May 23, 2016 – The Jewish Week

A Voice For Transgender Chasidic Jews

When Abby Stein began her transition from male to female at the age of 23, she could have chosen to stay under the radar. Instead, she came out on her blog, and when reporters started calling she responded, because she wanted to let other chasidic transgender Jews know they are not alone.

‘œI wanted to be a voice,’ she said. ‘œIf someone would have told me then that there were other people like me, it just would have been so helpful.’

Read the full article here.

Standing Up For LGBTQ Rights

From the time Chaim Levin was 6, a cousin six years his senior sexually abused him. The violent assaults continued weekly until he was 10 ‘” in his father’s shul, their houses and their Catskill bungalows. At 14 he told his rabbi, who advised his parents to preserve family unity by ‘œpretending nothing happened’ ‘” a ‘œsystematic cover-up,’ he says, ‘œthat still haunts me.’

But it didn’t silence him. Levin, who came out at 15 to a friend and endured homophobic yeshivas here and in Israel, eventually found a way to be a strong voice and champion for LGBTQ Orthodox Jews.

Read the full article here.