Are We All Created in God's Image?: Gay/Lesbian Issues and Challenges in our Jewish Community
What began as a panel discussion on gay/lesbian issues in this conservative, heartland city, became a transformative process for a congregation struggling to understand and meet the needs of all of its members. The process began with bringing in outside experts and members of the congregation for a panel discussion on Jewish and psychological approaches to gay and lesbian issues. At the end of the session, two gay male members of the congregation asked the rabbi to perform a commitment ceremony. While such ceremonies may be common today on the coasts, they are still almost unheard of in Omaha, Nebraska. The rabbi engaged the congregation, through a special task force, in helping define the issues that must be addressed in making the decision and to serve as an advisory committee for him. The task force, representing a broad cross-section of the congregation, conducted research on what other congregations have done in the same situation and provided opportunities for the rest of the congregation to be involved in the process. Ultimately, on the recommendation of the task force, the board of trustees passed a resolution allowing the rabbi to exercise his/her own authority. The process by which the decision was made is highly commendable and can serve as a model for congregations struggling to make decisions on potentially divisive issues.

*Recipient of the Irving J. Fain Social Action Honorable Mention Award (1999)

And Justice for All
In August of 1993, the Cobb County (Marietta, GA) Commission passed its infamous resolution on "Family Values," which was a thinly-veiled threat against gay Americans. In part, the resolution stressed that lesbians and gays were antithetical to the values of Cobb County and that gays were a danger to the "health, safety, and welfare of the community."

After several public hearings and complaints that brought out some of the bigotry and hatred, many local lesbians and gay men were threatened and harassed. In 1994, Rabbi Steven Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth (Marietta, GA) met with other local clergy groups and founded an interreligious coalition to fight the gay-bashing brought on by the actions of the Commission. They issued a statement on tolerance that received wide publication.

At the urging of Kol Emeth's social action committee, Rabbi Lebow called for a demonstration on the anniversary of the anti-gay resolution. The rally was attended by over 3,000 people who came to hear local clergy demand an end to the anti-gay resolution. (Rabbi Lebow subsequently received a Human Rights award from Clergy and Laity Concerned and a Human Rights Award from Cobb Citizens Coalition for his leadership on the issue.)

Since then, the social action committee has held a series of services, meetings, and lectures to try to educate others to reject the anti-gay bias of the Cobb County Commission. The interreligious clergy group has made common cause with other human rights groups, and has continued to protest the Commission's decisions. Recently the County Commission voted to ban various speakers from Rabbi Lebow's group. The Marietta religious community continues to lobby, protest, and educate against this anti-human rights resolution. For more information,please contact Temple Kol Emeth.

*Recipient of the Irving J. Fain Social Action Award

Homosexuals Under Nazi Tyranny: Cleveland's Interfaith Lecture Series and Visits to U.S.Holocaust Museum
In May 1994, Chevrei Tikvah (Cleveland, OH) sponsored a lecture by Dr. Klaus Muller, Professor of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, consultant to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and renowned scholar on anti-gay Nazi policies and persecution. The congregation also presented, for the first time outside the Holocaust Museum, the remarkable documentary film of gay Holocaust survivors entitled, "We Were Marked With a Big 'A'," (a German pejorative applied to homosexuals).

With an admission charge of only canned goods or a small cash donation, Dr. Muller's lecture drew over 260 people, of whom over 82 percent were from outside the congregation—specifically the lesbian and gay interfaith and Jewish communities. Then, in October 1994, the synagogue co-sponsored a trip to the Holocaust Museum which included congregants and members of the interfaith community.

For many who participated in the lecture and the trip to the Holocaust Museum, the program helped introduce, or expand awareness, of the Holocaust, the Jewish community, and the lesbian and gay community. It placed the often forgotten story of lesbians and gays in the context of the Nazis' vicious persecution. Participants were also reminded of the continued persecution of lesbians and gays after the death camps were liberated, and the growing threat of intolerance by hate groups toward Jews, lesbians, and gay men.

*Recipient of the Irving J. Fain Social Action Award

Return to Program Bank