Yakhdav, (1992-2004) meaning “together” in Hebrew, was a group created in the 1990s to provide a community space for Lesbian, Bisexual, and Gay Jews in Montreal.
Despite increasing acceptance, in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s Canada’s LGBTQ+ communities still faced intense discrimination. Montreal’s gay community spaces were subjected to raids and arrests made by the Quebec provincial police at bars and clubs, including the notorious Sex Garage Raid of 1990. They were also denied civil unions or marriage until March 2004, when Quebec became the third province to grant those rights.
As members of both a sexual and religious minority group, LGBTQ+ Jews were often made to feel they had to “choose” to be either gay or Jewish, according to Yakhdav president Harvey Cohen. This led to the formation of groups that allowed them to explore both identities in a safe environment. The first of these Montreal-based organizations was Naches. Founded in 1973, they were the city’s first Jewish-specific gay group, facilitating events and community support in both Jewish and gay spaces. Naches dissolved in 1986, following the migration of many young Jews to Toronto. They were replaced by another group called Yakhdav – Organisme des gais et lesbiens juifs de Montréal, in 1988.
Yakhdav was officially incorporated on July 30th, 1992. Alongside creating a space that facilitated gatherings at member’s homes, they produced a monthly newsletter called Hazak. The newsletter’s tagline mirror’s Yakhdav’s name with a slogan derived from the practice used when concluding reading a book of the Torah: “be strong, be strong, & let us strengthen each other.” Hazak provided space for community events such as Hanukkah parties and board game nights at Passez-Go on St. Laurent. It discussed creating LGBTQ+ positive workspaces, even showing job listings, as well as opportunities for networking in the city, such as lesbian or bisexual professional associations. They also promoted the Prix arc-en-ciel, an event celebrating the talents of lesbians, bisexuals, and gays in Quebec. They recommended films of interest to their readers, such as Oy Gay and Tomboychik.
Yakhdav likewise engaged in political activism. Their newsletter indicates that they were a group “there for the well-being and strengthening of our overlapping communities”. An example of this is when they worked with B’nai Brith to lobby the provincial government to increase protections against discrimination along lines of sexual orientation. They also fought against the expression of homophobia in Jewish spaces, especially in community newspapers. Partnered with the YM-YWHA, they held events such as “Updates on AIDS,” a panel that included doctors from the Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill School of Medicine. During this time, the Y offered to also “assist in sensitizing the Jewish community about the reality of gay/lesbian lifestyles through talks and conversations… [as well as] offering group space on an occasional basis for talks, public interest programs [and] parties…”
The group officially dissolved in 2001 and gradually stopped gathering by 2004. Other groups including Gaava and JQueer have become a home for LGBTQ+ Jews in Montreal since.
Compiled by Hannah Grover
Sources
Yakhdav (Yachdav) Montreal group for Jewish Gays and Lesbians, Canadian Jewish Archives. https://www.cjhn.ca/en/permalink/cjhn79204
Margolis, Rebecca E., A New Generation of Lesbian Jewish Activism, in Religion and LGBTQ Sexualities: Critical Essay by Stephen Hunt, (2015). Routledge.
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