Revised April 2, 2000

Jewish GLBT Health Issues

Jewish AIDS-related information & articles

International Jewish AIDS Network
Jewish AIDS Memorial Day 1998

   In response to the growing number of Jewish people who have died of an AIDS-related illness, and the tendency of many people to think that the epidemic does not and has not affected the Jewish community, Rabbi H. Raphael Goldstein and Norman L. Sandfield, Co-chairs of the International Jewish AIDS Network are announcing a date for Jewish AIDS Memorial Day: Lev B'omer.

   Lev B'omer is the 32nd day of the Omer, the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot which has traditionally been a season of mourning for the Jewish people. The Hebrew letters for 32, "lamed" and "bet" spell out the word "lev," which means "heart." A Jewish AIDS Memorial Day "touches directly the hearts and minds of all of us who have loved and lost people to AIDS, and will, we hope, touch the hearts of the people who have tended to ignore this growing, unending epidemic," said Rabbi Goldstein in making this announcement.

   This year, Lev B'omer falls on Friday night, May 24, and Saturday, May 25. "We are urging all synagogues and religious institutions in our Jewish communities to observe Jewish AIDS Memorial Day with special prayers of comfort and hope, and the opportunity to remember the people whose lives have touched our own, each in their own unique way," announced Sandfield. The International Jewish AIDS Network will gladly provide resources and advice on setting up memorial programs in communities throughout the Jewish community, in the United States and around the world.

   Rabbi Goldstein is the Director of Los Angeles Jewish AIDS Services, a program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, and Mr. Sandfield is a Co-Chair of Jewish AIDS Network - Chicago, a grass roots organization, now affiliated with the AIDS Pastoral Care Network of Chicago.

   For more information, or to indicate that your community or congregation will be participating in Jewish AIDS Memorial Day, please call Rabbi Goldstein at (213) 653-8313.

Rabbi Rafael Goldstein, Director
Los Angeles Jewish AIDS Services
PO Box 480241, Los Angeles CA 90048
(323) 933-5402
email: rafaeljas@aol.com

Norman L. Sandfield, Co-Chair Jewish AIDS Network - Chicago
c/o AIDS Pastoral Care Network,
4753 N. Broadway, Suite #800, Chicago, IL 60640-4907
(773) 275-2626
email: JANCatAPCN@aol.com
Home Page: http://www.shalom.com/janc.htm

Jewish AIDS Resource Materials

Being a Blessing: 54 Ways You Can Help People Living with AIDS. 1994.
By Rabbi Harris R. Goldstein [ISBN 1-881283-08-9]
Alef Design Group, 4423 Fruitland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90058.
Telephone: 213-582-1200

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)

Telephone: 212-533-7800.
  • AIDS: A Jewish Response -- A Manual for Synagogue Leaders.
    Includes program suggestions, halakhic discussion, articles and a list of resources.
    Commission on Social Action, 212-533-7800 extension 2614.
  • AIDS: A Jewish Response -- A video and discussion guide on HIV/AIDS.
    Public Affairs, 212-533-7800 extension 2601.
  • AIDS Hagaddah Supplement.
    Readings that can be incorporated into the seder liturgy.
    Commission on Social Action, 212-533-7800 extension 2614.
  • Suggested Guidelines for Policy for Solomon Schechter Day Schools Regarding Students and Faculty with HIV-Infection, HIV-Related Illness and/or AIDS.
    Published jointly by the Solomon Schechter Day School Association and USCJ.
    Education Department, 212-533-7800 extension 2507.
  • USY programming material on HIV/AIDS. Copies of materials developed by USY Delaware Valley (215-563-8809) and Seaboard regions (301-230-0801) for youth group programs on HIV/AIDS.
  • "AIDS" a new chapter in the 1995 edition of In God's Image: Making Jewish Decisions About the Body by Bernard Novick.
    Book Service, 212-533-7800 extension 2004.
The Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Learning (CAJE)
261 West 35th Street, Floor 12A, New York, NY 10001
Telephone: 212-269-4212.
  • Hesed V Emet -- AIDS: Our Responsibility As Jews with Arthur Vernon. (1989).
  • AIDS and Jewish Values: Lesson Plan. (#JVAL 104)
  • A Service of Comfort and Hope for AIDS Victims. (#PRAY 114)
The B'nai B'rith Commission on Community Volunteer Services
1640 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-857-6580.
  • AIDS: We Care.
The United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York AIDS Project
Telephone: 212-836-1483.
  • UJA-Federation HIV/AIDS Reference Library 1993-94
  • Trainer's Manual: Coordinated AIDS Education and Training Program
  • HIV/AIDS: A Guide for Developing Policies for Community Centers and Camps

Jewish AIDS Organizations