The highlight of the week was the Shabbos Friday night dinner where we had 37 gay and lesbian people. The atmosphere at the service was electric, where many gay people had not been in shul for a very long time. We then went to a marvelous kosher dinner, which was started by people talking a bit about why they were there.

One young woman (a friend of mine) spoke about how she had been moved by the film two years ago. She said she had attended the film on the Tuesday night except this time she said there was one exception (and choked up with emotion) her brother and sister were with her.

We were all extremely moved by people’s stories and experiences. The food was good and everyone was open to meeting each other. The discussion after the dinner was also fascinating. It became evident that there was a real need to create some kind of organization for Jewish lesbian and gay people in the aftermath of this tour. A group of people (from those who attended the dinner) have volunteered and we’ve begun putting in place the infrastructure of an organization, that can perform several roles: a political role, a support role for parents and gay people coming out, and a social role for people to meet friends and possibly partners. We look forward to a better future in which we can be proud of both the Jewish and gay parts of our identities!

David Bilchitz
Chairperson
Jewish OutLook