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
• THE BT ISRAELI LGBT FILMS YOU SHOULD WATCH GAY PRI PARA COURTY OF FLICKR | U.S. EMBASSY TEL AVIV DEBORAH MOHER 14 JULY 2023 COPY LK FACEBOOK EMAIL TWTER PTERT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE CELEBRATED GAY SCENE ISRAEL WH AN ECLECTIC VARIETY OF SOME OF THE MOST NTROVERSIAL AND CELEBRATED LGBT FILMS WRTEN, DIRECTED AND PRODUCED THE UNTRY. VIEW ALL TRIPS DID YOU KNOW – CULTURE TRIP NOW DO BOOKABLE, SMALL-GROUP TRIPS? PICK OM THENTIC, IMMERSIVE EPIC TRIPS, PACT AND ACTN-PACKED MI TRIPS AND SPARKLG, EXPANSIVE SAILG TRIPS. TAKE A SP TO FD YOUR PERFECT SMALL-GROUP TRIP STATN PASSPORTS READY? YOUR NEXT STATN IS... VIEW TRIP SP MOROC ECUADOR THAILAND SOUTH AI GREECE JAPAN CROATIA ICELAND SPA INDIA MEXI TURKEY BALI EGYPT ORIENTED (2012) ORIENTED IS A FASCATG DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT THREE GAY PALTIAN IENDS THEIR 20S LIVG LIFE TEL AVIV. IT WAS IALLY RELEASED JUNE 2015 AT THE SHEFFIELD DOCUMENTARY FTIVAL, AND WAS DIRECTED BY JAKE WZENFELD AS HIS FEATURE BUT. THE FILM IS NOT ONLY A MORN TALE OF THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATNS OF BEG GAY SOCIETY, ALSO DOCUMENTS THE DIFFICULTI OF BEG GAY FOR PALTIAN MEN AND HOW THE ISSUE CLASH WH ISLAMIC DOCTRE. THE THREE BT IENDS CI TO FORM A GROUP LLED ‘QAMBUTA,’ HOPG TO BRG ABOUT CHANGE THROUGH EXPOSURE TO THEIR UNIQUE SEXUAL AND NATNAL INTI. CARIBBEAN COLOMBIA DISVER COLOMBIA’S CARIBBEAN AST, OM CARTAGENA TO PALOMO VIA JUNGL, RIVERS AND ISLANDS. VIEW TRIP YOSSI & JAGGER (2002) YOSSI AND JAGGER WAS RELEASED 2002 AND HAS SCE BEE A CULT MT-SEE. DIRECTED BY EYTAN FOX, THIS ROMANTIC FILM FOLLOWS TWO GAY SOLDIERS THE ISRAELI ARY AS THEY AL WH DAILY LIFE AT THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORR. YOSSI IS A MANR AND IS VOLVED A SECRET, PASSNATE LOVE AFFAIR WH HIS SEND--MAND (WHO IS NICKNAMED JAGGER). THE TWO OFTEN SNEAK OFF OM THE OUTPOST TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER. AN AMBH LEAV JAGGER WOUND, AND PLITNS ENSUE. BEE A CULTURE TRIPPER! SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO SAVE UP TO 40% ON OUR UNIQUE TRIPS. SIGN UP SEE PRIVACY POLICY. OUT THE DARK (2013) ANOTHER POLILLY PROVOTIVE TALE, OUT THE DARK TELLS THE STORY OF AN ISRAELI LAWYER WHO FALLS FOR A PALTIAN PSYCHOLOGY STUNT. THE FILM WAS RELEASED 2012 AT THE INTERNATNAL HAIFA FILM FTIVAL. THE FILM, A DIRECTORIAL BUT FOR MICHAEL MAYER, PORTRAYS THE POLIL PLITNS OF AN ISRAELI FALLG LOVE WH A PALTIAN THE WT BANK AND THE EVABLE PROBLEMS OF HOMOSEXUALY A NSERVATIVE MLIM SOCIETY. - AME - CUPK (2013) IN A DIFFERENT GENRE OM THE CELEBRATED EYTAN FOX, DIRECTOR OF YOSSI AND JAGGER, CUPK IS A SWEET EDY OF A GROUP OF FIVE IENDS TEL AVIV WHO ENTER THE EUROVISN SONG CONTT AS A JOKE. THEY ARE SHOCKED TO FD OUT THAT THEIR ENTRY WAS ACCEPTED. THE FILM FOLLOWS THE LGBT-IENDLY GROUP AS THEY GO FORWARD WH THE IAL JOKE THAT IS NOW TAKEN SERLY BY EACH MEMBER FOR DIFFERENT PERSONAL REASONS. - AME - PAPER DOLLS (2006) PAPER DOLLS IS A CHARMG DOCUMENTARY FOLLOWG THE LIV OF TRANSGENR FILIPOS WHO HAVE E TO ISRAEL TO WORK AS RE-WORKERS FOR ELRLY JEWISH ORTHODOX MEN. THE DOCUMENTARY PAPER DOLLS ( HEBREW BOOBOT NIYAR) WAS RELEASED 2006 BY DIRECTOR TOMER HEYMANN. THE DOCUMENTARY WAS SHOT OVER A LONG FIVE-YEAR PERD AND WAS FEATURED A VARIETY OF TERNATNAL FILM FTIVALS TO A POSIVE RECEPTN. - AME - YOSSI (2012) A SEQUEL TO EYTAN FOX’S YOSSI AND JAGGER, THE FILM YOSSI FOLLOWS THE TLE CHARACTER’S LIFE FOLLOWG HIS ENUNTER WH JAGGER TEN YEARS EARLIER. YOSSI IS A 34-YEAR-OLD RDLOGIST TRYG TO PE WH HIS TRMATIC PAST AND HIS PRENT. THE FILM WAS RELEASED 2012 AND IS FOX’S FIFTH FEATURE FILM. - AME - VOLNIC ICELAND EPIC TRIP MEET OUR LOL INSIR HANNA HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A GUIDE? 2 YEARS. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB? IT'S THE PERSONAL NTACT, THE PERSONAL EXPERIENC. I LOVE MEETG PEOPLE OM ALL OVER THE WORLD... I REALLY LIKE GETTG TO KNOW EVERYONE AND FEELG LIKE I'M TRAVELG WH A GROUP OF IENDS. WHAT DESTINATION IS ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET-LIST? I HAVE SO MANY PLAC ON MY LIST, BUT I WOULD REALLY LOBE TO GO TO AI. I NSIR MYSELF AN “ADVENTURE GIRL” AND AI FEELS LIKE THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE! EVERY CULTURE TRIP SMALL-GROUP ADVENTURE IS LED BY A LOL INSIR JT LIKE HANNA. SEE OUR CULTURE TRIPS KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?
• A LANDMARK FOR GAY CEMA — AND ONE OF THE BT JEWISH FILMS YEARS
• GAY, ORTHODOX, AND TREMBLG: THE RISE OF JEWISH ORTHODOX GAY NSCNS, 1970S-2000S
• ORTHODOX AND GAY

