March 2000 - אֲדָר א׳ .. אֲדָר ב׳ תש״ס Adar I..Adar II 5760

Shalom uvracha. Peace and blessing. In the past two and a half years I have studiously avoided using this column for political issues. However, every once and a while a ballot initiative comes up that is so ethically wrong and such a perversion of social justice that I, and many of my colleagues, will not stay silent. I am writing about Proposition 22, the Knight Initiative. I concur with the following statement of the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

We oppose Proposition 22, the Knight Initiative, which seeks to add a line to California's Family Code stating that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

* Passage of the Knight Initiative would perpetuate discrimination against gay men and lesbians in areas ranging from inheritance rights to hospital visits, and creates a climate of increased hostility toward gay men and lesbians.

* Discrimination is inconsistent with Jewish values, which affirm the dignity of each human being as having been created “in the image of God.” The historic Jewish experience of discrimination heightens our concern for the commitment to ensuring the equal protection of all under the law. Efforts aimed at eliminating discrimination need not conflict with maintaining support for the traditional view of marriage as an essential tenet of Judaism and our society. Indeed, in opposing the initiative, we are neither endorsing same-sex marriage, nor are we advocating a change in the definition of marriage.

* Passage of the Knight Initiative is unnecessary. California law already reads that “marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman.” Proposition 22 could increase discrimination by delegitimizing civil arrangements, such as registered domestic partnerships, which have been used as a means of extending to same-sex couples some of the benefits that exist for legally married couples.

We encourage members of our community to join us in opposing Proposition 22. We are convinced that Proposition 22 represents a serious step backwards in the effort to eliminate discrimination.

I would like you to know that early on I signed a petition encouraging a “No on Knight” vote. Personally, I feel that the JCRC statement does not go far enough. I have discussed same-gender marriages extensively with my colleagues and I am convinced that there is room within the Jewish tradition to sanctify all loving relationships between two committed Jews. Last month at the MID Lunch and Learn, I laid out my research that may demonstrate that the Torah does not condemn a loving homosexual relationship. I would be more than pleased to share that research with you. My next article will be on the relationship of modern (non-Orthodox) Jewish tradition to the history of this issue in the Jewish sources. Again, if you are interested in my findings, please contact me.

Bottom line, if you oppose same gender marriages, no one is forcing you to participate in one. If you oppose homosexuality, don't become a homosexual. But please, as Jews, we know the soul of the persecuted, we must not become persecutors. Marriage needs no defense! If we are married and happy, then we have an obligation to share this happiness with all people “created in the image of God.”

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

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