Books/Films


    1. "God vs. Gay?: The Religious Case for Equality" by Jay Michaelson
2011 

Book Description:Does the Bible prohibit homosexuality? No, says Bible scholar and activist Jay Michaelson. But not only that: Michaelson also shows that the vast majority of our shared religious traditions support the full equality and dignity of LGBT people. In this accessible, passionate, and provocative book, Michaelson argues for equality, not despite religion but because of it.

Reviews
God vs. Gay? is a timely and important book in this religious and political moment. Michaelson’s   book prepares us, regardless of religious or sexual identity, to delve deeper into our souls, our traditions, and into the truth that religion is in fact a source of liberation.”—Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the largest gay and lesbian synagogue in the world

 “Through careful discussions of Jewish and Christian teachings on homosexuality Michaelson masterfully reveals that both religions allow for the full embrace of LGBT persons. This religious-ethical work is illuminating and a must read for anyone who wants to understand the current debate over religion and homosexuality.”—Rabbi David Ellenson, President Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
                      
“Michaelson shows that ‘God versus gay’ is a myth and that the  overwhelming majority of our   shared religious values favor equality for LGBT people.” —Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun

About the Author:Jay Michaelson is the author of three books and numerous articles about the intersections of religion, sexuality, and law. A leading activist on behalf of LGBT people in faith communities, Michaelson and his work have been featured in the New York Times and on NPR and CNN

He is the founder of Nehirim, the leading national provider of community programming for LGBT Jews and their allies, and lives in upstate New York.


    "Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition" by Rabbi Steve Greenberg 
2005
Book Description:Wrestling with God and Men is the product of Rabbi Steven Greenberg's ten-year struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with Orthodox Judaism.

Employing traditional rabbinic resources, Greenberg presents readers with surprising biblical interpretations of the creation story, the love of David and Jonathan, the destruction of Sodom, and the condemning verses of Leviticus

But Greenberg goes beyond the question of whether homosexuality is biblically acceptable to ask how such relationships can be sacred. In so doing, he draws on a wide array of nonscriptural texts to introduce readers to occasions of same-sex love in Talmudic narratives, medieval Jewish poetry and prose, and traditional Jewish case law literature.
                       
Ultimately, Greenberg argues that Orthodox communities must open up debate, dialogue, and discussion-precisely the foundation upon which Jewish law rests-to truly deal with the issue of homosexual love.This book will appeal to all people of faith struggling to merge their belief in the scriptures with a desire to make their communities more open and accepting to gay and lesbian members.

Reviews

"[Greenberg] effectively portrays the plight of closeted and openly gay Orthodox Jews who struggle daily with their sexual desires and with the knowledge that the Torah and the rabbis forbid homosexuality."Publishers Weekly
"Wrestling with God and Men—as useful for Christians as it is for Jews—not only brings new and fresh thinking about our current debate over homosexuality but interweaves theology and history with Greenberg's own personal journey in a way that is enlightening, instructive, and inspirational. I heartily recommend this book to Christians who wish to take their Hebrew scriptures seriously and who are willing to examine their own responses to this raging debate."—The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

About the Author:Steven Greenberg (born 1956) is an American rabbi with a rabbinic ordination from the Orthodox rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (RIETS).He is generally described as the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish rabbi,since he publicly disclosed he was gay in an article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv in 1999 and participated in a 2001 documentary film about homosexual men and women raised in the Orthodox Jewish world.Some Orthodox Jews, including many rabbis, dispute his being an Orthodox rabbi. 

Greenberg is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Director of Diversity Project at CLAL – the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the author of the book “Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition” which received the Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought in 2005. He is listed number 44 in the 2012 The Daily Beast and Newsweek list of “America’s…


"The Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture" by Warren Hoffman 

Publication Date:2009


Book Description
:Tony Kushner’s award-winning epic play Angels in America was remarkable not only for its sensitive engagement of Jewish- American and gay culture but also for bringing these themes to a mainstream audience. While the play represented a watershed in American theater and culture, it belies a hundred years of previous attention to queer Jewish identity in twentieth-century American literature, drama, and film.                                    

