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Passover is Party Time
 

Passover 2024 in New York City Was a Total Gay Mitzvah

April marked this year's Passover and the good folks at Hebro Events brought together over 200 gay attendees to celebrate the Seder and have fun. Nice Jewish boys from all over Manhattan get together annually for this big event to munch matzo crackers and socialize. As the "Pre-Game Passover Party" festivities got underway, they let the Manischewitz flow and danced the night away!        

Donning designer kippahs, with cheers of "Let My People Party," amidst some fairly active bagel-chasing, it was clear everyone was in a festive mood.  As one star-of-david medallion-wearing promoter eloquently said, "We are celebrating the night away as if we just left Egypt yesterday."

For over 15 years, the party-planning company Hebro has been putting on spectacle-like parties in New York for LGBTQ Jews and the people who love them, featuring titles like High Homo Days, Schvitz, Jewbilee, and Sederlicious.

Text Message Tells LGBTQ Israelis Repent or Die

War in the Middle East: Israelis vs. Palestinians
 

Thousands have been killed in the ongoing conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a deeply complex and contentious issue that has gripped the world's attention for decades. While the LGBTQ perspective is just one of many lenses through which to view this multifaceted conflict, it is a perspective that deserves consideration.

It is essential to acknowledge that LGBTQ individuals exist on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They share the same desires for love, acceptance, and equal rights, irrespective of their national or ethnic background. In many ways, the struggles of LGBTQ individuals within this conflict mirror those of LGBTQ communities around the world. They face discrimination, violence, and legal challenges, which often overshadow their national and ethnic identities.

CNN: Hamas Attacks Israel, Israel Responds

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Tears Into LGBTQ Jewish Community
Analysis: Israel, Palestine and Us
LGBTQ Groups in Israel Respond to War
Palestinians: LGBTQ Not Welcome Here

Check Out This Jewish-Muslim Gay Couple’s Inspiring Wedding Album

In Israel, LGBTQ rights have made significant progress over the years, with same-sex marriage recognition, anti-discrimination laws, and thriving LGBTQ communities. Tel Aviv, in particular, is renowned for its vibrant LGBTQ scene. These advancements represent an important step forward in the fight for equal rights and acceptance for LGBTQ individuals in the region.

On the Palestinian side, the situation is far more complex. LGBTQ individuals often face persecution and discrimination, both from society and, in some instances, from political or religious authorities. The intersection of LGBTQ rights and the broader struggle for Palestinian self-determination is a topic that sparks passionate debates within Palestinian communities.

BBC:History of the Israel Gaza Conflict Explained
ABC News: A Look Into the Long History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Amnesty International: Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories
Overview: Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
United Nations: The Question of Palestine

It is crucial to note that discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be reduced to a binary narrative, as they often are. The perspectives of LGBTQ individuals, like all individuals living in the region, are diverse. Their experiences cannot be boiled down to a single narrative, just as the larger conflict cannot.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is inherently tied to issues of identity, security, self-determination, and human rights. The LGBTQ perspective reminds us that in the midst of this complex web of political and cultural challenges, there are people who just want to be themselves, love who they love, and live without fear of discrimination or violence.

In the grand tapestry of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the LGBTQ perspective serves as a poignant reminder that we should strive for a more inclusive, compassionate, and just world for all, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. This perspective encourages us to support movements and individuals working towards the universal principles of equality, human rights, and freedom from discrimination, irrespective of the context in which they live.

