Shulamit Izen
After realizing at an early age that she was a lesbian, Shulamit Izen devoted herself to creating a supportive environment for Jewish GLBTQ teens. In seventh grade, Izen came to the dual realization that she wanted to be more religiously observant and that she was a lesbian, prompting her to ask if she could be both gay and Jewish. Her rabbi responded that this challenge might be what made her soul special. When she learned that GLBTQ teens were at greater risk of violence, suicide and drug use, Izen decided that making the Jewish community inclusive towards GLBTQ members was an issue of pikuach nefesh, the Jewish value of saving a life. In ninth grade, she campaigned to create a gay-straight alliance at her school, followed by her creation of a group for Jewish GLBTQ teens in the Boston area. She was the subject of a documentary, Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School, and was ordained as a rabbi by Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2013.
Shulamit talks about her family and their involvement in the community. She describes her family's reactions to her coming out as a lesbian when she was fourteen, her family's general politics and religiosity, and how that has affected her. Shulamit recounts how, in seventh grade, she decided to be more religious and eventually began attending the New Jewish High School, which she calls "New Jew" in the interview. She had a positive experience at New Jew, but it opened up a changing relationship with Judaism for her; she attended the services of different groups to figure out what felt right to her. Shulamit also talks about her relationship with Israel and how it influences her activism. Shulamit discusses her experience starting a GSA—a club for queer youth—at New Jew. It was not an easy process—even with the support of some teachers who had come out, Shulamit faced pushback from the rabbi at the school and the Board. For her senior project, she worked on creating a GSA guidebook specifically made for Jewish day schools. While working on the GSA at her school, Shulamit also created G’avah, a club for GLBTQ Jewish youth in the community. G’avah hosted a Havdalah coffee house and a Pride Seder, as well as putting together a Pride Haggadah. Finally, Shulamit discusses her plans for the future and hopes to engage in more activist causes.
