SteveSilver.net

Burn Your Siddur Award Nominee

The Northern New Jersey Jewish newspaper published, for the first time a few weeks ago, a wedding announcement for a gay male couple. In their next issue, they published this as an editorial:

We set off a firestorm last week by publishing a same-sex couple’s announcement of their intent to marry. Given the tenor of the times, we did not expect the volume of comments we have received, many of them against our decision to run the announcement, but many supportive as well.

A group of rabbis has reached out to us and conveyed the deep sensitivities within the traditional/Orthodox community to this issue. Our subsequent discussions with representatives from that community have made us aware that publication of the announcement caused pain and consternation, and we apologize for any pain we may have caused.
The Jewish Standard has always striven to draw the community together, rather than drive its many segments apart. We have decided, therefore, since this is such a divisive issue, not to run such announcements in the future.

Pretty disgusting. And if you read the comments to the linked article, you can see most of the readers see how gutless it was. My guess? The "traditional" types came to the newspaper and essentially said they'd have no further support for them- no ads, no cooperate, whatever- unless they got an apology and retraction, something that would've left the paper no longer economically viable. Not an excuse; just my theory as to what happened.

Meanwhile, the notion that the publication of an announcement that two people are getting married would cause anyone "pain," on the other hand, is pretty vile in and of itself.

Posted by Stephen Silver at October 6, 2010 04:58 PM