Marriage Equality and Religious Freedom in Israel and America

New Israel Fund presents

Marriage Equality and Religious Freedom in Israel and America:
Sharon Abraham-Weiss of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
in conversation with
Judi O’Kelley of Lambda Legal

Wednesday, October 21st at 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm (note time change)
Hosted by Perkins Coie, 1201 3rd Avenue, Suite 4900, downtown Seattle
Light lunch provided, CLE credits pending
RSVP below

Co-sponsored by the Cardozo Society of Washington State, Lambda Legal, and Seattle U's Jewish Law Student Association

Marriage equality faces unique challenges in Israel, a country where personal status is held primarily by religious authorities that prevent even opposite-sex couples from marrying as they choose. In America, after the Supreme Court’s watershed ruling for same-sex marriage, religious freedom is being argued to permit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals’ court-recognized rights.

Join Sharon Abraham-Weiss, one of Israel’s foremost legal experts and litigators, and Judi O’Kelley of Lambda Legal for a comparison of the successes and challenges that civil rights litigators face in the quest for marriage equality, LGBTQ rights, and freedom of and from religion.

(Can’t make this event? Sharon speaks also in north Seattle that evening. Details here.)

About Us

Sharon Abraham-Weiss is the Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). Previously, she represented ACRI in landmark cases before Israel’s High Court, served on the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, and co-founded Itach-Maaki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice and Jerusalem’s Breira Center for law student volunteers. She holds a law degree from Hebrew University, an LLM from Tel Aviv University, and an MA from Harvard Kennedy School, where she was a Wexner Fellow.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, established in 1972, is Israel’s oldest and largest human rights organization and the only one dealing with the entire spectrum of human rights and civil liberties issues in Israel. Learn more here: www.acri.org.il/en/



Judi O'Kelley is the Deputy Director of Development and Director of Law School Development for Lambda Legal. Judi brings more than 18 years of political and legal experience working for equality within the LGBT community. From July of 2006 through May of 2008, Judi served as the Director of Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia. In June of 2008 she took the reins of Lambda Legal’s planned giving program, and in May of 2011 became Deputy Director of Development. Judi also coordinates Lambda Legal’s outreach work with law professors and law students.

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. Learn more here: www.lambdalegal.org

The Cardozo Society is the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle's affinity group for legal professionals and the official Washington State Bar Association minority bar for Jewish lawyers in Washington. Learn more here: http://paveseattle.org/network/the-cardozo-society-2/

The New Israel Fund is the leading organization committed to equality and democracy for all Israelis. Widely credited with building Israeli progressive civil society, we have provided millions of dollars to more than 850 organizations since our inception in 1979. More about NIF here: www.nif.org 

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