In The Passing Game, Warren Hoffman sheds light on this long history, taking up both Yiddish and English narratives that explore the tensions among Jewish identity, queer sexuality, performance, and American citizenship. 
With fresh insight Hoffman examines the 1907 Yiddish play God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch, the cross-dressing films of Yiddish actress Molly Picon, and several short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
He also analyzes the English-language novels The Rise of David Levinsky (Abraham Cahan), Wasteland (Jo Sinclair), and Portnoy’s Complaint (Phillip Roth).Hoffman highlights the ways in which the characters in these canonical texts attempt to "pass" as white, straight,and American in the early and mid–twentieth century. This pioneering work is a welcome contribution to the study of Jewish American literature and culture. 

Reviews

Chosen as one of the Best Books of 2009 by The Forward

"His probing readings not only bring fresh insights to these works, but also invite readers to rethink how gender and sexuality are engaged, even as they are disguised or obscured, in modern Jewish culture generally." -- Jeffrey Shandler, author of Adventures in Yiddishland 

"While Jewish-American culture of the late 20th century often rejected (or merely ignored) LGBT culture, according to Warren Hoffman the first half of the century was more forgiving. In his new book...[Hoffman] explores queer Jewish identity in 20th century American literature, drama and film." --Philadelphia Gay News

"Hoffman has written a wonderful book that asks important questions about assimilation, identity, gender, and the queering of the Jewish American experience. He digs deeply into the texts and comes up with hiidden truths that are finally brought into the light." -The Gay & Lesbian Review 

"A great read for anyone examining Jewish work on page, stage or screen in America - or anyone who ever wondered, deep down, if there wasn't something just a bit...queer about Jewish culture in America." --Lilith Magazine 

"This book is highly recommended for scholarly collections, and will also find an audience in public, community, and synagogue libraries serving GLBT patrons."--Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter 

About the Author
:
Warren Hoffman is currently serves as the Senior Director of Programming for the Gershman Y in Philadelphia.  

Prior to that he served as the literary manager and dramaturg for Philadelphia Theatre Company where he dramaturged world premieres by Bill Irwin, Chris Durang, and Terrence McNally. 

In New York, Warren was the Associate Artistic Director of Jewish Repertory Theatre in New York where he produced and dramaturged a season of Jewish musicals in concert. 
Warren was also a writer and reviewer for TalkinBroadway.com where he covered the Off-Broadway and cabaret scene. 

In addition to working in the theater community, Warren holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California-Santa Cruz and has taught at multiple universities.  

He earned rave reviews for his  book The Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture published by Syracuse University Press. Warren is also a playwright and his  play The Last was recently named a recipient of the 2008 Foundation for Jewish Culture Theatre Projects Grant and was a finalist for the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition.             

His first play New Words received a reading at Philadelphia Theatre Workshop and was a finalist for the Christopher Brian Wolk Playwriting Award in New York. Warren's latest manuscript is a new book entitled The Great White Way:Race and the Broadway Musical.

"My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family" [Hardcover] by Zach Wahls
2012

Book Description:On January 31, 2011, Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public forum regarding full marriage equality. 

The nineteen-year-old son of a same-sex couple, Wahls proudly proclaimed, “The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.” Hours later, his speech was posted on YouTube, where it went viral, quickly receiving more than two million views. By the end of the week, everyone knew his name and wanted to hear more from the boy with two moms.
Same-sex marriage will be a major—possibly the defining—issue in this year’s election cycle, and Wahls speaks to that, but also to a broader issue. Sure, he’s handsome and athletic,an environmental engineering student, and an Eagle Scout.Yet, growing up with two moms, he knows what it’s like to feel different and to fear being made fun of or worse. 
In the inspirational spirit of It Gets Better edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller,My Two Moms also delivers a reassuring message to same-sex couples, their kids, and anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider: “You are not alone.”


