Tagged LGBT Jews

OP-ED The road to LGBT acceptance in Israel was bumpy. I should know.
June 19, 2018 / Jonathan Danilowitz, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Tel Aviv has been decked out in rainbow flags for weeks. Suddenly, it seems, every restaurant, coffee shop and store is super “gay friendly.” The city’s Pride Parade is traditionally held on the second Friday of June. Fifteen years ago, estimates were that 9,000 people… Read more »

Wedding of lesbian firebrands, both 76, is a celebration of Jewish and ‘Aquarian’ traditions

At 76, longtime activists Shoshana Dembitz, seated, center left, and Abigail Grafton, seated, center right, married in El Cerrito, Calif., on June 27, 2016. The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Diane Elliot, seated left, and her husband, Rabbi Burt Jacobson. (Lea Delson)
July 11, 2016 / Alix Wall, JTA

  BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) – When Shoshana Dembitz and Abigail Grafton first met, they spent several long moments gazing into each others’ eyes. But this wasn’t a love-at-first-sight occurrence. Rather, the two were attending a Shabbat service in which participants were split into pairs to look into each others’… Read more »

OP-ED After Orlando, LGBTQ Jews seek more than ‘solidarity’
June 23, 2016 / Idit Klein, JTA
Idit Klein (Courtesy of Keshet)

  BOSTON (JTA) — In the wake of the Orlando shooting, statements of solidarity with the LGBTQ community quickly tumbled forth. Some expressions of support came from unlikely sources such as the Orthodox Union and the Catholic Church. But what does a statement of solidarity mean in response to… Read more »

Op-Ed: L’Chaim to marriage equality, but our work isn’t finished

A same-sex marriage supporter waves a pride flag next to an altered street sign that reads "case closed!' while celebrating the U.S Supreme Court ruling regarding same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015 in San Francisco.(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
July 1, 2015 / Idit Klein, JTA

BOSTON (JTA) — Four years ago, I stood under a chuppah with the woman I was about to marry overlooking a valley in Massachusetts. I have an emotional memory of sweetness and joy from my wedding day, but I can’t recall many specific moments. What I do remember vividly… Read more »

Rabbi’s coming-out highlights dramatic shift in Conservative Judaism
October 14, 2014 / Anthony Weiss, JTA
Rabbi Gil Steinlauf

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Gil Steinlauf, a nationally prominent Conservative rabbi, made headlines this month when he announced to his large Washington, D.C., synagogue that he is gay, and that he and his wife of 20 years would divorce. As surprised as his congregants at Adas Israel may have… Read more »

Conservative rabbis vote in favor of same-sex weddings
June 28, 2012 / Ben Sales, JTA

The Conservative movement — affirming that same-sex marriages have “the same sense of holiness and joy as that expressed in heterosexual marriages” — last month established rituals for same-sex wedding ceremonies. The landmark vote by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly follows… Read more »

At Orthodox mental health group’s forum, openly gay Jews get their say and some support
December 7, 2011 / Dan Klein, JTA
Mordechai Levovitz

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (JTA) — The 15th annual conference of Nefesh International, an association of Orthodox mental health professionals, was a study in inclusion. Dr. Judith Guedelia, the director of Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s neuropsychology unit, became the first woman to receive the conference’s Esther Solomon Mental Health Award. Several… Read more »