Arts & Culture
Jewish Dating Website Forgets the Existence of Gay People
By Emma Rothschild / July 13, 2010
If you read the front page of Jewish dating site, JewishCafe.com, you’re told the site functions as a "comfortable, relaxed virtual Cafe where Jewish singles meet interesting and interested people in a flourishing Jewish singles community." That’s nice. Community is a nice thing. The Jewish Cafe "community" is accepting of people who think they have good fashion sense ("Calvin Klein Has me on Speed Dial"), and just for the ladies, there is a special section where you can let everybody know your body type. There are button for Jews of every walk of life and level of observance, and if you only read books that Oprah suggests, there’s a button for you too! 
Stretching their brain with all those choices, it would seem only natural that they’d totally forget to make the site accessible for folks that enjoy the company of other folks who label themselves under the banner of "LGBT." Of course we’re totally sure this is a mistake. We’re totally sure that all the folks on Twitter calling for boycotts are mistaken, and Jewish Cafe just made a little boo-boo.
Right guys? I went ahead, and sent an e-mail to Feedback@jewishcafe.com, in hopes they could fix this on behalf of all the queer Jews out there.Â
Dear Cafe Press, I am a writer for the website Jewcy.com, and was looking over your site and was unable to find a button on your site to enable me to browse the profiles of other women who are interested in women. I was wondering if this was a bug in your system, and when would it be fixed? Thank you for your time, Emma Rothschild
Update: Still no e-mail response from Cafe Press.
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Forget about gays, JDate doesn’t care who is on their site. That site’s full of the goyim and everything non-Jewish. What’s the point of a Jewish site if anyone can join? Hence, I don’t use it.
As for gays on Jewish sites that respect Jewish Law, as I said last post – get over it. Your issue isn’t with these sites – it’s with the Law, and the G-d who made it (and you).
 Smug and condescending posts about "bugs" notwithstanding, of course.
it seems other J-dating sites have this "issue" as well…and i don’t think it’s a glitch in the system. they’re just afraid of what the more traditional types will think of them.
if anything, Judaism is (supposedly) the most tolerant religion when it comes to homosexuality…at least in current times. NYC has a shul that consists entirely of gays and lesbians (sorry, i forgot the name of it but it’s somewhere in the downtown area)…how many churches or mosques cater exclusively to an LGBT crowd? i don’t know of any. Reform and Conservative rabbis will officiate at same-sex Jewish marriages (though only half of Reform Rabbis will do hetero-interfaith unions, but that’s an entirely different matter). JTS dropped its ban on admitting gay students in ’06. yet the dating websites are still in the dark over this matter…then again, enough people got together and complained until JDate adjusted their drop-down functions to include same-sex matches for people who sought them out. good for them…but i still will never use the site for my own reasons (and i’m straight).
Man, feel the hate, eh? I guess tolerance only works when it’s what you believe?
I can’t speak for any Jewish dating site – I am just a single guy looking for his bashert. However, it doesn’t matter what you (or I) believe about Jewish Law – it’s what *they* likely believe, hence not serving the gay Jewish market (my take, anyway).
Jewish Law has forbidden gay practice for 5,000 years. Just because it’s been "in" now for a generation doesn’t invalidate these deeply held beliefs.
I gather the 1st Amendment doesn’t apply because you disagree?;-)
I think it would be worthwhile to have a lesson in semantics. Let’s start by looking up the definition of the word "tolerance. "
Saul
P.S. The Internet is a big place, people – find somewhere else that caters to your lifestyle and preferences, instead of trying to deny the right of others to operate as they see fit!
Nothing in the Torah against lesbians. It appears God is cool with lesbians.
If the site were that nitpickey about "Jewish law," then why would they include Reform and Conservative? Both are open to having homosexual members of their communities. I’m sure the leaders would object to the disclusion.
A "bug" that causes your delusional brain to think most Jewish things in the world are anti-gay or adhere to "Jewish law?" Even Israel isn’t like that. Most synagogues aren’t like that. And if they were? Then fuck Jews. The last thing America needs is more stupid, savage religion.
Sounds like other Jewish dating sites have made the same "mistake".
Perhaps they are all just adhering to Jewish Law and this has nothing to do with a bug?;-)
Just a thought.
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