Israel David Fishman (February 21, 1938 – June 14, 2006) was the founder of the Task Force on Gay Liberation.

Early life

Israel David Fishman was born on February 21, 1938, in

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

, the son of Minnie C. and Benjamin Fishman. They were Orthodox Jews. His father was an ordained rabbi, although he never practiced as clergyman. In September 1946, at 8 years old, Fishman entered

Yeshiva Torah Vodaath Yeshiva Torah Vodaas (or Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath or Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary ) is a ''yeshiva'' in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. History The yeshiva was conceived in 1917 and f ...

Williamsburg, New York Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

. At 15 years old he was hospitalized and treated with electric shock therapy.

Personal life and career

Between 1956 and 1965 Fishman worked as office assistant. In 1958, he enrolled in the City College of New York, first as an evening student, and then enrolling full-time. He graduated with a B.A. degree, magna cum laude and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, in Philosophy in 1965. In May 1966, he received an M.L.S. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's School of Library Science. Fishman was the Head of Technical Services at the Jewish Theological Seminary library, and then Acquisitions Librarian at Richmond College. In 1970 Fishman became the Circulation Librarian at

Upsala College Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with the Swedish-American Augustana Synod (later the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church) and located in East Orange in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States. Upsala was founded in ...

in East Orange, New Jersey, and was also Assistant Professor. In early 1973, he was denied tenure and in January 1974 he left the college. In 1970, Fishman attended the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

meeting in Detroit and conceived the idea of a gay liberation group within the library profession. He was the founder of Task Force on Gay Liberation (TFGL), a section of the Social Responsibilities Round Table. He was succeeded in leadership of the Task Force on Gay Liberation by

Barbara Gittings Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) was a prominent American activist for LGBT equality. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the national DOB magazine ''The Ladd ...

. Fishman was featured in the documentary '' Trembling Before God'', and wrote chapters for the anthologies, ''Daring to Find Our Names'' and ''Liberating Minds''. Fishman moved to Los Angeles, California for work and study at the Gay Community Services Center. In 1973 he returned to New York to study Swedish massage and was licensed in 1974. The same year, Fishman met his partner, Carl Navarro at the West Side Discussion Group, a regular gathering of gay men. Fishman opened a mail order vitamin store, organized tours through Hasidic Brooklyn, and was active in the Park Slope Food Cooperative. In 1989 he was photographed by Robert Giard for his series Particular Voices. He died on June 14, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishman, Israel David 1938 births 2006 deaths American librarians American gay men LGBT people from Rhode Island American LGBT rights activists 20th-century American LGBT people