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from Social Issues
News from JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality)
JONAH--Jews Offering New Alternatives to
Homosexuality--recently opened its executive
offices in Jersey City, New Jersey. The office
provides counseling rooms, a library, and
administrative space as the central location for
its world-wide efforts to help Jews who are
conflicted by same-sex attraction issues.
JONAH is the first (and only) Jewish organization
assisting strugglers and their families to
understand and heal the emotional wounds which
have led to their same-sex attraction. The group
maintains a confidential hotline number for
strugglers and their loved ones, as well as making
referrals to pre-approved therapists, rabbis, and
counselors for psychotherapy, religious
counseling, and support groups.
One of JONAH's primary missions is public
education, particularly through community
outreach. They address groups within synagogues,
Jewish Community Centers, and other Jewish
organizations. JONAH is also preparing to offer
training seminars for rabbis, teachers,
mental-health professionals, and the community on
education, prevention, intervention, and healing
of the issues involved in homosexuality.
A symposium was recently given to a large group of
Orthodox Jewish mental health professionals in
Brooklyn, many of whom were completely unaware
that a significant number of homosexual clients
suffer from a gender-identity deficit which forms
the foundation of their homoerotic attractions.
Many of the professionals expressed ignorance of
any healing strategies which are available and
were particularly impressed by the testimony of an
ex-gay Board member of JONAH, Avrohum Ben
Mordecai, who spoke of his own journey to
wholeness.
At that symposium, JONAH's Clinical Director,
Rabbi Samuel Rosenberg, discussed the Torah's
perspective on homosexuality. JONAH's
Co-Directors, Elaine Silodor Berk and Arthur A.
Goldberg, spoke about today's cultural climate,
the group's referral services, and the role that
parents can play in helping to heal their
children.
In another recent speaking engagement, Rabbi
Rosenberg and Co-Director Arthur Goldberg spoke at
the NARTH Conference in Washington, D.C. in
November 2000.
Visitors to JONAH's offices are invited to
scehdule an appointment to use the extensive
library which includes books, articles, and tapes.
The library resources support JONAH's conviction
that homosexuality is not inborn, that humans by
nature are sensual and sexual beings who need to
regulate their behavior, and that a number of
strategies are available to heal the emotional
wounds that underlie same-sex attractions which
cause the acting-out of a homosexual behavior
pattern. There are both Judaic and secular
resources, and as a service to its constituency,
the library will also mail copies of materials
upon request.
JONAH is also creating a web site which will be a
compendium of Jewish articles and other resources
from its collection. Any members of NARTH who
believe they have resource material which could be
of value in such a collection are invited to send
copies to the organization at their mailing
address.
JONAH is currently referring clients to therapists
in the United States, Israel, Canada and Europe,
and is working with several groups which are
starting local chapters in their geographical
area.
Calls to the JONAH Message Center are confidential
and returned quickly. Please call 201-433-3444
or write to JONAH at P.O. Box 313, Jersey City, NJ
07303.
Updated: 8 February 2008
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