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see: Also see stories: 1 Lesbian and gay couples are adopting in Israel. 1/08 3 LGBT Palestinian organisation formed in Jerusalem 2/08 3a Drag against the occupation 3/08 4 Gay adoption ruling may set precedent in Israel 3/08 5 Out' publishes guide to picking up Israeli men 3/08 6 Lesbian mums fight for legal rights in Israel 4/08 7 Out of the closet, into the center: Tel Aviv's first gay community center 6/08 8 Brief altercations at Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv 6/08 9 Thousands attend 10th annual Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv 6/08 10 Rise in gay tourism stirs unease in Israel So-called 'pink dollars' 8/08 11 Jerusalem's gay oasis under threat from financial crisis 10/08 January 05, 2008 1 by Community Editor Israeli rabbi and attorney Gilad Kariv agrees with the decision, and says: "Removing the obstacles faced by same-sex couples who wish to adopt an Israeli child constitutes a clear and unequivocal expression of the State’s recognition that the child’s good would not be undermined because he or she have same-sex parents, and that this good hinges on, first and foremost, the quality of family life and the relationships within it." According to sources in the Welfare Ministry, four same-sex couples have asked to adopt a child over the past several months. Several other couples have applied to have one partner adopt the other’s children.
January 10, 2008 2 by Mel Frykberg One would automatically assume that statement refers to the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation; it is not. Hagai El-Ad is a Jewish gay rights activist. In a region where homosexuality is regarded as something abhorrent and punishable by law it is ironic that many gay Palestinians fled both Gaza and the West Bank and, with the help of gay Israelis, were able to find refuge in the state which epitomizes their enemy, Israel, and among a community vilified by their own communities back home. "In the eyes of the Jewish majority it is sufficient for the other person to be an Arab to justify almost any humiliation and violence against them. Even if the other is an Israeli citizen, even if she is a pregnant woman, even if it's a child on her way to school," stated El-Ad. In a nutshell this sums up the empathy with which the suffering of Palestinians in general, and especially those in the Palestinian gay and lesbian community, is regarded by the majority of Israel's homosexual community. "We started a project to help protect and promote the rights of gay Palestinians who had fled the West Bank and the Arab villages in Israel," Nimrod Baron from Jerusalem's Open House, a gay refuge center, told the Middle East Times. "And so successful was the program that gay Israeli Arabs and Palestinians have now started their own program aimed at empowering gay members of their community," added Baron. Although some Palestinian gays and lesbians are hiding out illegally in Israel in order to escape violence, intolerance and being disowned by their families, significant expatriate groups exist in Netanya and Tel Aviv where many live with their Israeli partners. The police have in many cases turned a blind eye due to the intervention of organizations like Agudah, a gay activist organization in Tel Aviv. Another problem facing gay Palestinians is that many in their community equate homosexuality with collaboration with Israel. While there is some basis to this, due to Israel's internal security service, the Shin Bet, recruiting some individuals in return for money or resident permits, this does not apply to all the Palestinians who fled their homes. However, those even suspected of collaborating with Israel face either death or imprisonment. Several years ago Tayseer, a young man from Gaza received a summons from the Palestinian police after he had engaged in homosexual acts. When his family found out, he was severely beaten and warned by his father that the next time he would be strangled. When he refused to implicate others during his interrogation, he was tortured and imprisoned where he suffered constant taunts from interrogators and other prisoners. After his release a few months later, Tayseer crossed into Israel, something which is now virtually impossible due to the strict security procedures. He now lives illegally in an Arab Israeli village and works in a restaurant. For Jewish gays and lesbians the fight for equality has been a hard one, but one that has borne fruit, despite prejudices from orthodox Jewish groups. Sometimes the prejudice leads to violence. At the 2005's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras three marchers were stabbed by a Jewish fanatic. Israel's small but powerful orthodox community, including political parliamentarian groups, has been able to enforce its religious agenda on the Israeli public to a significant degree despite the outrage of the majority of Israelis who are secular. Public transport is prohibited on Shabbat, or Sabbath, the Jewish holiday which starts at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday, selling pork is illegal, and there is no such thing as civil marriages between Jew and non-Jew. These rules, however, are bent in the less religious climate of Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv. And due to the determination and political activism of Israel's gay community, Israel today has some of the most progressive gay rights in the world. "The gay rights lobby here fought their successful campaign, both through the media and on the political level," Baron said. Lesbians can officially adopt children born to their partners by artificial insemination from an anonymous sperm donor. Same sex marriages performed outside of Israel are also recognized. Foreign partners of gays receive residency permits while spousal benefits and pensions are extended to the partners of homosexual employees. Israel's attorney general has also granted legal recognition to same-sex couples in financial and other business matters. Israel's Defense Forces allow gays to serve openly and even in special units. In 1992 legislation was introduced to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. But El-Ad concluded that however rosy the current scenario is, the rights of Israeli and Palestinian gays are inextricably intertwined. "The struggle for our rights is worthless if it's indifferent to what's happening to [gays in the occupied Palestinian territories] a kilometer from here."
