Isaac Namdar
New York, New York
How is your Hero working to make the world a better place?
All Isaac wanted was to live in peace and harmony with his soulmate. But coming from a Sephardic background, where there never have been any out gay people, that wasn't easy. And when his congregation found out that he married his long time partner in a civil ceremony, all hell broke loose. While some applauded his courage for being true to himself, others compared his marriage to bestiality. Much of this debate was carried out on Isaac's wedding website, where anonymous commenters were able for the first time in the history of the congregation to express their opinions on homosexuality without fear of reprisal from community leaders. Despite being excommunicated by his Rabbi, Isaac is very proud of his heritage and has tried to maintain very close relationships with most of his family and fellow congregants. Since that time, Isaac has become a role model and advocate for youth coming from religious communities who are struggling with coming out issues. He has mentored many young adults from his community and beyond. He published a book about his experiences, which serves as a source of inspiration for conflicted youth. Along with his husband, he is the embodiment of "It Gets Better Project". Isaac has conducted seminars and book readings with discussion at the Manhattan JCC and the LGBT Community Center of New York. He has also carried out numerous podcast interviews for various media in an attempt to reconcile between gay Jews and their religious backgrounds. Isaac hopes that he will be able to foster more understanding among the religious communities for members who happen to be gay.