Yanir Dekel @yanirdekel - Tumblr Blog

State Senator Stanley Rosenberg Met with LGBT Leaders in Israel

This article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post on January 8, 2016

Stan Rosenberg, Massachusetts' first openly-gay Senate President, was among ten state Senators who traveled to Israel in early December as part of an ongoing relationship between Massachusetts and Israel, with strong economic and cultural ties. “This was my third trip to Israel over the last thirty years and every time I visit, I come away with a greater appreciation for the complexity of the culture, society, conflict, and people,” the Senator says. “On this trip in particular, a large portion of the curriculum was focused on the strong business and economic connections that exist between Israel and our Commonwealth, so it was encouraging to see the continued prosperous development of the Israeli hi-tech and start up industries.” The delegation spent time at start-up incubators and accelerators, hearing from entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and government officials about how these economies are cultivated and supported. In addition to that, the Senator didn’t skip the opportunity to meet with Israeli LGBT leaders and learn more about the LGBT struggle in the country. “We had the opportunity to meet with two different LGBT activist groups, both with their own distinct compositions and sets of challenges,” he says. “In Jerusalem, we had a group discussion with representatives from the Yerushalmim movement, a civic organization aiming to build Jerusalem as a vibrant, pluralistic, and inclusive city. One of the speakers was Sarah Weil, the founder of the LGBTQ women’s group, Women’s Gathering. She discussed the stabbing that occurred at the 2014 LGBT Pride Parade in Jerusalem and the profound impact it had on the divisions between the LGBT and Jewish Orthodox communities.”

“As a result, she helped organize and then participated in a series of public dialogues between members of the Jewish Orthodox and LGBT community for constructive conversations aimed at growing a mutual understanding and greater sense of community trust.” While in Tel Aviv, the Senator also had a discussion with Imri Kalman and Chen Arieli, joint co-chairs of the Aguda, Israeli’s National LGBT Task Force. “Chen and Imri provided the group with a more general update on LGBT rights and offered their opinions on how the issue of LGBT equality functions in Israeli politics,” he says. “While they believe there have been some successes in winning over the hearts and minds of people, especially in Tel Aviv, they expressed their frustration that this social change has not yet manifested itself into political or legal realities and reform. Having played a role in the fight for marriage equality in Massachusetts, I could relate to the process and the time it takes some people to have a true change of heart on an issue like this.”

LGBT Orthodox Jews Come Out to Teach Tolerance

This article was first published in the Jerusalem Post on December 23, 2015

Under the title “Our Faces,” 44 members of the religious LGBT community revealed their identities and sexual orientation online last week. The campaign that was initiated by members of Bat Kol, an organization of religious lesbian women, and Havruta, the gay men's equivalent, has received major interest and media coverage in Israel and around the world.

“Last summer, after the murder of the late Shira Banki at the Jerusalem Gay Pride, the religious organizations published an ad in the religious newspaper ‘Saturday Night.'” Bat Kol member and co-organizer of the campaign, Zehorit Sorek, explains how it all began. “In the ad, about 100 members of the LGBT religious community signed first and last name and the religious institute in which they studied, and we called on the rabbis to act with tolerance.”

“The ad attracted great interest in the religious community,” Zehriit continues. “Dan Uziel, an active member of Havruta and part of Kehila Datit Ge’ah (Religious Proud Community) raised the idea of taking it a step further, thinking that when you get to know the person standing in front of you, when you hear his story, it brings you closer to him and drops partitions. When we, the gay community is “out there" [as an idea rather then a face] it’s easier for the religious community to say 'they' and ‘those people’, but when we tell our stories and expose our names and faces, that makes it more personal, we are no longer ‘beyond the wall,’ we are the neighbors’ daughter and the babysitter of children in the neighborhood, and we've learned in the same classes- and the fact that they know us can lead to less ignorance and less hatred.”

When Dan approached Zehorit with the idea she immediately saw how it could help decrease LGBTphobia. “ I knew it would be a fantastic project and joined in to help find more women and more people whose exposure would be difficult,” she says. “We contacted them personally, with phone calls, emails and distribution lists.”

