LGBT history in Israel
19th century
In 1858, the Ottoman Empire ruled the area of modern-day Israel and Palestine as part of Ottoman Syria. It abolished its existing sodomy laws in its Penal Code (Article 198) so long as it was consensual and the consenting partner was above the age of consent.[5]
Beginning in 1882, Ashkenazi Jewish migrants from the Russian Empire fled to Ottoman Palestine in a series of waves to escape rising antisemitism, encouraged by Perez Smolenskin's suggestion that Jews make aliyah to Israel in large movements.[6] Smolenskin's urging of European Jews could be seen as a precursor to Theodor Herzl's Zionism.[6] It is not known if the growth in nuance for homosexuality began with any of the early Russian settlers, as the territory from which they had migrated had largely been populated with homophobic cultural traits; however, as Jewish Russians were only recently beginning to integrate into mainstream Russian society away from the Pale of Settlement [citation needed], views on homosexuality likely sharply differed between Jewish intellectuals and religious clerics when migrating to, and establishing the agricultural settlements in the area.
20th century
1900–1950s
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/BritishMandatePalestine1920.png/220px-BritishMandatePalestine1920.png)
The British Mandate of Palestine was given to Britain in 1923 after the disbandment of the Ottoman Empire following the events of WWI. Now governing a new territory, the British took some interest in the population of Palestine. In terms of sexuality and sexual rights, British involvement began in terms of questionnaires which would question the Palestinian population about their sexual practices and what they considered both unnatural and immoral. It was revealed that in Palestine there existed many ways of “unnatural” sexual expression including sodomy between school boys and acts of lesbian love which were blamed on influences from nearby countries such as Syria and Egypt.[7] Though these acts were not considered horrible to Palestine, they were considered unnatural and immoral to their British colonizers. Thus, throughout British rule of the mandate, Britain would slowly incorporate their homophobic policies into the lives of the Palestinian population.[8] Until 1948, when the British Mandate would be partitioned to give land to the Jewish people, British leaders would encourage the criminalization and punishment of sexual acts that they determined were either unnatural, immoral, or both.[9] Before the intervention of Britain and in the beginning of their intervention, the Palestinian population knew that acts of homosexuality in regards to both genders existed in their society. They deemed these acts as unnatural to the norm but not as immoral to way of life.[7] After British intervention, the population would begin to criminalize these acts and this criminalization would last into the development of the Israeli State in 1948.
The newly formed government of
1960s
In 1960, Rina Ben-Menahem self-published her first book, "הדווקאים", describing the homosexual and lesbian scene in Israel from her first person acquaintance.[13]
In 1963, Justice Cohn denounced sodomy laws, stating that they were outdated and that consensual sexual acts were neither criminal nor morally wrong.[14] By denouncing these policies, Justice Cohn discouraged authorities from enforcing them.
In 1968, Tel Aviv's first gay bar was opened by Amir Sharon in a private apartment.[15] After this, gay clubs pop up around Israeli metropolitan areas and a secret club gains infamy. (See London Ministores Mall).
1970s
In 1975, Israel's first organization to protect LGBT rights is established. (See
1980s
Shulamit Aloni starts bringing attention to LGBT rights in Israeli law in the beginning of the 1980s.[15] In 1988, under Amendment 22 of Israeli Penal Law, same-sex sexual relations between consenting adults were decriminalized.[14] The 1980s also brought employment discrimination protections to lesbian and gay Israelis.[14]
1990s
- In 1992 legislation was introduced to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, with some exemptions for religious organizations.
- In 1993, the Israeli Parliament revised the military rules so that gay, lesbian and bisexual Israelis can serve openly and on an equal footing with their heterosexual counterparts; homosexuals have been allowed to serve openly in the military, including special units.
- The first Pride parade in Tel Aviv took place in 1993.
- MK Yael Dayan makes an impassioned speech before the Knesset for gay and lesbian rights in Israel, quoting Torah passages regarding David's relationship with Jonathan.
- In 1994, unregistered cohabitation was legalized for the first time.
- In 1998, Dana International, a trans woman, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest, winning with her song "Diva".
21st century
2000s
Events and incidents
In 2001, Pride is first held in Eilat (Eilat Pride).
On 30 June 2005, the fourth annual Pride march of Jerusalem took place. It had originally been prohibited by a municipal ban which was cancelled by the court. Many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem's
Another parade, this time billed as an international event,
The
In 2008 the City of Tel Aviv opened the
In August 2009, an armed attacker shot dead two people and injured 15 more in an
Family and relationship rights
An Israeli family court on March 17, 2002, turned down an application from a lesbian couple to have their partnership union declared legal. The couple was united in a civil ceremony in Germany. The women wanted the court to recognize their partnership as a civil marriage, under Israeli law. The court said that since the women are not recognized as a family under Israeli law, the court is not authorized to rule on their case. A government lawyer who was asked by the court to give a legal opinion on the case on behalf of the Israeli government said that the state objected to granting the request.
