by Cindy Wolfson, guest contributor and member of the NCJW Board of Directors

The 2009 NCJW Israel mission participants were honored to meet with a hero of the gay rights movement in Jerusalem: Noa Sattath, recent director of Jerusalem Open House, which is a community center serving the needs of the LGBT population. The community center was founded 10 years ago by one of our NCJW mission sisters along with other courageous activists committed to making a difference in the lives of the Israeli LGBT community.

Unlike the US, in Israel gays serve openly in the military. Same sex partners married abroad are not only recognized as married, they also have most of the same rights as heterosexual couples.

But despite legal protections, gays in Jerusalem still face intolerance and hatred — something that, unfortunately, Noa can attest to based on personal experiences. While planning Jerusalem’s first gay pride parade in 2005, she endured death threats and an attempted car bomb. And during the parade that year, there were stabbing attacks committed by a Yeshiva student.

Following these attacks, Noa met with Orthodox community leaders. Her measured response to the violence combined with grass roots advocacy and educating the Orthodox and local government successfully lessened tensions.

Today, closeted gay Orthodox individuals visit the center’s health clinic for free and confidential HIV and STD testing, as do Palestinians who face isolation and violence if their sexual orientation is discovered.

Noa’s calm courage in the face of opposition and her resolve to meet immense challenges humbled and inspired us. She lives her values every day on the front lines of the LGBT struggle in the most religious city in the world, with hope for the future of Jerusalem.