The response from within the LGBT community in Israel was amazing and supportive. Not only did the media in Israel cover this extremely well-planned project, including great photography and ad-design of the participants, LGBT media around the world has picked up the story too.

Dana International Opens Up (And Calls Out Caitlyn Jenner)

This article first appeared on The Times of Israel on December 22, 2015

I always like to hear Dana International speaks. Not only because she gives funny and interesting interviews- but also because I find her genuine, intelligent, and most of all-honest. A quality that is truly missed in the entertainment industry.

So, without nothing to promote and after a relatively quiet time in her career, Dana arrived in the studios of popular Israeli website Walla! News, to answer some fans’ questions. “I don’t have a lot to say these days,” Dana explained on why she’s hasn’t been giving interviews to the media lately, “and what I do have to say I’d rather keep to myself, so I won’t get in trouble.”

During the interview Dana was asked if in real life she’s a happy person, just as her public persona is. “To tell you I’m naturally a happy person – I’m really not,” she admitted. “I usually look at the empty half of the glass, and this is something I’ve been dealing with about myself, but it doesn’t bother me because I learn to appreciate and respect the happy minutes and the happy days. They become more precious. It’s not usual for me to wake up happy in the morning.”

#dana international #Israel #transgender #caitlyn jenner #eurovision

Who’s Who Queer Jew

This article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post

This past August the first ‘Eighteen:22’ network, gathered in Salzburg, Austria to talk about the next chapter of LGBTQ Jewish life. The official ‘class’ photo that was released to the media from that gathering really impressed me mostly because in my work as an editor of A Wider Bridge’s online magazine, I’ve managed to connect with many of these people, write about them, and highlight their work. But never have I seen them, these activists who do so much for the community, all in one photo.

Then came the idea to turn this photo into a tool to help people looking to connect with the Jewish LGBTQ world get to know “Who’s Who” and get a glimpse of the wonderful work they’re all doing for the community and, frankly, for the world.

So here’s the guide. Look for the names in the photo and then match them with the blurbs below, appearing in alphabetical order.

#queer #Jewish #LGBT #Eighteen:22 #gay #lesbian #bisexual #transgender

Solving the Riddle of Love

This article first appeared in Tablet Magazine, July 30 2015

When I was single and ads for Tu B’Av, the Jewish Valentine’s Day, would explode across all media throughout Tel Aviv, I would feel thoroughly defeated, deflated. Listening to my friends’ plans—the flowers and the reservations, the gifts and the chocolate—I was reminded just how alone I was, and that my wish for a truly special love might never come.

Obviously this endless romantic failure meant I was just not good enough. After all, there’s some science here: my friends found love and I hadn’t. The men I want don’t want me. This had to mean something. I’m too fat. Too boring. Do I smell? What is it?

I needed to “solve” the “loneliness problem.” And my pursuit of a solution drove me to more guys, more dates, more disappointments. during another Tu B’Av, I sat in my room, listening to songs like Vonda Shepard’s “I Know Him By Heart,” in which she croons, “I know he’s out there somewhere, just beyond my reach.” (You may know this song from the television show, Ally McBeal)

As I cried to my friend Liat on the phone about yet another miserable date she said, “Honey, you know he exists somewhere, and he’s about to arrive in your life. He just had to go to the Supermarket first…” This idea, this simple notion that love really is the alignment of two people’s lives by chance, opened up a whole new way of looking at love for me: There is someone out there for all of us, and we will meet and we will connect at the moment in which we’re both ready to love.

But I wasn’t ready. Not yet. In my first couple of years of therapy I began to understand that being ready for love with someone else starts by loving ourselves. Can you imagine anything more cliché? Awful! But after endless failed and meaningless dates I finally understood that they all end the same way because of me, not because of them. How do I feel about myself? How much do I value my thoughts, my feelings, my time? And based on all of this, do I attract the kind of people who are, themselves, not ready for a relationship? If I’m not ready, and they’re not ready, I end up alone.

“Instead of constantly looking for dates on Grindr and ending up feeling bad about yourself, why don’t you try to use the time for you?” my therapist posited. “Why don’t you develop hobbies, try to write more, concentrate on what you’re eating, maybe volunteer somewhere, and develop a more healthy and full life? Look at yourself in the mirror every day until you finally really love what you see, without judgment. And that care for yourself might open you to a different type of people.”

