Creating inclusive Jewish spaces for LGBTQ+ people doesn’t happen in isolation. It demands that allies become advocates. That they walk away from the sidelines and step into the spotlight.
Enter the JQ Advocates Program, a one-of-a-kind leadership opportunity where community members learn to tell their stories as LGBTQ+ Jews and allies. JQ Advocates are trained to speak at synagogues, community events, and educational panels, sharing their lived experiences to foster visibility and understanding. These individuals amplify JQ’s mission and serve as a source of guidance for youth and parents alike, helping to build a world where LGBTQ+ Jews can live fully and authentically.
Among the remarkable Advocates in our newest cohort are Rebeka Small and Marc Zev. Both are proud Jewish parents of transgender children. Their journeys from loving parents to powerful advocates remind us what’s possible when love and leadership go hand in hand.
Rebeka Small: The Power of Showing Up
For Rebeka, allyship has always been part of her DNA, long before her son LJ came out. Raised in the arts, she grew up surrounded by the LGBTQ+ community before she even had the vocabulary to name it. Acceptance was modeled, never mandated.
“There was never anything said in my house about, ‘this is wrong’ or ‘this is weird,’” she recalls. “It was acceptance.”
When her son LJ came out as bisexual at 14 and later as a transgender boy, Rebeka’s role as an advocate became deeply personal. The turning point: a virtual JQ presentation through LJ’s school.
“I will never forget when LJ ran out of his room; his whole face was lit up,” she says. “He said, ‘Mama, can you please sign me up?’”
That moment marked the beginning of LJ’s relationship with JQ, and Rebeka’s too.
“JQ quite literally saved his life,” she reflects. “It showed him that there was a place where you could walk into a room and see people who look like you.”
As LJ found his community, Rebeka found her calling. Now a JQ Advocate, she uses her voice to share what it’s like to walk this path as a parent: the fear, the love, the confusion, and ultimately, the empowerment.
“I think people assume allies are just there for moral support,” she says. “But being an ally means sharing your story too.”
Rebeka wants other parents to know their experience counts, no matter how nonlinear it might be. Besides, what even is a “normal” parenting experience? Every child is unique, and that’s the beauty of parenting.
“It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel flipped upside down. That doesn’t mean you don’t love your child ,” she says. “When your kid tells you who they are, believe them. Show up for them as their parent and advocate, no questions asked, and take the rest from there.”
Marc Zev: Advocacy with a Quiet Strength
For Marc, allyship took on new urgency when his daughter came out as trans in 2022. He’d already been quietly championing the LGBTQ+ community, but now his connection deepened.
“That’s what got me becoming more of an activist rather than someone who supported from the side,” he says.
Marc and his wife had discovered JQ years earlier while trying to better understand their son-in-law, who identified as nonbinary at the time. When he learned about the JQ Advocates program, his instinct was to offer help, even if he wasn’t sure how he’d be received.
“I said, ‘I’m an old cis straight guy. If you think I could be helpful, I’m happy to volunteer. If not, that’s okay too,’” he explains. “And they said, ‘We want you.’”
Marc’s quiet humility and straightforward perspective have cemented him as a confidant for many in the community. At every event he’s spoken at, people thank him, some even disclosing the rejection they’ve faced from their own families.
“It really is mind boggling to me,” he says. “I don’t understand how families could be like that.”
His message is direct, yet deeply compassionate.
“It may not be what you expected or wanted or hoped for, but they’re your people, and it’s not that hard if they want you to use a different name or pronoun,” he says. “I’d rather bend over backwards than not have my child.”
For Marc, allyship isn’t about changing minds in one speech, it’s about affirming humanity.
“People are individuals,” he says. “Don’t use a broad brush to judge. Just listen. It’s not that complicated.”
Interested in becoming a JQ advocate? Learn more at jqinternational.org/jqadvocates or reach out to JQ’s Director of Community Engagement at sharrison@jqinternational.org.