Reviews

A resounding testament to individuality and the power of family in all forms from the young man who “lit up the Internet”(Ellen DeGeneres)

About the Author:Energized by his new, and astoundingly sudden, emergence as a national advocate for marriage equality, Zach has continued speaking and is now writing My Two Moms about his life growing up with two lesbian parents. 
As he told Iowa legislators, he and his sister and their moms are, first and foremost, a family like any other, “eating dinner together, going to church” and defined by “the love we bear for each other.” For college audiences, he offers his insight into the challenges facing the LGBT community and explores the nature of family and what it means for the millennial generation. 
In professional settings, his presentation examines the relationship between the business community and LGBT communities and humanizes an issue too often lost in fogs of rhetoric and preconceived notions. He’s been described as someone “beyond his years” with a distinct grace for “moving others beyond theirs.” As Angie Akers, MoveOn Media editor-in-chief, notes about Zach, now and then someone comes along who is so “even-tempered and clearheaded” he can take a subject tied in knots and “just kind of cut right through.”
1988

Book Description:In this Nazi crusade, homosexual prisoners were confined to death camps, were forced to wear pink triangles, they constituted the lowest rung in the camp hierarchy.The horror of camp life is described through diaries, previously untranslated documents,and interviews with and letters from survivors,revealing how the anti-homosexual campaign was conducted,the crackpot homophobic fantasies that fueled it,the men who made it possible,and those who were its victims, this chilling book sheds light on a corner of twentieth-century history that has been hidden in the shadows much too long.

Reviews:“A powerful and painful account.”—Martin Gilbert, author of The Holocaust

“A valuable contribution . . . the lesson that The Pink Triangle elicits from the Holocaust is the realization that we are still haunted by the specters of the Third Reich.”—San Francisco Chronicle

"A strong book, not easy to put down . . . Mr. Plant writes convincingly, keeps clear of sentiment, and lays bare a particularly fearful corner of mid-twentieth century inhumanity."—The Economist

 About the Author:Richard Plant(July 22, 1910 – March 3, 1998)      a German-American writer.He is said to have written,in addition to the works published under his own name, several detective novels orKriminalromane,on which he collaborated with Dieter Cunz and Oskar Seidlin, and which were published under the collective pen-name of Stefan Brockhoff.

Richard Plant was born Richard Plaut in Frankfurt am Main to the family of the town councillor Theodor Plaut. His grandfather had been the Chief Rabbi of that city. His father was secular, no-religious, and a socialist medical doctor.Upon the accession of the Nazis to power in Germany in 1933 and the zealous enforcement of the provisions of Paragraph 175 of the criminal code against homosexuality,he was obliged to leave Germany for Switzerland in concert with his partner, Oskar Seidlin
His immediate family did not leave, for "It won't be so bad," was their feeling. Here he obtained a doctorate from the University of Basle (Universität Basel) in 1935 with a dissertation on Arthur Schnitzler, written under the supervision of Franz Zinkernagel (1878–1935) and Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer (1864–1937). Meanwhile, his dad and step-mother left Germany for California. Could an excellent physician begin again, pass exams in the US, in a new language? Some of his patients in Germany were high officials. They returned to the Reich. Shortly after Kristall Nacht, they committed suicide.
His first non-academic book seems to have been a children’s tale, Die Kiste mit dem großen S.,published in 1936.This was followed in 1938 by his Taschenbuch des Films.In the same year, Richard Plaut arrived in the United States, where he eventually adopted the name Richard Plant. Here another children’s book, S.O.S. Geneva, co-authored with Oskar Seidlin, was published in October 1939. His next book had to await the end of the Second World War, when The Dragon in the Forest appeared in 1948. After Richard Plant made it to the US, he also worked for Klaus Mann, son of Thomas, and he did some work for Siegfried Kracauer. He also did some broadcasts for NBC that were related to work for the OSS, the predecessor to the American CIA.
From 1947 to 1973, Plant taught at the City University of New York, and discontinuously also at the New School for Social Research.
Plant,who was gay,is the author of The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War against Homosexuals (1986; German translation, 1991).
Plant died in New York City on March 3, 1998.

