Why so many gay israeli
Israel set to have document number of openly same-sex attracted MPs
Israel is set to have a record number of openly gay MPs after new rules allowing cabinet members to provide up their seats came into effect.
Six gay MPs from five parties across the political spectrum will serve in the 120-seat Knesset as a product.
Last year, Israel appointed its first openly same-sex attracted minister.
The country has the most progressive attitude towards LGBTQ people in the Middle East, despite disagreement from some conservative sections of society.
They are protected by anti-discrimination laws, contain adoption and same-sex inheritance rights, and have been allowed to serve in the military since 1993.
A member of a centrist faction - Yorai Lahav-Hertzano - will become the sixth openly gay MP when he is sworn in next week.
He replaces one of five MPs from Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz's Blue and White party, who submitted their resignations on Wednesday under a new rule which allows MPs who are also ministers to give up their seats but stay in government.
Last year, Amir Ohana, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, became Israel's first openly
The first time I participated in a gay pride celebration was in 1981, when I marched with my mother as part of the contingent from PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Those were the preceding days of homosexual pride (the first gay pride celebration was held in 1970 in Brand-new York City) and many of us were inching our way out of those proverbial closets and coming to terms with issues of identity, coming out to families, and fighting discrimination at our jobs. Marriage equality was not on the horizon and the AIDS pandemic was a few years away.
Fast forward almost 40 years. I’m still marching, but now in the gay pride parades in Israel, ever since our family – my husband, Rabbi Donald Goor, I, and our cat Merlin – made aliyah in 2013. (Merlin, by the way, does not march.)
Although Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are only 36 miles apart, there is a nature of difference in their gay self-acceptance parades.
Tel Aviv is a booming, bulging Mediterranean metropolis with a population that is mostly secular or mildly attentive. During Gay Identity week, the main boulevards and streets are festooned with the rainbow flag. Tel Aviv boasts one of the world’s largest LGBTQ communities, with recent estimates claiming
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This is a guest essay written by Blake Flayton, a columnist living in Tel Aviv and co-founder of the Fresh Zionist Congress.
You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, YouTube, and Spotify.
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I had not heard of Emil Wakim until a few days ago. What a shame; he is very handsome.
Like many others, I was unaware of the dashing Lebanese-American comedian until his segment in a fresh episode last week of the widespread American TV reveal, “Saturday Night Live.”
In his bit, Wakim said that if Israel stopped bombing Gaza, Palestinians there “would get to gay.” This reflects a belief, more widespread than many realize, that if societies which ruthlessly oppress gay people were simply left free from “Western interference” and its odious manifestations, they would eventually possess the opportunity — like others contain had — to liberalize naturally and get things right.
As per usual, after even the smallest nod to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, social media users were aflame in fury. One popular pro-Israel account wrote: “Emil Wakim, the latest woke SNL cast mem
The sources of Judaism’s traditional position on homosexuality and gay issues are adv known. Two verses in Leviticus (Leviticus 18:23 and Leviticus 20:13) express unequivocal condemnation of male queer sex (although it is not clear whether what is referred to is intercourse or all sexual acts between men). According to Leviticus 20:13: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a gal, both of them acquire committed an abomination; they shall surely be place to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
READ: Putting The Prohibition Against Homosexuality in Context
As manifest by its language, the biblical prohibition does not extend to female gay acts, though later commentators disapproved of lesbianism. One rabbinic source associates female homosexuality with the activities of the Egyptians and Canaanites, from which the Jews are supposed to abstain. Other authorities explain lesbianism as lewd or promiscuous, but do not consider it a capital offense. The Leviticus verses also imply that it is the act of homosexual sex, not the homosexual person, that is abhorred.
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“Are there gay Jews?”
I’ve often been asked: do you have problems as a Jew in Germany? And I have to say: I’ve actually had more negative experiences related to my homosexuality. I always wear the Magen David, the Star of David, around my neck. In the summer at the pool, it’s clearly evident. And I’ve never had problems with it. In Germany today, I can live my homosexuality as well as my faith, my Jewishness. So as a Jew I’ve made my peace with Germany.
I come from a secular family: we’re believers, and we’re part of a congregation, but we’re not strictly pious. Especially when you’re young, when you spend time partying and enjoying life, and then you go to synagogue, you can have difficulties. When I came out of the closet and started to live my homosexuality openly, I noticed that it disturbed people that I wasn’t as much a part of the congregation anymore. I no longer felt at home in my parents’ community, so I left. I have always felt like a bit of an alien there – like I didn’t really belong.