Gayava Hosts Conference on Judaism, LGBT Life

This weekend, 130 students from across North America will converge on the Jewish Theological Seminary to discuss topics ranging from “Gender Neutral Organizing on Campus” to “Leviticus 18:22—Who is Laying with Whom?”

A year after JTS’s groundbreaking decision to accept openly gay rabbinical students—a first in the conservative movement of Judaism—made the school an icon in the LGBT world, JTS will co-host with Barnard the National Union of Jewish LGBTQQI Students conference.

Spearheaded by Gayava, an organization of LGBT Jews at Columbia, the conference will run from Friday to Sunday. The participants, who are students from across North America, will be housed by Columbia student volunteers.

A highlight will be Shabbat services at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the nation’s largest LGBT synagogue. According to Aaron Krieger, CC ’10, Hillel vice president, and conference steering committee co-chair, the conference may include: “a lot of people for whom Judaism is something they experienced when they were younger and are now only connected to socially and culturally. I think for people who allow themselves to be spiritually touched, it can be a moving experience.”

The weekend also presents a unique social opportunity. “There aren’t that many gay Jews in the world, and it’s nice to have an opportunity to sit around and meet some of them,” Krieger said.

Gayava president Jason Bello, CC ’08, agreed, adding that many conference participants are travelling from places that are less diverse than New York.

“Some people are coming from places where there aren’t a lot of people who identify as LGBT and Jewish, and they might have trouble identifying with the LGBT community, the Jewish community, or both,” said Bello.

“I think that identifying as Jewish in a queer community can be difficult, and identifying as queer in a Jewish community can be difficult,” Krieger said. “So I think it’s wonderful to have events like this that celebrate not only those identities, but the issues surrounding them.”

Organizers are also excited about the role that JTS and Columbia are playing in the event. “In what is now a time of change, it’s very relevant to have this conference in a place that has always been at the nexus of change,” Bello said, noting that the Columbia Queer Alliance, founded in 1966, was the nation’s first college LGBT organization and that Columbia hosted the first NUJLS conference more than ten years ago.

“When Gayava was founded 13 years ago,” Bello said, “it almost tore Hillel apart. This year, we not only have the full support of Hillel, but of many of the individuals and groups within Hillel and the wider Columbia community.”

This year’s conference is especially noteworthy in the wake of JTS’s decision last year to allow openly gay rabbinical students to enroll. Organizers said they have been surprised and pleased with the level of support they have received from the school. “To be honest, I expected to have a fight on our hands, and I was fully ready to fight,” Krieger said. “But JTS, or at least the part of JTS we’ve been working with, has been amazing.”

That enthusiasm has also extended into the larger community. “We’ve reached out to a number of synagogues, and we’ve really received a great deal of financial and emotional support,” Gayava vice president and conference co-organizer Ira Stup, GS/JTS ’09, said.

mary.kohlmann@columbiaspectator.com