“It’s not a matter of 'if' but just a matter of 'when'” civil marriage will be a reality in Israel, he said.Īrab Muslims and Christians in Israel have their own religious courts that deal with marriage, but for gay Arab-Israelis and Palestinians, the issue of marriage is the least of their worries. Ohana was at the parade with his partner of 10 years, who he has not yet married because they are waiting until they can say “I do” in Israel. RELATED: What American Jews really think about the Iran deal The LGBT issue is no longer identified just with the left.” “Now we see the monopoly has been broken. “The LGBT community was traditionally aligned with the left,” said Amir Ohana, the head of Likud’s Gay Forum. Their marriages are recognized by the Israeli government upon their return. Without that freedom, most of Israel's same-sex couples who choose to wed do so by traveling to other countries.
One of the greatest obstacles to full equality is that same-sex couples cannot marry, as issues of marriage are in the hands of orthodox rabbinical courts. According to a recent poll, 70% of Israelis support equality for the gay community, and 59% support same-sex marriage. For example, gays, lesbians, and transgender people serve openly in the Israeli military, and the government funds LGBT centers throughout the country. Israeli society as a whole is relatively tolerant considering its religious values, which in most parts of the world lead to more conservative views toward gay rights. RELATED: Pentagon extends protections to LGBT troopsĪnd it's not just Tel Aviv. It’s quite possibly the only mosque in the world - definitely the only one in the Middle East - currently surrounded by rainbow gay pride flags. The bearded, cross-dressing, Austrian winner of the 2014 Eurovision contest performed at the end of the parade route, in a beachside park across the street from a mosque. With this year’s theme dedicated to the transgender community, the city invited Caitlyn Jenner to be the parade’s guest of honor, citing her as “a source of inspiration.” She did not attend, but another transgender celebrity, Conchita Wurst, did. Tel Aviv, he says, is the most accepting, open and gay-friendly place he’s been.Īmong the parade's participants were drag queens and bikini-clad men and women - but also some you might not expect, including government ministers, political party representatives, teens, kids and families. Before that he lived in South Africa and Fort Lauderdale - what he calls “the gay capital of the State of Florida.” Raphael has lived here for seven years, the same amount of time he has been out of the closet. “Tel Aviv is regarded as the gay capital of the Middle East,” said 76-year-old Benny Raphael, who marched on Friday with the Golden Rainbow, a group comprised of gay activists over the age of 60. Considering that the entire population of Tel Aviv is just 420,000, this turnout is proportionately higher than the 2 million who march in the annual pride parade in New York, a city of 8.5 million. The parade, now in its 17th year, drew an estimated 180,000 people on Friday, making it the largest gay pride parade in all of Asia and the Middle East. WATCH: Inside ISIS' attacks against alleged gay men Though LGBT Pride Week here officially kicked off on June 7, Tel Aviv began dotting its streets and the Mediterranean coastline with hundreds of rainbow flags a week earlier in anticipation of approximately 30,000 gay tourists from around the world who have since flown to Tel Aviv specifically for this occasion. So, it may come as a surprise that one of the largest Gay Pride parades in the world is held in a tiny country in the heart of the Middle East, in a city consistently rated one of the best places for gays to live and visit: Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Middle East is also home to the societies with the most anti-gay views. This revelation shocked the world when the Islamic State posted photos of its members allegedly stoning to death and throwing gay men off of buildings in Iraq and Syria. With ISIS now controlling much of Iraq and Syria, there is a de-facto death penalty for homosexuality there as well. In report after report, countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are singled out for imposing the harshest penalties for homosexual activity, including death and lashings. TEL AVIV, Israel - The Middle East isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind when we think of LGBT equality.