Loving our Trans Jewish Children

Strengthening our support for the Israeli LGBTQ Community in these trying times is our prime mission. Please join us for a special online event during Trans Visibility Week as we host an inspiring conversation with two remarkable Jewish mothers who have been unwavering advocates for their beloved transgender kids. Discover how the war impacted their lives and their families, and how they are coping with these difficult times.
Mindy Levine has won two court cases to let her 8-year-old child Roee, who has identified as a boy from a very young age, remain in a religious school despite other parents’ objections.
Kate, AKA “Transister Mom,” has recently authored the book, “Transister: Raising Twins in a Gender Bending World.” Her journey of raising twins, one cisgender and one transgender, offers profound insights into the complexities and joys of parenting in a diverse and evolving world.
During their conversation, Mindy and Kate will share their personal experiences, shedding light on what it means to support their children’s journeys wholeheartedly. They will also discuss their hopes and aspirations for allies, emphasizing the importance of supporting transgender children not just during Trans Visibility Week, but every week of the year.

 

Sign up today!

Please read the following message from Daniel Hernandez, Vice Chair at A Wider Bridge:
Last month, I was honored to visit with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff — and I posed with him with the amazing Jewish Inclusive Pride Flag — the same flag I carried at Jerusalem Pride.
Then a far-right extremist on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared the photo.
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What followed was a torrent of antisemitic and homophobic abuse, with thousands of shares and comments.
As of this moment, the post has been viewed over 1,900,000 times. Already over 14,000 people have clicked the heart button to “like” the post.
Here are just a few of the replies, many of which are so vile that I can’t share them here.

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I need you to help me fight back.
The truth is that this isn’t an attack on me — it’s an attack on all of us. I want you to join me and take a stand against hate — will you help us raise funds for our fight against antisemitism and LGBTQphobia?
Your donation will help us expand the reach of the Jewish Inclusive Pride flag to more locations.
Your donation will support our community events and aid those in need, both online and offline.
Your donation will support our efforts in exposing the interconnectedness between antisemitism and LGBTQphobia.
A Wider Bridge stands against hate and stands against antisemitism, and LGBTQphobia in all its forms. They have my back. And they have your back, too.
Antisemitism and LGBTQphobia go hand in hand. The disturbing photos from this past weekend’s neo-Nazi rally in Florida are revolting yet sadly unsurprising. Hate persists.
Slanders of Jews and LGBTQ folks as predatory are age-old. They normalize the discrimination and violence that inevitably follows.
We stand firmly in solidarity with the Jewish and LGBTQ communities in Florida. To our allies, please bear in mind that many individuals belong to both of these communities, enduring a double burden of discrimination and hate. When hateful voices gain momentum, it is incumbent upon all of us to speak out; silence is not an option.
To read more about the event, click here

Help us to make our beaches pristine so that we can all enjoy the beauty in our backyard and protect ocean animals. It’s an opportunity to make a positive impact on our environment while spending quality time with service-minded members of our community.

The clean-up is co-sponsored by our Rautenberg New Leaders Project (NLP), the Office of L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, A Wider Bridge, JQ International, and Keshet. In light of the recent anti-LGBTQIA+ and antisemitic graffiti that was left at Ginger Rogers Beach, the Federation reaffirms our commitment to stand in solidarity against all forms of hate. We look forward to welcoming our NLP participants and their families, as well as our LGBTQIA+ community for this uplifting day of service.

Sunday, August 20th at Topanga State Beach
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Exact location info will be shared with registrants in advance of the event.

Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Please remember to bring sunscreen, a hat, and water.

 

Sign up today!

Today is a somber day.

The Israeli government has passed a “reasonableness” law that diminishes the authority of the Supreme Court. This is a dire step in an agenda that many fear will shift the delicate balance of Israeli democracy toward autocracy.

The Israeli LGBTQ community has been protesting these proposals for months because it is the Supreme Court that has helped to safeguard the civil rights of all Israelis, including the LGBTQ community.

The story doesn’t end here. The fate of a democracy is not decided in a single day or with a single vote. We love Israel and care deeply about its future. Our commitment is permanent. Please stand with us as we stand with the Israeli LGBTQ community.

Especially now, the Israeli LGBTQ community needs your support. They are struggling to afford the cost of participating in the pro-democracy movement, as well as increases in calls to crisis hotlines and support services. Please contribute to our Emergency Grant campaign today.

We also recognize that this is a global struggle. Democracy is fragile and must be protected everywhere.

