LGBT Jewish Attorneys Deepen Connection to Israel

This February, the Federation helped sponsor and facilitate a trip for LGBT Jewish attorneys in the Bay Area to join a group of 15 lawyers from across the county to meet their counterparts in Israel, liaise with the Federation’s Israel-based staff – including Barak Loozon, Israel Director, and Hila Yallon, Program Officer. The purpose of the trip was to learn about how LGBT family law works in Israel, and to deepen connections between our Israeli and Bay Area Jewish communities.

Two of the trips participants share their thoughts:

“It has been quite amazing, in so many respects – intense conversations, lots of serious discussions, and a genuine appreciation for what the LGBT lawyers are doing here. And it's been great to see our participants discover a side of Israel that they never thought imaginable.

“Along the way, we've had great meals and they've enjoyed exploring Tel Aviv. The lunch today was very informative, and Barak and Hila were very welcoming. It was very interesting to hear the perspective of the Agudah folks. Thank so very much for making this event possible!

“One of the lessons learned from this trip is that if you connect American Jews with people in Israel who work in similar fields, there is a special connection that is very meaningful.”

Frederick Hertz

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“I want to give you some sense from this trip to Israel both of what an enormously fabulous trip Fred Hertz and Elizabeth Schwartz have put together, and how personally transformative it is for me. All of which is to say that, to the extent that the goal was to build bridges between progressive American Jews and the current modern state of Israel and social dialogue and cultural and political change here, you've succeeded in spades. This is a part of the world I had given myself a 'pass' on even thinking about for 20 some years. 

“And for the main goal, which is for U.S. LGBT legal practitioners to understand the Israeli legal system and reflect strategies back and forth, magnifique!  

“I owe a great debt of gratitude for your support, which enabled me to decide to come. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to our amazing trip organizers, and I hope they will do it again, as I would happily come again and really encourage others to join us here. In fact, my next email is to my law school civil procedure professor, who likely knows some of the law professors we've already met!

“I thank you, and the entire Federation, for underwriting the scholarship I am receiving, and for assisting the organizers of the LGBT Family Law trip to Israel in Feb. 2015. 

“I will work to share the activism we have in SF in Israel, and to learn and bring back ideas that can influence our work in the Bay Area, in California and nationwide. I hope I can be a small personal connector between the two areas. I have not been to Israel since a teenage trip with my family, and would not go but for this support."

Charles Spiegel