Every June, many people in our community are asked to hold two parts of themselves at once: their Jewish identity and their identity as an LGBTQ+ person, or as a parent, sibling, or friend of one.

That should not be necessary. As CEO of the Aaron Family JCC of Dallas, I believe it is important to say this plainly: LGBTQ+ inclusion and Jewish belonging are not in conflict, and silence from leaders is not neutrality. It is a choice.

The Tension Is Real

I won’t pretend this is simple. For many Jewish families, Pride Month brings real complexity. There are deeply held religious convictions, generational differences, and real disagreements within our community about how to hold tradition and inclusion together. I respect that, and I am not here to dismiss it.

But complexity is not the same as conflict, and discomfort is not the same as incompatibility. The question we have to ask is this: Who are we as a Jewish community if we ask some of our members to leave part of themselves at the door?

Jewish Values Already Point Us Here

Judaism has never been a tradition that looks away from the human being in front of it. At the center of our values is a simple, radical idea: every person is created with inherent dignity. Not most people, not people who make it easy, every person.

We also carry a deep obligation to pursue justice, not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived practice. And we know that community is only real when it makes room for all of its members. A kehillah that excludes is not a kehillah; it is just a room.

These are not modern reinterpretations of Jewish values. They are the values themselves.

What Leadership Requires

The Aaron Family JCC of Dallas exists to strengthen Jewish life and build real belonging in our community. That mission has to show up in how we lead, how we welcome people, and how they experience this place every day.

You cannot build belonging selectively. You cannot say “All are welcome” and then quietly signal that some are more welcome than others. The moment we start making exceptions to inclusion, we stop doing the work we were built to do.

That is why commitment has to go beyond words. It has to shape culture, programming, and the everyday experience people have when they walk through our doors.

Pride Month is not, for me, a political statement. It is a chance to reaffirm something basic: every member of this community deserves to walk through our doors and know, without question, that they belong here.

I am not a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I am an ally, and I want to be honest about what that means and what it does not. I do not speak from lived experience, and I will inevitably get some things wrong. I remain open to being corrected.

But it also means I have a platform and a responsibility to use it. Leaders in the Jewish communal world are not always quick to enter conversations that feel divisive, and I understand that instinct. But I have come to believe that the cost of staying quiet, especially for the LGBTQ+ members of our community who are watching to see whether their institution will show up for them is far greater than the cost of saying something imperfect. So here I am, saying something.

An Invitation, Not a Demand

If you are part of the Dallas Jewish community, or any Jewish community, I want to invite you into this conversation, not away from it. If you are an LGBTQ+ person who has ever felt unseen by a Jewish institution, I want you to know that this one is working to do better. If you are a parent still finding your footing, I see you too. These conversations are hard, and they are worth having.

The JCC has always been a place where Jewish life is lived out loud, in all of its richness, complexity, and humanity. This June, and every month, that includes our LGBTQ+ community members; fully and without reservation.