Jewish and Gay

"Of course Jewish history is actively being made, but there's such a wide scope of Jewish history and so many books and resources that it can be daunting to learn about. It's one of the reasons why I love being queer and Jewish. We're at this incredible intersection where we really are full-force making queer Jewish history. We are living history."
-Adam Eli

"I would suggest, based on the study of Jewish legal texts that the Jewish understanding of gender is neither binary nor even a grid into which every person must be forced to fit. Rather, we see gender diversity as a spectrum, truly a rainbow of possibilities for reflecting the Image of God. So, I urge my congregation to affirm our long-standing policies of being welcoming and affirming to all who seek to share in our community.
-Rabbi David J. Meyer

“While there are no simple equations between Jewish and queer identities, Jewishness and queerness yet utilize and are bound up with one another in particularly resonant ways. This crossover also extends to the modern discourses of antisemitism and homophobia, with stereotypes of the Jew frequently underwriting pop cultural and scientific notions of the homosexual. And vice versa.”

- Daniel Boyarin, Daniel Itzkovitz, & Ann Pellegrini, Queer Theory & the Jewish Question

"The God I worship endorses loving, committed, monogamous relationships, regardless of the gender of those involved."

-Rabbi Marder
 

"Being gay is okay, so long as the behavior is not obsessive, responsible and safe, non-abusive, and the manifestation of a loving, respectful relationship."

-Rabbi Wilson

"I am Jewish, Black, Southern, and Gay. And that is what makes my soul's recipe so unique and powerful."
Michael Twitty, Gay Jewish Chef

"I find my strength from within and don’t need any outside sources, God included, to be my own constant, my own divinity. I was made the way I am because it’s who I am meant to be. Every move or mistake I’ve made, every lesson I’ve learned, has made me who I am, and I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences to be born any other way."
-Dubbs Weinblatt

"As LGBTQ Jewish people, we have often been put in situations where we need to create our own ways of persevering through tough moments. Surviving and thriving in this world has pushed us to create our own store of unique wisdom about resilience, joy, and community."
-Keshet

"First of all, I do not know what God thinks. In my opinion, homosexuality is not a sin, but an alternate lifestyle. In my opinion, homosexuality by itself is not immoral. When sex is used to corrupt, for prurient and/or exploitative purposes or selfish reasons or to hurt someone else, this is immoral."

-Rabbi Laza

"As Jewish people, we must not stand idly by in the face of injustice. We must not only shape inclusive spaces in our Reform Movement, but we must shape spaces that affirm queer community members."
-Reform Judaism, Reform Action Centerr

What Does Judaism Say About LGBTQ People?

Within Judaism, there are many shades of LGBTQ acceptance and rejection.

Rabbi Denise Eger, the rabbi of the West Hollywood Reform synagogue Congregation Kol Ami, is one of the first openly gay or lesbian rabbis. She was ordained in 1988, and came out publicly the same year.  In 1990 Reform Judaism began ordaining openly gay and lesbian rabbis.

Meet the Nice Jewish Boys of the NJB Pageant
LGBTQ Political Party Starting Up in Israel

Queer Clown Bat Mitzvah Happening on Coney Island

Eger says that Judaism has evolved on the issue of LGBTQ inclusion, particularly with the Reform movement’s long record of support for LGBTQ rights.

“There’s such a rapid change of pace,” says Eger, who became the first openly LGBTQ president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which has endorsed marriage equality since 1996. She says liberal Jews want “to welcome all people and to speak out for human rights and LGBTQ rights.”

The primary branches of Judaism vary in their views on LGBTQ people:

Reform Judaism - Reform rabbis can officiate at ceremonies recognizing same-sex relationships, and most will perform same-sex weddings. The most liberal branch of Judaism, Reform is also the largest one in North America, Eger says. About 80 percent of Jewish people on the continent are either Reform or Conservative.

Conservative Judaism - Whereas Reform Judaism is broadly affirming, Conservative Judaism is “still in transition,” Eger says. Gay and lesbian rabbis can be ordained in Conservative Judaism, she says. Some Conservative rabbis will officiate at same-sex weddings, others will not.

