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

My sister called me up this morning from her ultra-left enclave called Seattle.  She wanted to respond to colleagues that were supporting McCain because of their religious views on Abortion and Marriage.  Here is my response.  It got a good response, so I figured I’d post it here as well.  Perhaps in these last hours before the election this may help some people with their voting decision.

To live a religious life in this country requires that we vote along with our beliefs.  But our elections aren’t that clean.  Our politicians don’t represent a single moral standard through all of the relevant issues.  What they represent is a model of thinking that we choose to vote for, an approach to creating and managing public policy.  The question before us is whether a single answer on a single issue represents hope for our country forming morally acceptable policies.  Does John McCain represent the kind of thinking that will encourage peace among our citizenship, renewed respect for faith in our country, and a moral fortitude that leaves room for all people to practice their beliefs, respect each other’s decisions, and debate these difficult issues?

(more…)

There is not really much news here, but we thought this article was nice.  Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta got some coverage in Southern Voice, Atlanata’s LGBTQ Magazine, for its upcoming high holiday services. 

Shana Tova everyone!

If you’re in Atlanta for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, perhaps you’ll visit…

Erev Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 29 — 8 p.m.

Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 30 — 10 a.m.

Rosh Hashanah, second day, Oct. 1— 10 a.m.

Kol Nidre, Oct. 8 — 8 p.m.

Yom Kippur, Oct. 9 —10 a.m.



While High Holy Day services at Congregation Bet Haverim are free to
attend, the congregation asks visitors and members to RSVP to cbhevents@gmail.com so leaders can plan accordingly.

See the article here.

Atlanta, Gay, Shuls, High Holidays, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur

The Jewish Daily Forward published an article two weeks ago about the Conservative Movement’s new Heksher Tzedek, a new kashrut initiative that adds labor and environmental standards to traditional kashrut standards.  The article portrays this new initiative as an antidote to the divisive debate on same-sex ordination that the movement went through in 2006. 

While I can understand how this new kashrut standard can be unifying (it’s the first thing in a long time that I’ve really admired from the Conservative Movement), it is bizzarre to say, as the author does,

“The most striking element of the support has been that it has come from both sides of the earlier debate about sexuality. Rabbi Loel Weiss of Temple Beth Am in Randolph, Mass., had opposed the liberalization of the movement’s strictures on homosexuality, but he has spoken out in favor of the new movement.” 

Really?  It’s striking that feelings about homosexuality in the Jewish world and halakha have no relationship to feelings on environmentalism and human rights?

But this connection was not invented by the author.  Apparently lots of people see the link.

“Shafran went on in the article to accuse the Conservative movement of
using Hekhsher Tzedek as “a bald attempt to portray itself as something
other than dwindling and desperate,” citing the recent divisions over
sexuality issues.”

Anyway, read the article for yourself…

Unique program features Rabbi Dawn Rose, Professor David Brodsky; takes place May 30-June 1, 2008

New York, NY, May 6, 2008. Nehirim, a national organization that provides spiritual and cultural community for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) Jews, partners, and allies, will host over 120 GLBT Jews for a unique spiritual weekend retreat, to be held May 30-June 1, 2008.

Nehirim’s executive director, Jay Michaelson, an outspoken advocate for inclusion of GLBT people within the Jewish community, says the weekend, now in its fifth year, is “less about politics than about creating a distinctive spiritual community for Jews who are members of sexual or gender minorities.”

Added Michaelson, “we’re not waiting for straight people to decide whether we can have a personal relationship with God. What Nehirim is about is building that relationship for ourselves, in our own distinctive ways.”

This year, the keynote speaker at the Nehirim retreat will be Rabbi Dawn Rose, who holds a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy and was one of the first in the Conservative movement to teach feminist theology. Other featured educators include Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Professor David Brodsky, founder of Storahtelling Amichai Lau-Lavie, and Rabbi Jill Hammer, director of the Tel Shemesh institute.

Founded in 2003, Nehirim is a nondenominational, independent organization under the fiscal sponsorship of the Jewish Funds for Justice, and supported by the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

Said Michaelson, “many of us have been told that because of who we are, God hates us. The Nehirim retreat is about experiencing God’s love instead.”

