Carolina Jews for Justice is proud to partner with the Campaign for Southern Equality and Equality North Carolina in the Born Perfect NC campaign. We stand staunchly opposed to conversion therapy and all other forms of anti-LGBTQ violence and discrimination. We affirm and honor the LGBTQ members of our Jewish community, and stand as Jewish allies with all LGBTQ people in our state. As part of our pursuit of justice in North Carolina, we seek a state that celebrates gender and sexual diversity, and where no one attempts to deny or alter anyone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

A centuries old Jewish understanding of the biblical creation story envisions the first humans not as a heterosexual couple, Adam and Eve, but as one mixed, intersex being. The rabbis wonder why God would create the first human this way, and decide that it must be so no human can claim that people of their sex, gender, or heritage were created before others. The rabbis go on to say that while a human king stamps his face on hundreds of coins and they all look the same, God stamps God’s image on every human, and we all come out differently, yet still reflecting godliness. These Jewish teachings make it clear: all humans are born with equal worth, inherent and permanent, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

We urge our General Assembly to pass the pro-LGBTQ bills introduced through the Born Perfect NC campaign. From a place of Jewish values, of human ethics, and of justice, we call for a legally affirmed welcome extended permanently to all LGBTQ North Carolinians.