A YOUNG HASIDIC MAN LEADS A GAY DOUBLE LIFE BLACK HAT

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

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. 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. 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.

THE BT ISRAELI LGBT FILMS YOU SHOULD WATCH GAY PRI PARA COURTY OF FLICKR | U.S. EMBASSY TEL AVIV DEBORAH MOHER 14 JULY 2023 COPY LK FACEBOOK EMAIL TWTER PTERT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE CELEBRATED GAY SCENE ISRAEL WH AN ECLECTIC VARIETY OF SOME OF THE MOST NTROVERSIAL AND CELEBRATED LGBT FILMS WRTEN, DIRECTED AND PRODUCED THE UNTRY. VIEW ALL TRIPS DID YOU KNOW – CULTURE TRIP NOW DO BOOKABLE, SMALL-GROUP TRIPS? PICK OM THENTIC, IMMERSIVE EPIC TRIPS, PACT AND ACTN-PACKED MI TRIPS AND SPARKLG, EXPANSIVE SAILG TRIPS. TAKE A SP TO FD YOUR PERFECT SMALL-GROUP TRIP STATN PASSPORTS READY? YOUR NEXT STATN IS... VIEW TRIP SP MOROC ECUADOR THAILAND SOUTH AI GREECE JAPAN CROATIA ICELAND SPA INDIA MEXI TURKEY BALI EGYPT ORIENTED (2012) ORIENTED IS A FASCATG DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT THREE GAY PALTIAN IENDS THEIR 20S LIVG LIFE TEL AVIV. IT WAS IALLY RELEASED JUNE 2015 AT THE SHEFFIELD DOCUMENTARY FTIVAL, AND WAS DIRECTED BY JAKE WZENFELD AS HIS FEATURE BUT. THE FILM IS NOT ONLY A MORN TALE OF THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATNS OF BEG GAY SOCIETY, ALSO DOCUMENTS THE DIFFICULTI OF BEG GAY FOR PALTIAN MEN AND HOW THE ISSUE CLASH WH ISLAMIC DOCTRE. THE THREE BT IENDS CI TO FORM A GROUP LLED ‘QAMBUTA,’ HOPG TO BRG ABOUT CHANGE THROUGH EXPOSURE TO THEIR UNIQUE SEXUAL AND NATNAL INTI. CARIBBEAN COLOMBIA DISVER COLOMBIA’S CARIBBEAN AST, OM CARTAGENA TO PALOMO VIA JUNGL, RIVERS AND ISLANDS. VIEW TRIP YOSSI & JAGGER (2002) YOSSI AND JAGGER WAS RELEASED 2002 AND HAS SCE BEE A CULT MT-SEE. DIRECTED BY EYTAN FOX, THIS ROMANTIC FILM FOLLOWS TWO GAY SOLDIERS THE ISRAELI ARY AS THEY AL WH DAILY LIFE AT THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORR. YOSSI IS A MANR AND IS VOLVED A SECRET, PASSNATE LOVE AFFAIR WH HIS SEND--MAND (WHO IS NICKNAMED JAGGER). THE TWO OFTEN SNEAK OFF OM THE OUTPOST TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER. AN AMBH LEAV JAGGER WOUND, AND PLITNS ENSUE. BEE A CULTURE TRIPPER! SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO SAVE UP TO 40% ON OUR UNIQUE TRIPS. SIGN UP SEE PRIVACY POLICY. OUT THE DARK (2013) ANOTHER POLILLY PROVOTIVE TALE, OUT THE DARK TELLS THE STORY OF AN ISRAELI LAWYER WHO FALLS FOR A PALTIAN PSYCHOLOGY STUNT. THE FILM WAS RELEASED 2012 AT THE INTERNATNAL HAIFA FILM FTIVAL. THE FILM, A DIRECTORIAL BUT FOR MICHAEL MAYER, PORTRAYS THE POLIL PLITNS OF AN ISRAELI FALLG LOVE WH A PALTIAN THE WT BANK AND THE EVABLE PROBLEMS OF HOMOSEXUALY A NSERVATIVE MLIM SOCIETY. - AME - CUPK (2013) IN A DIFFERENT GENRE OM THE CELEBRATED EYTAN FOX, DIRECTOR OF YOSSI AND JAGGER, CUPK IS A SWEET EDY OF A GROUP OF FIVE IENDS TEL AVIV WHO ENTER THE EUROVISN SONG CONTT AS A JOKE. THEY ARE SHOCKED TO FD OUT THAT THEIR ENTRY WAS ACCEPTED. THE FILM FOLLOWS THE LGBT-IENDLY GROUP AS THEY GO FORWARD WH THE IAL JOKE THAT IS NOW TAKEN SERLY BY EACH MEMBER FOR DIFFERENT PERSONAL REASONS. - AME - PAPER DOLLS (2006) PAPER DOLLS IS A CHARMG DOCUMENTARY FOLLOWG THE LIV OF TRANSGENR FILIPOS WHO HAVE E TO ISRAEL TO WORK AS RE-WORKERS FOR ELRLY JEWISH ORTHODOX MEN. THE DOCUMENTARY PAPER DOLLS ( HEBREW BOOBOT NIYAR) WAS RELEASED 2006 BY DIRECTOR TOMER HEYMANN. THE DOCUMENTARY WAS SHOT OVER A LONG FIVE-YEAR PERD AND WAS FEATURED A VARIETY OF TERNATNAL FILM FTIVALS TO A POSIVE RECEPTN. - AME - YOSSI (2012) A SEQUEL TO EYTAN FOX’S YOSSI AND JAGGER, THE FILM YOSSI FOLLOWS THE TLE CHARACTER’S LIFE FOLLOWG HIS ENUNTER WH JAGGER TEN YEARS EARLIER. YOSSI IS A 34-YEAR-OLD RDLOGIST TRYG TO PE WH HIS TRMATIC PAST AND HIS PRENT. THE FILM WAS RELEASED 2012 AND IS FOX’S FIFTH FEATURE FILM. - AME - VOLNIC ICELAND EPIC TRIP MEET OUR LOL INSIR HANNA HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A GUIDE? 2 YEARS. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB? IT'S THE PERSONAL NTACT, THE PERSONAL EXPERIENC. I LOVE MEETG PEOPLE OM ALL OVER THE WORLD... I REALLY LIKE GETTG TO KNOW EVERYONE AND FEELG LIKE I'M TRAVELG WH A GROUP OF IENDS. WHAT DESTINATION IS ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET-LIST? I HAVE SO MANY PLAC ON MY LIST, BUT I WOULD REALLY LOBE TO GO TO AI. I NSIR MYSELF AN “ADVENTURE GIRL” AND AI FEELS LIKE THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE! EVERY CULTURE TRIP SMALL-GROUP ADVENTURE IS LED BY A LOL INSIR JT LIKE HANNA. SEE OUR CULTURE TRIPS KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

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. 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. 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.

A LANDMARK FOR GAY CEMA — AND ONE OF THE BT JEWISH FILMS YEARS

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).

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

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.

(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.

ORTHODOX AND GAY

When I was growg up, attendg an Orthodox Jewish school, we stunts asked our teacher, an Orthodox rabbi, how Orthodox Judaism felt about homosexualy only to be told, “There are no homosexual Jews”. The purpose of Mirvis’s report, The Wellbeg of LGBT+ Pupils: A Gui for Orthodox Jewish Schools, is not to solve the “thorny issue” of homosexualy wh an Orthodox amework – perhaps that is askg too much as a start. 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.