizations, we wish to express our deep sadness, outrage, and commitment in the wake of the horrible attack on the “Bar No’ar” LGBT youth drop-in center last week in Tel Aviv.

We are first and foremost saddened by this terrible attack on innocent young people, in a place devoted to their safety and security.  Our prayers are with the families of Nir Katz z”l, 26, and Liz Trobishi z”l, 16, as well as with the many now recovering from their injuries in Israeli hospitals.  This pigu’a — this terrorist attack — was against all of us, Jewish and non-Jewish, straight and gay, who cherish the values of diversity, democracy, and pluralism.  But we in the LGBT Jewish community feel this pain especially, for we know that it was an attack on us specifically as well, and that it could have been any of our organizations, any of our members, supporters, or loved ones, who were targeted.

We are also outraged.  While we do not yet know the identity or motivations behind this attack, we do know that it occurred in the context of months — indeed, years — of vitriolic, incendiary rhetoric directed against the LGBT community in Israel.  Tragically, some of the harshest words against us were spoken by some of our Jewish spiritual leaders.  Whether these words motivated a hate crime, or whether they motivated an act of self-hatred or personal hatred, we know from experience that racist, sexist, or homophobic speech begets racist, sexist, or homophobic violence.  We therefore condemn not only the attack itself but also the climate of hatred that some political and religious leaders helped create. 

Yet we are also committed: committed to a just society, to dialogue with those with whom we disagree, and to the right of everyone to act in the image of God and love one another.  We will not stop or slow our advocacy for full legal equality, in the United States and Israel, for LGBT people.  We will not be deterred from building support
groups and safe spaces, congregations and community centers, social programs and spiritual havens, of the very type that was attacked last week.  And most of all, we will not allow this attack to strip us of our humanity, and our capacity to love.  We know that it is love that matters, not the gender or sex of one’s beloved, and we know that our tradition teaches us the innate humanity of every person, a Divine quality most visible in our capacity to love.

At this time of mourning, we affirm all of these — our sadness, our outrage, and our commitment — and stand with Israel’s people and its government as it works to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice.  The blood of the victims cries out from the Earth, mixes with the salt of our tears, and inspires us to pursue justice, seek the holy, and walk in the pathways of love.

Signed,

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, New York, NY
Jay Michaelson, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture & Spirituality
Rabbi Joshua Lesser, Congregation Bet Haverim
Rabbi Lisa Edwards, Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim, Los Angeles, CA
Congregation Etz Chaim, Wilton Manors, FL
Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood, CA
Rabbi Lawrence Edwards, Congregation Or Chadash, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Camille Shira Angel, Congregation Shaar Zahav, San Francisco, CA
Joel Kushner, Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation, Hebrew Union      College     Jewish Institute of Religion
Gregg Drinkwater, Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity
Seth Krosner, J*Pride of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Asher Gellis, JQ International
JQYouth
Keshet
Nicole Nussbaum, Kulanu, Toronto, Ontario
LGBT Alliance of the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay and the LGBT Alliance of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the     Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties.
Rebecca Wax, The Rainbow Center, Atlanta, GA
Rabbi Benay Lappe, SVARA, Chicago, IL
Howard Solomon, World Congress of GLBT Jews

CONTACT:        Jay Michaelson, Executive Director
            917.974.9815
            jay@nehirim.org

To donate to Israeli gay youth organizations, please visit http://www.jewishmosaic.org/page/load_page/172

Judaism & Homophobia: In Memory of Nir Katz & Liz Trobishi- זכרונם לברכם

This is an email from Nehirim.  It covers it all very well so rather than rewrite all the info, here’s a good solid update on what’s happening:

Shalom Nehirim -

As I’m sure all of you know by now, our community was again the victim of a violent attack, again in Israel, and again in the context of incendiary rhetoric and expressions of intolerance, particularly from religious leaders.

So, how are you responding? How are you feeling? What are you thinking?

Personally, I hope that you are finding time and space in your heart to commemorate this tragedy in your home communities — perhaps by reciting Tehilim, perhaps by attending a vigil or memorial service, or perhaps simply by connecting with your friends and family.

Now is also a crucial time to reconnect with your Nehirim community. I want to encourage you to reach out, either to Nehirim staff or faculty, or to friends or acquaintances you made at a Nehirim retreat. There’s no need to be dramatic; just check in — just say hello. When we are targeted by hate, the best response is more love, which is the source of strength and of healing.