Let’s start the new year off right by celebrating with our incredible, intersectional LGBTQ Jewish community.

Join us for a cooking demonstration highlighting Mizrahi cooking with Chef Ayelet Latovitch, just in time for Rosh HaShanah.

Moderator: Matthew Nouriel

 

Sign up today!

A Special Statement by Andy Austin, AWB Board Chair:

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Last week, we learned that despite nationwide and international protests, the Netanyahu government in Israel is moving forward with legislation that would reduce the authority of the Supreme Court to serve as a check on unreasonable government actions.

I am shocked, but not surprised.

Just a few weeks ago, I was in Israel with 30 outstanding LGBTQ activists. We marched with, supported, and learned from our Israeli LGBTQ partners – the Proud community, as they are known. They told us of their concerns about the powerful leaders who have made it their mission to denigrate and dehumanize the entire  LGBTQ community. We heard about the hate-filled rhetoric and violence they are experiencing – and we witnessed it with our own ears and eyes.

A Wider Bridge vehemently rejects the extremists who are fighting against Israel’s LGBTQ community and democracy at the same time. The strength of any democracy lies in the confidence its citizens have in government institutions. Eroding judicial review undermines that confidence and the very security of the Jewish state.

Of course, we don’t have to travel around the world to see LGBTQphobia. It’s a global phenomenon. Indeed, much of what we see is exported from the U.S. and translated into Hebrew and other languages.

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And the global increase in hate isn’t limited to the LGBTQ community. I live in New York City. We have seen an alarming increase in antisemitic rhetoric in this city, as in many places across America. I know that hateful words are often followed by hateful acts. In fact, part of what makes the news from Israel so painful is that it makes it even harder to fight those whose antisemitism is manifest in the demonization of Israel.

We are all in this together. There is no parliamentary vote – in Israel or anywhere – that can erase our lives. We love Israel as much today as we ever have, and we know our destinies are intertwined. We have never taken the position that what happens in Israel is entirely an internal affair. We have always had a core commitment to building equality in Israel. We always will. We commit to support our Israeli partners no matter which direction the pendulum swings. We stand in solidarity.

Join us for an open conversation about the lives and struggles of Arab and Palestinian LGBTQ folks. We will be joined by Rita Petrenko, Director of Albeit Almuhtalef (The Different House), an NGO dedicated to empowering and assisting Arab LGBTQ people in Israel, and Ala Ibrahim, a gay Druze activist currently living in Tel Aviv.
After Registration, you will receive a link to the film “The Invisible Men,” a documentary about three Palestinian men who are part of the Palestinian “underground” hiding in Tel Aviv, having entered Israel illegally to escape persecution and possible death because of their sexual identity.

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Thursday, July 20th, 2:00 pm ET 

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Click here to register today

In 2023, millions are engaging in protests all around the world. People are making their voices heard in France, Mexico, Bangladesh, Hungary, and Greece – just to name a few.

The specific events triggering civic action vary by location. But whether it’s pension reforms, election concerns, human rights, or rank government incompetence, it’s undeniable that the world is shaking. Among the common threads are an existential threat to democratic institutions. 

At A Wider Bridge, we are closely connected to the manifestation of this international phenomenon in Israel.

Israelis from across the political spectrum are taking a stand for their democracy in an unprecedented manner. They have taken to the streets in historic numbers day after day, week after week, in patriotic displays of defiance. LGBTQ Israelis are on the front lines in a battle over  legislation that most of them feel would dramatically undermine the independence of Israel’s judiciary. The stakes are high. The Israeli Supreme Court has been a bastion for advancing LGBTQ equality. But there is more than the court in play. A new generation of extremist politicians have gained true power – and the bully pulpit. The reverberations are being felt far and wide – and the threat they pose is no longer theoretical. 

The 2022 report on LGBTQphobia in Israel

The Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, just released its 2022 report on LGBTQphobia in Israel. The findings show that anti-LGBTQ hate has skyrocketed. It rose during an election cycle in which some extremist politicians railed against LGBTQ rights, and it skyrocketed after the early November election. It has affected almost every aspect of LGBTQ life in the country.

In total, there were 3,309 reports of LGBTQ abuse last year – an enormous increase, and double what was reported as recently as five years ago. Delving deeper into the data, the news gets even scarier: an eightfold increase in year-on-year discrimination reports involving services by businesses, a fivefold increase in LGBTQ abuse reports in the public sphere, a 53% increase in reports from trans individuals, and a sevenfold increase in LGBTQ abuse reports where the offending parties are public figures and in the media.

