About Havruta

Havruta - Religious Gays logo

Havruta- Religious Homosexuals in Israel was founded by graduates of Hesder Yeshivas and Religious Pre-Military Preparatory Programs. The organization includes an internet site which is updated on a weekly basis and monthly meetings and activities.

The Site

The internet site was launched on January 6th, 2008, 28 Tevet, 5768 making it the first internet site for religious gays in Israel.

Each week the site is updated with and presents professional material that is relevant to religious-gay life It promotes Jewish discourse and discussion on the issues by presenting content that covers the entire religious spectrum, including opinions that are often controversial and unpleasant, provided they are not offensive, insulting, or promote violence toward religious gays.

The site contains many sections that contain various articles, polemics, issues pertaining to religion and gender, culture, video clips, letters and poetry submitted by viewers, information regarding upcoming meetings and reviews of past meetings contact information etc…

The site also serves as a means to connect members of the organization and participants of the monthly meetings.

Meetings

Havruta organizes meetings once a month. These do not function as a support group but rather as a social gathering. The majority of participants are religious, while some are "datlash" (previously religious) and some come from traditional backgrounds. The majority of participants are in the closet and are of all ages from 18 and upward. The turnout to meetings is quite large, making Havruta the biggest organization for religious gays in Israel. The content for meetings changes from month to month and include prominent speakers, films, discussions, activities and hikes.

Our Vision

We built the Havruta web site in order to serve as a central site for all members of Havruta and to be a home for the larger religious gay community and their families. We also aim to promote education, tolerance and acceptance by the larger religious community and encourage rabbinical and public discourse on the subject with the hopes of raising awareness within religious society so that religious gays and their families will be a part of the religious community.

Goals

Creation of a broad community of volunteers and participants who offer social support and sense of communal belonging and empowerment for religious gays in all aspects of their lives and life cycle events

To promote recognition and acceptance of religious gays in the general religious public

To present alternatives to integrate a religious lifestyle with one’s sexual orientation and to offer information relevant to the religious gay public

To make a place for religious gays in the greater gay community, by working together and supporting joint causes that affect religious gays

To offer an opportunities for the greater gay community to share in the experience of religious and Jewish life