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For Elliot Kukla, Gender Transition and Ordination Went Hand in Hand
“I don’t think it was an accident that I found myself coming out as trans at the same time that I found myself becoming ordained,” said Rabbi Elliot Kukla, the first out transgender rabbi to be ordained in 2006 at HUC-JIR’s Los Angeles campus. “There is a certain identity transition in becoming a rabbi that,…
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Reuben Zellman’s Rabbinical Classmates Were ‘Unfailingly Supportive’
As the first out transgender student accepted at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in 2003, Reuben Zellman recalled reading about his historic admission in a local newspaper. “I realized I was the first transgender person I had ever seen in the media who was still alive,” he said. At the time, transgender issues barely…
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Emily Aviva Kapor: Creating a Jewish Community for Trans Women
The fact that she’s the only out transgender female rabbi doesn’t surprise 28-year-old Emily Aviva Kapor. It’s a reflection of sexism in the broader society, she said, paired with the fact that the Jewish feminist movement largely has overlooked trans women. “If I want to have an affirmative Judaism for all women, including trans women,”…
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My Inner Psalm Reader
My Israeli-born kids recited Tehillim in kindergarten. Tehillim, the Psalms of David, are background music here in Jerusalem. But they weren’t when I was growing up in mid-20th-century New York. David’s words lived on in my siddur and set to Shlomo Carlebach’s music, but the idea of reciting them on their own, and not during…
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YU Abuse Lawsuit; Pop Stars & BDS; ‘World War Z’
In this week’s Reporters Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward staff writer Paul Berger to discuss a lawsuit filed this week by former students of Yeshiva University who allege a long history of sex abuse. Then, Anne Cohen drops by to discuss how different pop stars are dealing with calls to boycott…
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Triathlete Pia Levine Races Against Terrorism
Pia Levine, who is scheduled to compete in the Aquaphor NYC Triathlon on July 14, runs in a way that differs from other endurance athletes. Having survived a Jerusalem bus bombing in March 2011, just two days before running her first marathon, she says she participates to show that she has not been defeated by…
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Portugal’s Jewish Law of Return Moves from Facebook to Statute Book
Until 2009, right-wing Portuguese politician Jose Ribeiro e Castro didn’t have much interest in the expulsion of his country’s Jewish community in the 16th century. That changed once Ribeiro e Castro opened a Facebook account. Online, the 60-year-old lawmaker and journalist connected to several Sephardic Jews, descendants of a once robust Jewish community numbering in…
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Third Alleged Yeshiva U. Abuser Accused of Preying on Boys in Dorms and Apartment
Boca Raton’s Jewish community is reeling after Richard Andron emerged as the latest alleged abuser in a widening sex abuse scandal tied to Yeshiva University. Until now, only Rabbis George Finkelstein and Macy Gordon, both former staff members of Y.U.’s Manhattan high school for boys, have been named in a series of articles in the…
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Christine Quinn Wins Orthodox Applause With Vow to Aid Religious Schools
New York City mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn courted Modern Orthodox leaders, highlighting her support for city aid to private religious schools. Quinn drew applause with comments on key issues like school aid and special education in a speech to a group of communal and religious school leaders in the Manhattan offices of the Orthodox Union…
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Senate Tries To Revive Stalled Bill Allowing FEMA Disaster Aid to Synagogues
Hoping to revive a bill that would permit aid to synagogues damaged by Hurricane Sandy, two U.S. senators have introduced a new measure that seeks to alleviate concerns from FEMA and civil liberties groups over separation of church and state issues. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) put forward a new bill that limits…
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Yeshiva Rocked as 6 More People Accuse School of Sex Abuse Cover-Up
Six more people have come forward with accusations against Yeshiva University, days after 19 former high school students filed a $380 million suit charging that Y.U. covered up decades of physical and sexual abuse. Mike Reck, an attorney representing the six, said his clients are disappointed they have been unable to reach a settlement with…
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