Arthur Shani’s Inspiring Story

Yuval Niv on A Wider Bridge

During the broadcast of the inaugural of new Knesset members, the TV cameras caught attorney Arthur Shani next to MK Ksenia Svetlova from the the Zionist Camp. He is her parliamentary advisor. Arthur was a boy whose mother wasn’t able to raise him by herself, a boy who was transferred to a boarding school institution, who was sent to a class that didn’t suit his skills, who was forced to fight for the right to go to a regular high school and serve in a proper military unit – and he’s reached the Knesset.

Arthur was hoping that among the television viewers were some of the people who over the past 26 years created difficulties for him, though he wasn’t sure that they would recognized him: the fat boy who weighed more than 330 pounds, is now young, slim and athletic; the religious kid who studied at a Yeshiva in a conservative institution managed by the Orthodox party Shas is now in a committed relationship with another man; the poor kid, whose mother’s refrigerator was empty, now holds two university degrees, is working on the third, and is the owner of an independent law firm. He’s the ultimate Israeli dream come true.

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An LGBTQ Invitation to Israel

By Arthur Slepian, Executive Director of A Wider Bridge, and an advocate for LGBT Equality, Israel and Jewish Peoplehood; for HuffPost Gay Voices

It might seem like an audacious act, perhaps a bit of chutzpah, to invite LGBTQ leaders from around the world to a conference in Israel. After all, there are some very strong anti-Israel feelings in parts of the LGBTQ community. So why not play it safe and hold a conference somewhere less controversial, say Madrid, Stockholm, or Washington D.C.? Here is why -- sometimes bold, risky and surprising acts are exactly what is required. 40 Years of Pride, Israel's first ever global LGBTQ leadership summit, will take place in Tel Aviv June 9 to 11, 2015. Come join us.

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Landmark Gay Rights Protest Turns 50

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the first-ever march on Washington, led by Frank Kameny

By Jonathan Zalman for Tablet, orginally published April 17, 2015

On April 17, 1965, seven men in suits, and three women in dresses, stood on the sidewalk in front of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s big white home to demand equal rights for the LGBT community. Among them was Frank Kameny, a gay Jew who later worked to have the anti-sodomy law repealed in the 1990s.

“I’ve said for many years that San Francisco was looked upon as the center, but D.C. is very much the success story of the gay movement,” he told the Washingtonian in a 2010 interview. Kameny died in 2011.

Also among the demonstrators was Paul Kuntzler, who recently recalled the day’s events for the Washington Blade:

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Don't Be Shocked by Jewish Honor for Anti-Gay Pastor Charles Stanley

Far Right Views Part of Israel Alliance With Evangelicals

By Jay Michaelson The Jewish Daily Forward

Here’s why I’m not on board with the growing chorus protesting JNF’s honoring Dr. Charles Stanley, one of the most prominent evangelical leaders in the country, and the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (membership 15 million).

It’s not that he isn’t anti-gay. He is, and I assume he’d be proud to admit it. Over his half-century-long career, he’s said some nasty things, some ignorant things, and some really offensive things like AIDS being Divine punishment.

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