Governor of Hawaii Consults Rabbis on Civil Unions
“Why don’t you just talk to the rabbi?”
Jewish Republican governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle seems to be heeding this advice — a favorite of my mother’s. A bill legalizing civil unions in Hawaii is on her desk, and her deadline for deciding whether to veto it is drawing near.
According to an article by the Associated Press, Lingle earlier this month said Hawaii’s small Jewish community was divided on the issue, and invited rabbis Itchel Krasnjansky (Orthodox) and Peter Schaktman (Reform) to talk to her about their divergent opinions.
The Hawaii Supreme Court’s 1993 decision in favor of gay marriage led to significant backlash, including passage of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 and Hawaii’s own ban on gay marriage in 1998. The current bill — which would legalize civil unions only — does not revive the marriage issue or overturn any previous legislation.
Krasnjansky, the director of Chabad of Hawaii, said that the Torah shows that homosexuality “is not something that should be condoned or should be legalized.” Schaktman, the leader of Honolulu’s Temple Emanu-El, disagreed, saying civil unions were a matter of law, not religion.
The debate creates a new twist on an old adage: three Jews, two opinions, and only one governor with veto power.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!