5th February 2008 3 by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer "During the six years of its existence, Al-Qaws has undergone an all-embracing organisational process of development," said a spokesperson. What started as a local professional-oriented project has grown into a national community and grassroots organisation, with activist leadership. This major development has been made possible thanks to the leadership group's determined investment, the deep commitment of Al-Qaws activists and the autonomous space provided to Al-Qaws within the JOH, enabling Al-Qaws to address the needs of the Palestinian LGBTQ community." Haneen Maikey, Al-Qaws director, said: "This change is incredibly exciting. This new phase presents new opportunities with promises of growth through self-definition for Palestinian LGBTQs." The JOH will continue to host Al-Qaws in its new community centre in downtown Jerusalem. The two organisations said they are committed to exploring wider fields of cooperation in the future towards the advancement of common goals. Noa Sattath, JOH executive director, said: "The Palestinian LGBTQ community is fortunate to have such strong and capable leaders. We look forward to working together with the leadership of Al-Qaws for a better future for all our community members."
March 2, 2008 3a The association's members, who come from all over the country, began operating in 2000 in the context of the Open House gay organization in Jerusalem. But lately they realized they had to take another step to meet the special needs of the Arab gay and lesbian community in Israel, and to preserve their uniqueness and political character. Al-Qaws registered as an independent association, and on March 1 will celebrate the launch of its operations. 'Badge of shame' Al-Qaws is the first Palestinian-Israeli organization to cater to the entire gay and lesbian Palestinian population. About five years ago the organization Aswat (Voices) was founded for lesbian, bisexual and transsexual Palestinian women. The organization's members are involved in a variety of feminist and political activities. Last year, when they wanted to hold a large convention in Haifa, the Islamic Movement published a condemnation of the convention and called it a "a badge of shame." An Arab gay man or lesbian in Israel is doubly excluded: In Arab society they suffer from oppression and discrimination because of their sexual orientation, while in Jewish society they suffer from discrimination for nationalist reasons. Maikey says the Arab gay or lesbian in Israel "remains a stranger even in an accepting environment." Usually their relationships are conducted in Hebrew in an environment different from their original cultural milieu. "So even if it's an accepting environment, you remain a stranger, a kind of 'guest of the culture,' and you have to behave according to rules determined by the other," she says. According to Maikey, "At the parties many people say that it's important to them that there is finally a framework where you can speak Arabic without fear." At the parties there is a sense of freedom and liberation, one reason being the variety that is celebrated. "There's everything here, and everything is accepted," says one of the female participants. "Arabs, Jews, men, women, lesbians, gays, trans, straights." Another reason for the feeling of liberation is that the parties are a meeting place for many identities, mainly gender and national identities. "I see the parties as both a path and a goal," says Samira, an activist at Al-Qaws and Aswat. "As far as I'm concerned the parties are part of a way to build a community. It's a social meeting place and the beginning of creating a community. It's also a place where you don't apologize for anything about your identity. In the nightclubs and at other parties we are asked to leave the Palestinian aspect outside the club before we enter. Here it's a place that doesn't ask for that. On the contrary, it nurtures our identity." Songs of love, and struggle On the stage the performances are beginning. A drag queen sings a love song by the singer Fairuz, another begins a belly dance. A black drag queen with a dark blond wig, wearing a tunic sewn from a keffiyeh, gets onstage. "I don't care what they say," she sings to her beloved. "Every