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Reform Jews approve far-reaching transgender resolution

Reform Judaism movement in US approves far-reaching resolution supporting transgender rights
November 5, 2015 11:37 PM

By Mike Schneider / Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — The largest movement of Judaism in the U.S. passed the most far-reaching resolution in support of transgender rights of any major religious organization, saying Thursday that it’s a continuation of a tradition of inclusion in the Reform Jewish movement.

Members of the Union for Reform Judaism attending its biennial meeting in Orlando approved on a voice vote the resolution, which calls for congregations and camps to have gender-neutral bathrooms and encourages gender-neutral language at Reform Jewish institutions. It also suggests training on gender issues for religious school staff and encourages advocating on behalf of the transgender community.

There was no opposition, although three conference attendees who said they were in favor of the resolution asked if preschools and religious schools would be affected. Union for Reform Judaism leaders said they would be, but they weren’t asking congregations to spend extra money on new facilities.

After the resolution passed, most of the 5,000-attendees in the meeting hall stood up and applauded.

“Your reaction in this room shows what this movement is about. It makes me very proud,” said Stephen Sacks, chairman of the Union for Reform Judaism’s board.

Rabbi James Gibson of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill — one of several Pittsburgh-area rabbis attending the conference — said he was not surprised by the overwhelming support the measure received.

“In general, the Reform movement is in favor of transgender rights because we believe that every person who has a unique sexual identity is made that way because of the way God makes human beings,” he said in a telephone interview Thursday night. “And we don’t discriminate against people because of the way God made them.

“The Reform movement has always worked to harmonize the demands of our tradition and the challenges of modernity.”

He also said the timing of the resolution was right.

“The last year and a half there has been a lot more understanding of the challenges and struggles of the transgender community in a way that is similar to but distinct from lesbian, bi and gay individuals,” he said. “I think that people had to do some learning about the challenges facing the transgender community so that they could adequately respond to them.”

Rabbi Gibson said he did not want to speculate how the resolution would manifest itself in Pittsburgh, but some aspects, such as training on gender issues for religious school staff, are already in place.

Other religious bodies — such as the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association — previously approved resolutions affirming equality for transgender and non-gender-conforming people. None, however, go as far as the one offered by the Reform Jewish movement, which counts 1.5 million members.

The Union for Reform Judaism is offering a one-page pamphlet to help congregations adopt the goals of the resolution. It suggests dividing kids by birth month rather than gender in youth programming and avoiding using gender titles such as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” on nametags or in emails. It also will ask congregants by which pronouns they would prefer to be called.

The resolution doesn’t mandate congregations to do anything, so it will be up to individual synagogues to implement policies to meet the goals of the resolution.

“One of the key components is it calls for resources, development and training so we get into the congregations and do training with their leaders, youth professionals, rabbis, lay leaders, and then supply them with materials on how do you deal with bathrooms? How do you deal with language? How do you deal with prayer?” said Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, a senior vice president with the Union for Reform Judaism.

Some adjustments may be trickier than others. In Hebrew, nouns are either masculine or feminine. Congregations can alternate between using male and female pronouns in their prayers and when possible use gender-neutral substitutes, such as the Hebrew word “guardian” instead of “king” in certain prayers, Rabbi Pesner said.

The resolution was approved in a year when transgender issues have never been more visible, thanks to Caitlyn Jenner and others.

Just this week in Houston, 60 percent of voters rejected a city measure that would have outlawed discrimination against gay and transgender people. Opponents called it the “bathroom ordinance” and argued that restrooms could be used by everyone regardless of gender.

But Union for Reform Judaism officials said it has been in the works for some time and is part of a tradition of inclusion that dates back decades. The Union of Reform Judaism in 1977 passed a resolution affirming the rights of gays and lesbians.

In 2003, the movement admitted its first openly transgender person to rabbinical school, and in 2015 required congregations to consider all candidates for rabbinical jobs, regardless of gender identity, according to the resolution.

Although many of the 900 affiliated Reform congregations already are welcoming to transgender people, others will now address the issue for the first time, said Barbara Weinstein, associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, a Washington-based advocacy center.

More than 6 million Jews live in the United States, less than 2 percent of the nation’s population, and more than a third of all Jews in the U.S. identify with the Reform movement, according to a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center. Less than a fifth of them identify with Conservative Judaism — sort of a middle-ground ideologically between the more liberal Reform movement and traditional Orthodox Judaism. Orthodox Jews account for 10 percent of U.S. Jews, and Reconstructionist and other smaller movements make up 6 percent.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff writer Dan Majors contributed, along with Reuters and Los Angeles Times.