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JONAH's legal name is simply "JONAH," chosen to symbolize the reluctant Biblical prophet Jonah who carried a message of healing to the people of Nineveh. JONAH's initial thrust, as reflected in the original meaning of its acronym (Jews Offering New alternatives to Homosexuality), was to work with those with unwanted same-sex attractions by providing the community with educational outreach services, including counseling referrals, for affected individuals and their families.

However, numerous individuals sought out JONAH to provide advice and services concerning several other issues of sexual confusion. Therefore, our scope of services has been broadened to now include issues involving other sexual conflicts (e.g. sexual promiscuity, pornography, sexual abuse, pedophilia or pederasty, compulsive masturbation, fetishes, transvestitism, incest, prostitution, emotional dependency, sexual addictions, etc.). In light of this demand, the Board of Directors determined that a more encompassing meaning was required for our acronym, one that is reflective of this broader scope and thus chose "Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing."

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History of JONAH (Posted November 2007)

JONAH was launched in 1998 by two New Jersey Jewish couples whose adult children had become involved in homosexuality. Recognizing the almost total absence of resources and services available for Jewish families to address this issue, the founders adhered to the traditional Jewish teaching that homosexual behavior should be discouraged, but they were also determined to maintain a loving bond with their children. Because JONAH was the only Jewish-based organization specifically dealing with the healing of homosexuality,they quickly discovered a huge vacuum existing within the Jewish world. Innumerable strugglers with unwanted same-sex attractions, spouses, other parents, and citizens concerned about the direction of society's permissiveness, contacted them either for assistance or to ask what they could do to help individuals in crisis who suffered from unwanted same-sex attractions (SSA).

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