(Jewish Group) A young gay Orthodox man died by suicide.

[Behind the Aegis]

A young gay Orthodox man died by suicide. We must confront how Jewish teachings harmed him

One of the hardest parts of my job is attending the funerals of young Orthodox Jews who have died by suicide. As clinical director of JQY (Jewish Queer Youth), I’ve unfortunately been to too many of them.

This week, I am grieving the death of 25-year-old Herschel Siegel of Atlanta, who died this past Friday before Shabbat.

Herschel was not the first young Orthodox person to die by suicide this year. It is especially painful that, even when victims were openly gay themselves, the Orthodox community too often refuses to acknowledge or value this part of who they were.

The Trevor Project just released its 2023 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. Based on the experiences of over 28,000 queer youth across the U.S., the survey found that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.



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This makes me mad and sad. This has to stop!