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Shulamit Izen at Brown University’s Hillel

In A Flood of Homophobia, a Davar Torah on Parashat Noach, Rabbi David Mitchellresponds to the recent spate of young gay men taking their own lives (including Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge) by asking us, as individuals and the Jewish community collectively, what we are doing to prevent such tragic deaths. His answer is not nearly enough.

I encourage my readers to read Rabbi Mitchell’s Davar Torah as well as my June 2009 article Neighborhoods 101: How inclusive and welcoming toward LGBT Jews is your shul?and think about what you can do to make young gay Jews feel welcome and accepted in our community.

Also read Do Not Stand Idly By: A Jewish Community Pledge to Save Lives, sign the pledge, and read Ten Things You Can Do Today to Strengthen Our Community.

And view the trailer to the film Hineni about Shulamit Izen, a lesbian student who founded a gay-straight alliance at her Jewish high school.

For more info: David Cooper