Editing Jewish views on homosexuality (section)

==Orthodox Jewish views==
[[File:Homophobic protestors-02. Haifa 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] protesters holding Anti-LGBT Protest signs during the Gay Pride parade in [[Haifa]], [[Israel]] (2010)]]

While a variety of views regarding homosexuality exist within the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] community, Orthodox Judaism generally prohibits homosexual conduct. While there is some disagreement about which male homosexual acts violate core prohibitions, the majority of Orthodox Judaism puts male-male [[anal sex]] in the category of {{transliteration|he|[[Self-sacrifice in Jewish law|yehareg]] ve'al ya'avor}} (lit. "die rather than transgress"). This is a small category of biblically-prohibited acts{{NoteTag|The three acts prohibited under yehareg ve'al ya'avor are forbidden relationships (e.g. homosexuality, incest, or adultery), murder, and idolatry.}} which an Orthodox Jew is obligated to die rather than do.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kamoha.org.il/?p=15953|title=משכב זכר נכלל בגדר ''ייהרג ובל יעבור''?|date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> While almost any Jewish law may be broken to save a life under the principle of [[pikuach nefesh]], the sages determined that Jews must observe these laws, even at the cost of their own lives. According to the Talmud, homosexual acts are not necessarily forbidden between non-Jews, though [[same-sex marriage]] is forbidden.<ref>cf. Talmud (Chullin 92a)</ref> There are numerous references in the Torah to non-Jews engaging in homosexuality, including the Egyptians<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.18.3?lang=bi&aliyot=0<br>Sefaria – The Contemporary Torah, JPS, 2006.]</ref><ref>[https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/20052010/dorff_nevins_reisner_dignity.pdf<br>Homosexuality, human dignity and halakah – Rabbinical Assembly.]</ref> and the Canaanites.<ref>[https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/resources-ideas/source-sheets/tol-parashot/aharei-mot-k-doshim.pdf<br>Homosexuality and Halakah: A Second Look at the Sources – Rabbinical Assembly.]</ref> Traditionally, Judaism only accepts heterosexual intercourse within marriage; some scholars have described adultery, celibacy, homosexuality, incest and bestiality as existing on a spectrum of wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite book|author=David L. Balch|title=Homosexuality, Science, and the "plain Sense" of Scripture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6pCEjNJexFYC&pg=PA293|year=2000|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4698-3|pages=293–|quote=Judaism's sexual ideal is marital sex; all other forms of sexual behavior deviate from that ideal. There is a continuum of wrong from premarital sex, to celibacy, to adultery, to homosexuality, incest, and bestiality.}}</ref>

In a speech given in 1986, the [[Lubavicher rebbe|Lubavitcher Rebbe]], Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, discussed "individuals who express an inclination towards a particular form of physical relationship in which the libidinal gratification is sought with members of one's own gender." He wrote that homosexuality should not be accepted as immutable, but rather [[Conversion therapy|treated medically]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rights or Ills |publisher=Jonah International |url=http://www.jonahweb.org/sections.php?secId=128 |access-date=November 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302205821/https://www.jonahweb.org/sections.php?secId=128 |archive-date=March 2, 2015 }}</ref>

In a 2008 open letter distributed to Orthodox community leaders, the [[Hod (organization)|Hod]] organization appealed to the Orthodox community to recognize them as part of the religious society.<ref>{{cite news |author=Kobi Nahshoni | url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3504952,00.html | title = Religious homosexuals seek acceptance | date=February 10, 2008 | publisher=[[Ynetnews]] |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> Up to 2013, 163 Orthodox rabbis from Israel and abroad signed this statement, including [[Yuval Cherlow]], [[Binyamin Lau]], Haim Navon, [[Daniel Sperber]], [[Eliezer Melamed]], [[Shai Piron]], and [[Yehuda Gilad (politician)|Yehuda Gilad]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} In 2010, TorahWeb.org published a brief position statement entitled "Torah View on Homosexuality", co-authored by Ravs [[Hershel Schachter]], [[Mordechai Willig]], [[Michael Rosensweig]], and [[Mayer Twersky]], which reaffirmed their view of homosexuality as an abomination.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.torahweb.org/torah/special/2010/homosexuality.html |title=Torah View on Homosexuality |publisher=Torahweb |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref>

