From Discovery to Family: My Journey as a Religious Lesbian By Or, 28 Married to Hadas, mother to Tzuri Growing Up Different When I think back to my childhood and adolescence, I never had an “in-the-closet” experience. I always felt a little different, but I never realized it had to do with my sexual orientation… or perhaps I did, but I buried it deep. Pull Quote: "During my military service, it finally clicked when I started avoiding a student with a well-known 'gay radar.'"

From Confusion to Love: A Religious Woman’s Journey to Herself By Achinoam, 34 "Religious, secular, and building a beautiful family together." Let me take you through my story—full of love, struggle, and discovery. Growing Up in a Religious Neighborhood I grew up in a religious neighborhood, where everyone knows everything about everyone. With the support and mutual help came gossip and curiosity. I was a “good girl”—obedient, giving, always trying to please. Pull Quote: "I d

A Journey of Faith, Love, and Identity: Hila’s Story By Hila, 34, in a loving relationship with Liron for 6.5 years "Religious, happy, and living in a beautiful relationship." Let me take you on a trip through my personal time tunnel. Early Awareness I grew up in a secular home and attended a secular high school, “Mikve Ariel.” In 10th grade, I realized I wasn’t just a fan of Ron Ponti, Israel’s national volleyball player—I was developing feelings. "I processed these feelings

Witnessing Courage She sat in the corner upstairs, in a long dress and a wig. It was clear how hard it was for her to sit in that hall, how she was fighting herself just to remain in the chair. I’m used to head coverings, kippahs, and tzitzit—almost every screening has a notable representation of them. But I had never seen ultra-Orthodox clothing in any of the 52 screenings of Aron HaKodesh so far. Despite her struggle, she remained in her seat through all my opening remarks

Finding the Story At the beginning of my relationship with Shiloni, I would constantly tell her: "This isn’t my story. I can’t tell myself this story. We’ll have to part ways." She would elegantly ignore the last part of the sentence and instead guide me through a kind of guided imagination : "Close your eyes. Here we are ten years from now, in a house with a garden (ha, in our dreams), sitting with our two daughters (someday, someday, no, there’s nothing to tell yet), on the

Bat Kol , in collaboration with women’s groups from the LGBTQ+ community, led the Pride Women’s Conference under the theme: “Pride Women Take the Lead” —because no one will advance the rights of queer women if we don’t take the reins ourselves. On April 7th , thanks to the generous support of the Ramat Gan Municipality , 160 women from all sectors gathered for a single purpose: to drive change. Together. We discussed activism, feminism, and the rights of queer women. This

Coming Out, Building a Family, and Pride: A Personal Journey By: Nadya Eisner-Horesh Walking in Jerusalem Pride At the 2022 Jerusalem Pride Parade, my wife and our five-year-old daughter walked alongside me, as did my older children. They marched either with us or with their friends, doing so with complete naturalness. My children from my first marriage all attend or have attended religious schools in Jerusalem and maintain relationships with their religious father. “They mar

This Closet Chokes Too Much: Growing Up as a Religious Lesbian in Israel By Rachel Immigrating at Age 11 At age 11, I immigrated to Israel. Everything was foreign and strange. I didn’t understand the language, I didn’t understand the culture, and I felt different, out of place in the local landscape. “This experience imprinted itself deeply within me, creating a strong desire to belong—even if that belonging came at the cost of parts of my identity.” Middle School Crushes and

Dr. Irit Koren Dr. Irit Koren: The Religious LGBTQ+ Experience – Identity, Marginalization, and the Importance of Support By: Eden Arazi Dr. Irit Koren is a clinical therapist and author of Closet Within a Closet: The Stories of Religious Homosexuals and Lesbians . She specializes, among other areas, in therapy for religious LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Bat Kol is proud to host her as a guest columnist, discussing the importance of support and therapy for community

By: Eden Arazi Introduction Not long ago, a call was issued for Bat Kol members to volunteer for a community support hotline. The announcement, initially titled “Support Hotline for Religious Lesbians and Gay Men,” specified that potential volunteers were “gays and lesbians from the religious sector.” The ad was later revised to include transgender and bisexual individuals as well. It is clear that this change was not intended to offend. Yet, this incident, alongside numerou

By: Ziva Ofek well, to distinguish myself there” (Chullin 7a) Part I: Introduction Approximately three years ago, my friend Or, who at the time managed the forum for religious lesbian women, told me that she wished to initiate one or more articles addressing the conflict inherent in being both lesbian and religious. More broadly, she was collecting articles on the subject. I expressed my view that it was inconceivable for a forum of religious women to exist without any halak

On a rainy winter evening, we came together to light the Hanukkah candles. We talked, shared food, sang, and laughedת it was wonderful. "...and for the mighty deeds, and for the salvations, and for the wonders which You have wrought for our ancestors in those days at this season.”