September 2004 Newsletter
The World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Jews: Keshet Ga’ava Bi-Weekly E-Mail Newsletter
29 Elul 5763 | September 26, 2003
All Americas Conference
"Una Reunión del Orgullo"
The first All Americas Conference of the World Congress of GLBT Jews: Keshet Ga’ava, was indeed una reunión del orgullo; a gathering of pride. Participants from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, the U.S. and Israel gathered in Mexico City from August 20-22, to meet, learn, discuss, worship, and celebrate the conference theme of "Continudad Judía y Orgullo en law Diversidad - Jewish Continuity & Pride in Diversity" as magnificently organized and hosted by our member organization, Shalom Amigos, of Mexico City, under the direction of World Congress Western Hemisphere director Luís.
It was a groundbreaking event. For the first time, publicity for a Jewish LGBT event appeared prominently in Kesher (CDInforma), Mexico’s Independent Jewish newspaper, and the Jewish Community Center newsletter; Comundad Bet El, a Conservative synagogue graciously hosted the World Congress Board Meeting; the Mexico City Jewish Federation sent an enthusiastic representative to join us for breakfast; The Kehila Ashkenazi of Acapulco Street, an Orthodox synagogue, opened its doors to queer Jews for morning Shabbat services, including them all in the alyiot; the executive director of the 30,000+ member Jewish Community Center (one of the world’s largest) escorted us on a VIP tour of the impressive and modern facilities. From the Conference headquarters in a beautiful hotel in the heart of Mexico City’s hopping "Zona Rosa" our participants fanned out to enjoy everything Mexico City has to offer, from pyramids to gay bars; museums to a kosher taquería; Mariachi music to an interactive erotic dance ritual; tri-lingual Kabalat Shabbat services lead by Shifra Berman and Elias Shabot; a keynote speech by Enoe Uranga, former member of the Mexico City Assembly, out lesbian and promoter of Mexican civil unions; an update on the AIDS situation from the leader of Mexico City’s Jewish medical community; and a walking tour of the history of Jewish immigration through downtown Mexico City.
The Conference was preceded by a two-day meeting of the Board of Directors of the World Congress, in which Ra’anan Gabay (Tel Aviv) was confirmed as president, David Gellman (San Francisco) and Jonathan Falk (Los Angeles) were elected as vice-president and secretary, respectively, Joel Behmoras (Paris) was elected as an Eastern Hemisphere officer at large, and German Vaisman (Buenos Aires) was elected as a Western Hemisphere officer at large. The Board committed significant resources to the task of obtaining a grant for the hiring of an executive director, and to improving communication with members and LGBT Jews worldwide by providing a bi-monthly electronic newsletter, enhanced website, and a printed Digest. The Board agreed that the Mexico City Conference would serve as the beginning of a dynamic focus on Latin America throughout 2005, and welcomed the membership of Keshet Buenos Aires, a new group involved in GLBT education and political programming in Argentina.
Conference participants from the US and Canada learned that Mexico’s Jewish community, while affluent and educated, is ultra-conservative, and has until very recently resisted acknowledging even the existence of gay, lesbian, bi- and trans Jews within the community. The fact that this Conference took place in Mexico, in such an open and well-publicized fashion, highlighted the historic nature of this first Latin American convergence of Jewish lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, and offered tangible results of more than ten years of education, advocacy, patience and persistence by Shalom Amigos in Mexico. The ripple effects throughout the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Jewish communities, straight and gay, will be enormous, as more and more Jews come out from their closets of fear or denial, to realize that LGBTs constitute a vital and vibrant part of every Jewish community.
Purim With Pride -
30 Years of Unmasking Ourselves
Come celebrate Purim with Pride in 2005! The World Congress and Cong. Sha’ar Zahav
los invitan a/convida a/laden sie zu ein/invitez-vous à/ invite you to
The 18th International Conference and 30th Anniversary of the World Congress
March 24-27, 2005, in San Francisco, California
Mark you calendars and tell your friends about the 2005 International Conference, with the beautiful, fair-weather, City of San Francisco as the location for an unforgettable event featuring distinguished rabbis, speakers and entertainers, a Purim festival that will knock your hamentshen off, a haven for GLBT Jews and their families from around the world to meet, exchange stories, and grow our community.
Study, Debate, Create!
The conference will feature two days of facilitated workshops, organized in five tracks for adults:
Politics - LGBT rights worldwide
Religion - Torah study, LGBTs in the movements
Fine Arts - music, dance, art projects
Family - marriage, adoption, parenting
Organizations (leadership, fundraising, gender inclusivity)
Plus a first - a track of special events and activities just for kids, to make this the most family-friendly conference yet.
Your place or mine?
Housing options will range from carefully matched home hospitality provided by the 400+ member families of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, to affordable hotel rooms available at the conference site, easily accessible to the San Francisco airport by rapid transit, and only a short walk or historic streetcar side to the city’s celebrated Castro district. Kosher and vegetarian food options will be offered.
San Francisco A la Carte
To insure that all participants get a full opportunity to fully experience the delights of San Francisco, your hosts will arrange your personal choice of adventures to the City’s best restaurants, clubs, theater, sports, bars, dance, classical music, jazz, comedy, and other nightlife. Plan to stay up late on Saturday night - and revive yourself with a farewell brunch on Sunday (not too early!)
For additional information, please contact:
L’Shana Tova!