On July 22, 2010, a "Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community" was released.<ref>{{cite web |author=Nati Helfgot |date=July 28, 2010 |url=http://statementofprinciplesnya.blogspot.com/ |title=Statement of Principles |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> It was written primarily by [[Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot|Nathaniel Helfgot]], [[Rabbi Aryeh Klapper|Aryeh Klapper]], and [[Yitzchak Blau]]. Signatories include more than a hundred rabbis and laypeople. This statement again reaffirms that homosexual activity is forbidden under halacha, but is sympathetic to "Jews with a homosexual orientation." It does not promote conversion therapy or opposite-sex marriage for gay Jews, urges communities not to ostracize gay Jews and their families, and in regard to gay marriage, states that "each synagogue together with its rabbi must establish its own standard with regard to membership for open violators of halakha."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137251 |title=RCA: No Female Rabbis |publisher=Israel National News |date=2010-04-27 |access-date=2012-07-24}}</ref>

An edict signed by dozens of Israeli Orthodox rabbis and published in 2016 by the Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbinic group Beit Hillel, a group which promotes inclusiveness in Orthodox Judaism, stated, in part, "According to the Torah and halacha, the [same-sex sexual] acts are forbidden, but not the proclivities, and therefore, people with same-sex tendencies, men and women, have no invalidation in halacha or tradition. They are obligated by the commandments of the Torah, they can fulfill a [ritual] obligation on behalf of the public, and carry out all of the community functions just like any member."<ref name="The Times of Israel">{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/dozens-of-orthodox-rabbis-call-for-accepting-gay-congregants/|title=Dozens of Orthodox rabbis call for accepting gay congregants|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref> It also stated, in part, "Just as it [is] inconceivable to mock someone for being physically, behaviorally, or mentally different, so too those with same-sex tendencies should not be mocked. On the contrary, those around them—family and community—should show special feeling for them, and apply to them the Torah commandment of 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' and to be diligent in avoiding the prohibition of insulting another."<ref name="The Times of Israel"/>

Rabbi Dr. [[Immanuel Jakobovits]] describes the traditional opinion on homosexuality as follows: "Jewish law{{nbsp}}[...] rejects the view that homosexuality is to be regarded merely as a disease or as morally neutral... Jewish law holds that no hedonistic ethic, even if called "love", can justify the morality of homosexuality any more than it can legitimize [[adultery]] or [[incest]], however genuinely such acts may be performed out of love and by mutual consent."<ref>In his entry ''Homosexuality'' in the ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]'' ([[Keter Publishing]])</ref> Rabbi [[Norman Lamm]] argued that some (although not all) homosexuals should be viewed as diseased and in need of compassion and treatment, rather than willful rebels who should be ostracized. He distinguishes between six varieties of homosexuals, including "genuine homosexuals" who have "strong preferential erotic feelings for members of the same sex", "transitory" and "situational" homosexuals who would prefer heterosexual intercourse but are denied it or seek gain in homosexuality, and heterosexuals who are merely curious.<ref>{{cite web|title=Judaism and the Modern Attitude to Homosexuality &#124; 2002 |author=Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm |url=http://www.jonahweb.org/sections.php?secId=90 |access-date=November 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302184904/https://www.jonahweb.org/sections.php?secId=90 |archive-date=March 2, 2015 }}</ref>

