Vacation

I have not posed in a while because I have been on vacation, but there is a new development I must report: 1. The Jewish Press published an op-ed by an openly gay Orthodox Jewish man, urging the Orthodox community to treat gay Orthodox Jews better 2. When bullied about the op-ed, the Jewish press chose to fight back, saying, " significant number of suicide attempts are committed by boys from not just religious but rabbinic homes — because they thought they were homosexual and had no place in the Orthodox world they grew up in, even if they had never acted on those impulses.

Until politics exits the science, it won’t be known if homosexuality is genetic, hormonal, neurological, psychological, or a choice. The Torah itself is very clear on where it stands on homosexual acts.

But the Torah is also very clear on how one should treat one’s fellow Jew, and certainly one who tries to be religious — whether he or she succeeds or not — should not be driven by fellow Jews to contemplate suicide.

A situation where religious Jews are provoking children and adults who are different to consider suicide is unthinkable and unacceptable.

Following the publication of this op-ed, a number of Jewish Press advertisers were approached and threatened. They were told to stop advertising with The Jewish Press.

The Jewish Press won’t give in to threats and we won’t be silenced."

Below are links to the op-ed and the Jewish presses response.

Op-ed:http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/surviving-bullying-silencing-and-torment-for-being-gay-in-the-frum-community/2012/01/25/

Response:http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/editorial/the-jewish-press-wont-be-silenced/2012/01/31/

While I'm providing links, here's another one to the Jewish Press - a letter written by an awesome feminist frummie husband:http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/family/marriage-relationships/dear-dr-yael/2012/01/12/

And an article about the Exodus, slavery, and birthing practices: http://shayna-abramson.suite101.com/exodus-and-new-world-slavery-a401965