On top of that, fully 25% of these reports came in November and December – during the election campaign and immediately following the commencement of the new government.

Some have urged patience with Israel’s new government and advocate a wait-and-see approach. They say nothing bad has happened yet. Sadly, they are wrong. 

While these extremist politicians, now leading important government ministries, have yet to deliver fully on pledges to remove LGBTQ education from schools, groups working in that sector say it has become increasingly difficult to do programs they routinely offered in the past. They have yet to ban Pride parades, end hormone treatments and gender-affirming care for trans people, or provide financial support for organizations that provide conversion therapy. But all of these anti-LGBTQ policies are on the table. Unfortunately for LGBTQ Israelis, there is no safety in adopting a wait-and-see approach.

Recently, a group of right-wing youth harassed protesters carrying Pride flags in Tel Aviv. They threw rocks at a building at which a Pride flag was displayed. They even climbed a balcony to tear it down. They were caught in the act on video and later identified. But for weeks, no arrests have been made.  In response, thousands of pro-LGBTQ Israelis protested in front of the police headquarters in Tel Aviv – a city justifiably celebrated for its LGBTQ-friendly environment and with one of the highest percentages of LGBTQ residents in the world. They were protesting police inaction, fully cognizant that the municipal police are controlled by the Israeli Ministry of National Security under Itamar Ben-Gvir, an open homophobe who ran for office on a far-right slate with a radical anti-LGBTQ platform.

Was the lack of police action a result of top-down pressure? We don’t know. But we do know that the physical security of LGBTQ people is often dependent on the institutions that govern us.

We also know that we can never take our rights and our safety for granted. That’s true whether one is  LGBTQ in Tel Aviv, Black in Missouri, or Jewish on the streets of New York City, where antisemitic violence is on the rise.

The legislation Israelis are protesting is but one symptom of a global phenomena to wrest power from institutions that have advanced the equality of marginalized groups – LGBTQ people, women, racial minorities, immigrants, and others. It is not difficult to connect the dots from Jerusalem to Florida to certain eastern European countries, where democratic norms are under attack in general, as are the rights of LGBTQ people in particular.

What can we do?

So what do we do in the face of these challenges? First, we recognize the challenges as real, acute, and demanding immediate action. 

Then we organize. We protest. We don’t allow ourselves to be gaslighted by those who say all is well, when clearly it is not. All one has to do to appreciate the threats to LGBTQ people in Israel is to speak with a few LGBTQ Israelis.

Accordingly, A Wider Bridge has dramatically increased our support of LGBTQ groups through additional public advocacy and an emergency campaign to fund their pro-democracy work and meet needs for increased social services. Next month, we will travel to Israel to stand with our LGBTQ family. We will march with them at the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance and host an English livestream to the world. 

We continue to be inspired by Israel’s democracy movement, where the LGBTQ flag has become as common a sight in the streets as the Israeli flag itself. We will stand with them today – and every day –- to protect Israel’s democratic and pluralistic character in the face of this emergency.

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Want to learn more about the Jewish Inclusive Pride flag?

 

First, the history:

For years, we have used a traditional six color rainbow pride flag with a white Star of David in the center – and we have fought back those who rejected this symbol of our pride. In recent years, a new pride flag has gained prominence – with additional colors representing marginalized groups – including people of color, trans individuals, and those living with HIV or who have lost their lives due to HIV.

The beautiful new flag puts those missing colors inside the Jewish star. The new AWB flag not only embraces this inclusive spirit – it projects inclusion as a core Jewish value. We believe that when one part of the community is excluded, we are all left weaker and less vibrant. The flag represents all the identities in our community and symbolically states that one cannot remove the Jewish star and still be inclusive.

For A Wider Bridge, our connection to Israel is an integral part of our Jewish identity and our LGBTQ identity. We wave this flag and say We Refuse to Choose between any of the inseparable parts of our identities – and we will not be excluded from either the LGBTQ or Jewish communities.

We invite you to wave this flag proudly, at pride festivals or at your home,
synagogue, or community building – and we hope you will take your picture with the flag and post it on social media or send it to us.

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Questions for families or community group discussion
  • What does each color represent to you? 
  • Write down 3 wishes for the Israeli LGBTQ community
  • What is inclusion and why is it important in our community?
  • Where would you like to see the flag?

Get Creative! Create and Color your own Jewish Inclusive Pride Flag

Download the coloring page, and make it your own! If you want, you can post it online and tag @awiderbridge

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