The Closeted World of Gay Orthodox Jews: A Review of "Tremblg Before G-d"

Contents:

• A YOUNG HASIDIC MAN LEADS A GAY DOUBLE LIFE BLACK HAT
• THE GAY ORTHODOX UNRGROUND
• GAY, ORTHODOX, AND TREMBLG: THE RISE OF JEWISH ORTHODOX GAY NSCNS, 1970S-2000S
• ORTHODOX AND GAY
• FILM PICTS JOURNEY OF GAY ORTHODOX PAIR
• JEWISH EDIAN MODI ROSENFELD, A MASTAY FOR ORTHODOX DIENC, IS GAY. SO WHAT?
• A YOUNG, GAY RSIAN JEW NAVIGAT ’80S NEW YORK ‘MYAN,’ A NEW FILM SET BRIGHTON BEACH

A YOUNG HASIDIC MAN LEADS A GAY DOUBLE LIFE BLACK HAT

So, Shmuel (Adam Silver) leads a double life -- prayg at the synagogue and managg a dry cleang bs by day, and then traversg gay bars by night -- at least while his wife and children are out of town. Another Israeli film by teemed LGBT Israeli director Eytan Fox, “Yossi & Jagger” follows a gay relatnship wh the nfements of the Israeli Defense Forc.

As JW3, the Jewish muny centre north London, lnch GayW3, celebratg the liv of the LGBTQ muny throughout history to the prent day through film, theatre, mic and discsn, and upliftg Brish-Israeli documentary Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?, backed by the BFI, prepar for s cema release, now is a great time to look back at the bt of Jewish and Israeli LGBT cema.

THE GAY ORTHODOX UNRGROUND

Gay Jewish characters have been the subject of great films om around the world, and the list below featur films om the UK, France, Germany, the US, and, of urse, Israel. A number of Brish films jt missed the list, cludg Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), which Jewish doctor Peter Fch enjoyed Brish cema’s first male-on-male kiss; award-wng short film Sidney Turtlebm (2008), starrg Derek Jabi as an elrly gay Jewish pickpocket and nman; and Lisa Gornick’s latt film, The Book of Gabrielle (2016), a funny and sharp study of a Jewish lbian whose sexualy is thrown to turmoil.

GAY, ORTHODOX, AND TREMBLG: THE RISE OF JEWISH ORTHODOX GAY NSCNS, 1970S-2000S

The 10 films foc on culturally Jewish films featurg gay and lbian protagonists, almost all of which were directed by Jewish filmmakers. His adaptatn of Mart Crowley’s play, about a group of gay men who gather for Harold’s party, rultg a cel eveng of sadistic gam and sabotage, me at the wrong time – as the gay liberatn movement tablished s voice the early 1970s, negative or prsg pictns of gay men the media were seen as archaic and obstctive to progrs. While Michael, the pathetic protagonist, is ed an unlikeable and self-pyg monster, the other characters are far more sympathetic, while the glor Harold, utterly unashamed of his homosexualy and wh nothg to hi, emerg om the rnage unsthed.

Torch Song Trilogy (1988)Harvey Fierste is bt known for his stage work, particularly for wrg the books for the stage mils La Cage x Foll and Kky Boots, jog Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman as Broadway legends who happened to be both gay and Jewish.

ORTHODOX AND GAY

The star of the show, though, is Fierste, who mak Arnold a lovable, vulgar and believably human figure who challenged the perceptn of drag queens as sexls clowns shamg the gay muny. He kicked off his short reer wh Driftg (1982), a grim, semi-tobgraphil tale of a gay filmmaker tryg and failg to fd love and fundg for his next film. Amazg Grace, ma nearly a later, is a much stronger piece of work, about two gay men – one an nocent teenager om a troubled fay, the other an HIV patient – who fall for each other after meetg Tel Aviv.

FILM PICTS JOURNEY OF GAY ORTHODOX PAIR

In Man Is a Woman, he brgs all his nsirable charm and charisma to the role of Simon, a gay Klezmer mician who is offered 10 ln ancs om his tradnalist uncle if he agre to marry a woman. An attempted kiss at a New Year’s Eve party velops to a passnate romance, but the vlently homophobic and antisemic world of wartime Berl threatens their happs. Few gay and lbian survivors were alive to tell their stori when Rob Epste and Jefey Friedman ma their important documentary Paragraph 175, whose tle riv om the German act of law prohibg gay sex, which ntued to exist to the 1990s.

Rather than producg a para of cshed victims, the film foregrounds the sharp mentary of Gad Beck, a Jewish gay man who helped refuge pe; the wistful memori of love lost om Hez F., still too guard to reveal his full name; and the undiluted anger of Pierre Seel, who was tortured by Nazi officers. Luckily, Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Wtfeldt, who wrote and star as said let’s-give--a-whirl ‘lbians’, have w and chemistry on their si and create the neart cema has e to a gay Woody Allen movie.

The nflict between homosexualy and Orthodox Judaism has been explored a number of excellent documentari, cludg Tremblg Before G-d (2001), Keep Not Silent (2005) and Jesalem Is Proud to Prent (2008). Yossi (2012)Eytan Fox is one of Israel’s foremost directors, and all of his films foc on gay characters, often g homosexualy to ment on a wir theme, such as self-realisatn Mossad thriller Walk on Water (2004) or the Israeli–Paltian nflict The Bubble (2006). Where Amos Guttman wallowed the sadns of gay liv, workg as he was an era of fear and prejudice durg the AIDS crisis, Fox’s films are more optimistic and celebratory, if ocsnally btersweet.

JEWISH EDIAN MODI ROSENFELD, A MASTAY FOR ORTHODOX DIENC, IS GAY. SO WHAT?

(2016)After a year on the ftival circu, where won the documentary award at the Berl Film Ftival and the dience award at the UK Internatnal Jewish Film Ftival, Barak and Tomer Heymann’s feature about the life of Saar Maoz, an HIV posive gay man livg London after beg rejected by his Israeli fay and driven away om his Kibbutz, is fally gettg a short cema release April 2017.

A YOUNG, GAY RSIAN JEW NAVIGAT ’80S NEW YORK ‘MYAN,’ A NEW FILM SET BRIGHTON BEACH

Saar fds acceptance the welg arms of the London Gay Men’s Chos, but the need to heal the rift between him and his fay leads him to ntemplate returng to Israel for good. The Gay and Lbian Yhiva/Day School Alumni GLYDSA’s purpose is to provi support and rmatn for people of all ag to tegrate their Jewish and LGBT inti, a self-affirmg, posive manner. Our goal is to tablish a iendly and supportive muny for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr* alumni/ae of yhivas and day schools, and all others wh a mment to their Jewish herage.

Hebro is a social-startup for gay Jews livg New York Cy producg nightlife parti, cultural events, and statn trips. Bet Mishpachah is a ngregatn for gay, lbian, bisexual, asexual, trans and queer Jews, our fai, iends and alli and all who wish to participate an clive, progrsive, egalarian, and mutually supportive muny. Rockville Open Hoe (ROH) a safe space gatherg for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (Q+) teens, and their iends and alli, between the ag of 13-18 years old.