Abstract
Orit Avishai’s Queer Judaism: LGBT Activism and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel offers a deep dive into the dynamic entanglements of religion, politics, gender and sexuality, and their profound impact on lived experiences. In today’s political climate of explosive culture wars between liberal and illiberal forces, where religion and gender/sexuality are extremely divisive, the book’s insights are particularly pertinent. Presenting rich ethnographic data accompanied by insightful analysis, Avishai delves into the experiences of individuals who straddle both Orthodox Judaism and queer identities in Israel, examining the sea change they’ve instigated. The book unpacks how, despite myriad challenges, these activists have forged a proud religious community (Kadag) and a pioneering national social movement. While previous studies often emphasized the struggles of being both religious and queer, Avishai’s work imbues a sense of hope, illustrating how Orthodox queer Israeli Jews have found meaning within their tradition and harness it to influence Judaism, Orthodoxy, and Israeli society.
Grounded in rigorous research conducted between 2016 and 2021 utilizing interviews, ethnography, archival research, and media analysis, Queer Judaism masterfully interweaves poignant personal human narratives with analysis that provides important context and critique. The book offers an accessible yet thought-provoking read for academics, activists, and community leaders of all faiths, genders, or sexualities. For those interested in social movements and identity politics, Kadag’s case serves as a blueprint for navigating identity-based movements within conservative religious traditions. The book essentially argues that the movement’s success can be attributed to creatively utilizing cultural toolkits, adapting to the changing sociocultural landscape, and responding to opportunity structures, including the rise of social media and shifts within Jewish Orthodoxy. A key theme that resonates throughout the analysis is the movement’s emphasis on making space within Orthodoxy rather than upending it (i.e., neither dismantling heteronormative structures nor rejecting rabbinic authority, while aligning with nationalist sentiments).
The book deftly considers religion’s role as both a destructive and constructive force, analyzing the cultural strategies that enabled its LGBT protagonists to transition from marginalization, silencing, and vilification to recognition and partial inclusion within only two decades. Avishai details Kadag’s innovative use of storytelling, art, digital media, public visibility campaigns, and education, as well as engaging local religious leaders through ethical appeals and trust-building. She argues Kadag strategically promotes a politics of moderation and of authenticity; bridging the personal with the political, and linking the individual, communal, and national. Kadag advocates for acceptance by emphasizing their shared identity with the broader Orthodox community and promotes inclusion within the established communal norms, while simultaneously challenging them. In other words, they pose a radical challenge by claiming not to be radical. The book suggests Kadag’s approach moves beyond the dichotomy of conservative/radical by precariously blending assimilationist and homonationalist rhetoric with a radical politics of difference. By embracing the politics of moderation and authenticity while also reimagining collective identities, communal boundaries, and religious meanings, Kadag challenges notions of authentic Orthodox Judaism and Jewishness in the twenty-first century.
Yet claiming authenticity within the ethno-nationalist context of Israeli Orthodoxy also raises difficulties. The expanding political polarization and the rise of ultra-right-wing conservative factions to political power in Israel in 2022—a significant recent development whose early harbingers are covered by the book—pose a political challenge to Kadag’s agenda of normalization and inclusion of queer lives and might even be considered an illiberal backlash directly aimed at stymying Kadag’s relatively rapid success. Moreover, these trends pose a theoretical challenge to Kadag’s politics of moderation and authenticity, championed in the book. The movement’s lack of solidarity with other marginalized groups and silence on broader social justice issues, including the Palestinian question, indicate potential pitfalls of its inward-facing strategy of securing Orthodox inclusion; reflecting Kadag’s limitations in contending with broader societal and political challenges. Overall, the book demonstrates the agency of individual activist and social movements working within conservative contexts under challenging conditions and explores their potential impact as well as their limitations.
In conclusion, Queer Judaism offers a comprehensive examination of the evolving relationship between Orthodox Judaism and queer identities. Avishai’s meticulous research, nuanced analysis, and critical examination of Kadag’s approach make this book essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of religious identity, gender and sexuality, LGBTQ+ rights, and social change. Examining this compelling contemporary case-study of grassroots activism could inspire readers to envision pathways beyond the cataclysmic clashes and binaries of current politics, furthering understandings of the intricate ways in which questions of religion, gender, and sexuality shape both local and global struggles—and lives.