Tel Aviv Pride
Tel Aviv Pride | |
---|---|
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | Tel Aviv |
Country | Israel |
Inaugurated | 1979 |
Participants | More than 250,000 people (2019)[1] |
Tel Aviv Pride (
Historical background
Gay rights in Israel have progressed drastically since the years following the British Mandate over Palestine, when homosexuality was outlawed. The clause stated that “every man who allowed another man to have intercourse with him risked up to ten years of imprisonment.”[4] In the 1960s, the Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr. Yosef Burg, described the phrase of "homosexual Jews" as an oxymoron given the biblical rejection of queer behavior.[4] This provides a framework for the negative perceptions of homosexuality amongst Israeli politicians in the past. The legal code in Israel that once outlawed homosexuality was changed on March 22, 1988, effectively decriminalizing being gay.[5]
Pride Parade
The first event that many consider to be the first 'Pride' event to take place in Israel was a protest in 1979 at Kings of Israel Square. The first time that the Tel Aviv Pride Parade took place was in 1993.[6]
The parade assembles and begins at
As a part of Tel Aviv culture
In the early years of the Pride Parade, the majority of participants were politically motivated. Later on, as the Parade grew, people who took part came with the notion that the Parade should focus on LGBT rights, equality and equal representation, and should not be used as a stage for radical politics, which are not accepted by most of the Parade's participants. Gradually, the Parade came to be less political due to the scale and diversity of participation. In recent years, the Parade's reputation for inclusiveness, along with Tel Aviv's world-class status as a gay-friendly destination and a top party city,[12] has attracted more than 100,000 participants, many of them from around the world.
By 2000, the Parade had evolved from being a political demonstration and became more of a social-entertainment event and street celebration.
The eleventh Tel Aviv Pride Parade, which took place in 2008, was accompanied by the opening of the LGBT Centre in Tel Aviv. This is the first municipal gay centre in Israel, whose purpose is to provide services specifically for members of the city's LGBT community such as health care, cultural events, meetings of different LGBT groups, a coffee shop, and many others.
During the 2009 Pride Parade, which coincided with the centennial celebration of Tel Aviv's historic establishment as a city, five same-sex couples got married in what was called "the wedding of the century" by the Israeli celebrity Gal Uchovsky.
The parade on 10 June 2011 grew to an estimated 100,000 participants and included official representatives of LGBT groups from global companies such as Google and Microsoft. (Tel Aviv boasts one of the largest concentrations of hi-tech companies of any city in the world.)[13][dubious ]
In 2012, the parade attracted crowds exceeding 100,000, making it again the largest gay pride event in the
For 2014, with an anticipated parade attendance of 150,000, a decision was made to move the after-parade beach party from Gordon Beach to
In 2022 pride activists from the sustainability movement begin working on making the Middle East's largest pride parade more ecologically responsible. [15]
Criticism of the Parade
In Israel, LGBT activist groups have also criticized the
Support for the Parade
Proponents of the Pride Parade argue that it is an effective mechanism of integrating the LGBTQIA community into Israeli society.[2] While the parade could have resulted in increased homophobia and anti-gay sentiment, it has fostered positive intergroup relationships.[2] The parade is also supported financially and logistically by the Tel Aviv City Hall. This was the outcome of consistent requests made by Aguda, Israel's LGBT Task Force, in the first five years of the parade's existence.[2]
See also
- LGBT rights in Israel
- LGBT history in Israel
- TLVFest LGBT Film Festival
- Jerusalem gay pride parade
- Haifa Pride
References
- ^ Yaron, Lee (June 14, 2019). "250,000 March in Largest-ever Tel Aviv Pride Parade". Haaretz.
- ^ S2CID 42818506.
- ^ "Pride 2019: The world's 15 biggest LGBTQ celebrations, from New York to Tel Aviv". USA Today Travel. June 10, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Lu, Nancy (June 2018). "Third Place — A Critical Examination of Israeli LGBT Advancements: Genuine Progress or Attempts at Elevated Global Status?". The Yale Review of International Studies.
- ISBN 9781136727382.
- ^ .
- ^ "200,000 crowd Tel Aviv streets for annual pride parade". Times of Israel. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
- ^ "Over 200,000 attend Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade, some 30,000 from abroad". The Times of Israel. June 9, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
- ^ "Tel Aviv pride parade draws 250,000 Israelis, foreigners". NBC News. June 8, 2018.
- ^ "i24NEWS". www.i24news.tv.
- ^ "Tel Aviv Pride Parade held with 250,000 attendants celebrating LGBTQ". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
- Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ Levy, Stephen; Matt Rees (November 9, 1998). "Focus on Technology: The Hot New Tech Cities". Newsweek.
- Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ "Greening the pride parade, Tel Aviv - Green Prophet". June 6, 2022.
- S2CID 33715449.
- ^ "Third Place — A Critical Examination of Israeli LGBT Advancements: Genuine Progress or Attempts at Elevated Global Status? | The Yale Review of International Studies". June 3, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
External links
- Toi Staff, Over 250,000 revelers flood Tel Aviv for Israel’s biggest ever Gay Pride parade, The Times of Israel, June 8, 2018
- Information regarding Tel Aviv Pride on Gay Tel Aviv Website.