The Buffalo News
reports that the Buffalo Jewish Review is losing advertising because of its refusal to print an ad about the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus. What starts as a anti-gay response from the Review becomes a twisted anti-gay and anti-adoption explanation. Read the article and then tell the Buffalo Jewish Review and the Buffalo News what you think.
Here are parts of the article explaining the situation and their explanation. (
Full article here)
Temple Beth Zion has decided to withdraw all its advertising from the Buffalo Jewish Review because the weekly refused to print an advertisement about the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus.
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"The reason given was that the paper did not want to condone homosexual behavior," they wrote. "The editor made it clear that, in her opinion,publishing the ad would offend subscribers."
Rita Weiss, editor of the Jewish Review, said, "Fervently Orthodox rabbis exhort all of us to deepest compassion for those who cannot seek opposite-gender partners. But we are a family newspaper and don't refer to sex at all or identify anyone as homosexual or heterosexual."
Weiss said she and her husband, Arnold, who own the newspaper, declined to publish the ad on grounds that it might influence young people to experiment with a sexual lifestyle that could be harmful to their health.
Weiss and her husband are Orthodox, but she limited her arguments to social issues.
"On a very practical basis," she said, "there is the possibility of influencing some young people whose sexual development is not yet complete. They could get AIDS. They could try out a lifestyle that is life-threatening."
In addition to AIDS, Weiss said, she is also concerned about "the perpetuation of the Jewish people" in the face of demographic trends, including young Jews who stay in the gay
lifestyle.
"They can't produce children," she said. "And you can't build a people with adoption."
Weiss said Jews everywhere are concerned about assimilation and the demographic numbers that show a decline in the growth of the Jewish community outside Israel.
"All of the Jewish organizations are concerned," she said, "because we're going to need support in the
future for all of the needs of our aging population. There are so many ramifications - there won't be support for old people or for our institutions or for the State of Israel.
Please voice your opinion over the ridiculous explanation.
- Contact the Buffalo Jewish Review (website www.buffalojewishreview.org ) via email at buffjewrev@aol.com and tell them what you think about their refusal of the BGMC ad and their twisted explanation for their refusal
- Write to the Buffalo News editors at the Everybody Column page and tell them what you think about the actions of the Buffalo Jewish Review and their explanation.
- Cc your remarks to the Buffalo News Reporter, Anthony Cardinale, via email at acardinale@buffnews.com
- Visit OUTDemocracy here and share your comments with other readers.