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This young American couple had Scotland’s first-ever queer Jewish wedding
(JTA) — Han Smith and Jennifer Andreacchi recently made international news for becoming the first queer couple to have a Jewish wedding in Scotland. But at the time they met, they had never been to Scotland, and they didn’t yet identify as queer — or Jewish.
Smith, 26, grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and has a Jewish father but wasn’t raised Jewish.
“I was content with that until a few years ago, when I began feeling like I wanted to reclaim something that had been lost,” said Smith, who uses they/them pronouns.
Andreacchi, 25, who is from Randolph, New Jersey, only discovered in 2018 that her father had one Jewish grandparent, when she did a DNA test.
The couple first met in the spring of 2015, when they both attended a New Jersey reception for admitted students of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
After noticing each other — mostly because they both asked the most questions out of everyone there — they exchanged numbers and began a friendly text connection over the summer.
When Andreacchi realized she might be queer, she chose Smith to come out to first, “as it can often be easier to tell a stranger than someone close to you,” she said. Smith confided they were feeling the same way.
Since Andreacchi was only 17 then and Smith 18, “we encouraged each other,” Andreacchi said. “It was nice to have someone going through coming out at the same time.”
“With Jen, I’m brave in a way that helps me know more about myself in the world,” said Smith. (Fern Photography)
They became part of the same friend group once they arrived at school, and it wasn’t long before they were dating.
“We started off a tad codependent, but we’ve managed to grow together, and have pushed each other and challenged each other to be our best selves,” said Andreacchi.
That included spending their junior year abroad at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, “which was a really transformative experience for both of us,” Smith said. It also made them want to pursue moving abroad after graduation.
Smith took a class in modern Jewish history their senior year, which raised all kinds of questions about their ancestors (they knew their family surname had changed, but not from what). “It really started my journey and my approaching Judaism from a different angle,” they said.
The couple moved to Dublin after graduating in 2019. The next spring, they celebrated their first Passover together, while in lockdown.
The pandemic gave them a lot of time to talk and think, and during this time, “we began talking about Jewish identity, what it meant to us and what it could mean,” Smith said. They became more sure of their Judaism; at the same time, the couple determined that they wanted to keep living abroad. Andreacchi decided to pursue a master’s degree at St. Andrews, while Smith started a doctoral program in counseling and psychology at the University of Edinburgh, which brought them back to Scotland. Andreacchi now works in publicity for a publishing house.
While Andreacchi was supportive of Smith’s investigation of Judaism, when it came to herself, “I was intimidated by it for a while,” she said. “I wasn’t 100% sure what right I had to claim it.”
Guests danced a traditional Scottish jig called a ceilidh as well as the Jewish hora. (Fern Photography)
But in Edinburgh, they found a welcoming Jewish community, where, they said, many of the younger community members are queer. (In addition to Sukkat Shalom, the liberal community in Edinburgh, there is an Orthodox synagogue as well as Chabad. Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city of about 500,000, is about 50 miles away from the much larger Glasgow, home to the fourth-biggest Jewish community in the United Kingdom and a queer-friendly, Yiddish-speaking, anarchist-run cafe.)
“We’ve found an amazing Jewish community here,” Andreacchi said. “The Edinburgh liberal community has really embraced us.”
When they began wedding planning, a Jewish wedding wasn’t on the table, as neither even knew yet that they would convert. But because they planned their wedding so far in advance, when they realized they could complete conversion beforehand, they set their sights on a Jewish ceremony. Both studied for their conversion under the supervision of Rabbi Mark Solomon, a London-based rabbi who serves Edinburgh’s Sukkat Shalom.
“He’s created a very safe and inclusive community,” Smith said.
“He has a very open-minded approach to what God is and the role of tradition, and he’s changed the gendered pronouns,” Andreacchi added.
They proposed to each other at Edinburgh Castle by reading letters to each other and exchanging rings in May 2021. Their conversions took place in September 2022.
When they began wedding planning, they had no idea they would be the first Jewish LGBT couple to marry in Scotland. But as word got out, community leaders wondered and then confirmed that, indeed, they would be the first.
The news of their wedding — which took place on Oct. 30, 2022 at St. Andrews, officiated by Solomon — was widely covered in the U.K. press. (Marriage for LGBT couples has been legal in Scotland since 2014.)
