The Israel/LGBTQ advocacy organization A Wider Bridge took another step forward in its mission of increasing understanding and unity between United States LGBTQ communities and the Israeli people when, on Jan 19, the organization hosted an evening reception and candid conversation with Zehorit Sorek and Daniel Jonas at the Lake View home of Yoni Pizer and Brad Lippitz.
As part of the organizations Bat Kol and Havruta, Sorek and Jonas have made tremendous strides in bridging LGBTQ and religious communities in Israel through social and political awareness campaigns.
The event was moderated by Wider Bridge Founder and Executive Director Arthur Slepian alongside Midwest Manager Laurie Grauer.
Celebrated Chicago LGBTQ community leader Kenny Martin-Ocasio was also featured in the program which took place, ironically, on the one year anniversary of the Creating Change conference in Chicago at which occurred a disturbing, anti-Semitic protest during A Wider Bridge event.
Martin-Ocasio said that, following the protest, he was inspired to travel to Israel in 2016 and discover the country and its people for himself.
"I wanted to understand where these protests were coming from," Martin-Ocasio said. "It was a wonderful, remarkable trip."
That journey of understanding was one echoed in the daily work of Sorek and Jonas.
"In beginning it was hard for me to say I was religious and a lesbian," Sorek recalled. "I felt really alone but I realized there are a lot of women who feel like me and have the same fear and struggles. I want to change the law in Israel."
Related coverage at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Orthodox-LGBTs-talk-about-coming-out-staying-visible/57931.html .
For more information about A Wider Bridge, visit AWiderBridge.org .