In the Lion's Shadow: The Iranian Schindler and His Homeland in the Second World War by Fariborz Mokhtari                        
April 1, 2012            

Book Description:The astonishing story of a brave Iranian diplomat who saved many Jewish lives in World War II—acutely relevant to Iranian-Israeli relations today.
After the invasion of France in 1940 a junior Iranian diplomat, the aristocratic Abdol-Hossein Sardari, found himself in charge of Iran's legation in Paris, and set about cultivating German and Vichy officials in order to protect the Iranian Jewish community in the country. 

He met the racial purity laws head-on, claiming that despite the fact that some Iranians had followed the teachings of Moses for thousands of years, they had always been of Iranian stock and therefore were "Mosaique" not "Juden"—this book includes the Nazi official correspondence seeking "expert opinion" on this troublesome argument. 

Alongside the dramatic and romantic narrative of Sardari's life (he refused to abandon the Iranian Jews in France even when recalled by his government and continued without pay) is the larger picture of the betrayal of Iran's neutrality by the Allies, then the eventual handing over of Axis diplomats and citizens to the Soviets "to be interrogated severely."The book argues that contrary to accusations Iran did not favor the Nazis, and employs previously unpublished archival documents to bolster that argument.


About the Author:Fariborz Mokhtari was a political science professor at Norwich University in Vermont before joining the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington,DC in 2002.He has written numerous articles and policy documents including "Dealing with Al-Qaeda" for American Foreign Policy Interests.He lives in Washington, DC.  

September 5, 2000

Book Description
Learning with YOUR purpose in mind -- not your parents', not your teacher's, not your school's Every day, your school, your teachers, and even your peers draw lines to measure and standardize intelligence. They decide what criteria make one person smart and another person stupid. They decide who will succeed and who will just get by. Perhaps you find yourself outside the norm, because you learn differently -- but, unlike your classmates, you have no system in place that consistently supports your ability and desire to learn. Simply put, you are considered lazy and stupid. You are expected to fail.
Learning Outside the Lines is written by two such "academic failures" -- that is, two academic failures who graduated from Brown University at the top of their class. Jonathan Mooney and David Cole teach you how to take control of your education and find true success -- and they offer all the reasons why you should persevere. Witty, bold, and disarmingly honest, Learning Outside the Lines takes you on a journey toward personal empowerment and profound educational change, proving once again that rules sometimes need to be broken.

Reviews                                                  

Criticism for the public school system in the United States is nothing new; kids of all skill levels are slipping through the cracks at every age and in every city. Rather than attempting to change the system or point out it's failures, Jonathon Mooney and David Cole have created a practical guide to help kids jump through the necessary hoops to achieve whatever larger, postschool goals they may have. While much of the material is written for kids who've received the label LD or ADHD, many of the suggestions can be just as helpful for those who've been labeled "gifted," or any other student who feels frustrated with the daily routine of standard education. 

The introduction (personal histories of the authors) is great reading for parents of LD or ADHD kids, and much of it has a humorous tone that makes it equally appropriate (and approachable) for discouraged adolescents. From the terror of weekly spelling tests to the few inspiring teachers and tutors the two encountered, the tales are equal parts entertaining, poignant, and encouraging to others who may well be experiencing quite similar events. There's little discussion of what methods are right or wrong--ultimately, both authors take a fundamentally pragmatic view, and it's "right" if it worked. A steady focus on   study skills fills the majority of the book, and Mooney and Cole take what are generally pretty familiar stands on note-taking and  test preparation and break them down into easily digestible concepts. With different methods for different types of learners (visual thinkers are encouraged to use maps and brightly colored markers), students will find plenty of help in creating notebooks, focusing their attention, and even appropriate ways of conducting the infamous all-nighter. Including information on how to recover lost class notebooks, how to make the most of a syllabus, and "The Seven Habits of Highly Disorganized People," Learning Outside the Lines provides students with plenty of tools to further each reader's personal idea of success. --Jill Lightner

About the Author:Jonathan Mooney is a dyslexic student who did not learn to read until he was twelve years old. After attending Loyola Marymount University for one year, he transferred to Brown University, where he graduated with an honors degree in English. Mooney is also the recipient of the distinguished Truman Fellowship for graduate study in the field of learning disabilities and special education.


