Jewish Federations Move Toward Gay Outreach

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Federations Move Toward Gay Outreach
By NATHANIEL POPPER
May 12, 2006

When the World Pride gay festival kicks off in Jerusalem in August,
Philadelphia's Jewish community will be the only one in the United States to
send an official delegation.

Several gay synagogues across the country are sending groups to the
festival, which was originally planned for August 2005 but was pushed back
to this summer because of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. In Philadelphia,
though, it is the Jewish federation (the community's central organization)
that recently began recruiting people to take part in a mission to Israel
scheduled to coincide with the festival.

<snip>

The inclusion of gays in Jewish life has been a hot topic, with most of the
attention falling on the religious movements: The Conservative movement, for
example, is currently engaging in a debate over whether to allow gay rabbis
and same-sex marriage. But the federations, it could be argued, provide a
more representative glimpse of the attitude toward gays in the wider Jewish
community because they encompass a greater cross-section of the Jewish world
and do not have to deal as much with thorny questions of religious law.
<snip>

In gay activist circles, the Jewish community is compared favorably with other faith groups for its involvement in gay political causes. Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have campaigned against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which seeks to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples.

More:
http://www.forward.com/articles/7766