===Prominent Gay Orthodox Jews===

American Orthodox rabbi [[Steven Greenberg (rabbi)|Steven Greenberg]] came out as gay in 1999 to a significant response from rabbis of all denominations. Rabbi [[Moshe Tendler]], a leading rabbi at [[Yeshiva University]], stated, "It is very sad that an individual who attended our yeshiva sunk to the depths of what we consider a depraved society."<ref>{{cite news |title=Rabbi Ordained by Yeshiva University Announces He is Gay |publisher=Israel Wire |date=May 18, 1999 |url=http://www.israelwire.com/New/990518/99051844.html |access-date=April 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000306064752/http://www.israelwire.com/New/990518/99051844.html |archive-date=March 6, 2000 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> As Greenberg has a [[semichah|rabbinic ordination]] from the Orthodox rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University ([[RIETS]]), he is often described as the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish rabbi.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/11/national/11bishop.html?scp=4&sq=Rabbi%20Steven%20Greenberg&st=cse| title=Bishop Says Conflict on Gays Distracts From Vital Issues| work=[[The New York Times]] | date=11 September 2004| access-date=18 November 2011 | author=Goodstein, Laurie}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,1425657,00.html | title=Judaism and the gay dilemma | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=26 February 2005 | access-date=16 November 2011 | author=Rocker, Simon | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/07/an-interview-with-rabbi-s_n_638679.html| title= An Interview With Rabbi Steven Greenberg: Orthodox And Gay | work=[[Huffington Post]]| date=7 July 2010| access-date=16 November 2011 | author=Neroulias, Nicole}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/07/an-interview-with-rabbi-s_n_638679.html
| title= Gay And Orthodox, According To Jon Marans | work=[[The Jewish Week]]| date=19 July 2011 | access-date=16 November 2011 | author=Merwin, Ted}}</ref> Greenberg faced backlash in 2011 for officiating a same-sex wedding. The civil ceremony was not a [[Kiddushin (Talmud)|kiddushin]], which is not permitted for same-sex couples, and therefore not recognized under Jewish law. In response, a group of Orthodox Rabbis issued an open letter denouncing the ceremony and Greenberg's ordination. Greenberg's ordination remains valid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2011/12/05/100-orthodox-rabbis-issue-same-sex-marriage-declaration/ |title=100 Orthodox Rabbis Issue Same Sex Marriage Declaration |publisher=algemeiner.com |date=5 December 2011 |access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref>

Orthodox Israeli rabbi [[Ron Yosef]] became in 2009 the first Israeli Orthodox Rabbi to come out, by appearing in [[Uvda (TV program)|Uvda]] ("Fact"), Israel's leading investigative television program, in an episode regarding [[conversion therapies]] in Israel.<ref>{{cite video|author=Yermi Brenner |date=2009 |title=Gay Rabbi Comes Out of His Orthodox Closet |publisher=VJ Movement |url=http://www.vjmovement.com/truth/537 |access-date=November 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112130252/http://www.vjmovement.com/truth/537 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 }}</ref> Yosef remains in his position as a pulpit Rabbi.<ref name="yn">{{cite news |author=Nissan Strauchler |date=February 16, 2010 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3849500,00.html |title=Gay with perfect faith |publisher=[[Ynetnews]] |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> Yosef testified that his Yemenite congregation did not accept him being a homosexual very easily and it took them a while to accept it. Yosef received death threats in the year leading up to the [[2009 Tel Aviv gay centre shooting]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Kobi Nahshoni |date=August 2, 2009 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755595,00.html |title=Rabbis condemn anti-gay shooting |publisher=[[Ynetnews]] |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> In 2013, he stated he was in a relationship with a man.<ref>minute 00:39 in a radio interview with Razi Barkay here [https://web.archive.org/web/20131219122839/http://player.glz.co.il/Player.aspx?FixedPoster=true&FixedPosterName=GLZAOD.jpg&ClipID=131218-10&Type=aod&Width=300&Height=200])</ref> Yosef has stated his approach to the issue of homosexuality in Judaism as follows: "It is clear to me that lying with another man is forbidden, and our starting point is commitment to [[halacha]] and Torah. The goal is not to seek permission. But you need to give us a shoulder and support."<ref name="yn" />

In 2019 Daniel Atwood became the first openly gay Orthodox person to be ordained as a rabbi; he was ordained by the rabbi Daniel Landes, in Jerusalem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/opinion/425242/this-was-a-week-of-jewish-blessings-gay-orthodox-ordination-an-80-person/?gamp|title = This Was a Week of Jewish Blessings: Gay, Orthodox Ordination, an 80-Person B'nei Mitzvah, and a Spelling Bee| date=31 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/first-openly-gay-orthodox-rabbi-ordained-in-jerusalem-1.7300255 |title=First openly gay Orthodox rabbi ordained in Jerusalem - Israel News |publisher=Haaretz.com |date=2019-05-28 |access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref> In October 2023, ''[[The Forward]]'' reported about Shua Brick, "experts say that Brick is the first openly gay rabbi to serve on the clergy of an Orthodox synagogue in the U.S.",<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/news/563113/shua-brick-gay-orthodox-rabbi-oakland/|title=Orthodox Judaism has its first openly gay congregational rabbi. This is his story.|date=October 5, 2023|website=The Forward}}</ref> explaining that Brick "runs the youth program, leads Torah study for adults, and fills in when the senior rabbi is out of town" at Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland, California, where he started coming out as gay to members of the congregation over a year prior to October 2023. He was ordained by Yeshiva University.<ref name="auto"/>

