Teen advocate for gay youth battles bullying

Played a leading role in State Legislature’s 2010 harassment law

When Corey Bernstein was in middle school in Millburn, he was bullied so much he faked illness to stay home. When he told his guidance teacher about the bullying, the teacher said he must be lying. In eighth grade, his parents moved him to a private school in Hoboken.

Four years later, Corey, 17, now a senior, has become a vocal leader in the effort to stop bullying and to build support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth. After coming out as gay in ninth grade, he went on to head the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, and he is now co-chair of the Youth Caucus of Garden State Equality, the organization that campaigns for LGBT rights in New Jersey.

In 2010 Corey played a leading role in getting the State Legislature to pass anti-bullying legislation.

Steven Goldstein, founder and chair of GSE, described Corey as “the very personification of tikun olam. To see how he embodies our Jewish values and commitment to heal the world makes me kvell more than words can describe. He has become a light for thousands of others.”

“I was so unhappy in middle school, I can understand why kids commit suicide,” Corey said in an interview with NJ Jewish News on Aug. 15. “I’m not sure why I was bullied; I hadn't come out yet, and it was never about my being Jewish, but I suppose I was different. I wasn't into sports, and I was short. But my parents were supportive and I was able to move to a better situation. What about those people who don’t have that option?”

Though watchful and soft-spoken, Corey conveys a kind of steely confidence that he said has been fostered by his family and people at his school and GSE who have taught him to organize and advocate.

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Orthodox Black Rapper Celebrates life out of the Closet

“Last Shabbos, because of me more people were talking about gay rights around the the Shabbes table, and it’s a good thing.” So explained Yitz “Y-Love” Jordan.

Jordan, whose mother is Puerto Rican  and father is Ethiopian, has been Jewish for 12 years and involved with Judaism for more than half his of his life. But only recently he decided to publically come out of the closet about being gay.

Growing up in Baltimore, Jordon did not have a strong Black identity. His diverse group of friends and his interest in punk rock – he shaved his head and sported a Mohawk for a while- set him apart from other black kids. But even as a young kid others identified him as gay and bullied him. Yet as a teen, when he was drawn both to drag and to an observant life, he felt he had to choose between his identities. And so being gay was not officially part of the equation for many years. Ironically, as he became more observant and involved in the hassidic community, being black became more central to his sense of self. Eventually, however, hiding part of himself, meant that he felt less able to fully embrace the mitzvot that originally drew him to Judaism.

So for Jordan, coming out is a coming together of all of the elements of his self. Speaking by phone he explained, “Prioritizing identities, that’s a concept does that does not exist, I am never more one thing than another… now I am able to express myself fully.”

While there are those in the Orthodox world who have condemned him for coming out, the reaction has been overwhelmingly supportive. Both the hip hop and Orthodox worlds have reputations for being homophobic but Jordan’s experience since coming out publically in Out Magazine suggests that the world is changing. Last week rap impresario Russell Simmons reached out and so did some prominent Orthodox rabbis.  It makes him wish he had taken this step years ago.

Y-Love has long been a role model for Jews of color, advocating for diversity in the Jewish community.  Now he has added the LGBTQ community to the list of those he seeks to motivate and strengthen. “I’ve heard from a trans woman who says I’ve inspired her to continue studying towards conversion to Judaism and from other rappers who say they wish they had my courage to come out,” says Jordan clearly gratified that his choice to come out is inspiring others.

Faygele ben Miriam Started the Battle Over Marriage More Than 40 Years Ago

Decades before any state had seriously considered legalizing gay marriage, long before anyone had thought of creating—never mind repealing—a policy called “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” before Reagan, before AIDS, before the American Psychiatric Association determined that homosexuality was not a mental illness, and before half the people currently living in America were even born, a man named John Singer stepped into the King County marriage license office in Seattle.

The year was 1971.

With him was another man, Paul Barwick, whom he’d met recently at a meeting of the Seattle chapter of the Gay Liberation Front. Barwick was just back from Vietnam, 24 years old, still coming out of the closet. Singer was a little older, 26, very out and very political. He’d served as an Army medic in Germany because of his conscientious-objector status. In the spot reserved for religion, his military dog tag read: “Ethical Culture.” Earlier, at college in New York, he’d been the only member of his ROTC unit who was also in the SDS—Students for a Democratic Society.

These two men, Singer and Barwick, had become fast friends, occasional lovers, and, in a sense, business partners. “The business was gay liberation,” Barwick, now 65 and living in San Francisco, explained recently.

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Michele Bachman Synagogue Visit Riles Some

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) swung by a Chicago-area synagogue for a worship service on the eve of Yom Kippur last week, upsetting congregants and provoking one man to mount a campaign for her Democratic challenger before the end of the night, the Chicago Tribune reports.

According to the Tribune, Rabbi Michael Siegel of Anshe Emet Synagogue observed protocol by offering a customary greeting to Bachmann during the services. While elected officials are traditionally acknowledged during such events at the temple, the presence of the conservative Minnesota firebrand prompted particular displeasure.

Some reportedly walked out of the ceremony, while Gary Sircus, a 25-year member of Anshe Emet Synagogue, voiced more active opposition to Bachmann's attendance.

"Our congregation values and embodies tolerance, compassion, respect for individual rights, intelligence, science -- all of the things that I think Michele Bachmann stands against," said Sircus, according to the Tribune

Bachmann has been a vocal supporter of Israel and an unabashed opponent of gay rights, an awkward policy duo on that particular night; Siegel told the Tribune that the night's service had included a piece honoring Israel for its openness to the LGBT community.

Among Bachmann's many controversial statements about the LGBT community, she has likened homosexuality to "bondage," "child abuse" and "sexual dysfunction."

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