Miryam Kabakov (born 1964)[2] is an American Jewish social worker and community organizer. She is the Executive Director of Eshel, a national organization that supports and advocates for LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews.[1][3]
Miryam Kabakov | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | 1964 (age 59–60) |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Alma mater | |
| Position | Executive Director |
| Organisation | Eshel |
| Began | 2012 |
Among other positions, Kabakov has served as director of the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival,[4] as National Program Director of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, and as a social worker at Footsteps.[1][3] She also founded a support group for lesbian, bisexual and transgender Orthodox women in New York.
She was the editor of the 2010 anthology Keep Your Wives Away From Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires, consisting of 14 essays by LGBTQ+ Orthodox women, which was named best anthology of 2011 by the Golden Crown Literary Society.[2] She was inspired by the book Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, which was edited by Rosemary Curb and Nancy Manahan and published by Naiad Press in 1985. She wondered why there wasn't a similar book for Orthodox women.[4][5]
In 2019, she was one of the first grant recipients of the Jewish Women's Foundation of New York's The Collective project, which supports Jewish women social entrepreneurs.[6]
Personal life edit
Kabakov lives with her partner Mara Benjamin and two children in St. Paul, Minnesota.[5][7] She identifies as "post-modern Orthodox" and attends a Conservative congregation.[5]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "Miryam Kabakov". Jewish Women's Foundation of New York.
- ^ a b Fishkoff, Sue (November 11, 2011). "Observant and lesbian: Anthology explores merging identities". JWeekly.
- ^ a b "Our Team". Eshel Online.
- ^ a b Gustin, Marene (1 December 2010). "Keep Your Wives Away from Them". OutSmart Magazine.
- ^ a b c Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (June 10, 2010). "Q&A With Miryam Kabakov: Editor of Anthology on Orthodox Lesbians". The Forward.
- ^ Cohen, Debra Nussbaum (June 6, 2019). "After Shifting its Strategy, a Foundation Gets Behind Jewish Women Social Entrepreneurs". Inside Philanthropy.
- ^ "Miryam Kabakov, Author at My Jewish Learning". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved April 12, 2021.