Imagine my shock when I read the following article published by The Jewish Daily Forward yesterday:

Amid controversy over new protections President Barack Obama has extended to transgender people, a number of Jewish groups have welcomed them.

A statement Friday from the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center praised the guidance issued the same day by the Justice and Education departments requiring that schools receiving federal funds end discrimination based on sexual identification.

“We urge all public schools to swiftly and fully comply with this directive so that transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” the RAC statement said.

The guidance, which warns that failure to comply could cost schools federal money, says students must access restrooms, shower facilities and other sex-segregated areas based on their gender identity, not on their gender as recorded at birth. […]

The National Council for Jewish Women said the guidance “provides needed clarity and best practices for public school districts and institutions of higher learning.”

Also praising the guidance was Rabbi Jack Moline, who directs Interfaith Alliance, a coalition that includes major Jewish national groups.

“No matter whether antipathy toward transgender Americans is motivated by ignorance or a particular – misguided, I believe – theological understanding of gender, neither has a place in our public schools,” he said in a statement.

A statement from Bend the Arc praised both the guidance to schools and a new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services extending protections to those discriminated against because of their gender identity. […]