Miryam Kabakov (born 1964) is an

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...

social worker and community organizer. She is the Executive Director of Eshel, a national organization that supports and advocates for

LGBTQ+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...

. Among other positions, Kabakov has served as director of the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival, as National Program Director of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, and as a social worker at Footsteps. She also founded a support group for lesbian, bisexual and transgender Orthodox women in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She was the editor of the 2010 anthology ''Keep Your Wives Away From Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires'', consisting of 14 essays by LGBTQ+ Orthodox women, which was named best anthology of 2011 by the

Golden Crown Literary Society The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is an American non-profit organization established in February 2004 as a literary and educational organization for the study, discussion, enjoyment, and enhancement of Lesbian literature. In 2020, in order ...

. She was inspired by the book ''Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence,'' which was edited by

Rosemary Curb Rosemary Keefe (also known as Rosemary Curb, February 3, 1940 – May 24, 2012) was an American nun, university professor, and lesbian author. She was the co-editor of a best-selling book ''Lesbian Nuns Breaking Silence'', which she wrote under h ...

and Nancy Manahan and published by

Naiad Press Naiad Press (1973–2003) was an American publishing company, one of the first dedicated to lesbian literature. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world. History Naiad Press was founded by partners Barb ...

in 1985. She wondered why there wasn't a similar book for Orthodox women. In 2019, she was one of the first grant recipients of the Jewish Women's Foundation of New York's ''The Collective'' project, which supports Jewish women social entrepreneurs.

Personal life

Kabakov lives with her partner Mara Benjamin and two children in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. She identifies as "post-

modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

" and attends a Conservative congregation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabakov, Miryam LGBT Orthodox Jews Lesbian Jews American lesbian writers Jewish women writers San Francisco State University alumni 1964 births Living people 21st-century American women writers

Personal life

See also

References