===Ex-gay organizations===
{{further|Ex-gay movement}}

[[JONAH]] was a Jewish [[ex-gay]] organization that focuses on "prevention, intervention, and healing of the underlying issues causing same-sex attractions".<ref name=MissionStatement>{{cite web |url=http://www.jonahweb.org |title=JONAH'S Mission Statement |access-date=April 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329160520/http://jonahweb.org/ |archive-date=March 29, 2007 }}</ref> In 2012, four former clients of JONAH sued the organization for fraud, claiming that it sold them therapies that were ineffective and counterproductive.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |author=Jay Michaelson|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/01/orthodox-rabbis-say-gay-cure-therapy-doesn-t-work.html |title=Orthodox Rabbis Say Gay 'Cure' Therapy Doesn't Work |website=The Daily Beast |date=2012-08-02 |access-date=2012-12-03}}</ref> Soon after in that same year, the [[Rabbinical Council of America]] (RCA), a professional association of more than 1,000 Orthodox rabbis around the world, sent an open email to its members that it no longer supported [[conversion therapy]] generally, or JONAH specifically.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> In 2015, a New Jersey jury found JONAH guilty of consumer fraud for promising to be able to change its clients' sexual urges and determined its commercial practices to be unconscionable.<ref name=Livio>{{cite web|last1=Livio|first1=Susan K.|title=Group claiming to turn gay men straight committed consumer fraud, N.J. jury says|url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/gay_conversion_therapy_fraud_trial_verdict.html|website=NJ.com|agency=NJ Advance Media for NJ.com|publisher=New Jersey On-Line|date=June 25, 2015|access-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> As part of the sentence, JONAH was required to cease all operations, but continued to operate under the name JIFGA until 2019, when it was found in violation of the previous order and shut down permanently.<ref>{{cite web |title=SPLC asks court to enforce order closing fraudulent 'conversion therapy' provider |url=https://www.splcenter.org/news/2018/03/28/splc-asks-court-enforce-order-closing-fraudulent-conversion-therapy-provider |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=7 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> This final ruling also barred the executives of JIFGA from serving on the board of any nonprofit organization in the future.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-12 |title=Judge orders ‘conversion therapy’ provider to permanently cease operations once again |url=https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/judge-orders-conversion-therapy-provider-permanently-cease-operations-once-again/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JTA |title=New Jersey-based Jewish gay conversion group ordered to shut down |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-gay-conversion-group-ordered-to-shut-down/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Other viewpoints===
[[Jiří Langer|Jiří Mordechai Langer]], who studied in the Hasidic community of [[Belz]], arrived in Palestine in 1940. "His reconciliation of homosexuality and Judaism involved{{nbsp}}[...] a homosexual Jewish theology;{{nbsp}}[...] a sociology of Jewish homosexuality in Hasidism".<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Halper |first=Shaun Jacob |date=2013 |title=Mordechai Langer (1894–1943) and the Birth of the Modern Jewish Homosexual |type=PhD |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5zz859g4 |page=1}}</ref>

[[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] Rabbi [[Avigdor Miller]] defended the [[Moscone–Milk assassinations|assassination of Harvey Milk]], saying "A decent gentile got up and shot him because of his spreading homosexuality".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shanes |first=Joshua |date=October 13, 2020 |title=The Evangelicalization of Orthodoxy |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/evangelicalization-orthodox-jews |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]}}</ref>

The late UK Chief Rabbi [[Jonathan Sacks]] wrote the foreword to Rabbi [[Chaim Rapoport]]'s book ''Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rapoport|first=Rabbi Chaim|title=Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View|year=2004|publisher=Vallentine Mitchell|location=London; Portland, OR|isbn=978-0853034520}}</ref> In the foreword, Rabbi Sacks has written: "Compassion, sympathy, empathy, understanding – these are essential elements of Judaism. They are what homosexual Jews who care about Judaism need from us today."