“There was a lot of excitement about us and our wedding that we didn’t anticipate,” Andreacchi said.
In Edinburgh, the couple found a welcoming Jewish community, where, they said, many of the younger community members are queer. (Fern Photography)
Andreacchi wore a forest green and gold velvet fantasy literature-inspired dress she found on TikTok, while Smith wore pants, a bowtie and suspenders, along with a scarf with the Mitchell tartan on it, because “while we were making history as Americans and not Scottish citizens, it was nice to feel like I was tying a piece of my ancestry together,” they said, referring to their mother’s roots in Scotland and Ireland.
The morning of their wedding, together with their wedding party, the couple decorated their chuppah together.
For the seven blessings, they assigned seven siblings, friends and cousins to expound upon themes that are important to the couple. Smashing the glass on the carpet took three attempts.
In addition to the hora, their reception included Scottish dances called ceilidh (pronounced “keely”).
“For a lot of my life, I wasn’t visible to other people, I felt a little small,” Andreacchi said. “Han was one of the first people who not only really saw me but radically accepted me and loved me and encouraged me to follow dreams I didn’t know were possible.”
Smith added, “With Jen, I’m brave in a way that helps me know more about myself in the world.”
—
The post This young American couple had Scotland’s first-ever queer Jewish wedding appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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A Saturday night in Portland, very close to the ICE building
ס׳איז געווען אַ שטילע נאַכט אין פּאָרטלאַנד, אָרעגאָן. מײַן חבֿר ברונאָ, אַ משפּחה־דאָקטער װאָס אַרבעט אויפֿן געביט פֿון עפֿנטלעכן געזונט פֿאַר דער שטאָט, האָט פּאַרקירט זײַן אױטאָ אין אַ טונקעלער גאַס אַ פּאָר בלאָקן פֿונעם „אײַס“־קאָמפּלעקס.
„אײַס“ זענען די ראשי־תּיבֿות פֿון דער אַמעריקאַנער אימיגראַציע־אַגענטור, וואָס האָט זינט אָקטאָבער 2024 אַרעסטירט מער ווי 185,000 אומדאָקומענטירטע אימיגראַנטן.
„װילסט טראָגן דעם האָן־קאָסטיום?“ האָט ער מיך געפֿרעגט. דאָס ערשטע מאָל אין מײַן לעבן הער איך אַזאַ פֿראַגע. איך זאָג זיך אָפּ, און ער קװעטשט זיך אַרײַן אין דעם אייגנאַרטיקן פֿאַרשטעלעכץ.
אין פּאָרטלאַנד בין איך געפֿאָרן צוליב אַ קאָנפֿערענץ. נישט געקוקט אױף די בויך־סבֿרות פֿון דאָנאַלד טראָמפּ, איז דאָס אַ שײנע שטאָט, פֿול מיט אײגנאַרטיקע װעגעטאַרישע רעסטאָראַנען, מאָדישע שענקען און אַ סך בריקן אַרום אַ בילד־שײנעם טײַך. מע האָט אויך געזען הײמלאָזע אױף די גאַסן אָבער דאָס איז שוין אַ טײל פֿון דער לאַנדשאַפֿט אין כּמעט יעדער גרויסער אַמעריקאַנער שטאָט, אַ סימן פֿון אונדזערע אומגלײַכקײטן.
נאָר צופֿעליק כאַפּט מען זיך אַז נישט אַלץ איז פֿױגלדיק. אָפּשטאַטנדיק אַ װיזיט אין אַ היגער קליניק, האָב איך באַמערקט די באַװוּסטע שילדן, װאָס װאָרנט „אײַס“ נישט אַרײַנצוטרעטן אָן אַ יורידישן באַפֿעל. פֿאַרבײַגײענדיק אױף דער גאַס, הער איך אונטער װי עס רעדט אַ פּאָרל. זי: „איך באָד זיך אין חובֿות. אַפֿשר זאָל איך זיך פֿאַרשרײַבן פֿאַר אַן אײַס־אַגענט, מע זאָל מיר פֿאַרגעבן די חובֿות.“ ענטפֿערט ער אַ שאָקירטער: „רעד נישט אַזעלכע רײד אין דער עפֿנטלעכקײט!“
װי באַװוּסט װערט פּאָרטלאַנד די טעג אָפֿט מאָל דערמאָנט אין די נײַעס, װײַל טראָמפּס אױפֿמערק האָט זיך פֿיקסירט אױף איר, װוּ עס בושעװעט כּלומרשט אַ מלחמה. כאָטש די אײנציקע קריג װאָס איך האָב דאָרט געזען איז געװען דאָס שטופּעניש אין מײַן האָטעלס לאָבי־באַר, האָב איך באַשלאָסן זיך אַריבערצוכאַפּן אין די בלאָקן לעבן „אײַס“־בנין. און דערפֿאַר האָט מײַן חבֿר זיך אָנגעטאָן דעם הון־קאָסטום.
