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 fo ...

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 Unit ...

. 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 The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

, 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 a ...

, 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 Manha ...

'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 ...

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, 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 The Rainbow Round Table (RRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) is dedicated to supporting the information needs of LGBTQIA+ people, from professional library workers to the population at large. Founded in 1970, it is the nation's first ...

(TFGL), a section of the

Social Responsibilities Round Table 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 a ...

. 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 United States, American activist for LGBT equality. She organized the New York City, New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the na ...

. Fishman was featured in the documentary ''

Trembling Before God ''Trembling Before G-d'' is a 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare Orthodox Jewish at ...

'', 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 ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. 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 The Park Slope Food Coop (PSFC) is a food cooperative located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It is one of the oldest and largest active food co-ops in the United States. As a food cooperative, one of its goals is to b ...

. In 1989 he was photographed by

Robert Giard Robert Giard (July 22, 1939 - July 16, 2002) was an American portrait, landscape, and figure photographer. Life A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Giard majored in English literature and received a B.A. from Yale University in 1961, then an M.A. ...

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