[[Modern Orthodox]] leader Rabbi [[Aharon Lichtenstein]] is reported to have said that the intensity of Orthodox community's condemnation of homosexuality goes beyond what its status as a religious transgression warrants, and that he feels toward homosexual people "criticism, disapproval, but tempered with an element of sympathy".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4325509,00.html4 |publisher=[[Ynetnews]] |author=Kobi Nahshoni |title=Top rabbi: Soften attitude towards gays |date=January 1, 2013}}</ref> Rabbi Steven Greenberg, for example, argues that there are many sins considered to be [[Abomination (Judaism)|abominations]] in the Torah, homosexual men are disproportionately censured. While some Modern Orthodox congregations may still invite a person up for an [[Aliyah (Torah)|aliyah]] who is known not to keep kosher, the same is not always true of a man known to engage in same-sex sexual activity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Steven |title=Wrestling with God and men: homosexuality and the Jewish tradition |date=2004 |publisher=University of Wisconsin press |isbn=978-0-299-19090-3 |location=Madison, Wisconsin}}</ref>

In both the United States and in Israel several groups have sprung up in the last few years{{as of?|date=June 2024}} that seek to support those who identify as both Orthodox and homosexual; support Orthodox parents of LGBTQ children;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/1/27/orthodox-and-out-of-the-closet |publisher=JNS |author=Maayan Jaffe |title=Orthodox and out of the closet |date=January 27, 2014 |access-date=November 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202134648/http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/1/27/orthodox-and-out-of-the-closet |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and promote understanding of homosexuality within Orthodox communities and among Orthodox rabbis. These include an umbrella organization called [[Eshel (organization)|Eshel]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eshelonline.org/ |title=Eshel |access-date=November 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031222829/http://www.eshelonline.org/ |archive-date=October 31, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Gay and Lesbian Yeshiva Day School Alumni Association,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://GLYDSA.org |title=Frum Gay Jews' Home Page |publisher=Glydsa.org |access-date=2015-03-16}}</ref> the women's group OrthoDykes,<ref>[http://www.orthodykes.org/ Orthodykes.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518153408/http://www.orthodykes.org/ |date=May 18, 2014 }}<!-- redirects to http://www.eshelonline.org/ --></ref> the youth group [[JQYouth]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jqyouth.org/ |title=JQY |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> the American-Israeli group headquartered in Jerusalem [[Bat Kol (organization)|Bat Kol]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bat-kol.org/english/|title=English &#124; בת-קול &#124; ארגון לסביות דתיות|website=www.bat-kol.org}}</ref> and the Israeli group [[Hod (organization)|Hod]] ("Majesty").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hod.org.il/?en=1|title=Hod|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104220758/http://www.hod.org.il/?en=1|archive-date=2014-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ari Rabinovitch | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL1440981520080214 |work=Reuters |title=Orthodox gays in Israel find support in Web site |date=February 14, 2008 |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> In 2012, Hod held an advertising campaign against conversion therapies and for self-acceptance of the religious homosexual community in Israel.<ref>{{cite news |author=Sarah Karlan |date=March 19, 2013 |title=Guerilla Campaign Against Gay Conversion Launched In Orthodox Jewish Community |publisher=Buzzfeed |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/guerilla-anti-conversion-campaign-launched-in-orthodox-jewis |access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref> Online blogs and support groups have enabled many to find other Orthodox LGBTQ people with whom to share the conflict between Orthodox religious and social norms and LGBT self-identification.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/136001/lgbt-orthodox-jews-online?all=1|work=Tablet|title=For LGBT Orthodox Jews, Growth of Social Media Creates a Safe Space Online|date=June 26, 2013}}</ref>

Orthodox Rabbis [[Shmuley Boteach]] and Zev Farber have questioned the opposition of Orthodox groups to government recognition of same-sex civil marriages (or in Boteach's case, to state-sanctioned civil unions), arguing that although Judaism does not condone homosexuality, governments should not enforce any particular religion's view of marriage, and that conferring civil benefits to committed homosexual couples should be viewed as promoting family values.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/gay-marriage-civil-unions_b_15152472.html|author=Shmuley Boteach|work=Huffington Post|title=What If Government Recognized Only Civil Unions and Left Marriage to Religion?|date=May 14, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://morethodoxy.org/2012/05/22/obamas-advocacy-of-gay-marriage-an-alternative-orthodox-response-by-rabbi-zev-farber/|author=Zev Farber|title=Obama's Advocacy of Gay Marriage: An Alternative Orthodox Response – by Rabbi Zev Farber|work=Morethodoxy|date=May 22, 2013}}</ref>