צוליב דעם וואָס איך בין אָנגעקומען אין פּאָרטלאַנד נאָך שבת האָב איך פֿאַרפֿעלט די דעמאָנסטראַציע מיט אַ 100 מענטשן װאָס איז פֿריִער פֿאָרגעקומען, נאָר איך האָב יאָ געזען דעם עולם װאָס זאַמלט זיך דאָרט חדשים לאַנג, און װאָס טראָמפּ װיל באַקעמפֿן מיט דער נאַציאָנאַלער גװאַרדיע.
אַלץ איז געװען גאַנץ פֿרידלעך, כאָטש אַקטיװ. מ׳איז געשטאַנען אין קרײַזלעך, רעדנדיק, אַ מאָל גאַנץ הױך. עטלעכע „יוטובער“ טיפּן האָבן פֿילמירט.
ניק שירלי, אַ 22-יאָריקער װידעאָ־בלאָגער און „קאָנטענט־שאַפֿער“, האָט מיר געזאָגט, „איך בין דאָ צו רעדן מיט מענטשן [אױפֿן אינטערנעט] צו זאָגן זײ װאָס דאָ קומט פֿאָר. אַנטי־פֿאַ און פּראָטעסטירער פֿאַרנעמען די געגנט צו פּראָטעסטירן ׳אײַס׳.“ אַזעלכע פֿילמירערס, אַרומשפּאַנענדיק מיט אַפּאַראַטן אין דער האַנט און מאָבילקעס אױף סעלפֿי־שטעקנס, האָבן געשאַפֿן גיכער אַ מין צירק־געפֿיל, איידער אַן אײַנדרוק פֿון אַ קאָכעדיקן פּראָטעסט.
אַפֿשר אַ פֿופֿציק מענטשן זײַנען געשטאַנען אױף דער גאַס לעבן דעם „אײַס“־בנין יענעם שבת־צו־נאַכט, שרײַענדיק אױף די אַגענטן װאָס האָבן זיך אַװעקגעשטעלט אױפֿן דאַך. טעראָן, אַ 19-יאָריקער, האָט געזאָגט אַז ער איז געקומען כּדי זיך אַקעגנצושטעלן קעגן „אײַס.“ ניקאָל, 22 יאָר, האָט געזאָגט, „מע נעמט אַװעק אונדזערע קאָנסטיטוציאָנעלע רעכט. דערפֿאַר זײַנען מיר דאָ.“
ברי, אַ יונגע, נידעריקע פֿרױ איז געשטאַנען אין מיטן אַ קרײַזל מענטשן, האַלטנדיק פֿעסט אין דער הײך אַ מעקסיקאַנער פֿאָן. „װאָס טוסטו דאָ?“ האָב איך זי אַ פֿרעג געטאָן. „מיר פּראָטעסטירן קעגן דעם ׳אײַס׳־בנין און לאָזן פֿלאַטערן די פֿאָן כּדי אַרױסצוּװײַזן סאָלידאַריטעט מיט אונדזערע מעקסיקאַנער ברידער און שװעסטער, װאָס װערן עטניש גערײניקט.“
אַז אַ פֿרױ, װאָס האָט נישט געװאָלט געבן איר נאָמען, האָט געהערט אַז איך שרײַב פֿאַר אַ ייִדישער צײַטונג, האָט זי האַסטיק אַ פֿרעג געטאָן, „װאָס מײנסטו װעגן עזה? האַלטסטו דאָס פֿאַר אַ גענאָציד?“
אױפֿן װעג צום עולם טראָפּמיסטן (אַ היפּשע צאָל, כאָטש אַ קלענערער װי די לינקע – מיט טראָמפּ־ און אַמעריקאַנער פֿאָנען), האָב איך געטראָפֿן אַ יאַט אָנגעטאָן אין שװאַרץ. „איך װיל גאָר נישט זאָגן, נאָר ס׳איז אַ מזל אַז קײנער איז דאָ נאָך נישט דערהרגעט געװאָרן.“
אַ פּאָליצײ־אױטאָ איז אַדורכגעפֿאָרן. „בלאָקיר נישט די גאַס! זײַט אײדל אײנער צום צװײטן!“ האָט מען געפֿאָלגט. מײַן חבֿר מיטן הון־קאָסטיום האָט געטאַנצט צו דער מוזיק װאָס עמעצער האָט געשפּילט.
