Southern Queer Newsroom
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed his commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and trans equality with a recent appointment of Rabbi Abby Chava Stein to his transition team. Rabbi Stein, along with several other New York rabbis, were appointed to Mamdani's transition team along with nearly 400 other New Yorkers to committees on housing, arts and culture, and immigrant justice.
Haaretz, a center-left Israeli newspaper, noted that the appointment of these rabbis came just a few days after a Nefesh B'Nefesh event at a New York synagogue was protested by pro-Palestine activists and condemned by Mamdani for "promot[ing] violations of international law." The violations in question are Israeli settlements in Area C of the West Bank, which is essentially under military occupation by the IDF.
It is also worth noting that Mamdani has condemned the more maximalist chants used by pro-Palestine activists and has reached out to synagogues and Jewish leaders multiple times during the campaign, including Hasidic leaders. If he sincerely wants to do what's best for Jewish New Yorkers, these appointments are hardly shocking.
Rabbi Abby Stein's appointment to the transition team is especially noteworthy. Born and raised in the Hasidic neighborhood of Williamsburg, she was ordained as a rabbi before realizing she was trans and leaving Orthodox Judaism and her family behind. Since then, she has been a rabbi at the unaffiliated synagogue Congregation Kolot Chayeinu, been a visible member of Jews For Racial and Economic Justice (a progressive Jewish organization), and serves on the rabbinical council of Jewish Voice for Peace, the largest pro-Palestine Jewish group in the United States. She also spoke at a Protect Trans Kids rally organized by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America in February. Her advocacy for trans rights, especially on gender-affirming care, will gel well with her appointment to the health team.
Her journey is laid out in her memoir, Becoming Eve: My Journey From Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, which jumped to the number 2 spot for "Women and Judaism" on Amazon's storefront after the announcement. The book is available on Bookshop.org via the link above, and may be in your local library system. Her memoir is a valuable look into the culture of Haredi and Hasidic Jewish communities, including insights on different Hasidic dynasties like Satmar and Vizhnitz, what she studied in yeshiva, and the necessity of groups like Footsteps that help people leave ultra-Orthodox Judaism.
Mamdani's decision to ensure both Jewish and trans voices have a say in his incoming administration is a welcome sign amid a year of bigotry and fascist pushes for greater power. Combined with the major wins in November for trans rights, it shows that the fascists have not won yet, and that despite the constant fears stoked by those profiting off of panic, we can and will win this.