Keshet’s Post

Rights, families, and lives are on the line November 5th. Your vote matters — for LGBTQ+ people to get life-saving medical care, to live without fear of violence, and to be out about who we are and who we love. Join Keshet to help get out the vote and preserve freedom and equality. keshetonline.org/gotv #GOTV #Keshet #LGBTQJews #TzedekTzedekTirVOTE #VoteWithPride

This year, Yom Kippur falls on the same day as National Coming Out Day (NCOD), October 11. These two holidays may feel unrelated, Yom Kippur being a solemn day of prayer and NCOD a day of celebration and joy, but they have much more in common than you’d expect. Keshet intern, Nuriel G., shares the connection between these two days and what the convergence of the holidays means to them as a queer and Jewish young person: “During Yom Kippur we practice teshuvah, which translates to repentance, or returning. The process of our personal repentance, and of returning to our truest and purest selves is certainly not always easy. But it is done in the context of community, and ideally, communities support one another in their own internal processes. This is not dissimilar to the action of coming out: it is deeply personal and different for everyone…Though one thing is consistent — the hope that we will have the support of our community.” Read more at keshetonline.org/blog We wish you a meaningful Yom Kippur and a holy National Coming Out Day. #Keshet #LGBTQJews #NCOD #YomKippur

October is LGBTQ+ History Month! While on the rise these days, discrimination against LGBTQ+ teachers is not new. Back in the early 1970s, the Fair Employment Committee of the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), which worked to advance LGBTQ+ rights and liberation, conducted research on job discrimination in New York City. They found that LGBTQ+ teachers face more discrimination than any other job site or business, resulting in job losses and lower pay. Despite this research and GAA’s involvement, no one from the LGBTQ+ community was invited to participate in a Human Rights hearing on the topic in January 1971. Refusing to be excluded, GAA organized a protest at the Board of Education’s headquarters, demanding equal protection be provided to city-employed teachers. Protests and action continued as protections were introduced and defeated. Finally, the “gay rights bill” as it was known, passed in March 1986. This year, for Rosh Hashanah, we feature an image from that protest, including a sign that reads “Gay is Good,” to remind ourselves of our activist history and to rededicate ourselves to the work of advocating for LGBTQ+ and Jewish rights. May this LGBTQ+ History Month inspire us all to declare that Gay is Good. #Keshet #LGBTQJews #LGBTQHistoryMonth

MAZAL TOV to Hayden Cohen on being named one of GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 for 2024! Hayden is a former Keshet Youth Programs participant and today partners with Keshet to advance their advocacy work. Hayden co-founded Students Engaged In Advancing Texas, and we’re so excited to have them staffing our Texas Youth Weekend Retreat Shabbaton, November 15-17. Congratulations for this well-deserved recognition, and we’re so glad to be a part of your activism and leadership journey, Hayden. Yasher Koach! https://lnkd.in/dTpZ_bcY #Keshet #LGBTQJews #20Under20

"Is there a prayer — or a proverb, a song lyric, a quotation, a poem or piece of prose — that became harder to say or more difficult to believe? Is there a verse that has become particularly resonant, or a phrase that has taken on new important meanings?" Idit Klein, Keshet President & CEO, responds in a JTA article, along with a luminous group of writers, thinkers, rabbis. https://lnkd.in/erBWT3r6

Today, October 7th, we mourn all who lost their lives one year ago when Hamas attacked Israel. We pray for the survival of the Israeli and international hostages who remain in Gaza. At the same time, we grieve the colossal suffering that Palestinians and Israelis continue to experience in a time of trauma and war. Keshet President & CEO Idit Klein shared this message: “Today is a day of mourning. Yet we know that we will find our way back to hope, just as our Jewish and queer ancestors have done for centuries before us. We honor those who came before us, those we lost a year ago today, and all whom we have lost in the months since then. We honor them by refusing to give in to despair. With persistence and faith, we know a better future is possible.” Read more over on keshetonline.org/blog May the memories of all we have lost be a blessing and a call to action for a better world.

#MeetOurBoard! Neil Berenson is a business leader and strategic advisor, as well as an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, having served as a Board of Governor in the New England Region for Human Rights Campaign. “What attracted me to Keshet was the wonderful work it does to bring together the Jewish & LGBTQ+ communities. There are so many similarities in these traditionally marginalized communities, and I look forward to working with the Board to strengthen the ties between them.” Please join us in welcoming Neil to the Board! #Keshet #LGBTQJews

When Sage Cassell-Rosenberg, Keshet Jews of Color Program Manager, started in their role, they sought to learn about the experiences of LGBTQ+ Jews of Color in Jewish spaces. While some research exists about Jews of Color, Sage quickly noticed a gap in information. “There were no findings that specifically addressed navigating Jewish spaces at the intersection of being a Person of Color, Jewish, and LGBTQ+...As Keshet’s JOC Program Manager, entrusted with creating resources and spaces that uplift, amplify, and celebrate the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ Jews of Color, I saw an opportunity to elevate these stories.” And so the LGBTQ+ Jews of Color Survey was created! Help us make history and share your story before the survey closes, September 22: https://lnkd.in/exVgT9W4 https://lnkd.in/eh_hXdqz #Keshet #LGBTQJews #QJOC

The 2024 legislative session hit transgender students in Louisiana hard. As of August 1, it is illegal for teachers to discuss gender identity or sexual orientation in the classroom with students in grades K-12. While these bills are now law, they are not moral. As Jews, our tradition teaches us that everyone is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of the Divine. That includes each and every member of the LGBTQ+ community and informs our obligation to resist laws that undermine human dignity. Learn more about how our Jewish values call on us to act from a recent op-ed authored by Keshet Community Mobilization Manager Lanie Cohen and Rose Kantorcyzk, Communications and Legislative Affairs Coordinator from Keshet partner SOJOURN. https://lnkd.in/e3xWkD9C Image: Lanie Cohen and Rose Kantorcyzk at the Texas State Capitol together. #Keshet #LGBTQJews