Orthodox Judaism - Orthodox Judaism, the smallest branch of Judaism in North America, includes synagogues that reflect different degrees of acceptance. Most Orthodox rabbis oppose marriage quality and would not officiate at a same-sex wedding or affirm same-sex relationships, Eger says. In fact, some would reject LGBTQ members or even endorse discredited “reparative therapy.” However, some Orthodox synagogues would welcome LGBTQ people to be part of the community.

Theological Questions - From a theological standpoint, Jewish people face some of the same questions as Christians when it comes to scriptural interpretations. There’s the “man who lies with a man” verse in Leviticus. There’s a part of Noah’s story in which one of his son’s “saw his father’s nakedness,” which could be a euphemism for incest or molestation.  

For Eger’s part, she has criticized the “very literal fashion” in which religious texts are often viewed. “Bring your critical, insightful mind to whatever text you’re reading,” Eger said during a recent panel of pro-LGBTQ religious leaders. “Do not check your mind at the door.”

Nehirim is an LGBTQ Jewish organization. Like Eger, Nehirim officials note that things have changed markedly for LGBTQ people in Judaism. “Twenty-five years ago fewer than a dozen Jewish clergy publicly identified as LGBTQ. Today 200 rabbis, cantors, rabbinic pastors and clergy students in every denomination lead congregations, teach at universities, lead and teach at seminaries, run Jewish organizations, manage chaplaincy departments at hospitals and more,” Nehirim’s executive director, Rabbi Debra Kolodny, said. “We are thrilled that so many will clergy are willing to have meaningful dialogue about theology, leadership, and how we can help heal the wounds created by religion around sexuality in the Jewish world.”

[Source: Advocate, Stevie St. John, December 2014]

Jewish Transgender Teacher Outed by Online Mob and Then Fired

“They’re posting pictures of our family, they’re posting where we live, we’re getting death threats. They’ve somehow taken videos outside our home,” she said.

Despite the fact Avrahami signed a non-disclosure agreement with the school, she retains the right to make claims under civil rights employment law. The US Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the protections of Title VII against discrimination applies to people who are LGBTQ.

[Source: Greg Owen, LGBTQ Nation, September 2022]
 

Adam Eli: Gay Jewish Activist

Adam Eli, the 28-year-old author and activist has been a trailblazing force in the international gay community for several years now. He's the co-founder of Voices 4, a New York-based direct action activist group that uses social media in a major way. The group's aim? "Global LGBTQ liberation." Voices 4's Instagram page functions as a digital meeting ground for anyone interested in lending their voice in a myriad of ways, from marches to meetings.

Eli also uses his own Instagram account (over 60K followers) to spread the word about upcoming rallies and marches and share important updates on queer world news. He also posts regularly about identity, body image, dating, and other LGBTQ-related topics. One day he might be sharing Grindr experiences on his Stories, and the next, it'll be about how he manages his anxiety before speaking in front of a crowd.

The Greenwich Village-based activist recently teamed up with Gucci to edit the fashion house's first zine, CHIME. The Chime for Change campaign features stories, videos, and artwork from a variety of voices in an aim to spread awareness and end gender inequality. Eli's partnership with the high-end brand is an important step for queer voices in the art and fashion world — it could open the doors for other notable brands to shine a similar light on LGBTQ issues.

In June 2020 he released his book, The New Queer Conscience.

Mashable: Meet Gay Activist Adam Eli

Holocaust: The LGBTQ Connection

January 27 is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Day of Remembrance. The focus is typically on the death of the 6 million Jews.  But, among the millions of people who were arrested, tortured, or killed during this tragedy were over 100,000 gay men. About half of these men were sentenced to prison or work camps, where they were forced to wear pink triangles. These badges signified that they had been sentenced under a harsher version of Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code, which was originally framed in 1871, and punished a broad range of "lewd and lascivious" behavior between men. Nazi leaders also claimed that gay men, by failing to procreate, were responsible for the downfall of the Aryan race. Although Paragraph 175 omitted any mention of women and the majority of the persecution in Germany was on gay men, some lesbians also faced severe punishment.

