CBST and the Jerusalem Open House
CBST has a supportive and enduring relationship with the Jerusalem Open House , (in Hebrew, HaBayit HaPatuach ), the first center for LGBTQ people and allies dedicated to advancing the cause of social tolerance in Israel.
When the Jerusalem Open House was founded in 1997, few even knew there were LGBTQ people in Jerusalem. Since then, the JOH has been the driving force behind "Jerusalem Pride – Love Without Borders," the signature event and celebration of LGBTQ pride in the city and a model for social intervention and LGBTQ visibility.
The Early Years
CBST's relationship with the JOH was strengthened by a grant from the UJA Federation, Partnership 2000 , under which leaders from the fledgling grassroots group traveled to New York to learn from and bridge ties to American synagogues and community-based organizations.
CBST welcomed a delegation from the Jerusalem Open House in April 2004. Guests included board members and activists working on the cutting edge of the struggle for tolerance, diversity and pride in Jerusalem, as well as staff from the Palestinian Outreach Program and volunteers from the advocacy committee who had successfully argued cases for LGBT rights in the Israeli Supreme Court. Throughout the delegation's stay, CBST organized activities to allow members to meet and get to know the JOH group. Read about that historic JOH visit in the Gay City News , the Jewish Week , and the New York Blade .
In 2005, the JOH became the center of GLBT and worldwide religious attention when Jerusalem was selected to host the quadrennial WorldPride gathering, leading to a storm of protests over freedom of expression. CBST galvanized support for the cause, drawing up a petition that was signed by nearly 1,000 clergy members of diverse faiths, which in part declared: "Those who would come to Jerusalem to celebrate the diversity of the world we live in are imbued with the same spirit of G-d that those clergy preaching intolerance would claim belongs only to them."
See the petition here: http://www.cbst.org/worldPrideSignees.html
When the Israeli government proceeded with the disengagement from Gaza in summer 2005, which created an extraordinarily difficult political climate, the JOH decided to postpone the WorldPride gathering until August 2006.
