Talk:LGBT rights in Israel

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[edit] citation needed?

I removed the "fact" template, as I believe that it is quite clear from the information in the article that Israel ranks among the very few countries in the world that offer such an array of LGBT rights, including extensive anti-discrimination laws, registration of married status and adoption rights for same-sex couples. Aviad2001 18:08, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, the article is indeed written to give that impression. Examples: "Unlike many other democratic nations" (like what?), "half of the gay soldiers were found to be harassed during their army duty" (the right to be harassed?), gay sex was only made legal in 1988 (compared to for instance 1944 in Sweden), employment discrimantion is still legal in some cases and was only made illegal in 1992 (compared to 1987 for Sweden), gay couples are not allowed to adopt (unless it's their partner's child (or they are vultures)), also the issue about marriage/registered partnership seems a bit unclear. // Liftarn

Well, the dates those rights were introduced are irrelevant, as the disputed sentence is in the present tense; gay marriage from abroad is recognized (unlike in Sweden) and anyway unmarried, co-habiting couples are treated as married couples in every respect. That gay soldiers are harrassed (I wasn't, BTW) is also irrelevant to the legal status of gays and lesbians - it's obviously illegal - and anyway cannot be compared with other countries, unless you happen to know of a similar study conducted elsewhere. Also, the disputed sentence talks about Isreal being "one of the most tolerant", not "more tolerant than Sweden" or "The world's most tolerant ever" or anything of the sort. I doubt that you'll be able to come up with more than a handfull of countries with better LGBT rights, and therefore the sentence is correct. Aviad2001 13:42, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

"onw of the top ten most tolerant"... Or whatever. It still needs a source. If none is provided then just remove it and let the facts speak for themselves. // Liftarn

[edit] Orthodox Jewish antigay groups?

I'm curious about the role of antigay Orthodox Jewish groups in opposing LGBT rights in Israel. Could someone add a brief passage on such organisations, their major figures, and whether or not they liaise with any other antigay Orthodox Jews outside the United States? User Calibanu 11.44, 14 July 2007.

Well, anti-gay groups per se don't really exist in Israel. Most of the virulent homophobic rhetoric comes from orthodox (mostly ultra-orthodox) community leaders, Knesset members etc., but a dedicated anti-gay group, to my best knowledge, does not exist. Interestingly, though maybe not surprisingly, homophobic rhetoric is a relatively recent phenomenon, and closely related to the rise in LGBT visibility and acrivism. There is one orthodox organization called "Atzat Nefesh" which purports to "cure" homosexuality (as well as masturbation of any persuasion), but as a rule they actually abstain from "that" sort of rhetoric. Aviad2001 20:58, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Palestinian Issues

I removed the following two paragraphs from the page due to their irrelevance and unencyclopedic language. Thought I would save them here.

The 2005 documentary, Zero Degrees of Separation, looks at the situation with greater complexity as it examines the lives of Ezra Yitzhak, an Israeli, and his partner Fuad, a Palestinian. What most mainstream media fails to mention and is beautifully illuminated in this film, is that as a result of the Intifada, most Palestinian young gay men who might once have had permits to reside or work in Israel, have had them revoked (http://www.medea.be/index.html?page=2&lang=en&doc=284). And so while Israeli laws are progressive for all Israeli gays and lesbians (Arab, Jewish or otherwise), they remain exclusive to that group. A Jewish or Arab Israeli with a Palestinian partner who does not have a permit to live in Israel will never receive that right, regardless of their relationship status. This is true for straights who are common-law or married as well. (http://www.btselem.org/English/Family_Separation/Index.asp)

The 2006 movie The Bubble (הבועה) by Eytan Fox touches on the complicated situation of a gay Palestinian man who attempts to live within Israel in Tel Aviv with his Jewish lover. Like many Palestinian gays and lesbians, he is persecuted for being gay in Palestine and risks prosecution for being resident in Israel illegally. While the movie is not a true story, the story is a reality for many gay and lesbian Palestinians.

Rudy Breteler (talk) 01:30, 19 March 2008 (UTC)