Holocaust Memorial: Gay Berlin and Modern Identity
How the Nazi Regime's Pink Triangle Symbol Was Repurposed for LGBTQ Pride
Remembering the Persecution of Gay Men and Lesbians on Yom HaShoah
Holocaust History: Reclaiming the Pink Triangle
Homosexuality and the Holocaust
Lessons Learned as a Gay Son of Holocaust Survivors

Many are familiar with the pink triangle, but not everyone knows its history. "Before the pink triangle became a worldwide symbol of gay power and pride, it was intended as a badge of shame. In Nazi Germany, a downward-pointing pink triangle was sewn onto the shirts of gay men in concentration camps—to identify and further dehumanize them. It wasn’t until the 1970s that activists would reclaim the symbol as one of liberation.

Homosexuality was technically made illegal in Germany in 1871, but it was rarely enforced until the Nazi Party took power in 1933. As part of their mission to racially and culturally “purify” Germany, the Nazis arrested thousands of LGBTQ individuals, mostly gay men, whom they viewed as degenerate.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates 100,000 gay men were arrested and between 5,000 and 15,000 were placed in concentration camps. Just as Jews were forced to identify themselves with yellow stars, gay men in concentration camps had to wear a large pink triangle."

After the end of World War II the persecution of gay men went widely unrecognized, in large part because cultural biases against them remained ingrained in the cultures of both Europe and the United States. The version of Paragraph 175 under which the Nazi regime had arrested and punished gay men remained on the books in West Germany until 1969. Indeed, even under the Allied Military Government of Germany, some gay men were forced to serve the entirety of the prison terms they had been sentenced to under the Nazi regime.

Israel May Ban Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Israel's Knesset advanced a bill in June 2018 banning sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. The bill widens the scope of current anti-discrimination law.  Under the amendment, wherever Israeli law refers to discrimination, it would also mean discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. "In view of the changes that have occurred in Israeli law since 1992, and in view of the frequent attacks on the LGBTQ community owing to sexual orientation or gender identity in the form of discrimination and harassment, the time has come to amend the interpretation law beyond the legal meaning,” reads the explanation to the bill.

Times of Israel: Knesset Advances Bill Banning LGBTQ Discrimination

Y Net News: Knesset Approves Bill Banning LGBTQ Discrimination

JTA: Israeli Lawmakers Give Preliminary Approval of LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Bill

Cleveland Jewish News: Bill Banning LGBTQ Discrimination Gets Knesset Approval

LGBTQ Rights in Israel

Same-sex marriage is not legal in Israel. The Israeli Government has registered same-sex marriages performed abroad for some purposes since 2006. However, marriages performed in Israel are only available from one of the 15 religious marriage courts recognized by the state, none of which permit same-sex marriage under their respective auspices. Consequently, Israelis who desire to have their same-sex marriage recognized by the Israeli Government must first marry outside Israel, in a jurisdiction where such marriages are legal, and then register upon returning home.

However, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Israel are the most advanced in the Middle East and one of the most advanced in Asia. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1988, although the former law against sodomy had not been enforced since a court decision of 1963. Israel became the first in Asia to recognize unregistered cohabitation between same-sex couples, making it the first country in Asia to recognize any same-sex union. Although same-sex marriages are not performed in the country, Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was prohibited in 1992. Same-sex couples are allowed to jointly adopt after a court decision in 2008, while previously allowing stepchild adoptions and limited co-guardianship rights for non-biological parents. LGBTQ people are also allowed to serve openly in the military.

Tel Aviv has frequently been referred to by publishers as one of the most gay friendly cities in the world, famous for its annual Pride Parade and gay beach, earning it the nickname "the gay capital of the Middle East" by Out magazine. According to LGBTQ travelers, it was ranked as the best gay city in 2011, despite reports of some LGBTQ violence during the 2000s, which were criticized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. A monument dedicated to the gay victims of the Holocaust was erected in Tel Aviv in 2014.