אַ פֿאָן־טרעגער צווישן די טראָמפּיסטן האָט מיר באַשריבן זײַנע צילן. „איך בין דאָ צו פֿאַרברענגען, אָנצוקוקן דעם עולם און פֿאַרטײדיקן די פּאַטריאָטן.“
אַ פֿרױ און אַ בחור זענען געשטאַנען אױפֿן ראַנד טראַטואַר. „פֿאַר װאָס זײַט איר דאָ?“ האָב איך אַ פֿרעג געטאָן.
„איך בין אַ שטיצער פֿון די פּאַטריאָטן,“ האָט זי זיך אָפּגערופֿן. „אָנגעקומען בין איך אין פּאָרטלאַנד צו 18 יאָר װי אַ נישט־חתונה־געהאַטע מאַמע. איך האָב געדאַרפֿט שפּעטער פֿאַרלאָזן די שטאָט װײַל איך האָב מער נישט געקענט פֿאָרן מיט דער צופֿאָר־באַן. דראָג־אַדיקטן. ווילדע אומרוען. מע באַגנבֿעט אײנער דעם צװײטן. איך הייס בעט. אָט איז מײַן זון לאָראַן.“
„מעג איך אַראָפּנעמען אײַער בילד?“
„װאָסער צײַטונג, װידער?“
„אַ ייִדישע.“
„אין דעם פֿאַל, דאַרף איך ענדיקן מיט דעם: יעזוס איז דער מלך.“
איך האָב אַ קוק געגעבן אױפֿן האַנטזײגער און זיך געכאַפּט אַז ס׳װערט שפּעטלעך. איבערגעכאַפּט אַן אינדיש־װעגעטאַרישע װעטשערע, זײַנען מיר צוגעפֿאָרן צום פֿליפֿעלד. מײַן חבֿר איז שױן געװאָרן אױס האָן.
כ׳בין אַהײמגעפֿאָרן מיט פּאָרטלאַנדער זכרונות פֿון פֿאָנען און פֿאָטאָגראַפֿן.
The post A Saturday night in Portland, very close to the ICE building appeared first on The Forward.
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Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist Attacks Israel During Democratic Primary Campaign for Governor
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist speaks at a “Hands Off” protest at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on April 5, 2025. Photo: Andrew Roth/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist has sparked backlash among the state’s Jewish community in recent weeks over his fierce condemnations of Israel while running in the Democratic primary to be Michigan’s next governor.
Gilchrist has sharpened his rhetoric against Israel, falsely accusing the Jewish state of both committing a “genocide” against the Palestinian people and purposefully inflicting famine across Gaza.
Since entering the race, Gilchrist has embarked on a full-court press to galvanize Michigan’s Arab community behind his campaign. Gilchrist recently spoke at events held by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and ArabCon, in which he condemned Israel for supposedly committing a “genocide” in Gaza. He has also vowed not to accept money from organizations that support Israel’s war against Hamas, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that seeks to foster bipartisan support for the US-Israel alliance.
“This is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of fact,” Gilchrist said to a cheering audience at ArabCon last month. “This has been established by the global leaders who study genocide. This is not something we should support. American taxpayer dollars should not fund offensive weapons of war while children are starving, while medical resources are being blocked to civilians, and while lineages of families are being erased.”
ArabCon, an annual convention held in Dearborn, Michigan to address issues affecting the Arab American community, featured several speakers connected to terrorist organizations. Some featured speakers referred to Zionists as “vile” and dismissed the Jewish people’s connection to Israel.
At last year’s event, Mohammed Maraqa, data strategist for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said that “the Jewish community is led by their business people, by their moneyed interests.”
Gilchrist further condemned Israel in fundraising emails, claiming that the Jewish state has oppressed Palestinians and accusing AIPAC, the foremost pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US, of collaborating with “billionaire allies” to silence him.
