“Calling Balls and Strikes on Charges of Antisemitism” | City & State New York | June 5, 2025 | Legitimate Israel criticism isn’t antisemitic, and muddying that line hurts democracy and community, Rabbi Kleinbaum and NYJA Executive Director Phylisa Wisdom write. Rising antisemitic violence demands real safety solutions rather than weaponized accusations.
“We Have To Be Able To Hold Multiple Truths At Once” | Judith Magazine | April 25, 2025 | A look at Rabbi Kleinbaum’s journey in activism, faith, and resilience reveals how embracing complexity, building community, and holding multiple truths light the way forward. Plus, how resilience and compassion create hope, even in times of crisis.
NYC’s Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum has a plan to protest Trump 2.0 | Jewish Telegraphic Agency | March 19, 2025 | Rabbi Kleinbaum, director of The Beacon, describes Thursdays at 7, Shine the Light, where people across NYC and the U.S. make signs responding to what’s going on in the U.S. right now and hold them on street corners, at subway stops, etc., to advocate for the just world they want to see.
A Rabbi’s Fierce Compassion | Barnard Magazine | February 10, 2025 | Rabbi Kleinbaum’s 32 years of leadership at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), the world’s largest LGBTQ+ synagogue, demonstrated a steadfast commitment to social justice and inclusivity, evident through initiatives like the Ark Immigration Clinic, which assists asylum seekers.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Under Fire Over ICE Memo To Schools, Shelters | Newsweek | February 7, 2025 | At the annual Interfaith Breakfast in New York City, Rabbi Kleinbaum and colleagues Rev. Jacqueline Lewis and Rabbi Jill Jacobs held up a sign that read “Mr. Mayor: Show Mercy To Our Immigrant Friends!” which became the lead image of this story (above).
Adams Emerges Vowing Not to Step Down | The City | January 30, 2025 | At the annual Interfaith Breakfast in NYC, in which NYC Mayor Adams hoped to dominate the news, the homemade sign Rabbi Kleinbaum held up with Rev. Lewis and Rabbi Jacobs got Adams’ verbal attention multiple times and shifted news narratives away from Adams and to ICE/immigration.
The Bible doesn’t belong in Texas public schools (Opinion) | Houston Chronicle | December 9, 2024 | In an op-ed, Rabbi Kleinbaum and Randi Weingarten write that Texas’ new curriculum incorporating Christian teachings in public schools violates Constitutional separation of church and state. Doing so undermines public education’s mission to serve all students, whose diverse religious beliefs make America unique among Western democracies.
A Queer Prayer for Nonviolence in Israel/Palestine | The Washington Blade | November 15, 2024 | Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, a lesbian rabbi, and Sa’ed Atshan, a gay professor raised in Ramallah, call for an end to the bloodshed and the affirmation of the dignity and sanctity of all.
A Pride season retirement farewell to Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum | Gay City News | July 17, 2024 | After decades leading CBST, Rabbi Kleinbaum’s retirement was marked by gratitude and respect from community, state, and global leaders, reflecting her lasting impact on both spiritual and social levels.
A Pioneering New York Rabbi Says Goodbye to Her L.G.B.T.Q. Congregation | The New York Times | July 13, 2024 | Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum is retiring after 32 years of leading Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the largest LGBTQ+ synagogue in the world. Her leadership shaped the community through advocacy, social justice, and inclusion.
From the AIDS Crisis to the Gaza War: How This Popular Queer Rabbi Held It Together for 32 Years | Haaretz | July 9, 2024 | During three-plus decades leading CBST, Rabbi Kleinbaum played a critical role in fostering interfaith and intersectional dialogues, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and Jewish unity in political and cultural arenas.
After 32 years as a progressive voice for LGBTQ Jews, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum heads into retirement | NBC News / Associated Press | July 1, 2024 | CBST’s Senior Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum became a key figure in national interfaith and activist spaces, influencing discussions on equality and inclusion. Her activism expanded to include broader issues, including immigration rights and anti-racism.
Sharon Kleinbaum led New York’s queer synagogue through crisis and triumph. Now she’s passing the baton. | Jewish Telegraph Agency | June 28, 2024 | Under Rabbi Kleinbaum’s leadership — from the AIDS crisis in the 1990s, through COVID in the 2020s — CBST grew into the largest LGBTQ+ synagogue in the world and became a significant voice for LGBTQ+ and Jewish social justice.
