Gay Rights in Israel: Yarzheit for Nir Katz and Liz Trobishi

We mourn the loss of the Kedoshim--Nir Katz and Liz Trobishi--who were murdered by savages in a shooting at a weekly support group for gay Jewish youth in Tel-Aviv late last Saturday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this vicious attack, their families, friends and communities.

Today 70,000 Israelis came together in solidarity with the gay community.

President Shimon Peres said, "The bullets that hit the gay community at the beginning of the week struck us all as people, as Jews, as Israelis. All people were created in God's image," he added, "and all citizens have equal rights. All men are born equal, and every citizen has the right to be who he is -- to be free and proud."

Reform and Conservative leaders called on all Jews to take a moment last Sunday to dwell on those who have been murdered and wounded in this attack and to recite Tehillim on their behalf. We hope for some small comfort among the mourners of Israel and the entire world, as well as a speedy recovery, in body and in spirit, to all those injured in this attack. On Monday night at 8:30pm, Mt. Sinai Jewish Center recited Tehillim for those who were killed or hurt in the attack following Mincha/Ma'ariv services.

A small group of religious fanatics will never be able to convince Israel or its citizens that gays have no place in the Jewish state. I have visited Tel Aviv many times, and I am impressed by its gay-friendly atmosphere. Not only does the Israeli government not enforce savage religious laws against gay people the way Iran does, it is somewhat gay-friendly and on the verge of getting even better. Israel shows more humanity and enlightenment than America by allowing gays to openly serve in the military and by allowing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere to be recognized in the state.

This perceived acceptance of gays (I say perceived because any country that only allows straight marriage is homophobic) will always make anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews and extremist Muslims hate Israel with a passion, and it will always cause Zionist Orthodox Jews and Zionist Evangelicals to threaten to withdraw their support.

On the anti-semitic, anti-Zionist right, people like "God Hates Fags" preacher Fred Phelps see gay rights as being part of the "Zionist agenda" and routinely protest Israel for being relatively gay-friendly, and they protest Judaism for being genuinely gay-friendly. His "church" recently picketed a Kansas City synagogue with racist signs showing disgust with the "Fag-filled IDF" and "Fag-infested synagogues." And a gay synagogue in NYC was earlier this year greeted with picket signs saying "Jews Stole The Land" and "God Hates Fags."

http://www.kcjc.com/200906058517/news/phelps-clan-plans-synagogue-picket.html

This diparaging linking of gay rights with Israel finds suprising resonance among hateful right wing anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews (many of whom reject Israel even though they live there) and predictable agreement among extremist Muslims and the small anti-Israel Christian right. And many Zionist evangelicals and Zionist Orthodox Jews couple their enthusiasm for immoral Israeli military actions with disdain and disgust for moral Israeli policies like tolerance for gays. Just as Pat Robertson famously declared that God gave Ariel Sharon a stroke because he conceded some territory to Palestinans, many others like Robertson predict divine punishment for the Jewish state if its leaders fail to end the gay civil rights progress.

In the coming days and weeks and months, there will be an antisemitic backlash from the right because Peres made those pro-gay comments today. Some of that backlash will inevitably spring from those who claim to be Israel's friends.

But as Reform leader Eric Yoffie asked, what sort of friendship is conditional? You either support Israel for the right reasons or you do not. There is no reason to think things will get better. Many extremist Muslims use Israel's relative gay-friendliness--as well as sexy images of Tel Aviv residents having fun and enjoying the night life and beaches--as a wedge between the country and its anti-gay evangelical supporters. In fact, the annual gay Pride party in Jerusalem is a constant reminder that all the religions who find connection with the holy land have extremists who want to stop people from living life. A few years ago, a Muslim leader from the Knesset, Ibrahim Sarsur (United Arab List-Ta'al) "warned gays that 'if they dare to approach the Temple Mount during the World Pride 2006 parade in Jerusalem they will do so over our dead bodies' ("Gay Leader Not Daunted by Muslim Threat.")

Strange bedfellows indeed. People who hate Jews will always, always, always hold Israel to different standards and find some reason to detest/boycott the Jewish state. Fuck those people. But what about those Zionists who threaten to end their support if Israel does not start treating its gay population the way Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine do? Well, we should not be intimidated by them. That's why it was so wrong for Benjamin Netanyahu to make his speech about tolerance of gays so low-key. It's not okay to appease bigots. And that's why it was so important for President Peres to make his speech clear throughout the world, as he did. All decent Zionists must stand strong and send a clear message that truly supporting Israel means supporting all its citizens, including gays and Arabs.

And speaking of Arabs, what about gay Palestinians seeking refuge from their savagely anti-gay environment? Kathleen Peratis writes in The Forward that, "the international movement for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people hardly exists inside the Muslim world" and that "if the sexuality of a gay man in Palestine is exposed, his family might torture or kill him and the police will turn a blind eye. . . The only country in the Middle East in which gay people may safely leave the closet is Israel."

But seeking asylum in the only remotely decent Middle Eastern country poses a problem because of Israel's policies regarding Palestinians. Israel ended its practice of granting asylum to Palestinian nationals because, "in 2002, Palestinians with Israeli identity cards issued under family reunification laws allegedly used that status to aid suicide bombers."

Sadly, the only hope for gay Palestinians seeking refuge from their awful existence in Palestine is to "make their desperate way to Israel" and "hope to disappear into the gay subculture of Tel Aviv or Haifa;" of course this simply means they are buying time until their lack of money and Hebrew gets them caught and subsequently arrested ("For Gay Palestinians, Tel Aviv is Mecca.")

Efforts to challenge this harsh anti-immigrant law must be stepped up. Palestinians who have just cause for fear of persecution in their former country should feel safe in Israel, if only in Israel. And conditions will improve only when Israeli politicians realize they earn no points for not being Iran. No one deserves a humanitarian award for not hanging gay people. No world leader should be lauded for not telling a student body that his country has no homosexuals. Not acting like animals should be expected, not praised. Enforce harsh laws against anti-social behavior from the ultra-religious. Spend money building Reform temples and Conservative (Masorti in Israel) synagogues; court those Jews who have felt alienated from their own anscestral homeland. Grant asylum to gay Palistinians who seek a better way of life in Israel.

As Tony Kushner says, "the world only spins forward." Look at those masses of good, moral Israelis marching in solidarity with their gay brothers and sisters. There is no stopping the gay civil rights progress in Israel. Already better than the U.S., the Jewish state will someday be an absolute haven for gays and lesbians. Any Israeli who has a problem with that should leave. And when Israeli leaders begin to embrace the values of mainstream Judiasm--the two branches of Judaism overwhelmingly chosen by the world's Jews--the Jewish state will actually become more Jewish.