Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated each year in June. According to the Library of Congress, it is a time to celebrate “how LGBTQ Americans have strengthened our country, by using their talent and creativity to help create awareness and goodwill.”
Did you know that Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ has an LGBTQ+ subcommittee, made up of community members who aim to increase LGBTQ+ inclusion across our community?
Save the date: Join us at Federation’s first-ever Pride gathering, celebrating our LGBTQ+ community and allies: Sunday, June 1st from 11:30-12:30 in Livingston*
Upcoming EventsLGBTQ+ Pride Gathering
Join us for sweet treats and fun activities to usher in LGBTQ+ Pride month! We’ll be gathering in Livingston* to meet each other and celebrate Pride in Greater MetroWest! The event is FREE but registration is required.
Learn morePride Shabbat Kits
Coming soon-- Get your FREE Pride Shabbat kit to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Shabbat on any Friday in June! Multiple pick-up locations available.
Resources for Families:
Many Jewish camps joyfully welcome and support LGBTQ+ campers and families. Learn more
Children’s books related to Pride:
A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O’Leary
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
The Boy Who Cried Fabulous by Lesléa Newman
The Family Book by Todd Parr
Havdalah Sky by Chris Barash
Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman
In Our Mothers’ House
Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
The Purim Superhero by Elizabeth Kushner
When Aiden Became a Brother
Additional Resources:
Merkaz Q Camp Program at Camp Tel Yehudah is a summer camp experience for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and queer teens and allies interested in the intersections of Jewish and LGBTQ+ identities. Learn more about yourself, make new friends, grapple with ideas that matter to you in a safe and fun environment.
Faith For Pride is a program of the Interfaith Alliance to “….bring people together to demonstrate that congregations and communities across faith and place vehemently oppose the bills that threaten the lives and livelihoods of our LGBTQ+ friends, family, and neighbors…to build an interfaith movement that fights for the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community.” Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ is proud to be a co-sponsor of #Faith4Pride this year!
Keshet is a national organization that “…works for the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life.” They strengthen Jewish communities, equip Jewish organizations with the skills and knowledge to build LGBTQ-affirming communities and create spaces in which all queer Jewish youth feel seen and valued, and advance LGBTQ rights nationwide.
Eshel is a national organization and their mission “…is to create a future for Orthodox lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and their families. Through its innovative and culturally sensitive programming, Eshel supports LGBTQ Jews, opening hearts, minds and doors in traditional Jewish communities.”
JQY (Jewish Queer Youth) is an organization that “…supports and empowers LGBTQ Jewish youth with a special focus on teens and young adults from Orthodox, Chassidic, and Sephardi/Mizrahi communities.”
For a more comprehensive list of groups and organizations that support the Jewish LGBTQ+ community, click here.
DID YOU KNOW? Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ is proud to host a Keshet Shivyon Cohort, in which 10 synagogues and agencies from our area have embarked on a year-long process of increasing LGBTQ+ inclusion in the community. The following institutions are participating in this program: Temple Emanu-El (Westfield), Temple Sholom of West Essex, Congregation Beth Israel Scotch Plains, Congregation Agudath Israel, Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael (MJCBY), Jewish Services for the Developmentally Disabled (JSDD), JESPY House, Golda Och Academy, and Jewish Community Center (JCC) MetroWest.
Learn moreWe look forward to seeing you at upcoming Pride events!
Upcoming Event
LGBTQ+ Pride Gathering
Sunday, June 1
11:30 am - 12:30 pm (EDT)
LGBTQ+ Pride Gathering prior to Livingston Pride Picnic. Open to all!
Contact Us
Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest is made stronger by the participation of people of every age, ability, race, ethnicity, denomination, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and religious affiliation.
Sharon Zucker
Director of Welcoming and Inclusion
[email protected]
David Saginaw
Welcoming and Inclusion chair
LGBTQ+ Subcommittee:
Robin Amster, Oren Henry, Becca Israel, Michele Strumeier, Elana Wilf Tanzman