She built the largest queer synagogue in the nation ‘for Jews rejected from everywhere’ | Forward | June 21, 2024 | Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum is retiring after 32 years of leading the world’s largest LGBTQ+ synagogue, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, where she championed inclusivity, social justice, and community activism.
Sharon Kleinbaum gets stellar send-off after 32 years as rabbi at CBST | Gay City News | June 13, 2024 | On June 3, at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rabbi Kleinbaum was honored for her 32 years leading CBST, including tributes from President Biden and Hillary Clinton. The celebration highlighted her advocacy for LGBTQ+ and Jewish rights, social justice, and influence as a mentor to future rabbis.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum retiring from world’s largest LGBTQ synagogue after 32 years | The New York Post | May 21, 2024 | Since becoming its leader in 1992, columnist Cindy Adams writes that Rabbi Kleinbaum built a thriving community at CBST through advocacy and social justice. Her legacy will be honored with the launch of a new social justice fund and a concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
NYC rabbi speaks out after fake bomb threat. What she’s saying to the community. | CBS New York | May 6, 2024 | “As the LGBT synagogue of New York, we know a lot about hate. But we also know a lot about love,” Kleinbaum said. “This is exactly the time to come to synagogue. We can’t let the haters win. We have to come together, in community.”
MSNBC Video: Randi Weingarten and Rabbi Kleinbaum hope for peaceful ‘shared future’ for Israelis, Palestinians | MSNBC | November 29, 2023 | “Prominent rabbi” Sharon Kleinbaum and Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, discuss the importance of a peaceful “shared future” for Israelis and Palestinians. “These are two peoples who deserve to have a future,” Rabbi Kleinbaum tells MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
‘Most U.S. Jews Don’t Want to Choose: They Can Stand With Israel, and Stand With Palestinians’ | Haaretz | November 26, 2023 | Rabbi Kleinbaum on the importance of both supporting Israel’s security and advocating for Palestinian human rights, emphasizing it’s not an either/or situation. She encourages empathy for all human suffering and emphasizes the Jewish values of justice, peace, and protecting the vulnerable.
Sharon Kleinbaum, rabbi of influential LGBTQ+ synagogue Beit Simchat Torah, is stepping down | Jewish Telegraphic Agency | December 22, 2022 | Beyond CBST, Rabbi Kleinbaum’s leadership has significantly impacted LGBTQ+ advocacy and Jewish social justice causes nationally and globally, leaving a lasting legacy of inclusion and activism. She will retire in 2024.
Biden Nominates Lesbian Rabbi to Religious Freedom Commission | The Advocate | August 2, 2021 | President Joe Biden nominated Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), reflecting her longstanding commitment to defending both LGBTQ+ rights and broader religious liberties. (Her nomination was successful.)
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum on Resisting Anti-Semitism | Swarthmore College | September 25, 2018 | “Breaking the narratives of hate is essential,” Kleinbaum said. “We are creating a world of silos, and a world in which people are afraid to be around people who bring up other ideas. Nothing replaces being engaged with people we disagree with.”
OutFront: Lesbian Rabbi Fights Intolerance With Love | NBC News | December 29, 2016 | Following the 2016 election, Rabbi Kleinbaum united with the Islamic Society of New York University to combat the rise in hate crimes. She and her staff showed up to the group’s Friday prayer service with roses and signs that said, “Jews Stand With Our Muslim Neighbors.”
Lesbian Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum Says She’s ‘Delighted’ by DNC’s Embrace of Gay Rights | Tablet | September 6, 2012 | “Being a rabbi is about bringing the best of tradition to fight for equality and dignity for all people,” Kleinbaum said. “My Judaism commands me to stand up for the marginalized, to be present and fight for those who need justice.”
AT WORK WITH: Sharon Kleinbaum; ‘Luckiest Rabbi In America’ Holds Faith Amid the Hate | The New York Times | May 5, 1993 | A year into her tenure at CBST, Rabbi Kleinbaum navigates the rise of the LGBTQ+ community and a growing anti-gay backlash, including bomb threats and hate speech. She emphasizes faith, love, and inclusivity, welcoming all to a supportive religious environment at CBST.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum 