For a country that has been known to have such influential and powerful religious background, LGBT is something that may not seem as acceptable as it is today in the country of Israel. The country, more specifically Tel Aviv, has been known to be the most gay-friendly city in the entire world. What is aimed to be discussed here is the diversity of different attitudes towards the LGBT community in Israel. From three different sources, I will be discussing what the outlook is for the LGBT community in Israel from each of the different points of views by each author.
The first Source that was used to explain the diversity of LGBT culture in Israel was the book “The Israelis” by Donna Rosenthal. More specifically chapter 17, “Oy! Gay?” Within the first few paragraphs, homosexuality is said to be a very open and accepted part for most of the country. A perfect example of showing acceptance of homosexuality by a country is by receiving recognition from a country's leader. This is exactly what happened in 1998 when a transsexual, Dana International,
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| Dana International |
was congratulated by the Prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, and president Moshe Katsav, for an award she had received. It was because of this, homosexuality was becoming a very accepted part of the Israeli society, and as stated by Rosenthal, “Fifteen thousand Israelis turned out for the country's first gay pride parade...gay couples walked hand in hand...heterosexual couples brought their children to show support...no one dreamed so many Israelis would feel safe to ‘come out’ ” (Rosenthal 357-358). Throughout the chapter, Rosenthal shows positivity towards the openness and acceptance of homosexuals in Israel by giving examples from people that have come out as homosexual and have proven to live a happier life because of it. She even describes the positivity of homosexuality and religion intertwined by stating, “Although religious Jews are considered an abomination, there are few protests” (Rosenthal 358). This source gave more of an open idea to LGBT people and showed that Israel is a very accepting country for this group of people.
The second source that was used to help define homosexuality views in Israel was “Conceiving Judaism The Challenges of Same-Sex Parenthood”, by Sibylle Lustenberger. In this article, Lustenberger aims to help show that same-sex parents are just as qualified as heterosexual parents when raising a child. Lustenberger puts much emphasis on the religious aspect as well as the traditions in Judaism. Lustenberger primary focus was on the child’s brit milah and simchat bat, saying that, “same-sex couples do not tear apart the conflation between Israeliness and Jewishness when they mark their children’s birth through brit milah and simchat bat. They do not diminish the significance of Judaism in Israel” (Lustenberger 153) Her thoughts are that even though a
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| Same-sex couples with their children |
homosexual couple does not seem right in a Rabbis eye, the child is still being performed the ritual that keeps the tradition of Judaism flourishing. When reading Lustenberger’s article, her viewpoint on homosexuality is definitely positive, seeing that she believes same-sex couples deserve to be together, and more importantly have the right to bear a child together to be brought up through Judaism. Lustenberger is a very reliable source when it comes to her points of views and information provided for these reasons. She is a PhD student at the Institute of Social Anthropology of the University of Bern, Switzerland, in addition she had lived in Israel where she had first hand experience learning about the same-sex couples and the process of having a child together. This article helped prove that same-sex couples are able to raise a child regardless of religion, and showed that the LGBT community is becoming a more welcomed group in today’s Israel.
The last article that was used to explain what homosexuality is defined as in Israel was from the Haaretz website. The name of the article was “Pioneering Pride: The Unsung Heroes of Israel's LGBT Community”, by Avner Shapira, talked about two important individuals who had to experience the difficulties of being a homosexual in Israel many years ago when homosexuality was deemed as purely bad. The first individual was Rina Natan, a transsexual (male to female) who had the struggle of facing her true biological gender while living in Israel during the 1950’s. Her main struggle was the fact that having a sex change was both illegal and medically wrong, yet she still managed to undergo the surgery after cutting off her own penis, thus forcing doctors to cut off and clean up the rest in order to save her life. As Shapira mentions a quote from Dr. Iris Rachamimov, “It was the first surgery in Israel of a transgender woman that was the result of choice − unlike previous operations on inter-sex patients.” (Shapira) Rina was given a new passport and ID that showed her new gender, a remarkable first step into acceptance of homosexuals in Israel.
The second individual was a poet, Mordechai Georgo Langer,
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| Mordechai Georgo Langer |
who was born in 1894 in Prague to an assimilated, liberal Jewish family. Langer tried to use poetry and writing in order to coincide Judaism and homosexuality. Langer even had a theory that he wrote in his book “The Eroticism of Kabbalah,” that sex and love is at the basis of the Torah. Shapira states that, “Langer not only insisted that Judaism had an erotic strain; he also tried to prove that it contained deep homoerotic underpinnings, contrary, of course, to the accepted notion that the religion completely rejects homosexuality” (Shapira) While reading Shapira’s article, trying to find her point of view on the subject was quite easy. She is very open to the idea of homosexuality and believes the rest of Israel should feel the same way. Shapira seems to be a very feminist women and is pro same-sax relationships and LGBT people. Shapira used a couple of reputable sources for her article, including a professor and a journalist, giving extra credibility and resource to her main points in her article. This article helped show that even in the past where homosexuality was strongly looked down upon, the LGBT community was starting to make a breakthrough in Israel, and helped build the roadway for an even more accepting society in Israel today.
