Alternative Winter Break 2016 Post Understanding Other’s Struggles – Zachary Carno-Harf

Yesterday we spent at the JQSA which stands for Jewish queer straight alliance. It was very interesting and eye opening. We heard the stories of two women who struggled with being Jewish and lesbian  at the same time because in Judaism there are countless gender roles. Which has pushed them away from Judaism. So they joined the Jewish queer straight alliance where they were able to meet other people.  The really interesting part of the interaction is that we are trying to understand their struggles and how they got through coming out in a society that didn’t accept them. I think that it’s very unfortunate that the society that they were living in didn’t let them be themselves. We also learned very sad information that really was heart wrenching. Overall at the end of the day we came out with a really positive experience and I hope that the people who work with the alliance will be able to overcome societies boundaries and become fully embraced.

~ Zachary Carno-Harf is from Beachwood, Ohio and is in the 10th grade