More than Rainbows: Nurturing LGBTQ+ Children in Jewish Spaces and Beyond with Keshet (Part 1)

Raising children and teens in 2025, it is vital to have the tools to support youth of all gender identities and sexual orientations. With twenty percent of Gen Alpha kids identifying as LGBTQ+ in a country becoming increasingly hostile to their existence, the adults in their lives can be vital sources of allyship and support.

This will be a two part series and in this first session we will:

• Explore LGBTQ+ belonging grounded in Jewish text and tradition.
• Understand the current anti-LGBTQ+ legislation attacks and access resources to respond to them.
• Learn tools to foster LGBTQ+ belonging in Jewish spaces.
• Craft talking points about LGBTQ+ belonging that are authentically grounded in Jewish values.
• Identify some successful strategies for engaging with community members about misconceptions about the LGBTQ+ community.
   
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  Jackie Maris (she/her) is a queer, South African Pisces who has worn various facilitator hats throughout her career in education and community-building. She served as madricha (camp counselor) and Rosh Chinuch (Head of Education) with Netzer South Africa, taught as a cheder teacher for over a decade, and coordinated Roundabout theatre’s intern and apprentice program for early-career Broadway professionals. In her current role as Keshet’s Chicago Education & Training Manager, she strives for fostering LGBTQ+ equality and belonging in Jewish spaces. When she’s not working, Jackie volunteers with Chicago Books to Women Prisoners (mailing books to incarcerated folks), sings in queer choirs (#altopride), and collects zines on fat liberation and disability justice (shoutout to Etsy).