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    As an organisation, we have three main aims:

 

• To develop a resource with accurate and reliable information about yeshivot and midrashot's environments and expectations for gay and lesbian students. This is gathered from interviews with administrators (hanhalla) and past students to gain a well-informed picture. All information is kept confidential and will never be disclosed to anyone besides potential applicants. This information helps dispel the ‘fear of the unknown’ that may discourage gay and lesbian students struggling with their place in the Orthodox community from applying or from making the process unnecessarily stressful. More importantly, it allows students to make informed and mature decisions about their ability to meet the expectations for gay and lesbian students on their gap-year programs.

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• To provide students with tailored advice in considering what Israel-year program will be best for them. Every person’s needs are unique, and for this reason we will never produce a list of “friendly/unfriendly” and “recommended/not recommended” places. Rather, we will encourage all students to weigh for themselves what they hope to gain from their year in Israel.  Do they want traditional Gemara b’iyun, or would they prefer more experiential learning? Is chesed opportunities a must, or tiyulim and the opportunity to connect to Israel? These things are often as important to a meaningful experience as the kind of environment on offer. This is made easier by the fact that there are now multiple yeshivot and midrashot sensitive and supportive of the diverse needs of gay and lesbian students.

 

•  When speaking with institutions, our main aim is to collect confidential information about the yeshiva/midrasha's expectations for potential students. We are not interested in advocating for policy change. However, as yeshiva and midrasha alumni, we are prepared to serve as a point of contact for institutions interested in discussing the halakhic, hashkafic, educational, and social complexities of being gay and lesbian in the Orthodox community. 

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