Sexuality, Politics, and American Judaism

Session Submission Type: Lightning Session

Abstract

In spite of American discourses that would position sexuality as a private issue and Judaism (along with all religion) as separate from the state and the public sphere, this formulation does not reflect political reality. In this lightening session, we explore some of the ways in which sexuality, sexual identity, and reproduction shaped the political investments of American Jews (largely conceptualized as a religious group in these contexts), and how the political investments of American Jews transformed sexual politics in America and beyond. We explore these themes sequentially from the mid-twentieth century through the early twenty-first. Our first three papers consider contraception and reproduction: Samira Mehta begins the program with a comparative look at how Jewish and Protestant leaders deployed quite different arguments in their mutual support for contraceptive coverage. Rachel Kranson moves us forward in time to the mid-1970s, analyzing the different ways in which legal experts from the American Jewish Congress harnessed the first amendment to support legal abortion. And Ronit Stahl considers the importance of the disproportionate Jewish identity of abortion providers within the history of healthcare conscience clauses. Our final two papers consider the ways in which Jewish sexual/LGBTQ identity has intersected with Zionist politics and the Palestinian solidarity movement. Situating his research in the 1970s through the 1990s, Gregg Drinkwater explores how LGBTQ Jews incorporated a commitment to Israeli and Zionist politics as a core component of their Jewish and sexual identities. Finally, SJ Crasnow’s paper brings us to the twenty-first century, investigating the involvement of queer/trans Jews in the Palestinian solidarity movement and its impact on American Jewish politics.

Sub Unit

• 2019 Wildcard Division: Gender & Sexuality Studies

Chair

• Jonathan Krasner, Brandeis University

Individual Presentations

• A Religious Case for Contraception: Rabbis, Ministers, and the New York City Public Hospitals - Samira Mehta, Department of Women and Gender Studies

• American Jewish Congress and the Legal Case for Abortion - Rachel Kranson, University of Pittsburgh

• American Jews and the Politics of Health Care Conscience Clauses - Ronit Stahl, University of California, Berkeley

• Gay and Lesbian Jews, Israel, and Diasporic Homonationalism - Gregg Drinkwater, University of Colorado Boulder

• Queer Jewish Politics, Palestine Solidarity, and the Antisemitism Question - SJ Crasnow, Rockhurst University