MOVIES

Synopsis

Trembling Before G-d is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. As the film unfolds, we meet a range of complex individuals - some hidden, some out - from the world's first openly gay Orthodox rabbi to closeted, married Hasidic gays and lesbians to those abandoned by religious families to Orthodox lesbian high-school sweethearts.
Many have been tragically rejected and their pain is raw, yet with irony, humor, and resilience, they love, care, struggle, and debate with a thousands-year old tradition. Ultimately, they are forced to question how they can pursue truth and faith in their lives. Vividly shot with a courageous few over five years in Brooklyn, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, London, Miami, and San Francisco, Trembling Before G-d is an international project with global implications that strikes at the meaning of religious identity and tradition in a modern world. For the first time, this issue has become a live, public debate in Orthodox circles, and the film is both witness and catalyst to this historic moment. What emerges is a loving and fearless testament to faith and survival and the universal struggle to belong.
The film can be watched (for free) in its entirety here: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/trembling_before_g_d
  1. Torch Song Trilogy" - Great Scene!

  2. "Prayers for Bobby" (Rejection, Suicide, Religion and Family)
  3. WATCH: Sally Field's Amazing Speech About Her Gay Son
  4. "The Lavender Scare"-U.S. gov't campaign against Homosexuals-1950's/1960's
  5. "Trembling Before G-d"
  6. ***In the documentary DevOUT, gay Jews struggle to reconcile their faith with their sexuality while raising families within the Orthodox world***
  7. "Eyes Wide Open" - Hebrew w/ English subs
  8. Documentary - "DevOUT": Gay Jews struggle in Orthodox world
  9. "Kidnapped for Christ" follows the stories of several American teenagers who were sent to Escuela Caribe, an American-run Evangelical Christian reform school in The Dominican Republic.
  10. "Video: Mormon Bishop Kevin Kloosterman's Emotional Public Apology to Gay Mormons"
  11. Lady Gaga - Hair (A Jamey Rodemeyer Tribute)
  12. High School-Lady Gaga - #HairMusicVideo - It Gets Better
  13. "Shit Syrian Jews Say"
  14. "Homosexuality: Nature vs. Nurture"- My Story & the Video
  15. Harvey Milk Short Speech - "Hope"
  16. "Prayers for Bobby"- Trailer ( Rejection, Suicide and Family)
  17. Oprah-"Being Gay is a Gift from God"- Yes you heard it!
  18. "Rabbi Jason's Response to Rick Perry commercial"
  19. Tyra-"Hell to Pay: Gay Teen Exorcisms"(religion and suicide)
  20. Cynthia Nixon: Gays Don't Want to Redefine Marriage
  21. Isaac Mizrahi Weds Arnold Germer
  22. Reparative Therapy - "JONAH's 'Ex-Gay' Striptease"
  23. "Former Ex-Gay Leaders Apologize"
  24. Tribute to Karen Carpenter: "We've Only Just Begun"
  25. Ryan White's Mom speaks at "Return to Lisner" HIV Panel 2012  
  26. Video: "Rabbis on Marriage Equality (NJ)"
  27.  Keshet » Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School trailer
  28. Official Trailer: "Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promise Land" directed by Michael Lucas
  29. Hundreds of Trailers and descriptions: BLOG of PREVIEWS and LISTING: GAY MOVIES ,GAY TV SERIES ,GAY DOCUMENTARIES 

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