day I'll be what I want to be." Later the installation artist R. appears. He is active in the Al-Qaws Tel Aviv-Jaffa branch and organizes exhibitions, but he prefers not to be identified by name. R.'s installations are political and very moving. One can often see people in the audience crying. To the strains of songs of struggle, for the most part by classic singers such as Fairuz or Majida al Romi, he appears as a character he created: "Arus Falastin," The Bride of Palestine. "It reminds people of who they really are," he says. The conflict and distress supposedly subside at the party, mitigated by drag. R. says that "in recent years, all the drag queens I have encountered came to entertain, to make people laugh, to amuse. Although all drag is political in itself, when it is only amusing it becomes boring in a certain sense. Ordinary people - that doesn't excite anyone any longer." At the last party R. appeared as a "drag king" in a new character he created: Ahmed Basha. His face adorned with bristles, a keffiyeh on his shoulders, he wears a black shirt with the inscription "Free Palestine." The song he sings, by Lebanese musician Marcel Khalifa, was written during the first Lebanon war. It tells about a little boy who is playing in the yard, looking for string to fly a kite. Suddenly he sees a plane in the sky, "a kite that doesn't need string," he calls to his friends. The plane then bombs the house and turns everything into fire. Can we expect a Palestinian gay pride march as well? Is coming out of the closet one of the goals of the association? Samira says that coming out of the closet is not a sacred goal. She was born and grew up in the North and currently lives with her Jewish partner in Tel Aviv. Her immediate family knows about her sexual identity, but the extended family doesn't know (which is why she prefers to be interviewed without her last name). "For me the issue of visibility is important," she says. But she and Maikey stress that visibility does not necessarily require a gay pride march, but can be achieved by "creating a discourse in society."
18th March 2008 4 by Adam Lake Mr Shavit told The Jerusalem Post : "I wanted to become a father to him in every sense of the word. It was important that we work on establishing our family and setting up a system of guardianship for our son." The couple were represented by gay and lesbian rights advocate Ira Hadar. Hadar is well known in Israel for successfully challenging the Supreme Court in the case of a lesbian couple who wanted to adopt each other's biological children, two years ago. Commenting on the case he said: "Today, we are seeing more alternative families becoming accepted by society and it just proves that everyone has the right to raise children within the lifestyle they choose. Hopefully this will pave the way for all gay and lesbian couples to sign onto the waiting lists to adopt children." The case was a first in Israel and there has been a surge of gay and lesbian couples who wish to adopt. However, other couples may have a more difficult time trying to get joint adoption status when their biological parents are known. "Our son has no registered biological parents so it was just an issue of adding another adopted father," said Shadiv. The ruling has attracted some opposition from Ultra-Orthodox groups such as the Shas party. The political party, who won 12 seats in the 2006 election, previously claimed that such decisions "damage the Jewish image of the State of Israel." Shas have caused much controversy over the years their Ultra Conservative beliefs. In 2001 the spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, provoked outrage with a sermon calling for the annihilation of Arabs, referring to them as vipers, he later refered to the Israeli gay and lesbian community as, "filth." More recently Shlomo Benizri, a Shas MP, claimed that recent earthquakes that have hit Israel are a consequence of gay rights laws. In December the High Court of Justice upheld its decision in 2000 that Interior Ministry officials could not refuse to register the lesbian partner of a woman with a child as the child's adopting parent. An American-Israeli lesbian couple who weren't registered as dual mothers of their son despite a Court's ruling, won their case before Israel's Supreme Court.
