OPINION
BOSTON (JTA) -- At the 2009 General Assembly of the
Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, 50 lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender Jews and their allies gathered in a small room on the ninth floor of
the conference hotel.
The event was not part of the official GA program, and the room was in the hinterlands of the hotel, hidden from the public eye. It reminded me of photos of 1950s gay bars, underground dives with no signs or windows. At the biggest annual gathering of Jews in the world, it felt like LGBT Jews were still stuck in the closet.
It used to be rare for LGBT equality to be on the agenda of a major Jewish conference. Now it is rare for it not to be. The Jewish community is changing and, three years after that first gathering, I could feel and see that change at the 2012 GA.
At this year’s reception for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Jews, and their family, friends and allies, we celebrated the release of a new report, the Human Rights Campaign’s Jewish Organization Equality Index on the state of LGBT inclusion in North American Jewish organizations.
People flowed into the reception room until the line was out the door; we had to turn people away. Dana Beyer, executive director of Gender Rights Maryland, remarked, "Who would have thought that we would reach the day when people would be lining up waiting to get into a room at the GA to talk about LGBT equality?"
Over the years, at times I have felt like a broken record, gently correcting people's assumption that the work I do is "only for LGBT Jews.” Creating a more inclusive Jewish community benefits LGBT Jews, but ultimately this work is for the sake of the entire Jewish people. LGBT inclusion leads to a stronger, more deeply authentic Jewish community.
Jewish organizing in the 2012 campaigns for marriage equality reflects a shift toward LGBT inclusion as a core Jewish value. Jewish activists, rabbis and organizations in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington transformed their values into action in the lead-up to Election Day. Jewish Community Action in Minneapolis and Jews United for Justice in Maryland -- both members of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable -- knocked on doors and sparked hundreds of conversations about marriage equality. The National Council of Jewish Women organized for equality in Washington state and in Minnesota.
BOSTON (JTA) -- At the 2009 General Assembly of the
Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, 50 lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender Jews and their allies gathered in a small room on the ninth floor of
the conference hotel. The event was not part of the official GA program, and the room was in the hinterlands of the hotel, hidden from the public eye. It reminded me of photos of 1950s gay bars, underground dives with no signs or windows. At the biggest annual gathering of Jews in the world, it felt like LGBT Jews were still stuck in the closet.
It used to be rare for LGBT equality to be on the agenda of a major Jewish conference. Now it is rare for it not to be. The Jewish community is changing and, three years after that first gathering, I could feel and see that change at the 2012 GA.
At this year’s reception for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Jews, and their family, friends and allies, we celebrated the release of a new report, the Human Rights Campaign’s Jewish Organization Equality Index on the state of LGBT inclusion in North American Jewish organizations.
People flowed into the reception room until the line was out the door; we had to turn people away. Dana Beyer, executive director of Gender Rights Maryland, remarked, "Who would have thought that we would reach the day when people would be lining up waiting to get into a room at the GA to talk about LGBT equality?"
Over the years, at times I have felt like a broken record, gently correcting people's assumption that the work I do is "only for LGBT Jews.” Creating a more inclusive Jewish community benefits LGBT Jews, but ultimately this work is for the sake of the entire Jewish people. LGBT inclusion leads to a stronger, more deeply authentic Jewish community.
Jewish organizing in the 2012 campaigns for marriage equality reflects a shift toward LGBT inclusion as a core Jewish value. Jewish activists, rabbis and organizations in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington transformed their values into action in the lead-up to Election Day. Jewish Community Action in Minneapolis and Jews United for Justice in Maryland -- both members of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable -- knocked on doors and sparked hundreds of conversations about marriage equality. The National Council of Jewish Women organized for equality in Washington state and in Minnesota.
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