Jay Lazarus, a gay Jewish Australian, screenshot a message from couple who said they encountered 'ethical challenges' over 'navigating parts of his identity'
i24news reports that a gay Jewish man in Australia donating his sperm to a lesbian couple said in a viral post on Instagram that the recipients decided to reject him because his Jewish heritage became an issue in the aftermath of October 7.
"In Octover 2022, I took a big & daunting step to help others build a family, by becoming a sperm donor," Jay Lazarus, a resident of Perth, wrote on Instagram. "As a gay, Jewish Australian man, I understand the complexities of starting a family & wanted to extend this opportunity to a same-sex couple, purely out of the goodness of my heart, without anything in return."
"I connected deeply with a couple from Queensland, & we embarked on this journey together. I was committed to helping them achieve their dream."
"The process was intense, with months of medical tests & emotional counseling. Not to mention the vitamins & commitment to maintain my utmost health... and by September 2023, my donation was ready. I was a step closer to my wish of creating a family for a couple who would otherwise not be able to."
Everything changed, however, after the October 7 atrocities, which saw thousands of Gazan jihadists descend on Israel and murder upward of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in what represented the deadliest antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust.
"The couple sent me a message that left me reeling," Lazarus wrote. "In their words, they couldn't go through with the process due to 'ethical challenges' and their inability to 'navigate parts of my identity' — my Jewishness."
"Influenced by what they've been told about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, this couple preferred to go back to Square One of the sperm donor process rather than accept my Jewish sperm."
Saying it took him weeks to process the story before he was able to share it, Lazarus said it showed that "prejudice is still pervasive, even in progressive circles that champion 'kindness and love.'"
"We are living in an era with disturbing echoes from the ideologies of racial purity that once fuelled the Holocaust - lineage free from Jewishness. Antisemitism is not just a relic of the past but a living, breathing prejudice that continues today."
"I am proud to be gay, proud to be Jewish, and proud to stand against hate," he concluded. "Am Yisrael Chai."
Source - i24news/X - Image - Reuters