Arthur A. Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Arthur Abba Goldberg is an American attorney
, businessman and leader in the ex-gay
movement. He is the former Executive Secretary of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), co-founder and co-director of Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), president of Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality
(PATH) and principal of the Center for Gender Affirming Processes (CGAP). All of these groups are devoted to gender affirming therapy and other regimens intended to change the sexual orientation
of individuals who experience unwanted same-sex attraction
.
Goldberg is also an Honorary Trustee at the Congregation Shearith Israel
, a Spanish and Portuguese synagogue in New York.
where he wrote for the Cornell Law Review
and was also the editor of the Cornell Law Forum from 1964 to 1965. He was professor at the Connecticut University
law school and Deputy Attorney General
of New Jersey
.
, earning the nicknames "Abba Dabba Do" and "Abba Cadabra" for his investment skills. As Executive Vice President and a major stockholder of Matthews Wright Inc., he was involved in a financial scandal. He and another man were indicted
on "52 counts of bribery
, conspiracy and fraud
in connection with $2 billion in municipal bonds." He pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States of America. In 1989, Goldberg was fined $100,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison on conviction of fraud.
Details of the fraud convictions resurfaced in February 2010, when an investigative report by Truth Wins Out
, a group formed to counter what they consider the ex-gay "myth," and South Florida Gay News revealed that Arthur Abba Goldberg was the same Arthur A. Goldberg of JONAH, a connection that had not yet been made public.
. In 1974, he founded the Committee for the Absorption of Soviet Emigres in Jersey City.
, Goldberg's son and the son of Elaine Berk both came out
as gay
. Goldberg and Berk found that much of the ex-gay movement was strongly associated with charismatic Christianity
. Wanting a spiritual alternative for same-sex attracted Jews, they co-founded Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH). In the 1960s, Goldberg traveled to the American South, and now "employs the language of civil rights to argue that people should have the right to change their sexuality."
Goldberg "uses Jewish law texts and scientific study to get to the individual root causes of same sex attraction and help those who are unhappy with their lifestyle reassert their gender identity and change their life." In 2008, he wrote Light in the Closet: Torah, Homosexuality, and the Power to Change. In the book, Goldberg claims that there is no genetic cause of homosexuality
, and argues that homosexual orientation can be changed, as performed in reparative therapists
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, businessman and leader in the ex-gay
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
movement. He is the former Executive Secretary of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), co-founder and co-director of Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), president of Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality
Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality
Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality is a coalition of groups that want to help "people with unwanted same-sex attractions realize their personal goals for change -- whether by developing their innate heterosexual potential or by embracing a lifestyle as a single, non-sexually active man or...
(PATH) and principal of the Center for Gender Affirming Processes (CGAP). All of these groups are devoted to gender affirming therapy and other regimens intended to change the sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
of individuals who experience unwanted same-sex attraction
Same-sex attraction
Same-sex attraction is a term occasionally used instead of the more common term homosexuality to refer to a person's feelings of sexual attraction toward members of the same gender identity....
.
Goldberg is also an Honorary Trustee at the Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel, often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. It was established in 1654....
, a Spanish and Portuguese synagogue in New York.
Education
He received his B.A. majoring in Government, with a minor in English from American University with general honors, and a J.D. from Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
where he wrote for the Cornell Law Review
Cornell Law Review
The Cornell Law Review is the flagship legal journal of Cornell Law School. Originally published in 1915 as the Cornell Law Quarterly, the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the Cornell Law Review have included articles by Supreme Court justices Robert H....
and was also the editor of the Cornell Law Forum from 1964 to 1965. He was professor at the Connecticut University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
law school and Deputy Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Business activities and conviction for fraud
In the 1980s, Goldberg was well known on Wall StreetWall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
, earning the nicknames "Abba Dabba Do" and "Abba Cadabra" for his investment skills. As Executive Vice President and a major stockholder of Matthews Wright Inc., he was involved in a financial scandal. He and another man were indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
on "52 counts of bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
, conspiracy and fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
in connection with $2 billion in municipal bonds." He pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States of America. In 1989, Goldberg was fined $100,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison on conviction of fraud.
Details of the fraud convictions resurfaced in February 2010, when an investigative report by Truth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out is an organization formed by Wayne Besen to fight what it considers "anti-gay religious extremism," especially the ex-gay movement...
, a group formed to counter what they consider the ex-gay "myth," and South Florida Gay News revealed that Arthur Abba Goldberg was the same Arthur A. Goldberg of JONAH, a connection that had not yet been made public.
Activism
Since the 1960s, Goldberg has been involved in community service and was active in resettling immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In 1974, he founded the Committee for the Absorption of Soviet Emigres in Jersey City.
Views on homosexuality
While attending New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Goldberg's son and the son of Elaine Berk both came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. Goldberg and Berk found that much of the ex-gay movement was strongly associated with charismatic Christianity
Charismatic Christianity
Charismatic Christianity is a Christian doctrine that maintains that modern-day believers experience miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and other spiritual gifts as described in of the Bible...
. Wanting a spiritual alternative for same-sex attracted Jews, they co-founded Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH). In the 1960s, Goldberg traveled to the American South, and now "employs the language of civil rights to argue that people should have the right to change their sexuality."
Goldberg "uses Jewish law texts and scientific study to get to the individual root causes of same sex attraction and help those who are unhappy with their lifestyle reassert their gender identity and change their life." In 2008, he wrote Light in the Closet: Torah, Homosexuality, and the Power to Change. In the book, Goldberg claims that there is no genetic cause of homosexuality
Biology and sexual orientation
Biology and sexual orientation is the subject of research into the role of biology in the development of human sexual orientation. No simple, single cause for sexual orientation has been conclusively demonstrated, but research suggests that it is by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and...
, and argues that homosexual orientation can be changed, as performed in reparative therapists
Reparative Therapy
Conversion therapy, sometimes called reparative therapy or reorientation therapy, is one type of sexual orientation change effort that attempts to change the sexual orientation of a person from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual. These types of therapies have been a source of intense...
.