“What’s happening in Gaza is a genocide. Families are starving. Children are being bombed. And our federal government is writing the checks that fund it,” Gilchrist’s campaign wrote in a fundraising email. “I stand for human rights, dignity, and safety. That is why I am standing with the Palestinian people and their family, friends, and allies in Michigan – even knowing that AIPAC and its billionaire allies will flood Michigan with attack ads to try to shut me up.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit issued a statement accusing Gilchrist of peddling “antisemitic” tropes and mischaracterizing Israel’s military campaign against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
“Gilchrist promotes an inaccurate and offensive narrative that also omits the horrific attacks of October 7th and ignores those that remain hostage in Gaza,” the Jewish Federation of Detroit said in a statement, referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“This inflammatory language is an attempt to foster divisiveness as a campaign tool. We expect our elected representatives to reject political rhetoric that plays into antisemitic tropes and instead promote peace and understanding among all Michiganders,” the group continued.
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress, endorsed Gilchrist on Tuesday.
“I trust Garlin [and his] lived experience, not only as a father, but as someone who understands what it means when we don’t have people in office defending us and fighting on our behalf,” Tlaib said.
Skeptics have suggested that Gilchrist’s repudiation of Israel is an effort to inject life into his fledgling gubernatorial campaign. Despite serving as the running mate of sitting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Gilchrist has failed to secure her endorsement. Earlier this year, Whitmer refused to throw her weight behind Gilchrist, breaking a longstanding tradition of Michigan governors endorsing their second in command.
According to polls, Gilchrist faces a steep uphill climb to win Michigan’s Democratic nomination for governor. A recent poll conducted by Impact research showed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson leading Gilchrist by a whopping 39 points. Unlike Gilchrist, Benson has refused to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide.”
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US-Backed Efforts Bring Longtime Foes Israel and Syria Closer to Security Pact
Members of Israeli security forces stand at the ceasefire line between the Golan Heights and Syria, July 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israel and Syria are reportedly in the final stages of months-long negotiations over a security agreement that could establish a joint Israeli, Syrian, and US presence at key strategic locations.
Jerusalem and Damascus have agreed to form a joint Israeli-Syrian–American security committee to oversee developments along their shared border and uphold the terms of a proposed deal, Israeli officials told Saudi media outlets Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath.
Following the fall of longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel deployed troops into a buffer zone along the Syrian border to establish a military position aimed at preventing terrorists from launching attacks against the Jewish state.
The previously demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights was established under the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem that ended the Yom Kippur War. However, Israel considered the agreement void after the collapse of Assad’s regime.
After months of negotiations and rising tensions, both countries appear close to finalizing an agreement based on the 1974 framework, with minor adjustments to reflect current realities — one of the most promising efforts yet to reach a lasting security arrangement.
For its part, Israel assured US and Syrian officials that it will not support any destabilizing forces within Syrian territory, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the Syrian government pledged to protect the Druze population while providing Sweida, a Druze region in the country’s south, with the support and resources needed to maintain stability.
Under a US-backed proposal, a humanitarian corridor from Israel to Sweida has reportedly been ruled out, with any aid route instead planned to run from Damascus to ensure all movement passes through officially sanctioned channels.
Earlier this year, tensions escalated after heavy fighting broke out in Sweida between local Druze fighters and regime forces amid reports of atrocities against civilians.
At the time, Israel launched an airstrike campaign to protect the Druze, which officials described as a warning to the country’s new leadership over threats to the group — an Arab minority with communities in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel whose religion is derived from Islam.
Jerusalem has pledged to defend the Druze community in Syria with military force if they come under threat — motivated in part by appeals from Israel’s own Druze minority.
But the Syrian government has accused Israel of fueling instability and interfering in its internal affairs, while the new leadership insists it is focused on unifying the country after 14 years of conflict.
Describing Syria’s new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has consistently vowed to prevent them from deploying forces in the country’s southern region, which borders northeastern Israel.
Despite lingering reservations about the newly established Syrian regime, Israeli officials have signaled interest in pursuing formal diplomatic relations if specific conditions are met.
Under the Trump administration, Washington has lifted sanctions on the Syrian government to support the country’s reconstruction efforts and pushed for Damascus to normalize relations with Israel.