Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) rights in Israel are widely considered to be the most
progressive in the Middle East and Asia. Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and
Cyprus are the only countries in the Middle East where same-sex relationships,
practiced in private by two consenting adults, are not considered illegal. In
Israel the age of consent is sixteen years old. Homosexuals are not persecuted
by law and are actually protected by anti-discrimination laws in Israel (ACRI,
2009). Israel remains the only country in the Middle East to provide this type
of legal protection (ACRI, 2009). In many Middle Eastern countries,
homosexuality is illegal and is subject to corporal punishment, a form of physical
punishment applied to the body of an “offender” including the death penalty,
whipping, and imprisonment (Merriam-Webster). Official same-sex marriage, which
is controlled by Israel’s religious authorities, has not yet been sanctioned.
However, same-sex marriages legalized elsewhere are recognized by the
government (ACRI, 2009). Due to this legal constraint, same-sex couples, all
mixed religion heterosexual couples, and any couples wanting a nonreligious
marriage are forced to marry outside the country. Even with this restriction,
Israel has one of the highest percentages of support for civil marriage for
same-sex couples in the world, about 61%, with one in three Israelis supporting
same-sex marriage. (Reid, 2009).
In 1992 legislation was introduced
to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, with
some exemptions for religious organizations (ACRI, 2009). The Israeli
Parliament also revised military rulings in 1993 allowing gay, lesbian, and
bisexual Israelis to openly serve in the military. In November 2005, a landmark
court decision in Israel ruled that a lesbian spouse could officially adopt her
partner’s child, even despite protest by the Orthodox Jewish parliamentary
parties (ACRI, 2009). In August 2009, an armed attacker shot and killed two
people and injured fifteen in an attack on a LGBT center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Many government officials, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed
deep regret about the incident. In 2012, an Israeli lesbian couple living in
London won a case in an Israeli court preventing non-religious organizations
from discriminating on the grounds of sexuality. It was also ruled that sexual
assault was not only sexual exploitation, but included discrimination and
humiliation on the grounds of sexuality as well (Sheinman, 2012).
Tel Aviv is considered one of the
most gay-friendly cities in the world and is famous for its annual gay pride
parade (The Independent, 2012). NPR says that the Israeli government is pushing
Tel Aviv as a ‘safe haven’ for the gay community (Garcia-Navarro, 2012).
However, it’s clear that within Israel acceptance of the gay community is not
universal. Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is far more conservative than Tel
Aviv and there is less tolerance for the gay community (Garcia-Navarro, 2012).
It appears that many of the problems associated with accepting LGBT rights in
Israel are largely due to religion and the ever-present conflict with
Palestine. An example of a relatively recent and shocking event in 2008 was
with Shlomo Benizri, a Knesset member from the religious Shas party and a
member of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s ruling coalition, blamed
an earthquake that had recently struck the Middle East on the activities of
homosexuals (Meranda, 2008). He recommended that instead of simply improving
buildings to withstand earthquakes, the government should pass legislation to
outlaw "perversions like adoptions by lesbian couples”. Benizri stated
that, "A cost-effective way of averting earthquake damage would be to stop
passing legislation on how to encourage homosexual activity in the State of
Israel, which anyways causes earthquakes” (Meranda, 2008).
Many people argue that the
government should not be able to claim any of the success of LGBT rights in
Israel and that the progress should be attributed to the LGBT organizations
etc. They claim that this progress has come in spite of government policies.
What do you think about the government’s progress on this issue? What’s your
reaction to Shlomo Benizri’s statement on earthquakes in the Middle East?
Garcia-Navarro,
L. (2012, June 4). Israel Presents Itself As Haven For Gay Community. In NPR. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/04/154279534/israel-presents-itself-as-haven-for-gay-community
Reid, A. (2009,
August 8). Three-in-Five Israelis Back Same-Sex Marriage. In The Poll
Archive. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/36810/three_in_five_israelis_back_same_sex_marriage/
Protecting and
Promoting LGBT Rights in Israel (2009, February 15). In The Association for
Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). Retrieved
February 24, 2013, from
http://www.acri.org.il/en/2009/02/15/protecting-and-promoting-lgbt-rights-in-israel/
Tel Aviv Opens
Its Arms To Gay Rights (2012, June 9). In The Independent. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/taboo-tolerance/the-five-most-improved-places-for-gay-tolerance-932635.html
Sheinman, A.
(2012, September 20). Israeli lesbians win landmark discrimination case. In The
Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved February 24,
2013, from
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/82788/israeli-lesbians-win-landmark-discrimination-case
Meranda, A.
(2008, February 20). Homosexual activity cause of earthquake, Shas MK says. In Israel
News: Ynetnews. Retrieved February 24,
2013, from http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3509263,00.html
