Stay up-to-date with our many communities: Here’s what’s been happening this month in the intersecting worlds of pro-Israel and the LGBTQ community!

TOP NEWS

We warmly welcome new additions to the A Wider Bridge team! Shana Gee-Cohen will be joining the team as National Director of Programs and Development.  Rabbi Gil Steinlauf from Washington D.C. and Barry Blecher from New York City will be joining the AWB Board.  A Wider Bridge

Ofer Erez, the first transgender officer in the IDF, will be released from the army at the end of the month and will take on his new position – the Executive Director of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance: “We must allow a space where everyone can feel safe and proud to be themselves.” YNET

ISRAEL NEWS

After 12 years, Yair Hochner is stepping down as Executive Director of the TLVFest LGBT Film Festival. Producer Gil Sima will take his place. Ha’aretz

Dr. Yael Levy Chazan, one of the founders of the Be’er Sheva Pride Center, was killed in a car crash hours after participating in the grand opening of the home. WDG

LGBTQ activists demonstrated  front of the Tel Aviv District Court after the Israeli Ministry of Welfare calls lesbian parenting court case “child trafficking.”  Walla! News

A television program looks at transgender parenting in Israel, including mistreatment of trans parents by the authorities. WDG

Israeli singer Yael Deckelbaum has just released “Home,” the first official single of The Mothers Ensemble. The group marched and performed together during the peace march of hope last fall. A Wider Bridge

NORTH AMERICA NEWS

NEW YORK — On December 6, 2017, A Wider Bridge and the New York LGBTQ, Jewish and pro-Israel communities gathered together for a successful, sold-out benefit in New York City, honoring Arthur Slepian and Evan Wolfson. Thank you for your support! View the photos on Facebook.

NEW YORK — Meet Ori and Alona – two women who cannot get married to each other in Israel because same-sex marriage is not yet legal in Israel. They took part in a group wedding ceremony, as a political action calling for marriage equality in Israel. A Wider Bridge

VIEWS

“It’s 2017, and I, Quentin Hill, am a radical, queer, Zionist.” A Wider Bridge’s Northeast Manager Quentin Hill blogs about why being queer and zionist in 2017 is a radical act of resistance. Wider Bridge

Lesbian activist Adi Sadaka talks about why she loves the Haifa LGBTQ community, and her work with Haifa’s LGBTQ History Project. A Wider Bridge

Gay Israeli Hair Stylist Eran Waizman has a unique story. He lives with his boyfriend next to his ex-wife, shares custody of the kids: “She’s always knew I was gay, it was never a secret”. MAKO Pride

AWB/Olivia Mission Trip to Israel alum Guila Rice reflects on her Chanukah memories then and now. A Wider Bridge

Oded Frid, the head of the public policy forum and a member of the Aguda board, writes about how the “Jewish Law” bill will take Israel’s LGBTQ community backwards. MAKO Pride

Omar Sharif Jr. stresses the need for trans stories more than ever. A Wider Bridge

Religious lesbian activist Zehorit Sorek explains the fight for LGBT equality in Israel’s Orthodox Community. The Jewish Chronicle

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The 8th Annual LGBT Tel Hai Conference is underway in the Galilee, training students to work with at-risk LGBTQ youth.