Reform Jewish Leader Urges Speaker Johnson to Stop Attack on Transgender Individuals

November 21, 2024, WASHINGTON - Today, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, sent the following letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) urging him to reverse his newly announced policy targeting transgender and non-binary people:
 

Dear Speaker Johnson,

I write on behalf of the Reform Jewish Movement, including the Union for Reform Judaism, encompassing 1.8 million Reform Jews in nearly 825 congregations, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, encompassing over 2,000 Reform rabbis, to express our strong opposition to your new policy restricting Capitol Hill restroom use for transgender and non-binary people. We urge you to immediately reverse this policy and allow all members, staff, and visitors to the House of Representatives to use restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity.

As people of faith, we believe that all individuals are created in the image of God, worthy of respect. We know you are also a person of deeply held faith, aware that the spark of the Divine is present in every person. That is why we are deeply pained by the policy you have announced, which imposes an indignity on all transgender members, staff, and visitors on Capitol Hill. We hope you will use your office to spotlight the holiness in all people, rather than denigrate and demean.

The new policy you have imposed perpetuates the false and harmful narrative that transgender people - especially transgender women - pose a danger to cisgender women. There is no evidence to suggest that allowing transgender people to use restrooms or other facilities that align with their gender identity leads to violence against other occupants. Criminal conduct in public restrooms is already prohibited by law. Rather, restrictive restroom policies have the potential to harm all occupants - including cisgender women - who may be subject to invasive and demeaning enforcement practices. Most importantly, transgender people deserve to live with dignity and access facilities that align with their gender identity.

Our support for transgender inclusion is deeply rooted in Jewish text and tradition. Many Jewish texts proudly affirm the existence of transgender, non-binary, intersex, and gender expansive individuals. There are hundreds of references to at least six different sex and gender identities across Jewish legal codes and Rabbinic commentary. As Reform Jews, we know that deep faith and a commitment to transgender inclusion are not mutually exclusive but rather essential parts of our Judaism.

This policy will harm countless congressional members, staff, and visitors, including many transgender, non-binary, intersex, and gender expansive people within our Reform Jewish Movement. Each year, we bring thousands of advocates to Capitol Hill through our L'Taken teen social justice seminars and other lobby days. All of them deserve to feel safe and affirmed when engaged in the democratic process. The House of Representatives has historically been known as the "People's House" and must remain open and welcoming to all.

For all these reasons, I urge you to immediately reverse this discriminatory policy.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism