Arthur Slepian, incoming board president of JCRC Bay Area, is founding executive director of A Wider Bridge. Tye Gregory, CEO of JCRC Bay Area, is past executive director of A Wider Bridge. This piece was adapted from a letter they wrote to supporters and staff.
We are writing to you today in our personal capacities to reflect on the upcoming closure of A Wider Bridge, announced on Dec. 19 by the board of directors. Together, we led the organization through its first decade, from 2010 to 2020, as it evolved from a small startup in San Francisco to a thriving national organization. We take great pride in what the organization has accomplished and, of course, feel a sense of sadness and disappointment at this news.
A Wider Bridge was founded to fill several gaps in the Jewish communal landscape: a lack of understanding and support for the LGBTQ community in Israel, a lack of opportunity for LGBTQ Jews and allies to connect with Israel and its people, and growing challenges within the broader LGBTQ community towards LGBTQ Jews, the Jewish community, and Israel.
Fifteen years later, we are proud that because of A Wider Bridge, the American Jewish and LGBTQ communities are far more educated about and connected to LGBTQ life in Israel, with greater opportunities for travel, philanthropy and partnership. We are also proud to have given LGBTQ Jews an authentic voice in the Jewish and pro-Israel communities. The vast majority of Jewish and Zionist organizations now include LGBTQ Jews in professional and lay leadership, with extensive programming and opportunities for LGBTQ Jewish community members to engage.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, LGBTQ Jews have increasingly experienced isolation and discrimination within the LGBTQ community. There remains an urgent opportunity and need to leverage the friendships and partnerships that A Wider Bridge built across North America to respond to the surge of antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred in the LGBTQ community at large.
We hope that the Jewish community institutions and community leaders who are best positioned to address the acute challenges that remain will pick up where A Wider Bridge left off. North American LGBTQ Jews need support through this difficult time, and LGBTQ organizations and spaces need significant education about the antisemitism permeating the movement.
LGBTQ Israeli nonprofits, whose budgets have been significantly cut in recent years by shifting philanthropic priorities and the current Israeli government’s right-wing platform, need global financial support more than ever. We will continue to do our part tackling these challenges in Northern California, both as volunteers, as well as through our leadership roles at the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area.
We also want to express our sincere gratitude. A Wider Bridge’s exponential growth and impact could not have happened without the strong and consistent support of so many foundations, Jewish Federations, community partners and individuals across North America. We also want to thank the staff and board of the organization, past and present, for giving this cause their all. In particular we are grateful to Alan Schwartz, who served as Board Chair for four years and poured his heart into the organization, to Rabbi Denise Eger, who ably led the organization as Interim Executive Director for much of 2025, and to board chair Daniel Hernandez, who assumed his leadership role a year ago under very difficult circumstances and led the organization to its unfortunate but necessary conclusion.
Lastly, we give thanks to those at the heart of our work, the Israeli LGBTQ community. The incredible leaders and organizations on the ground in Israel have inspired tens of thousands of community members around the world. All of us continue to have a stake in their future. Thank you to everyone who took this journey with us. The work is not yet done.