The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women

Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Learn more

Idit Klein

by JWA Staff
Our work to expand the Encyclopedia is ongoing. We are providing this brief biography for Idit Klein until we are able to commission a full entry.

Headshot of Idit Klein. Courtesy of Idit Klein.

As executive director of Keshet, a non-profit dedicated to creating a welcoming and supportive Jewish community for GLBTQ Jews, Idit Klein built the organization into a national leader in making the Jewish community more inclusive. After graduating from Yale University, Klein moved to Israel where she became a community organizer in the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community of Jerusalem. She continued that work upon her return to the States when she began volunteering for Keshet, and in 2001, she was hired as the organization’s executive director. Under her leadership, the organization has become the voice of the Jewish community on matters related to the GLBTQ community. In 2001, Klein mobilized the Jewish community in Massachusetts to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Her work has been instrumental in developing a consciousness of GLBTQ issues in the Jewish community.

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Idit Klein." (Viewed on June 7, 2023) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/klein-idit>.

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