Fishman, Israel David, 1938-

Israel David Fishman was born on February 21, 1938 in Westerly, Rhode Island. His given name was Israel Fishman. His parents, Minnie C. and Benjamin Fishman, were Orthodox Jews. His father was an ordained rabbi, although he never held a pulpit position or earned a living as a clergyman.

In September 1946, Israel Fishman was sent to Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In letters, he described his childhood as one of much turmoil and loneliness. At the age of fifteen he was hospitalized for twelve weeks and treated with electric shock therapy. Fishman rebelled against the confines of Orthodoxy, finding them inconsistent and irreconcilable with an openly gay life. Still, his childhood spent in the Orthodox community formed a major part of his character and, viewed by Fishman, to be an essential part of his personal conflict. Much of this conflict is demonstrated by his name changes. In 1958, he used the name Yisroel Fishman. In early 1964, he used I. Ronald Fishman, but in June officially changed his name back to Israel Fishman. Later, Fishman added David as a middle name. His correspondence and writings are punctuated with Talmudic references and perspectives, the lives of homosexuals under the Nazis, and his interest in chazzanut, a form of Jewish liturgical music.

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