(cache)The Kosher Unicorn - Black, ex-Muslim, gay Religious Jew... Rabbi: Biography

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The Kosher Unicorn - Black, ex-Muslim, gay Religious Jew... Rabbi

"Wait, so you're black, formerly Muslim and now Jewish? The only thing that would make that worse is if you were gay. WELL... No! You're like a ****ing unicorn!"

Biography

My name is Dario David Hunter - or as the frum (i.e. Orthodox Jewish) community knows me, Yisroel Hunter. I was born (in 1983) and raised in New Jersey by my African-American mother and Persian father. My father's family background was Shiite Muslim (though he was not particularly observant) and after a number of years of Catholic school, I was sent to an Islamic school in New York.

My family's background is working class (at times, working poor) but I managed to work my way up to Princeton and several years of law school afterwards.

After studing Judaism for some years, I converted to Judaism in my early twenties, first through Reform and then through an Orthodox conversion. I have a soul-deep connection to Judaism, the Jewish people and Eretz Yisroel, where I now live as an oleh chadash (new immigrant). I am an openly gay and an openly observant Jew. [For more information on how I reconcile this, see my Q&A section.]

I have a BA (Princeton), a JD (Univ. of Detroit Mercy) a Canadian LL.B. (Univ. of Windsor) and an LL.M. (Wayne State Univ.). When I'm not writing for this blog, I practice as an environmental attorney.

On August 25, 2012, I was ordained a rabbi by the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute. As such, I became the first Muslim-born person to be ordained a rabbi.

I have engaged in Jewish community activism and pro-Israel political activism. Politically, I consider myself a socially liberal conservative.