Havruta) - Jewish Religious

Modern Orthodox Judaism

Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....

 gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

s in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 was founded by graduates of Hesder Yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

s and Religious Pre-Military Preparatory Programs. The organization operates the most prominent internet site on Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 and sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

 in Israel, which updates on a weekly basis and is followed by rabbis and gays alike.

Activities

Havruta hosts a monthly meeting for its members that provides a space where religious gays can socialize in a loving and accepting environment. In February of 2009, Havruta hosted an event that brought together a panel discussion of prominent Orthodox rabbis in Israel to discuss Orthodox Judaism and homosexuality.

Joint projects

• Advocacy project - Havruta has joined forces with Bat-Kol
  Bat Kol (organization)
  Bat Kol is a Jewish religious lesbian organization in Israel. The organization was founded to provide a home for religious women struggling to reconcile their traditional religious ways of life and their sexual orientation...
  
  , the orthodox lesbian association, to create a joint project of speakers beureu called Shoval
  Shoval (organization)
  Shoval - All is created for your glory is an association of Jewish orthodox lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Israel that actively promotes tolerance and understanding of LGBT people within religious communities in Israel through meeting with educators.-Mission statement:Shoval...
  
  .
• LGBT youth - Men from Havruta have created a group for gay orthodox male adolescents in cooperation with Israeli Gay Youth (IGY)
  Israeli Gay Youth (IGY)
  Israel Gay Youth was founded in 2002 in Israel as a non-profit NGO, branching off from the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association.-Overview:Israel Gay Youth is a voluntary Israeli NGO for lesbian, gay, bisexual and...
  
   organization. A parallel group for girls is supported by Bat-Kol
  Bat Kol (organization)
  Bat Kol is a Jewish religious lesbian organization in Israel. The organization was founded to provide a home for religious women struggling to reconcile their traditional religious ways of life and their sexual orientation...
  
  

Press

• Of pride and prayer, Haaretz Israeli daily, February 26, 2009
• Religious gays show pride in the holy city, The Globe and Mail, March 11, 2009
• Rabbis condemn anti-gay shooting, Ynet News, August 2, 2009
• Israel's religious gays battle for acceptance, Associated Press, May 15, 2011