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Across the nation, people are rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day. They are taking the pledge to make the day about love by forgoing the greeting cards in favor of giving back. In just three easy steps, you can honor your loved ones with a $14 gift that will keep on giving. Read More »
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to spend time with nearly 60 Teach For America corps members taking part in our Foundation’s REALITY Israel Experience, a program that enables corps members to travel to Israel to explore the values that undergird their commitment to public service.
When I asked these passionate young people what motivated them to apply for the program, I heard a wide variety of responses, some inspiring, some empowering, some soulful—and one in particular that was heartbreaking.
“I applied,” one participant told me, “because I knew it would be the first time since I decided to live openly as a gay person that I would feel equal and accepted by the Jewish community.” She desperately wanted to find a place where she could be herself.
Her story is one I have heard far too many times from Jews everywhere—in Israel, in the U.S. and in countries around the world—who feel excluded from our community because of their sexuality. Despite some progress, the pace of change within the faith-based world in general has simply been too slow in this area. Read More »
On a chilly Sunday a few weeks ago, I took my children to see the new Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial off the National Mall. As we walked across the Potomac River, seeking distraction from the biting wind, we discussed why Dr. King deserved such an honor.
At five and eight years old, their questions were poignant and telling: it was not the fact that someone had fought for equal rights and freedoms that bewildered them—it was that he had to fight for it as recently as when their grandparents were in college.
To my young children, equality is a given and diversity a cause for celebration. The prospect that someone might be treated differently because of the color of his skin does not exist. And the idea that someone might not be accepted because of who she loves is beyond comprehension. Read More »
Joanna Ware is the Lead Organizer and Training Coordinator for Keshet, a national grassroots organization that works for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Jews in Jewish life.
As Jews, we know all too well the cost of being marked as other. We know the collective pain of injustice and loss, and we know the necessity of marking and remembering that pain and mourning, in order to move forward into the more just, whole world we are all partners in creating.
Every November 20th, transgender people and allies gather around the world to memorialize and remember the victims of transphobic violence killed in the last year. Since January of 2009, over 170 trans and gender non-conforming people were murdered for being themselves. Read More »
Bonnie Rosenbaum is the Deputy Director of Communications and Planning of Keshet, a national grassroots organization that works for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Jews in Jewish life.
My introduction to Jewish heroes can be traced back to one amazing 
Barbie doll.
It was 1986, I was in 7th grade, and my Sunday school class at Temple Sinai had started a unit on “Great Jews.” Carrie Horrowitz marched to the front of the classroom, launched the blond statuette into the air and began her oral report: “Hannah Senesh was a brave woman who parachuted into Yugoslavia to save the Jews during the Holocaust.”
Barbie quickly crashed to the floor, and my classmates and I tried to stifle our laughs. Thus began our lesson on Jewish heroes. Read More »
Join Keshet, A Wider Bridge, Nehirim and Israel Spiritual Journeys for a unique journey through Israel for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Jews, partners and allies. If you’re looking for a vacation that is more than monuments and museums, this trip is for you! Meet LGBTQ Israelis and Palestinians, explore spiritual practices, hike in the desert and play in the city. Open to all!
When: November 10 – 20, 2011. Register by July 20.
Pre-register here. (Spaces are limited. You do not need to commit to the trip until July 20!). Read More »
Just in time for Harvey Milk Day (May 22) and Pride Month celebrations (June), Keshet has launched a really cool initiative: the LGBT Jewish Heroes poster series and a companion website, www.LGBTJewishHeroes.org. This project celebrates LGBT Jews who have transformed the world through their words and lives.
Harvey Milk, Kate Bornstein and Lesléa Newman are the first three subjects in this poster series of Jewish LGBT changemakers. They were chosen for their courage, vision and conviction to overcome homophobia and transphobia and make a lasting impact on the world. Read More »
Andrea Jacobs is the Director of Education for Keshet, a national organization dedicated to ensuring that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews are fully included in all parts of the Jewish community.
Years ago, long before I had really thought about having children of my own, I began collecting children’s books. Not just the ones that had been my own favorites—Where the Wild Things Are, Corduroy and the All-of-a-Kind Family series—but also the new ones that cleverly and entertainingly subverted the dominant heterosexist paradigm.
The initial focus of my collecting was alternative fairy tale stories with strong female characters who didn’t need saving by Prince Charming. Read More »
Read a version of this post on the The Huffington Post!
Last month, the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was celebrated by millions across the country and around the world who believe that sexual orientation ought not to have bearing on whether you can serve and sacrifice for the country you love.
We at the Schusterman Family Foundation stood with those who welcomed this shift in direction for our country as it demonstrated that our nation is taking steps toward advancing openness and inclusivity of the LGBT community whose rich diversity strengthens the tapestry of interwoven identities embodying what it means to be an American.
Even more, the repeal of DADT offered proof that entrenched institutions can recognize the fallacy of previous decisions, change course and announce loudly and proudly that who you love should not limit what you do with your life. Read More »
With a spate of suicides calling national attention to the epidemic of homophobic bullying and intolerance, Jewish teens across the country are taking the lead to end bullying and support LGBTQ teens.
A recent letter issued by the youth leaders from the major Jewish teen organizations, including BBYO, NFTY, USY and NCSY, calls upon all Jewish teens to sign the Jewish Community Pledge, with a goal of reaching 18,000 signatures. This effort marks the first time these youth organizations have jointly called upon their peers to band together over an issue so closely tied to their experiences as teens.
As Lynn said upon learning of the initiative: “These teens are sending an extraordinarily powerful message: that they uphold LGBTQ inclusion and equality as fundamental tenets of our community, that they believe deeply in building a more welcoming community and that by taking the Jewish community pledge not to stand idly by, they represent a united Jewish contingent on behalf of this vision.” You can read the letter here. Read More »
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© 2010 Charles and Lynn
Schusterman Family Foundation
