Openly Gay Rabbi Having Impact on Dallas Congregation

Dec 20, 2022 | "I meet a lot of people who have this notion that being gay and being religious are incompatible," Michael Lewis said.

Returning to Judaism as a Gay Man | Documentary Clip

Aug 13, 2018 • This is a clip from the feature documentary Not a Still Life: In this documentary portrait, a spirited, older, gay, Jewish man undergoes an evolution of awareness amid his joys and sorrows.

In revealing the truth of his life, he offers us an opportunity for reflection about the complexity of human identity.


Should you wish to support this project and obtain the full version of Not a Still Life, either as a rental or purchase, please click here.

Not a Still Life | Gay Jewish Documentary Portrait | Reupload

Aug 13, 2018 • In this documentary portrait, a charismatic older, gay, Jewish man undergoes an evolution of awareness amid the joys and sorrows of his wild and fully lived life. In revealing his “naked truth,” he offers viewers an opportunity for reflection about the complexity of human identity.

In the words of the film’s spirited subject, “This is the story of a gay, Jewish, animal rights, vegetarian, recovering alcoholic ... individual.” Steve Stone is an ebullient, extroverted character and an engaging storyteller with a life full of captivating tales. He is also not unlike many gay men of a certain age who were almost brought to extinction with the AIDS epidemic of the 80’s. In that sense, this film, a portrait of a man, is also a chronicle of a time that was.

This one man’s story, his struggles with sexual orientation and various addictions, love and loss, taps into themes that encompass all our lives. His quirky and entertaining reflections come from a unique perspective. We cannot help but see ourselves in, and be inspired by his distinctive outlook because for all the ways that we may not share his “outside the box” personality, his evolution, his journey through life and his deep desires are ours. They exemplify the conflicts and complexities in every human heart.

Not a Still Life punctuates the stories of Steve’s personal journey through the decades with a judicious use of title graphics to reflect key aspects of gay social history in America. His is the tale of a man who, in the homophobic period of the 50s, was ridiculed and dismissed as a child which led his irreverence, hyperactivity and rebelliousness. Determined to be himself rather than conform to social mores that made him uncomfortable, he came out to everyone in the early 60’s at the age of 17. Eight years before the Stonewall Rebellion, this was a brave move. Steve Stone has been openly gay for fifty years!

Religious Gays Offered 'Conversion Therapy'
YNET NEWS: Association of religious homosexuals sets up fund subsidizing treatments aimed at changing sexual tendencies. 'There is no clear ruling in the world of research that one can or cannot change,' explains organization's director

For years, organizations for homosexuals have refused to acknowledge the possibility of changing a person's sexual inclination. A newly established association of religious gays and lesbians is now giving those psychological "conversion therapies" a chance.

Moreover, the association even plans to subsidize these treatments for its disadvantaged members who cannot afford to pay for them.

The move, which is expected to reignite the dispute over these treatments' efficiency and mental risks, may actually allow for wide cooperation between rabbis and senior educators in the religious public and groups of gays and lesbians from the sector.

So far, rabbis have distanced themselves from all gay organizations, perceiving their members as people who have not tried to change and are not seeking to emerge from the conflict they live in. >>> Kobi Nahshoni | Friday, February 25, 2011

Hawaii Legalizes Same-sex Unions
THE VANCOUVER SUN: Hawaii legalized same-sex civil unions, as its governor signed into law a bill giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual married partners.

Gay rights campaigners on Wednesday welcomed the signature by Governor Neil Abercrombie, following approval by lawmakers last week, although they said it did not allow gay couples to formally marry.

"This bill has been a long time coming for committed couples in Hawaii who have been denied the basic right to take care of their families," said Laurie Temple, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaii.

"While we continue to work to achieve the freedom to marry for all couples, we commend the legislature and Governor Abercrombie for taking a stand against baseless discrimination by passing this bill." >>> AFP | Thursday, February 24, 2011

Descent Into Darkness: Rabbi Calls for ‘Rehabilitation of Gays’
YNET NEWS: Rabbi Arussi responds to letter from gay community calling for acceptance by Orthodox rabbis; those with homosexual tendencies should receive treatment, he says

Homosexuality is a disease that should be treated, the chief rabbi of KIryat Ono, near Tel Aviv, wrote in response to a letter from the gay community published in Ynet weeks ago.

"It is doubtlessly a disease, seeing as anything in nature that deviates from the norm is a disease," wrote Rabbi Ratzon Arussi, referring to homosexual tendencies. He was responding to a letter sent to dozens of rabbis throughout Israel by operators of a website catering to the homosexual community, HOD.

"We must make an effort to act in an intelligent way so that those who have homosexual tendencies are treated and rehabilitated ," the rabbi wrote. He called for all rabbis to assist homosexuals in their communities that "can find no cure."

Arussi also admitted that in many cases Orthodox Jews respond with violence in the face of open displays of homosexuality because they are "shocked, hurt, and offended."

"I have read your letter with much consideration because it is touching and insightful," Arussi wrote in his response to Rabbi R., who wrote the letter on behalf of homosexuals. "The religious community requires the correct tools in order to deal with homosexuality, and especially one exhibited openly."

"Those who can live normally with a female should not develop these unnatural instincts in themselves," he wrote. ’The sin of our time’ >>> By Kobi Nachshoni | April 23, 2008

YNET NEWS:
New Website Launched for Religious Gay Community >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)