On December 14, 2004, the
In December 2004, the Tel Aviv District Court ruled that the government cannot
On January 10, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that a lesbian couple is able to legally adopt each other's children. During the past 15 years that Tal and Avital Jarus-Hakak have lived together, they have had a total of three children. In November 2005, a groundbreaking court decision in Israel ruled that a lesbian spouse could officially adopt a child born to her current partner by artificial insemination from an anonymous sperm donor; this ruling came despite protests by the minority Orthodox Jewish parliamentary parties. Following the supreme court ruling, a lesbian couple was allowed to adopt each other's biological children on February 12, 2006. Before that, gay partners of parents were granted guardianship over their partner's children.
On January 29, 2007, following a Supreme Court ruling ordering them to do so, Jerusalem registered its first gay couple, Avi and Binyamin Rose.[19]
In March 2008, Israel's Interior Ministry granted a gay Palestinian from Jenin a rare residency permit to live with his partner of 8 years in Tel Aviv after he said his sexuality put his life in danger in the West Bank.[20]
On March 10, 2009, the Tel Aviv family court ruled that former Knesset member Uzi Even and his partner, Amit Kama, can legally adopt their 30-year-old foster son, Yossi, making them the first same-sex male couple in Israel whose right of adoption has been legally acknowledged.[21]
2010s
In July 2015, Yishai Schlissel, an Orthodox Jew released from prison after spending 10 years in jail for stabbing participants in a 2005 LGBT pride event in Jerusalem, attacked six marchers with a knife. One of the victims, a teenage girl named Shira Banki, died of her wounds.[22] A central square in Jerusalem is to be renamed "Tolerance Square" in memory of Banki.
References
- ^ "The five most improved places for gay tolerance". The Independent. 17 September 2008.
Israel is the only Middle-Eastern country to support gay rights legislation, and the country attracts gay people from Palestine and Lebanon. Tel Aviv has a growing scene and is tolerant and gay-friendly for both men and women.
- ^ "LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East". House of Commons Library. 9 February 2022.
Except for Israel, there are no constitutional, employment, or other protections for LGBT+ people.
- ^ "Could the new government endanger Israel's status as an LGBTQ haven?". The Times of Israel. 18 January 2023.
Israel is known as a gay haven in the Middle East, and Tel Aviv is frequently cited as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, with a Pride parade that draws hundreds of thousands of revelers from Israel and abroad
- ^ "LGBT Rights in Israel". Jewish Virtual Library.
Today, LGBT rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East. Israel became the first country in Asia to recognize unregistered cohabitation between same-sex couples, making it the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions in any capacity.
- ^ Bucknill, John A. Strachey; Utidjian, Haig Apisoghom S. (1913). The Imperial Ottoman Penal Code. London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press. p. 151. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- ^ ISBN 9781317865483. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- ^ a b Fleischmann, Ellen L. “‘Unnatural Vices’ or Unnatural Rule?” Jerusalem Quarterly File, pp. 14–23.
- ^ Westcott, Ben (12 September 2018). "The Homophobic Legacy of the British Empire". CNN. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ ISBN 9781351256209.
- ^ a b Shapira, Avner (6 June 2013). "Pioneering Pride: The Unsung Heroes of Israel's LGBT Community". haaretz.com. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ a b Steiner, Kristof (20 August 2017). "A Timeline of Israel's LGBTQ Progression". Time Out Worldwide. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ “Transgender History Lesson.” AWiderBridge, awiderbridge.org/.
- ^ מענית, שרה (2015-04-18). "למה בשנות ה-60 כתבו על "גל הלסביות בישראל"". Haaretz. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
- ^ a b c HCJ 721/94 El-Al Israel Airlines Ltd v. Jonathan Danielowitz and the National Labour Court (decision rendered on November 30, 1994). Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- ^ a b c "Israel: LGBTQ History - AWiderBridge". awiderbridge.org. 8 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
- ^ WorldPride, archived from the original on 2008-07-19
- Arutz 7. 2006-11-01. Archived from the originalon January 20, 2022.
- ^ "Two killed in shooting at Tel Aviv gay center". Haaretz. 2009-08-02. Archived from the original on 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ Eglash, Ruth (2007-01-30). "Jerusalem registers its first gay couple". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
- ^ "Gay Palestinian gets OK to live with Israeli lover". Reuters. 2008-03-25.
- ^ Edelman, Ofra (2009-03-11). "Gay couple wins right to adopt foster son". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ 16-year-old gay pride marcher dies from stab wounds in Jerusalem CNN, 3 August 2015
Further reading
- Yonay, Yuval (2021). "Gay German Jews and the Arrival of 'Homosexuality' to Mandatory Palestine". Queer Jewish Lives Between Central Europe and Mandatory Palestine. transcript Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8394-5332-2.
- Israel: LGBTQ History from A Wider Bridge: https://awiderbridge.org/today-in-lgbt-israel-history/ Archived 2022-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
- "Parliament legalizes homosexuality in Israel - March 23, 1988": Rosenberg, Carol (March 23, 1988). "Parliament legalizes homosexuality in Israel"[1]. United Press International, Inc. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- Steiner, Kristof (August 30, 2017). "A timeline of Israel's LGBTQ progression". Time Out Israel. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
External links
- Solomont, E.B. "San Francisco festival to showcase Israel’s gay culture " (Archive). Jerusalem Post. 17 April 2010.