Until fairly recently, Orthodox people in Israel could not imagine embracing their LGBT sexual or gender identity and staying within the Orthodox fold. But within the span of about a decade and a half, Orthodox LGBT people have forged social circles and communities and become much more visible. This has been a remarkable shift in a relatively short time span. Drawing on more than 120 interviews, Orit Avishai’s Queer Judaism offers the compelling story of how Jewish LGBT persons in Israel accomplished this radical change.

Orit Avishai, who will join HBI Director Lisa Fishbayn Joffe in conversation, is a professor of Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Fordham University, where she is also affiliated with the Center for Jewish Studies. HBI is honored to have supported Orit Avishai’s research on this project in 2018 with an HBI Research Award.

Queer Judaism: LGBT Activism and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel is available at Amazon, Bookshop, and your local bookseller.