June is known as Pride Month in America as an acknowledgment of the transformational change in perception around LGBTQ+ inclusion over the past five decades since the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969. What was once considered shameful by so many has now become a matter of pride and celebration. We have come a long way and there is indeed much to celebrate. I am particularly proud to be part of a religious tradition that is dynamic and adaptive in this regard. What our Biblical ancestors and other civilizations considered an “abomination” three thousand years ago is increasingly accepted across the denominations of Judaism. Our own Reform movement and Stephen Wise Temple are fully inclusive when it comes to LGBTQ+ marriage, ordination, and participation in the religious life of our community. Israel is a beacon of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Middle East and beyond. Israel's LGBTQ+ citizens are afforded a [...]

These days when people list the various forms of hatred that must be eradicated, they include racism, sexism, anti-Asian bias, homophobia, and transphobia but too often they leave antisemitism off the list. Why is that? One reason is that many people view Jews as wealthy whites with “privilege.” The very failure to acknowledge antisemitism as a persistent problem in urgent need of attention is a itself an indication of just how widespread and accepted the world’s oldest hatred is. Furthermore, labeling Jews monolithically as “privileged whites” is reductive and, often, flat-out wrong. Sociologists estimate that more than 20% of American Jews are persons of color. The percentage in Israel is much higher, taking into account the millions of Jews who come from places like Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, India, Yemen, Egypt, and Morocco. Moreover, it is entirely possible for someone to enjoy “privilege” and at the same time be a victim [...]