In October 2010, Boteach wrote an op-ed column in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' on homosexuality, arguing that he does not deny that there is a biblical prohibition on male same-sex relationships and a commandment for men and women to marry and have children.<ref name="auto11">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704361504575552203494330686|title=My Jewish Perspective on Homosexuality; I tell gay couples they still have 611 of the Torah's 613 rules to keep them busy.|author=Boteach, Shmuley|date=October 15, 2010|work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> Still, he understands those in context.<ref name="auto11"/> "There are 613 commandments in the Torah... So when Jewish gay couples tell me they have never been attracted to members of the opposite sex and are desperate alone, I tell them "You have 611 commandments left. That should keep you busy. Now, go create a kosher home{{nbsp}}[...] you are His beloved children."<ref name="auto11"/> Five years later he wrote that he believed in the equality of all of God's children, and has seen too much [[homophobia]] in his life.<ref name="auto13">{{Cite web|url=https://observer.com/2015/07/gay-marriage-and-the-end-of-days/|work=The Observer|title=Gay Marriage and the End of Days|first=Shmuley |last= Boteach |date=July 1, 2015}}</ref> He believes that the biggest threat to marriage does not come from gay marriage, but heterosexual divorce, which he says afflicts half of marriages.<ref name="auto13"/> He [[Marriage privatization|opposes government involvement at all in recognizing marriage]], but supports state-sanctioned "[[civil union]]s" for all.<ref name="auto11"/><ref name="auto31">{{Cite web|url=https://observer.com/2012/04/run-rabbi-run-shmuley-boteach-goes-from-neverland-to-capital-hill/|title=Run, Rabbi, Run! Shmuley Boteach Goes From Neverland to Capitol Hill|work=Observer|author=Hunter Walker|date=April 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Foxnews20012">{{cite web|author=[[Roger Friedman]]|date=May 23, 2001|title=Jacko's Rabbi Gets Meshugah on Court TV|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/jackos-rabbi-gets-meshugah-on-court-tv-plus-pearl-harbor-bombs-away|access-date=28 February 2011|work=Fox News}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name="auto13"/> Open Orthodox Rabbi [[Shmuly Yanklowitz]] declared that the Jewish values of justice, equality, and dignity lead him to support the cause of gay rights and advocate for same-sex civil marriage.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuly-yanklowitz/orthodox-rabbi-gay-marriage_b_4452154.html|author=Shmuly Yanklowitz|work=The Huffington Post|title=5 Reasons Being an Orthodox Rabbi Compelled Me to Support Gay Marriage|date=December 19, 2013}}</ref>

In November 2016, dozens of LGBT activists protested in Jerusalem against comments reportedly made by the city's chief rabbi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who reportedly told an Israeli newspaper that gay people were an "abomination", and homosexuality a "cult".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/11/20/world/middleeast/ap-ml-israel-lgbt-protest.html|title=Rabbi's Remarks on Homosexuality Spark Protests in Jerusalem|date=20 November 2016|work=AP|via=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 2017, the Senior Rabbi of the Spanish & Portuguese Sephardi Community [[Joseph Dweck]] gave a class describing "the entire revolution of feminism and even homosexuality in our society{{nbsp}}[...] is a fantastic development for humanity". These words were condemned by Rabbi Aaron Bassous as "false and misguided{{nbsp}}[...] corrupt from beginning to end".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/18/jewish-leader-intervenes-in-row-over-rabbis-remarks-on-homosexuality|first=Harriet|last=Sherwood|newspaper= [[The Guardian]]|date=18 June 2017|title=Chief rabbi intervenes in Orthodox rabbis' row over homosexuality}}</ref> This affair caused Dweck to step down from the Sephardic Beth Din but not as a communal leader.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/rabbi-dweck-can-remain-as-sephardi-leader-rabbinic-panel-says-1.441710|first=Simon|last=Rocker|newspaper= [[The Jewish Chronicle]]|date=19 July 2017|title=Rabbi Dweck can remain as Sephardi leader, rabbinic panel says}}</ref>

In 2019, Rabbi [[Daniel Landes]] wrote, "Leviticus 18:22{{nbsp}}[...] has not been erased from the Torah. But that biblical commandment does not give us license to ignore or abuse the significant number of carefully observant Jews who are LGBTQ."<ref>Landes, Daniel.  [https://jewishjournal.com/newsroom/judaism/we-need-gay-orthodox-rabbis/ "We Need Gay Orthodox Rabbis."] ''Jewish Journal''.  28 May 2019.  28 May 2019.</ref>

Film documentaries made about Orthodox homosexuals in recent years{{as of?|date=June 2024}} include ''[[Trembling Before G-d]]'', ''[[Keep Not Silent]]'', and ''[[Say Amen]]''.