In addition, Nehirim is cosponsoring a New York community-wide vigil taking place tomorrow (Wednesday) night.nbsp; Here is the information for that vigil:

Community-Wide Prayer Vigil for the Victims of the Attack on Tel Aviv Gay Youth

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, 57 Bethune Street, New York, NY

Last Saturday night, an unknown assailant opened fire on a meeting of a gay and lesbian youth group in Tel Aviv, killing three people and injuring fifteen. This Wednesday, New York responds. Please join us for a community-wide memorial service as we stand in solidarity with the victims of this vicious attack and demand equality for LGBT people everywhere. Speakers include Congressman Jerrold Nadler, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Nehirim director Jay Michaelson, and others. The service will also include the traditional reading of tehillim (psalms) and a candlelight vigil. Sponsors (still in formation) include Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the New Israel Fund, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture & Spirituality, JQYouth, the JCC in Manhattan, and Keshet.

—

Other vigils have taken place around the country, with Nehirim’s involvement.;

Tomorrow night, in Boston, please join the Greater Boston Jewish Community tomorrow -  Wednesday, August 5th  - as we mourn for the victims, pray for the injured, and express our outrage.
 
We will gather at Temple Israel of Boston, 77 Longwood Avenue (on the steps of the Riverway)
Wednesday, August 5, 6:30 pm, rain or or shine
For updates: www.keshetonline.org.

—

Last night, vigils took place in Washington, D.C., co-coordinated by Nehirim’s Engagement Officer, Zvi Bellin, and in San Francisco, by our partners at the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. Here are media reports:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249275684243&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1105154.html

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/04/1007018/dc-san-francisco-hold-vigils-to-mourn-israelis-lgbt-kilings

http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=26596

More events are also scheduled for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Please join us at CBST or in Boston tomorrow night — we look forward to having a strong Nehirim contingent at each event.

In the meantime, our lives go on. At Nehirim, Queer Shabbaton registration is now open, and you can take advantage of early bird registration by clicking here. In addition, we’ve got a nice minyan of people for our informal East Coast camping trip, taking place August 14-16. Details are below, and the signup is on Facebook. Please RSVP right away if you’d like to come, as we’ll be buying food soon. Finally, Nehirim is cosponsoring Easton Mountain’s “Gay Spirit Camp” program August 17-23, and those under 30 can attend for only $100 for the entire week; see below for details. (Please also note that the remainder of this email was composed prior to Saturday night’s events.)

I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow night at CBST, and, of course, all our prayers are with the injured — may they have a speedy recovery.

Jay Michaelson
Executive Director

2 killed in Tel Aviv shooting
GLBT activist says shooting that killed 2, wounded 10 at gay community meeting place in central Tel Aviv was ‘deliberate act against gay community’

From JQYouth in New York:
We are saddened to report that yesterday a lone gunman entered a support group for gay youth in Tel-Aviv and opened fire, killing 3 people and injuring more than a dozen more, most of whom were in their teens, closeted, and seeking support. In light of this tragic event, Mt. Sinai Jewish Center (an Orthodox Synagogue in Washington Heights) will be reciting Tehillim tomorrow (Monday) for those who were killed or hurt in the attack following their Mincha/Ma’ariv services. They are located at:

Mount Sinai Jewish Center
135 Bennett Avenue
New York, NY 10040

Tehillim will take place tomorrow, Monday August 2nd, at 8:30pm

http://www.mtsinaishul.com/

As a support group for gay Jewish youth, it is incredibly important that members of JQYouth show solidarity with the victims of this vicious attack and their families and friends and try to attend this event. It could have just as easily been JQY that was attacked, and if we don’t speak out against this incident, next time it very well may be! We are also working on developing an additional community wide tehillim recital and rally in support of gay Jewish support groups later this week, and will send out the details for that event as soon as we have them.

Hopefully in the wake of this tragedy all Jews, straight and gay, will come together to combat the homophobia responsible for such senseless violence.

Much Love,
-Erez

The Christian Science Monitor is reporting a rise in Gay tourism in Israel, and its repercussions for the economy and religious tourism in the holy land.

Rise in gay tourism stirs unease in Israel

So-called ‘pink dollars’ are flowing into the economy, but may deter traditional pilgrims.

By Danna Harman | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the August 13, 2008 edition

Tel Aviv - There is something incongruous about the stretch of beach just under the Hilton Hotel’s high perch. For there, below the bluff, are two so-called “specialty beaches.” (more…)