It's not the first image that comes to mind when you think of the Middle East.
Thousands of gay people and their supporters marching through streets decorated with rainbow flags to a beach packed for a gay pride festival. But that was the scene last weekend in Tel Aviv as Israel's Mediterranean metropolis greeted its 11th Pride celebration that is coinciding this year with the city's 100th birthday.
Tel Aviv is one of the most gay-friendly cites in the world. Although there are no official numbers, estimates put the gay population at anywhere from 15 percent to 30 percent. The city's population is estimated at 391,000.
That political clout has translated into the city building and fully funding its LGBT center and footing the bill for the Pride parade. Tel Aviv's mayor, Ron Huldai, told the Bay Area Reporter last week that his city very much welcomes gay tourism.
When hearing that this reporter was from San Francisco, Huldai said, "You are the capital of the [gay] community."
When asked if he had ever been to San Francisco, Huldai, said, "Yes, I like San Francisco very much."
Gays in Tel Aviv are not only protected by the city government, but by the Israeli government.
(The reporter's trip was sponsored by Tel Aviv University's iPride organization.)
Lesbians and gay men in Israel have significantly more rights than they do in the United States. Unlike the U.S., same-sex marriages are recognized in Israel if they are performed in another country. Israel does not have civil marriages. Only marriages performed in a synagogue, mosque, or church are recognized. But Israel's common law marriage also applies to gay couples, granting them virtually all the rights of married couples. Gays also serve openly in the military and are allowed to adopt children. Gay characters and celebrities are commonplace on Israeli TV. Israel has an openly gay Knesset member, its third since Marsha Freedman came out as a lesbian in the mid-1970s.
Israel is showing no signs of retreating from gay rights. To coincide with Tel Aviv Pride this year, a group of 20 students from Tel Aviv University organized a series of panel discussions and tours over five days to show off the country's strong record on gay rights. The organization, dubbed iPride, invited LGBT community members from all around the world to attend. The project was part of a fellowship program with StandWithUs, a U.S.-based Israel advocacy nonprofit organization that has the stated goal of promoting a better understanding of Israel through an examination of diverse issues. The students came up with the idea for the project. Perhaps indicative of the widespread support for gay rights among youth in Israel, they are all heterosexual.
The iPride organizers did not steer away from controversy. The students said they invited representatives from gay Palestinian organizations but they declined to attend after learning that there would be media present.
A handful of Israeli pro-Palestinian protesters showed up outside iPride's first panel last Thursday, June 11. They also were invited to be part of the panel discussion but they declined out of concern that they would be seen as endorsing the program. But organizers allowed them to attend as part of the audience and to ask questions of the panel.
"I think it is exploiting LGBT issues to do PR for Israel," Ayala Shani, one of the protesters told the B.A.R. Shani is an Israeli transgender woman.
When asked by the B.A.R. why she doesn't also go to the Palestinian territories to protest the absence of gay rights there, Shani said that it would not be her place to do so because Israel is the occupying power in the territories.
After the speakers were asked a series of pointed questions by some of the protesters, a panel member, Mike Hamel, drew applause when he responded, "Being oppressed does not give you the right to oppress. If you want human rights you have to fight them in your own backyard first."
Hamel is the head of the Aguda, Israel's LGBT organization. Hamel also chastised the protesters for not being part of the panel and telling them that it is counterproductive when opposing sides boycott discussions.
One of the speakers was openly gay Israel Defense Forces Major Yoni Schoenfeld. He was given permission by his superiors to participate in the panel in uniform. The former combat commander is currently the editor of the Israel Defense Forces official weekly newsmagazine. He proudly showed off a recent cover of the magazine that depicted two soldiers on the ground in a kissing embrace. He said the issue was warmly received by both the military brass and rank and file.
Another iPride panel took place in Jerusalem, about a 45-minute drive from Tel Aviv, but in some ways a world apart in gay rights. Unlike Tel Aviv, the city's LGBT center, Jerusalem Open House, currently does not get any city funding and has to rely on public donations, much of which come from the United States. Jerusalem's Pride Parade will take place on Thursday, June 25. Organizers say they don't want to alienate the city's Jewish Orthodox, Muslim, and Christian populations. They are encouraging participants to be respectful and dress modestly. They said they consider the parade to be a political parade, not the party-type of parade that Tel Aviv and other cities around the world host.
Jerusalem no longer has a full-time gay bar. The last gay bar, Shushan, closed in November 2007. A bar called the Edge opened in its place. It has a gay/drag night on Mondays. By the way, the documentary, City of Borders, by San Francisco filmmaker Yun Suh, is based on Shushan and Jerusalem's gay community. It will be shown as part of the Frameline film festival on Tuesday, June 23 at 7 p.m. at the Roxie Theatre. [See coverage in the arts section.] For more information on the gay scene in Jerusalem visit Jerusalem Open House's Web site, http://www.joh.org.il.
While Jerusalem's gay-specific offerings are very limited, Tel Aviv, as you might expect, is the direct opposite. In general, the scene is very late. Nothing gets going until after midnight. Nightclubs are allowed to stay open around the clock. The most popular full-time gay club in Tel Aviv is Evita. It was recently closed for renovations but will be open later this month.
The best bet for visitors to Israel is check out the site http://www.glbt.org.il and click on the gay tourism section. The biggest gay dance parties move between different nightclub venues.
The site also has a great map that you can print out and take with you. Russell Lord, of Kenes Tours, will also be happy to e-mail his gay guide to Tel Aviv if you contact him at [email protected].
Tel Aviv's gay beach is just north of the Hilton Hotel. There are no gay hotels in Tel Aviv, but most are very gay-friendly.
Next week: A look at gay women in Tel Aviv.
Updated, 3/1/24: This article has been updated to indicate the reporter's trip was sponsored by Tel Aviv University's iPride organization.