Building Bridges: Working to Ensure Washington Won't Discriminate

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if for myself only, what am I?” (Pirkei Avot 1:14)

There is much to learn from these brief words of Hillel, not the least of which is how to be an effective social justice advocate: stand up for yourself, and don’t stand alone.

In the forty years since I first came out as a lesbian, the number of allies standing with LGBTQ people has grown to a level I never thought I’d see. The fact that many are people of faith – not to mention entire religious denominations, including the Reform Movement – never ceases to amaze me. I am ever thankful that I no longer have to choose between my queer identity and my Jewish identity.

So when opponents of LGBTQ rights proposed a “bathroom bill” in my home state of Washington that would repeal hard-won anti-discrimination protections for transgender people, it was my privilege to build another bridge between my communities. I was able to arrange a meeting between the RAC and one of the leading organizations in the Pacific Northwest dedicated to achieving a world in which all LGBTQ youth, adults and families enjoy the freedom to live safely, openly and genuinely.

The first meeting over coffee at the end of January, with Rabbi Joel Simonds, the RAC’s associate program director, and Kris Hermanns, executive director of Pride Foundation, was electric. As Kris described the bill that would be heard in the state senate in just a few days, Rabbi Simonds was already planning a letter articulating the Reform Movement’s opposition; by later that afternoon he had talked with several Reform clergy in the state about signing on. We also received news that the URJ – acting in accordance with its historic resolution on the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People that passed unanimously at the last Biennial – had agreed to join the coalition opposing the legislation.

The legislation died – and was reborn in March as Initiative 1515 under Washington’s robust citizen initiative process. About a quarter million signatures would be needed to put I-1515 on the ballot, and the coalition’s work shifted to educating people about why they shouldn’t sign the initiative petition. Our synagogue board voted to join the coalition, and Rabbi Jason Levine, our associate rabbi, appeared with other faith leaders at the launch of the Washington Won’t Discriminate campaign.

On July 7, we learned that initiative proponents had not gathered the requisite number of signatures. Celebration took many forms, from whoops of joy to high-fives all around – and lots of likes on Facebook. Most meaningful for me were these words from Rabbi Simonds: “Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam hatov v’ha’meitiv. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who is good and causes good.” That these words of blessing could be used to celebrate a victory for LGBTQ rights reveals the shleymut (wholeness) that can be achieved when we stand together, not alone.

Shelly F. Cohen is president of Temple Beth Am in Seattle and a member of the Commission on Social Action.