Bat Kol (Organization)

Bat Kol occupies a distinctive position in Israeli civil society as an organization that insists religious Jewish identity and lesbian identity need not be in conflict.[2] Its stated purpose is to enable religious LGBT women to live with "truth and love," "sharing and equality," and "wholeness and acceptance in religious society," and it frames this work as benefiting the wider religious community by contributing to a more just society.[1]

Rabbi Aviva Richman has identified Bat Kol as an Israeli organization for lesbian women who are also halakhically observant.[4] An essay by Bat Kol member Ziva Ofek, hosted on the organization's website, offers a first-person exploration of lesbian identity alongside halakhic sources, giving particular attention to textual discussions of the importance of partnership for women — an example of the kind of religious engagement Bat Kol encourages among its members.[4]

The organization describes itself as serving lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer women from across the religious spectrum, including women who have left observance, women with religiously observant heterosexual families, and women who have found their own balance between Judaism and their sexual orientation.[2]

Beginning in the 1990s, interest in lesbian issues grew across the wider Jewish community.[5] A group of Orthodox lesbians calling itself "OrthoDykes" was active in the United States and Israel during this period.[5] A 2001 account noted that Orthodox lesbians faced circumstances distinct from those of Orthodox gay men, partly because the Torah does not specifically prohibit lesbian sex, and that women in this milieu were often married with children and risked serious isolation if they came out.[6] Neither source identifies OrthoDykes as Bat Kol or establishes organizational continuity between the groups.[5][6]

Bat Kol itself dates its founding to the winter of 2005.[1] A Times of Israel report also described it as forming in 2005 through the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, an institution established in 1997 that gave religious LGBT people a space to meet, access social services, and build community.[7] A 2008 Ynetnews report, however, described that year's first plenary as taking place five years after the organization's founding, implying an earlier date; the cited sources do not reconcile this discrepancy.[8]

The founding group of about ten women wanted to show that living openly as both religious and lesbian was possible.[1] In advance of Jerusalem's Pride Parade that June, Bat Kol called on members of the religious community to march together; its members marched as a group for the first time, joined by straight religious participants who responded to the call.[1] The organization says it has participated in Jerusalem's annual Pride and Tolerance Parade every year since, and that in 2009 it also began marching as an organization in Tel Aviv's Pride Parade.[1]

Bat Kol underwent a significant organizational restructuring in the first half of 2008, working with a consultant from Shatil to formulate basic guidelines and establish operating procedures.[1] The first plenary took place on July 17, 2008 (14 Tammuz 5768); attendees received membership cards, signed the guidelines, and elected the first executive committee.[1] A second plenary in 2009 saw members approve formal bylaws based on those guidelines, and registration as a nonprofit under the legal name "Bat Kol, Religious Lesbian Organization" was completed in December 2010.[1]

At the 2008 plenary, dozens of members adopted guiding principles calling for social community frameworks for religious lesbians, greater acceptance of them and their families, and greater tolerance and equality in religious society, while maintaining members' discretion.[8] The principles also stated that religious identity was important to the organization, that activities would not publicly profane Shabbat, and that food served would be kosher, while respecting members' different lifestyles.[8] Members agreed that discussions would be conducted with mutual respect and the principle "what is hateful to you, don't do unto others."[8]

Co-founder Avigail Sperber explained at the time that growth in activities had made it impractical to consult every member on each decision, describing the transition: "From now on, Bat-Kol is not only a support group but an institution run by professional committees."[8] Sperber, a cinematographer, film and television director, and social activist, envisioned the organization's next phase as one focused on professional committees working toward change in religious society and education about treating the "other."[8]

By 2015, Bat Kol was run entirely by volunteers under a supervisory committee responsible for day-to-day management, with teams covering finance, communications, support, and events.[9] Members could choose their own level of involvement, and possible stipends were available for volunteers taking on a more substantial commitment.[9]

Bat Kol's programming is grounded in volunteerism and women's active participation in leading meetings, with an emphasis on maintaining a safe space.[3] Monthly gatherings take place in private homes, and the organization also runs support groups facilitated by a professional in a therapeutic setting, Jewish-text study groups, holiday gatherings, shared Shabbat events, workshops, and lectures.[3] A dedicated monthly group for Haredi women recognizes that they may face distinct challenges within their communities.[3]

A 12-session workshop for LGBT women from religious backgrounds addresses intimacy, relationships, and healthy sexuality, helping participants identify boundaries, work through fears and barriers, and navigate intimate situations thoughtfully.[10] Writing groups and additional therapeutic group formats are also offered.[10]

By 2013, active chapters operated in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Beersheba.[2] The annual Shabbat gathering by the sea draws together longtime and newer members; more than 100 women and their children currently attend.[3] Bat Kol and the religious gay men's organization Havruta have jointly held an annual Second Passover event, presented as a symbolic plea for acceptance, recognition, and tolerance.[2][11]

Pride Parade participation has been a consistent public-facing activity. Bat Kol has led religious lesbians' participation in the parades in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where participants carry signs reading "Proud to be religious" and march dancing to upbeat Hasidic music.[12] Many participants have chosen to remain discreet in other contexts to protect their families from unwanted exposure.[12]

A 2013 report said Bat Kol had approximately 300 members and described women across a wide religious range, from those who remained strictly observant to those who had drifted from practice.[2] The organization's own figures say that more than 500 women aged 19 to 60-plus have joined since its founding.[1]

The community Bat Kol provides matters concretely to its members. A 2024 profile described how one woman, Renana Livyani, turned to the organization after recognizing her sexual identity, saying she sought it out "to accept, understand, and cope."[13] In 2015, Bat Kol participated with Havruta and IGY's religious groups in "Our Faces," an online campaign in which 44 religious LGBT people appeared by name and photograph, identifying the yeshivas or religious girls' schools they had attended and their family or relationship status; for some, this was their first public coming out.[14]

CEO Tehila Atias-Basseh described the organization's approach in 2020 as engaging in ongoing, respectful dialogue with rabbis and female rabbis from different religious streams to encourage tolerance and acceptance, noting: "We know the religious language and know how to speak it."[15]

Bat Kol has pursued advocacy alongside its community-building work, arguing that perceptions of homosexuality and lesbianism have shifted among the religious public and among rabbis, while maintaining that more change is needed.[1]

Founder Avigail Sperber was slated to join the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Religious Council in 2020. She said she wanted to connect LGBT and religious identities and represent LGBT people's religious needs within that institutional framework.[11]

In 2023, the Tel Aviv Religious Council awarded Bat Kol a grant of thousands of shekels for a program contributing to Torah enrichment in community life.[16] Board member Ayala Reifler described the project as addressing the queer community's needs around Jewish communal life.[16] Council head Rabbi Eldad Mizrachi noted that the funding was available to organizations meeting the requirements and offering a Torah educational program in an Orthodox synagogue.[16] The Times of Israel reported the grant as the first time a religious authority in Israel had funded an LGBTQ organization.[16]

In 2019, Bat Kol and Havruta sued the newspaper Makor Rishon, seeking NIS 130,000, after it declined to publish advertisements from the religious LGBTQ community.[17] The organizations said the proposed ads called for dialogue and reconciliation, that they had offered to modify their wording, and that the refusal constituted unlawful discrimination in the provision of services.[17] Makor Rishon called the suit "frivolous and baseless" and said it would respond in court; the cited 2019 report did not state an outcome.[17]