The Jewish Journal shares the story of Reuben Zellman’s journey to ordination as the first openly transgender rabbinical student to attend Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Zellman, who will be ordained this Sunday, is a member of Jewish Mosaic’s advisory board and one of the two creators of our TransTexts resource guide, as well as a contributor to Torah Queeries. We wish him success!

Ri J Turner, who has on several occasions contributed to the online Torah Queeries, reviewed the Torah Queeries anthology for the Feminist Review, calling it a “a precious, powerful work.”

Keshet, the Rainbow Family Foundation in Israel, held its first conference this year, which was attended by 2000 gay and lesbian families. While legal battles continue in Israel to fully protect the rights of same-sex couples and LGBT families, more couples than ever before are choosing to have families.

A married gay couple, Itai Pinkas and Yoav Arad, petitioned the Israeli court system to obtain the right to surrogacy. The state offered its view on how the court should rule.

Shawn Tripp tells the Dallas Voice about living under a bridge in Dallas, Texas, when his father – a rabbi – kicked him out of the house

Jewish communal entrepreneur Arthur Slepian recently returned from a series of meetings with GLBT groups in Israel to build support for A Wider Bridge, a project that will foster connections between GLBT people in the US and Israel. Slepian recently spoke about his experiences in Israel at San Francisco’s Congregation Sha’ar Zahav.

In a recent article in the Jewish Press, a newspaper geared toward the Modern Orthodox community, two Orthodox rabbis outline five critical points concerning halacha (Jewish law) and homosexuality. In the article’s comments section, one gay Orthodox Jew described it as “a fair, nuanced, compassionate, and strictly Halachic approach to a subject matter that, unfortunately, too many in our community tend to sensationalize.”

The Aguda, Israel’s largest LGBT organization, has begun a national tour in the US to raise awareness about LGBT rights in Israel, and to forge stronger relationships with LGBT people in the US.

Rabbi Ron Yosef of the Israeli gay organization Hod and others have worked within the ranks of Relgious Zionists to obtain signatures in support of a minimum standard for recognition of gay religious people. While the halachic prohibition is not under discussion, negative attitudes about homosexual people are starting to change through the efforts of these groups.

A nursing facility for LGBT seniors opens later this month in Massachucetts. The center is named for the mother of openly gay senator Rep Barney Frank (D-MASS). Mrs. Frank was a lifelong supporter of the LGBT community.