While thumbing through my copy of Hadassah magazine’s Feb/March issue, I came upon an intriguing article about Isaac Mizrahi. Anyone who enjoys watching QVC will recognize him—for his colorful fashion designs, crazy hair, and extremely zany personality.
Born into a Syrian-Jewish family, Isaac was raised in Brooklyn and attended an Orthodox yeshiva. While he strongly identifies with his Sephardic heritage, he discuses why he left the Orthodox community:
“I had such a bad formative experience with the actual religion and its teachings. I was so mistreated and misunderstood in that yeshiva, and it was so unfair and wrong. I don’t want it to sound vengeful because I have a great life, but when I left it, I really left it behind. I didn’t look back. When I grew up you couldn’t be Jewish and gay. There was no way to reconcile those two things.”
When asked about his family, he replied:
“I have two older sisters I love dearly. They became very Orthodox and it continues to drive a wedge between us because they are not permitted to accept certain things about my life. I definitely respect who they are. But I feel shut out.”
Talk about terribly troubling and sad! I have been an Isaac fan for 20 years. I used to love buying items from his Target collection and watching Unzipped, a behind-the-scenes look at the prep for his 1994 collection, is hilarious viewing. He seems to genuinely love women and clothes and his mission is to make us feel beautiful.
Should such a good individual be shunned by the Jewish community, when he clearly has so much to offer? I say absolutely not! While I don’t expect the Orthodox to embrace his lifestyle, there are a ton of Reform congregations that would love to make him feel welcome (as it should be).
I truly believe that every Jew deserves to be recognized and accepted without reservation. So many members have been unfairly forced out, shamed out, and phased out; a needless practice that only hurts the community as a whole in the long run. Instead of division, we should be focused on unity. Instead of hate, we should be focused on love. Isn’t that the true meaning of community, after all…
What a beautiful post. I have loved Isacc Mizrahi and he clothes. I hope he can get into the Reform Community and get his religion back.
I truly believe in your comment about a welcoming community.
I’m not Jewish but I believe the failure to accept homosexual youth is not limited to any one religion or culture. It’s common in most religions to try to change the person or treat them harshly in the belief they can ‘make’ them ‘straight’. That treatment does ‘change’ them, it hurts them and makes them feel like an outcast. Many teen suicide attempts are attributed to the hopelessness & sadness these people feel. Some, like Mr. Mizrahi are strong enough to be true to themselves. He did not just survive but found joy in life as well.
Oh yes, I have seen this type of shunning in Christian and Islamic communities too. My heart breaks for any teen that hurts so badly they’re even thinking of suicide! Instead of trying to change people, we need to accept them as they are.
I have been a fan of Isacc Mizrahi since “Project Runway All Stars” and I would be proud to be a member of his family and his sister. What a shame that love does not run over people’s silly beliefs about homosexuality. Some of the greatest minds of the world (Leonardo di Vinci) have been gay. So what does it matter? Shame on his family for being so short sighted.
In reform circles, being gay isn’t really an issue anymore. The Orthodox community is a whole different story, of course!