March 2008 5
8th April 2008 6 by Adam Lake The foetus was transferred to the woman's partner, meaning that although the first woman is the child's genetic and partly biological mother, only her partner will officially be declared a biological parent. As a result of a previous High Court of Justice decision, the state of Israel accepts that both parents in a lesbian or homosexual relationship may be recognised as parents of the child. The couple have filed the suit because they believe that the child would experience unnecessary distress if both parents were not officially biological parents. Israel is opposed to allowing both partners in a lesbian couple to be registered as the biological mothers. "Before approving the request for artificial insemination, the Health Ministry made it clear that the woman who donated the egg would not be considered the child's mother and that if she wanted to be, she would have to adopt him," State's representative Attorney Orly Manzur told the court, according to the Jerusalem Post. The case continues.
04 June 2008 7 by Ofri Ilani, Haaretz, Correspondent "The image of God can be seen in every person, and therefore, this building is not only a community center, but a house of God" said Rabbi David Lazar at a ceremony to bless the affixing of the building's mezuzah. The initiative to build the center was started five years ago by leaders of the local Gay, Lesbian, Transsexual, and Bisexual community, and its opening represents the first time the city has officially sanctioned such a project. The center has already hosted events for a teen gay pride group, as well as one to prepare new Israel Defense Forces recruits for their enlistment. The center is also planning on hosting ballet recitals and events for elderly members of the community. Itai Pinkus, Tel-Aviv City Hall's advisor for the Gay, Lesbian, Transsexual, and Bisexual community, said the center will hold many events for the elderly, as these members "spent years underground, at a time when they were under risk of serious personal harm if they were to be exposed." The building is also expected to house a child care center, albeit one that is not run by the center. "The home will serve to reflect the plurastic spirit of Tel Aviv, and the desire to honor and respect all minorities," said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai at the dedication ceremony. "We see ourselves as a trailblazing society. We decided to found this institution out of the belief that it is necessary," Huldai added, saying the onus is now upon the residents of Tel Aviv and the Gay and Lesbian community to ensure that the building is a success.
June 6, 2008 8 by JPost.com Staff Meanwhile, Meretz faction chairperson Zahava Gal-On, who attended the march, slammed Shas and its chairman Eli Yishai, who on Thursday attempted to prevent the parade from going ahead by filing a compliant to police. "Yishai cannot profit politically at the expense of the participants in the Gay Pride parade," said Gal-On, adding that Shas was "trying take us back to the Middle Ages."
Army Radio also quoted Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On's response to Yishai's efforts, saying "their ignorance and dark beliefs take as back to the Middle Ages. It is intolerable that the religious and Haredis tell us what to believe in and how to live. Now they're trying to forbid the gay community from parading in the streets."
August 13, 2008 10 by Danna Harman, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Tel Aviv, with its warm Mediterranean weather, trendy cosmopolitan feel, and lively nightlife, has, over the past few years, become a hot destination for gay travelers. But this is also a country where there is no separation between religion and state, and in which the majority of tourists come here for some form of religious experience – which all leads to a rather ambivalent official attitude toward the phenomenon. According to Thomas Roth, president of Community Marketing Inc., a San Francisco-based gay market research firm, gay travelers make up 10 percent or more of the travel industry, spending tens of billions of dollars yearly. They are a valuable niche market, he points out, with higher than average disposable income, and a typically strong interest in both shopping and culture. While no research has been conducted on gay tourism to Israel specifically, says Mr. Roth, who just returned from his own visit to the country, "…we do know from focus groups and anecdotal conversations with travelers that the destination is growing in appeal." Shai Doitsh, head of the gay tourism department at Agudah, Israel's Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexuals, and Transgenders, says that thousands of gay tourists – both independent and groups – have come to Israel this year, infusing the economy with millions of so-called "pink dollars." Five years ago, the numbers were in the hundreds. A decade ago there was virtually no market at all, he says. But David Katz, a travel agent with Sar-El Tours in Jerusalem, whose main clients are religious pilgrims, points out that evangelical Christians make up the single largest group of tourists to the country, followed