User:Alspell/sandbox

Article Evaluation:
For the Evaluate Wikipedia assignment, I chose to read about LGBT rights in Israel. What I found most interesting from this article was the way in which LGBT rights were related to so many different laws in Israeli society, particularly with the Law of Return. I had never considered the fact that a gay married couple may face discrimination and difficultly in making aliyah on the basis of their marital status. I do feel that the paragraph on the LGBT rights movement is missing a lot of detail, as it is only three lines long. I'm assuming that the LGBT rights movement is substantial in Israel and I would like to see more on that. However, I don't find any information misleading or out of date.

The tone of the article was very neutral to me. It reports the objective facts of the LGBT movement in Israel and what rights are and are not fully granted to members of the LGBT community in Israel. In addition, the Pinkwashing section gives a nice overview of the issue without seeming to lean to far on either side of the argument.

The sources all appear to be correct, and all of the paragraphs give multiple citations. On this issue in particular, the number of sources really provides validity because whenever Israel or Palestine are brought up, many people take sides quickly. However, in this article, the number of citations really lended to it being factually based and not one-sided.

In the talk page, the article is rated C-class, Mid-importance. It is part of WikiProjects Human Rights and LGBT Studies. Much of the discussion is centered around certain words implying vague references to other countries.

Something I felt was missing from the article, however, was the role of the ultra-orthodox community on LGBT rights in Israel.

Article Selection:
I am going to be writing about Conservative Judaism and Sexual Orientation. Currently, the Wiki page pretty much exclusively talks about the movement's perspective on ordination. I want to add about societal views, general Conservative/Masorti ideology towards LGBT rights, what is being done currently to move towards acceptance, and comparisons between Israel and the U.S. Conservative movement.

Some articles I will use:

https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-conservative-judaism

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/06/01/the-rabbis-of-conservative-judaism-pass-a-resolution-supporting-transgender-rights/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ea627390639e

https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19912000/handler_dissenthomosex.pdf

https://uscj.org/leadership/keshet-leadership-project

Add to an Article:
Regarding ordination, a major criticism for LGBT ordination is not that members of the LGBT movement are not decent individuals. Rather, a widely held view is that Rabbis must be an example for the community, and it would be in direct opposition to the prohibition of gay sex to ordain someone who violates that Jewish law. Editing this Wikipedia Page: Conservative Judaism and sexual orientation

Notes (Drafting my Contributions):

 * The page Conservative Judaism and sexual orientation almost exclusively touches on the halakhic decisions that have occurred in the past regarding rabbinical schools and Jewish law defining if it is acceptable. It hardly if at all touches on the Conservative movement's acceptance of people as a whole and does not say anything about other rights.
 * Marriage: The conservative movement now blesses gay marriage, but prefers heterosexual relationships
 * Synagogue data:
 * In 2013, the USCJ found these results in Conservative synagogues:
 * 80% of Conservative synagogues had membership policies allowing same-sex couples to have a family/household membership
 * 60% reported they have members who openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer
 * 14% of synagogues had trained staff on LGBTQ inclusion
 * 30% had unisex/non-gendered bathrooms
 * Rights:
 * 2012: Conservative movement endorsed gay marriage and provided guidelines for same-sex divorce
 * While conservative Judaism blesses same-sex marriage, it still does not allow gay men to have anal sex precisely because of a verse in the Bible, and the movement recommends that bisexual people pursue heterosexual. The Conservative movement also believes that heterosexuality is the ideal sexual orientation.
 * The Conservative movement has not held a firm or clear stance overall. Homosexuality is a controversial topic in the movement as a whole and it has split the movement.
 * The 2006 decision allowed for Conservative rabbis to choose which equally valid opinion to follow. This creates inequality among the movement as a whole
 * Relation between intermarriage and gay marriage in Conservative movement: I need to do more research on this, and how race and sexuality and religion can al tie together
 * Source of debates: Leviticus 18:22 states: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination.” And Leviticus 20:13 states: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abomination; they shall surely be put to death—their blood shall be upon them.”
 * Do more research on how this plays out in Israeli society***

Responding to the peer review:
The Torah mentions explicitly two times that male homosexuality is prohibited. Once in Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13, directed at men, but interpreted for both genders in the Conservative movement and Halacha overall. Thus, while lesbian acts are never discussed directly in Biblical texts, the law extends to men and women based on religious interpretations of the text. The 2006 decision ruled on anal sex in particular, leaving room for interpretation for Jewish lesbian couples who do not participate in this act. Progress has been made for same-sex couples in Conservative Judaism, where they are now allowed to marry and receive guidance and support. In 2012, the Conservative movement endorsed gay marriage and provided guidelines for same-sex divorce While conservative Judaism blesses same-sex marriage, it still does not allow gay men to have anal sex precisely because of a verse in the Bible, and the movement recommends that bisexual people pursue heterosexual relationships. The Conservative movement also believes that heterosexuality is the ideal sexual orientation. Conservative Judaism does fall one step behind the Reform movement, where the Reform movement recognizes same-sex marriages as kiddushin. The two Biblical verses continue to cause trouble for the Conservative movement's interpretation of this text.

Regarding rights, in 2013, the USCJ found these results in Conservative synagogues:


 * 80% of Conservative synagogues had membership policies allowing same-sex couples to have a family/household membership
 * 60% reported they have members who openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer
 * 14% of synagogues had trained staff on LGBTQ inclusion
 * 30% had unisex/non-gendered bathrooms

In Israel, many laws are governed by religious authorities, marriage included in this. Because religious law governs marriage, same-sex couples are not recognized as married by religious law. There are some non-profit organizations: Shoval, Bat Kol, and Havruta devoted to cultivating religious acceptance of the LGBT community in Israeli society. These organizations, however, focus mainly on promoting acceptance and tolerance in orthodox communities. Further, denominational Judaism does not exist to the same extent in Israel, so religious tolerance of same-sex couples falls under either religious or secular parts of society. Among the secular parts of Israeli society, same-sex couples receive most of the same benefits as heterosexual couples. However, among the religious jurisdiction, same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Israel, barring them from being recognized as married by the religious authorities.