On Wednesday, the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island, which is comprised of twenty-four Conservative, Reform, Orthodox and Reconstructionist rabbis, released the following powerful statement in support of passage of the state’s marriage equality bill: Statement in support of Marriage Equality in Rhode Island The Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island, representing different [...]

When Autumn told me that she would be having her gender affirmation surgery in Lake Oswego, Oregon, I was both delighted and a little nervous. I was delighted because this meant that I could be present as a supportive friend on the day of the surgery, what with Lake Oswego being only a 3-4 hour [...]

Harvey Milk, Kate Bornstein, and Lesléa Newman are the first three subjects of a new website and poster series about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Jews who have transformed the world through their words and lives.  The timing of the project’s launch is in honor of Harvey Milk Day on May 22 and LGBT [...]

Seder at the home of Laura Ruderman, a former Washington State Representative, and her husband Craig Greenberg. Pictured are Laura’s mother Equal Rights Washington Board member Margaret Rothschild and Margaret’s husband George Heidorn. I’ve just learned about this wonderful tradition.  Many progressive Jewish homes put an orange on the Passover seder plate as a symbol [...]

What a pleasure it was to sit down for an interview with Rabbi Jonathan Singer, Senior Rabbi at Seattle, Washington’s Temple Beth Am.  This uncompromising advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people brought a new perspective to the congregation when he arrived in 1995; while his predecessor was “pretty homophobic”, Rabbi Singer actively [...]

A Coalition Gathers in Brooklyn: Hate is the Abomination (Not Queers) by Jake Goodman This past Thursday, a broad coalition of Jewish and queer New Yorkers gathered on in sub-freezing temperatures for a protest march through the heart of the Jewish neighborhood in Flatbush.  The event, titled “In God’s Name,” was organized by grassroots activist [...]

Back in October I featured an Op-Ed by Orthodox Rabbi Steven Burg titled “There’s no place for bullying in God’s world”.  As the international director of NCSY, the youth program of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Burg’s Op-Ed provides an important counter-balance to the public anti-LGBT voices of other clergy in his sect.  I have since [...]

Esther, Sasha, Aaron and Sarah, students from the Gay-Straight Alliance at the A. J. Heschel School in New York joined together Wednesday to introduce the first Hannukah candle with some beautiful words meaningful to us all.  Ok, I didn’t understand the Hebrew words, but the English ones made me proud to know of these, our [...]