Gamal Palmer: Black, Gay, Jewish

Queer Clown Bat Mitzvah Happening on Coney Island

Rabbi Denise Eger

Denise Eger is an American Reform rabbi. In March 2015 she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America.  She is the first openly gay person to hold that position.

While studying to become a rabbi during the 1980s in New York City, Denise Eger started a group for gay and lesbian students, holding meetings far from campus. At the time, there were few prospects for out lesbian rabbis, a lesson Eger would learn personally. No one would hire her. But she found her calling at a synagogue created as a religious refuge for gays, Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the world’s first gay and lesbian synagogue to be recognized by Reform Judaism. It was a road that led her to found Kol Ami, a welcoming and jubilant Jewish community that is open to all.

Since then, the Reform Jewish movement (Eger’s lifelong spiritual home) has undergone a radical transformation on LGBTQ issues and now fully embraces the community.

Eger has been honored for her HIV/AIDS work and is a highly regarded expert on Judaism and LGBTQ civil rights. She is a noted author contributing to anthologies such as “Torah Queeries,” “Lesbian Rabbis,” “Twice Blessed,” and “Conflicting Visions: Contemporary Debates in Reform Judaism.” She wrote the piece “Creating Opportunities for the ‘Other’: The Ordination of Women as a Turning Point for LGBTQ Jews”, which appears in the book “The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate,” published in 2016.

Wikipedia: Denise Eger

Queery: Lesbian Rabbi Denise Eger

NY Times: Lesbian Rabbi Becomes President of Reform Group

Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation
What the Torah Teaches Us About Gender Fluidity and Transgender Justice
How Can You be Gay and Jewish?

Rabbi's View: Gay Marriage Does Not Violate Religious Rules

What Does Judaism Say About LGBTQ People?

Famous LGBTQ Jews

Harvey Milk - Politician

Barney Frank - Politician

Dana Goldberg - Comedian

Allan Bloom - Philosopher

Stephen Sondheim - Composer

Ludwig Wittgenstein - Philosopher

Magnus Hirschfeld - Sexologist

Arlene Istar Lev - Social Worker, Therapist, Educator

Sandra Bernhard - Actor, Comedian

Joel Grey - Actor, Singer, Dancer

Harvey Feinstein - Actor, Playwright

Victor Garber - Actor

Annie Leibovitz - Photographer

Moises Kaufman - Playwright

Leonard Bernstein - Composer, Conductor

Jared Polis - Politician

Abbi Jacobson - Comedian, Actor, Writer, Producer
Jason Brown - Olympic Skater

Daniel Levy - Actor

Liat Ben Zur - Business Executive

Aaron Copland - Composer

Dave Koz - Jazz Saxophonist

Michael Twitty - Chef

Jake Cohen - Writer
Sandra Lawson - Rabbi, Singer
Lex Horwitz - Educator
Abby Stein - Activist
Dubbs Weinblatt - Podcaster
 

Barry Manilow - Singer, Songwriter

Janis Ian - Singer, Songwriter

Adam Lambert - Singer

Allen Ginsberg - Poet

Tony Kushner - Playwright

Marcel Proust - Novelist

Gertrude Stein - Writer

Susan Sontag - Novelist

Maurice Sendak - Writer

Malka Red - Rapper

Nomy Lamm - Musician, Filmmaker

Adam Eli - Author, Activist

Ari Shapiro - Radio Newscaster (NPR)

Randy Rainbow - Singer, Satirist

Yair Cherki - Israeli TV Reporter

Lesley Gore (Lesley Sue Goldstein) - Singer, Songwriter

Conversation with Gay Jewish Activist Adam Eli

What the Torah Teaches Us About Gender Fluidity and Transgender Justice
Ellen and Janis: A Love Story

Video: Black, Jewish, and Gay

SNL Coffee Talk with Linda Richman

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