News
Orthodox rabbi hits out at Mirvis over LGBT+ stance
The Chief Rabbi has emphasised that he is responsible for the well being of LGBT+ pupils
October 12, 2018 14:08
By, simon rocker
1 min read
The Chief Rabbi has emphasised that he is responsible for the well being of LGBT+ pupils
October 12, 2018 14:08BySimon Rocker, simon rocker
An Orthodox rabbi has sharply criticised the Chief Rabbi’s guidance on LGBT+ pupils for promoting an “overly secular and liberal” approach.
In an online critique, Rabbi Mordechai Rose claimed the publication had damaged the image of Orthodox schools in the outside world by dwelling on the negative experiences of some LGBT+ pupils in school — which, he said, amounted to a “tremendous Chillul Hashem” (profanation of God’s name).
The Chief Rabbi’s guidance, which was published just before Rosh Hashanah, emphasised schools’ responsibility for the wellbeing of LGBT+ pupils and was hailed as the first of its type in the Orthodox sector.
But Rabbi Rose, a Cambridge University-educated translator of rabbinic texts, said “it misrepresents the true Torah approach to this complex issue and causes widespread confusion in the wider Jewish public”.
He was particularly critical of the involvement of the organisation KeshetUK — which campaigns for the inclusion of LGBT+ people in the Jewish community — in the Chief Rabbi’s publication.
KeshetUK was an inappropriate partner for presenting an Orthodox approach because it promoted acceptance of LGBT+ lifestyles, he argued. It would be like the United Synagogue collaborating with the Reform movement on a guide to religious belief.
“It is this collaboration that has caused the Chief Rabbi to produce a booklet which on the surface seems to represent a religious approach but in actual fact promotes an overtly secular and liberal viewpoint and worldview,” he said.
The publication could increase homosexuality in traditional Jewish schools, Rabbi Rose argued.
“Many young people are confused about their sexual identity, especially with the onset of puberty and its powerful emotions,” he wrote.
“Experts say that it is relatively common for such young people to have passing feelings of attraction to people of the same sex, especially in single-sex environments. In the past due to the general negative attitude of society and of course of the Torah, such feelings would not be acted upon.
“They would pass and the individuals would later enter into successful heterosexual marriages. But with the more permissive approach promoted by the Chief Rabbi’s booklet, these young people are more likely to act on these transient, relatively normal feelings.”
He also believed the publication could give ammunition to Ofsted which was making “ever increasing demands on our schools to teach children about homosexuality and presenting it as a valid alternative lifestyle. We have claimed that we cannot teach these matters because they are against our religion. We have claimed that we do not have significant problems of bullying in our schools.”
Rabbi Rose told the JC he had shown his critique to “various rabbinic leaders and they have agreed with the content”.