Nehirim, the LGBTQ Jewish Spiritual Initiative, has announced a new youth mentoring program.  Connecting older LGBTQ Jews with younger ones is apparently a first of its kind.

Below is the press release sent out about the new program.  Interestingly, I often find myself (still on the youth side of this equation I suspect) mentoring older folks who grew up and came out (or didn’t) in a time when being out in High School or Shul just wasn’t an option.  While I certainly had my struggles, I was able to have them because the world was ready for it (because of those that came before me.)

So, once again, kudos to Nehirim for another promising program.  I look forward to seeing how it all works out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gay/Lesbian Group Launches Dramatic New Mentoring Program
First of its kind program, directed by Rabbi Jacob Staub, will
“give GLBT  youth the gay Jewish families they never had”

New York, NY, April 14, 2008.  Nehirim, a national organization that creates spiritual and cultural
community for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) Jews, partners, and allies, announced
today that is has launched a first-of-its-kind mentoring program for GLBT Jews in their late teens and
twenties.  Called Shalshelet (which means “chain”), the program is designed, in the words of Nehirim
Executive Director Jay Michaelson, “to give GLBT youth the gay Jewish families they never had.”

“Jews are very good about providing role models and guides to leading a Jewish life,” said Michaelson.
“But gay and lesbian youth often have to find their own way.”  Michaelson added that while many GLBT
youth may seek elders, they are often justifiably fearful of sexual predation.

Shalshelet will be directed by Rabbi Jacob J. Staub, a professor at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical
College in Philadelphia, where he served as academic vice president for seventeen years,  At RRC, Rabbi
Staub founded and directs the first program in Jewish Spiritual Direction ever established at a rabbinical
seminary.

Said Rabbi Staub, “Both elders and youth benefit from this relationship.  Just as many GLBT youth are
looking for guides, so many older GLBT people, especially those without children, are eager to share their
wisdom with a younger generation.”

All participants are thoroughly screened by Rabbi Staub and Zvi Bellin, Nehirim’s Director of Outreach,
to ensure safety and compliance with the program’s rules.  Mentors commit to a monthly conference call
with Rabbi Staub, and at least one monthly phone call plus email contact with their mentees.

Founded in 2003, Nehirim is a nondenominational, independent organization under the fiscal sponsorship
of the Jewish Funds for Justice, and supported by the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.  For more information, visit www.nehirim.org/shalshelet.

MORE INFORMATION:  Sasha T. Goldberg, Assistant Director
stg@nehirim.org, 415-871-7113
www.nehirim.org

Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality (www.nehirim.org) creates
authentic spiritual and cultural community for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies.  .
Nehirim is supported by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family
Foundation, and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and is under the fiscal
sponsorship of the Jewish Funds for Justice.

Author Jay Michaelson has started a movement for Jewish solidarity with Tibet this Passover. It’s called An Unlit Candle and they’re asking everyone to add an unlit candle to their seder plate and recognize the situation in Tibet in their seders.

We like the idea, though for some muchse may be an issue.

You can find out more at http://unlitcandle.org/

For years now people have been adding an Orange to their seder plates to recognize Feminist and GLBTQ issues. There’s some information by Jewish Leader Tamara Cohen here.

Technorati Tags: Passover, Tibet, Jews, Feminism

For years my husband and I didn’t go to our local LGBTQ Synagogue. We wanted to be Gay in a Jewish community. Then we went. And we were hooked. Simply put, we don’t just feel we belong, we really like the shul. And that seems to be the case around the country as LGBTQ synagogues find themselves with lots of non-LGBTQ congregants.

This was bound to happen as these shuls are expert at creating relevant Jewish experiences (something Jews all over seem to be seeking and having trouble finding) and the family members and friends of the LGBTQ members start coming. My mother and step dad recently joined our shul, and our son is a member, and we have no idea what his sexual identity will be.

Here’s a recent article sent to us by a reader. Thanks MH.

http://www.forward.com/articles/12994/