The Entire World Is Just a Narrow Bridge

The entire world is just a narrow bridge-the essential thing is to have no fear.- Nachman of Bratzlav

My friend Charlie saw me at the gym when he half-seriously and half-jokingly shielded his eyes from looking in my direction. “You’re breaking my heart. Don’t go!” He is not alone in this feeling about my impending trip to Israel. Part of me, finds it hard to articulate why I am going because it just “is” what I would do. But for family, friends and congregants who are concerned, I believe they (you) deserve a better explanation.
Initially, I debated about going to World Pride but it seemed as if there was little interest in other folks from Atlanta attending. Without a critical mass, I decided not to go due to important work at the synagogue in preparing for my upcoming sabbatical. I then got a call the day after I decided I was not going, from Rabbi Steve Greenberg, a man whom I admire though we connect Jewishly very differently (at least on the surface). He invited me both to participate in this upcoming World Pride on a trip with Jews and Christians and to possibly use this as a seed for a possible collaborative project/trip next summer during my sabbatical. I said, “Yes.”
Then the threats came. The internal ones. Flyers for Molotov cocktails, rabbis encouraging violence, and bounties issued for the murder of World Pride participants were all potent ingredients for raising eyebrows and churning stomachs. Normally, I would have brushed them off, except last year at Jerusalem Pride, three men were stabbed. Though, this was anxiety provoking, I knew that this was not a trip to change. Fear has been a tactic of the suppression of all liberation movements. To ease the tense worrying of friends after being asked if I was changing my trip I replied, “The only thing I am changing is my outfit. I am no longer wearing my GAY RABBI shirt, with the red bull’s eye.” Yes, my sense of humor is not always appreciated.

Joking aside, attending this march was no different in my mind than what people did in Selma and in Montgomery. Gay rights need to be acknowledged as part of world human right’s agenda. People around the world are being tortured and murdered for being gay or transgendered. How could I not go? Besides, there are many legitimate considerations for people to weigh when making a decision like this; mine were far fewer as a single man in his 30s with no children. Even more powerfully did I feel that I needed to represent those whose concerns and responsibilities prevented them from attending. The World needs more GLBTQ people to stand up and say we deserve human rights as full children of humanity and God. If not a Gay rabbi then who? This March was planned for Jerusalem. If not a Gay rabbi then who? Besides, I was hoping for some really good sermon materials and the best way to get some is to make some.

But then the conflict in Gaza erupted which was soon followed by the war between Hezbollah and Israel. This began to challenge a different part of my identity. As a Jew, I was brought up to connect Israel’s fate with my own. This has not come without critique or expectations concerning Israel’s actions in the world. Actually, it is because of this link that I feel compelled to speak what I hope Israel’s responsibility is in the world and to question or challenge when it is not living up to its founding values and ideals. But this comes with the clear assumption that Israel deserves to exist, live and thrive.

I could not cancel my trip. As someone who is thinking about spending part of my sabbatical in Israel studying and working with groups that promote peace, all my Jewish values are rooted in a commitment to Israel, the Israeli people and a continual hope for peace. Even though I have my own anxieties, ultimately I cannot deny my truth: This trip upholds all the beliefs I hold dear.

This became true when I thought about my trip to Israel for Tel Aviv Pride during the first year of the 2nd intifada where Israel was being riddled with suicide bombings and most of the country was clearly on the right. Likkud was in power, the memory of Rabin still felt fresh and I was saddened that the glimmer of peace was hiding behind these clouds. At this rally for GLBT pride in Rabin Square, the majority of the speakers spoke out for the necessity of peace with the Palestinians and the creation of a Palestinian homeland as well as the need to protect and create safe haven for gay Palestinians. And I felt at home in this community, for what they stood for, what their vision of Israel should look like. This was my home within my second home.

As the WorldPride Jerusalem 2006 organizers wrote,

"Holding WorldPride in Jerusalem, the city at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is a significant opportunity for our diverse community to raise a different voice, a voice for progressive moral values,inclusion, and pluralism."

How could I abandon these people? The people of the Open House who have been working for human rights on many communities’ behalf. What kind of message would I be sending to them? This little sliver of the Israeli populace, how could I add any more to their burden knowing that my presence, any of our presences would be meaningful? It is a community like this, this narrow bridge that I recognize as my people. It is not out of a need of heroics or bravado, but to offer a sense of solidarity to GLBT Israelis who long for and work towards global GLBT rights and peaceful coexistence.

And thus I go with Nachman's tune in my head..."...the essential thing is to have no fear."