| Keshet | |
|---|---|
The Keshet logo |
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| Motto | Working for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Jews in Jewish life |
| Formation | 1996 |
| Location | Jamaica Plain, MA |
| Executive Director | Idit Klein |
| Website | http://www.keshetonline.org |
Keshet (Hebrew: קשת keshet, lit. "rainbow") is a Boston-based nonprofit that works for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Jews in Jewish life. Keshet produced the groundbreaking documentary Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School and companion curriculum.
On June 18, 2010, it was announced that Jewish Mosaic, another American Jewish LGBT organization, would merge with Keshet, with the post-merger organization retaining the name "Keshet". The merger was aided through a grant from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.[1] Jewish Mosaic was included in the 2005 and 2006 editions of “Slingshot,” a guide to 50 “of the most creative and effective Jewish organizations” in America.[2]
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Keshet is a grassroots organization working for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Jews in Jewish life. Nationally, Keshet provides resources, training, and technical assistance for creating change in Jewish communities across the country. In the Greater Boston area, Keshet also offers community events for GLBT Jews.
The Hineini Education Project trains and supports Jewish educators, clergy, program staff, youth, and lay leaders to ensure that GLBT youth, families, and staff are safe and affirmed in all Jewish educational and community settings. The Hineini Education Project has three major components:
Individualized staff development trainings, consultations, and workshops that teach concrete strategies for combating anti-GLBT bias, supporting GLBT youth, and creating fully inclusive experiences for all Jewish youth and families. Keshet also runs two intensive Training Institutes annually for Jewish educators and community leaders. Participants are given the tools and guidance to replicate the trainings in their own communities.[3][4] Keshet also has partnership with Rabbi Steve Greenberg, the first and only openly gay Orthodox rabbi, Keshet’s Rabbi-in-Residence.[5]
Opportunities to use the Keshet-produced documentary film Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School] to explore issues of identity, gender and sexual orientation, Jewish pluralism, Jewish perspectives on homosexuality and gender diversity, and youth-led activism.
A companion to the film Hineini that equips Jewish educators with resources to integrate GLBT issues into a wide range of programs and curricula, including Jewish text study history, social studies, health education, or a youth group retreat on diversity in the Jewish community. The materials can be used in both formal and informal educational settings with youth in grades 7-12.
Training and technical support for emerging Jewish GLBT groups to replicate Keshet’s Jewish Safe Schools & Supportive Communities Program and build local capacity for fostering inclusion. JPride (San Diego), The Jewish Gay Network of Michigan (Detroit), and JQ International (Los Angeles) are Keshet’s first affiliated partners.[6]
Responding to changes in Conservative halakha regarding the status of gays and lesbians, Keshet and Rabbi Steve Greenberg have joined together to create an integrated program that combines a text-based, halakhic approach to GLBT inclusion with Keshet’s experiential, skills-based Jewish Safe Schools & Supportive Communities trainings. This synthesized approach offers rabbis, lay leaders, and educators concrete skills for understanding and supporting GLBT experience in the context of traditional Judaism.
From text study at a shul to a night out at a bar; from a day on the ski slopes to a Queer Shabbat potluck, our events build community, strengthen Jewish identity, and provide opportunities for GLBT Jews in Greater Boston to meet one another and connect.[7]
A support and social group for transgender Jews and allies. TWiG also offers educational programs on transgender issues and fosters trans inclusion in Keshet and in the broader Jewish community.
From equal marriage[8] to transgender rights,[9] Keshet mobilizes Massachusetts Jewish communities to work for justice.
Keshet was listed in the 2007-2008[10] and in the 2008-2009 issues of Slingshot, a resource guide of the "50 most innovative Jewish organizations and projects"[11] in the United States.
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