As an uncompromising advocate for LBGT rights, I was deeply distressed by the distortion of my words and the position of the Jewish community in your article "Intersection of Identities" (SN 5/17).

I had spoken unequivocally to your reporter about the unqualified endorsement by Reconstructionist and Reform Jewish institutions for welcoming LBGT persons, ordaining and employing them as rabbis and advocating for their rights to marry.

Last year, I joined with the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association in a unanimous vote in support of same-sex marriage; I also drafted the position paper for the Michigan Jewish community in strong opposition to Proposal 2, which appeared on the November 2004 ballot. Our deeply welcoming congregation is currently initiating a process toward becoming an open and affirming congregation. None of this appeared in your article - only my response to a question why some traditional Jewish bodies oppose LBGT rights.

It is important for your Jewish LBGT readers to know that they will find an open and loving spiritual home at both Lansing-area congregations, Kehillat Israel (Reconstructionist) and Shaarey Zedek (Reform). I am very disturbed that both synagogues were excluded from your list of accepting organizations. Personally, I feel that I have been the victim of "soundbite journalism," in which a quotation out of context can convey the opposite message to what is intended.

I feel that a great disservice has been done to the congregation Kehillat Israel in its efforts to welcome LBGT Jews. But most of all, it is the local Jewish LBGT community who have been painfully misled to believe that they would still suffer the outrage and humiliation of a generation ago if they set foot into the loving and embracing synagogues of today.

Michael Zimmerman
Rabbi, Kehillat Israel of Lansing