by Jewish interest tourists. According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, some 44 percent of the 2.3 million tourists who came to Israel last year were religious Christians of different denominations. Highlighting "gay tourism," says Mr. Katz, could easily unsettle some of the many visitors coming to experience the "land of the Bible." "Dealing with gay tourism has to be done in an intelligent and sensitive way," says Yaniv Poria, a professor in the department of hotel and tourism management at Ben Gurion University in the Negev region and an expert on the subject. "It is wanted – it's just tricky. Like so many things in Israel." Part of Israeli's appeal to the gay market, says Roth, is the perception that it's a very liberal, open-minded country. Sodomy was decriminalized by the Supreme Court 20 years ago; there are equal opportunity laws protecting workers against discrimination based on sexual orientation; gays can openly serve in the army, inherit their spouse's property, and be registered by the government as married. As of this year, gay Israeli couples are also allowed to adopt children. But in contrast, Israel also has a history of intolerance toward the sector. In Jerusalem, the small annual gay pride parade has to be protected by hundreds of police. Last year, the 2,000 marchers in Jerusalem were threatened and stoned by ultra-Orthodox protesters. Also last year, the Tourism Ministry was forced to stop its support for a campaign to promote gay tourism after details were published in the local media. At the time, dozens of religious members of parliament threatened to bring down the government over the campaign, saying such images as one of two young men in skullcaps about to kiss near Jerusalem's Mount of Olives were offensive. "This is a delusional campaign for a minority with a normative defect," Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai, from the ultrareligious Shas Party, told reporters. "Those who fail to recognize Jerusalem's holiness should stay away from it." The government's solution to such sentiment has led them to take their support for gay tourism into the closet, so to speak. "[Like] other religious countries trying to attract gay tourism, like Spain, the government has turned over marketing to the local level or taken it underground," says Poria. What this means, he explains, is that cities are free to market themselves as they see fit, while the country, officially, continues to market a far more traditional set of attractions. Meanwhile, any official marketing to the gay community is done in a subtle, even unconventional way. "You will not find [Israeli Foreign Minister] Zippi Livni talking about this – but you will see promotional spots for such tourism, supported by the ministry, but not attributed to them, on, say YouTube," says Poria.
October 30, 2008 11 by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk For the past seven years JOH has held Pride events in Jerusalem, in the face of opposition from religious groups. In 2005 a man stabbed three Pride participants and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison. The following year the venue was switched to a sports stadium following violent protests by rightwing opponents who consider the event "a profanity" of the Holy City. Last year about 2,500 gays and activists marched down King David Street despite protests by thousands of people. This year Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition to ban Jerusalem Gay Pride parade. JOH also provides a place for LGBT people of all religions and political views to come together. "Firstly, I would like to remind you of a number of successes, which demonstrate the necessity of the JOH for the city of Jerusalem: diverse cultural and social activities; growing community participation; highly-attended Kabbalot Shabbat; strengthening of the 'reception' team; a sane and safe parade; moving of the Open Clinic to the JOH centre and larger numbers of people tested; growing activities for youth and young adults; new programmes and initiatives in the offing," JOH said. "JOH presently finds itself in a serious cash flow situation, the most serious ramification of which is the delay in paying salaries to our staff. Grants and gifts that were supposed to arrive have not done so on time. Some will still be paid, but regarding others, we are not sure if the donors will be able to hold by their commitment or make their annual donation. The main cause of the present problem is two long-standing annual grants that have not yet been received. We are initiating a series of cuts, some of them quite sweeping: lowering the hours of all staff by an average of 50% and additional reduction in other expenses. At the same time, we will also increase our fundraising efforts in Israel and abroad. I would like to request that you, members of the JOH and the LGBT community in Jerusalem and Israel, as well as all our supporters, take part in ensuring the orderly continuation of activities at the JOH. We do not only need your material help, in funding and operating our various programs, but also your “spiritual” support, by participating in our diverse activities." |
