Voronwë_the_Faithful wrote:
No. I think it is more correct to say that the most hardcore Christian conservatives get more negative publicity than the most hardcore Jewish Orthodoxes. I think that is the main difference.
Speaking about Orthodox Jews in the US, my instinct is to disagree with this (as I said, the furthest-right of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel do seem as extreme as you describe.) I went to Orthodox services on a regular basis in Massachusetts as the state was legalizing same-sex marriage in 2003-04, and
it just didn't come up. There was no lobbying against gay marriage, no reminders that gay conduct was forbidden, no organizing for rallies or collections for anti-gay causes mentioned. (NB As for the last, the Orthodox do not handle money on Shabbat, but again, the matter was not even mentioned.) The same was certainly not true of conservative Christian groups at the same time in Massachusetts, who were virulently and politically overtly opposed to gay equality.
Although I will no longer attend Orthodox services for feminist reasons, I have continued to socialize intermittently in majority-Orthodox religious-social scenarios like Shabbat meals (both in the US and UK), and I just haven't encountered overt hostility to homosexuality. Even when I've brought up my participation in a majority-gay synagogue or sexuality-inclusive language, it's not been met with more prejudice than, "Oh, that's a progressive thing; we don't do that." (We heard the same response today, when a male attendee of our Shabbat lunch asked the rabbi why he wasn't saying the names of the Matriarchs in Birkat Hamazon, the Grace After Meals.) Rabbi Steven Greenberg is openly gay and is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi.
This is not to say that the Orthodox are gay-friendly. I've heard rare reports of same-sex couples attending Orthodox services in San Francisco, but I think that for such couples to do so openly would be an exception even in the Bay Area. There was a controversy last year in New Jersey where a Jewish newspaper printed a same-sex wedding announcement. The Orthodox freaked out, so the newspaper apologized and deleted the announcement online. We liberals then all freaked out, so the newspaper quasi-apologized for apologizing and promised to think about it some more.
I'm pretty certain that many Orthodox parents would not easily accept a child's coming out (
though some ultimately do). Orthodox men still thank their deity every morning for not having made them a woman, so they lag far enough beyond on gender equality that sexual orientation equality can seem lightyears away. A member of an Orthodox congregation coming out would have a difficult time. Orthodox Judaism - heck, Judaism broadly - does not offer a gay utopia.
But, I maintain that the American Orthodox Jewish community has not focused on legally discriminating against gays in the same manner as much of the Christian right. I maintain that it would be extremely unusual to go to an Orthodox service in the US and be invited to start participating in anti-gay rights activism or to vote against gay rights. The same is not true in many churches belonging to the Christian right, which have been used for anti-gay political organizing. And if you can point to material to the contrary, V, I'd be interested to see it.
ETA Part of the reason that I can "religiously socialize" with the Orthodox is that a whole lot of Orthodox people manage not to pressure guests/participants to be like them.
No tenet of Orthodox Judaism prescribes that the whole world should live like them or believe the things that they do. That itself is the most powerful, right-minded idea in the world. The attitude I've gotten from a lot of Orthodox people is, "This is how we live. If you want to play in our sandbox, you're welcome if you follow our rules. Or you can go play in that other sandbox and we'll respect that and won't bother you." And that's ... just a very powerful thing for me. The truth is that I can disagree with the Orthodox with the fiery passion of a thousand suns, and I do. But what I have encountered from many of the Orthodox I've socialized with is a refreshing, non-proselytizing sort of mutual respect. And so long as they respect my sandbox, then I'll respect theirs - and even accept their invitation to play in theirs, occasionally, in some contexts, with gratitude.