Israel: Gays Finding a Place in the Orthodox Faith

Gidi Grunberg at 16 fell in love with a boy at his Orthodox high school near Tel Aviv. Consumed by guilt, he transferred to a high school that was more strictly religious, hopeful that with more rigorous Torah study his attraction to men would pass.

A product of Orthodox institutions, Grunberg eventually came to accept his homosexuality during his years of mandatory service in the Israeli army. But in his private life, he found himself faced with a choice between his sexual identity and his religious community. "I prefer to be true to myself, and to accept myself, than being part of the community and living in a lie," Grunberg told JTA. "I lost everything. I lost my friends from the yeshiva. I lost the youth movement. There was a lot of things at stake."

With non-Orthodox religious options still a rarity in Israel, young gays and lesbians like Grunberg who grow up in traditional, highly insular surroundings typically have found that they must choose between their Orthodoxy and their sexual orientation.

Full Story from JTA
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