For one of our sessions my therapist asked me to bring an old photo album from my parents’ home. I never liked seeing myself in photos, and photos from my teenage years were the worst. An awful, ugly, Jewish mama’s boy. “Why are you so angry at yourself in these photos?” my therapist would ask. “Can’t you see how lost and sad this boy is? Nobody really understands him. You should feel compassion for him, not anger.” How powerfully that message hit home. How incredibly hard I had been on myself. How ashamed I was about myself. Nobody deserves that.

Continue reading on Tablet

Israeli lipsyncing group 'Eurofalsh' take the stage in Vienna

This article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post on May 19, 2015

How can a bunch of dancing Israeli Eurovision fans become a European phenomenon? If you ask the 12 Israeli members of “Eurofalsh,” the secret is true love: a true friendship between them, and a shared love for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Tonight, and every night this week, they will take the stage in Vienna, behind the scenes of the Eurovision Song Contest, lipsyncing and reenacting every Eurovision song ever, in the “Euroclub,” the official hang-out of the 37 delegations from all across Europe.

They have a documentary feature based on them; Disney heroes cartoons were made of their faces by fans; When they take the stage every Sunday on “Eurovision Night” in Tel Aviv they have fans who come to see them from all over the world, documenting performances with their phones like in pop star concerts; Eurofalsh is reliving the dream of everyone’s favorite Eurovision song.

“We’re lipsyncing on stage, and perform the exact routine from the Eurovision stages throughout the years,” explains Eran “Luna,” a fashion designer from Tel Aviv, who co-leads the group together with Miki Israeli, a teacher from Haifa. “This is why we’re called ‘Eurofalsh’ [falsh=’false’ in Hebrew slang],” adds Miki, “we are actually imitating the original performances, but with a twist. We add a humor element, whether in extreme movements or facial expressions.” They perform every Sunday on “Eurovision Night” at Tel Aviv’s most famous gay bar, Evita, and have been doing so officially since 2004. “Tourists come and tell us that they are booking their flights according to how many Sundays they’re going to stay in Israel and come see us,” Miki says, “people tell us ‘I booked my flight to arrive on Sunday and to leave the next Monday morning so I’ll get to see you twice.’”

A few years ago, a Danish Eurovision fan saw them perform in Tel Aviv, and when his country won two years ago and he was chosen to produce the “Euroclub,” he knew that there would be no one else who could get the party going more than Eurofalsh. “We were invited to Denmark to perform last year, and we took the stage every day for a week which was amazing,” says Eran, “and this year the Municipality of Vienna, which is responsible for the events in the city during Eurovision Week, has invited us to do it again.” It started over a decade ago, surprisingly, with the song “Od Nagia,” that never made it to Eurovision, but finished 3rd in the 1985 pre-selection contest. A bunch of Eurovision fans randomly started doing the original routine for the song, and for fun started practicing and mimicking exact performances of other Eurovision songs. “I knew the routines since I was a kid. I used to sit in front of the VCR and learn from the TV,” says Miki, who was one of the first people to join the group. The rest became a part of Tel Aviv’s vibrant gay life’s history. ‘Eurofalsh’ made its official debut performance at Tel Aviv’s Theater Club in 2005 and since then European tourists who come to Tel Aviv are surprised to see songs from their countries, in their own language, performed exactly as they were on the Eurovision stage.

Continue reading in the Jerusalem Post

#Eurofalsh #Israel #gay #Jerusalem Post #Tel Aviv #Eurovision

Should Parents Decide the Gender of Their Intersex Children?

This article first appeared in the Times of Israel on May 15, 2015

A news story on Ynet about a sexual reassignment surgery that was performed in Haifa’s Ben Tzion hospital on a two-year-old kid who was born intersex sparked angry responses in the LGBT community in Israel.

The 2-year-old was born intersex (Ambigious Genitalia), which means he/she was born with both female and male genitalia. In this situation the gender of the baby is not assigned. This week, the baby was sent home after the doctors (with the permission of the baby’s parents) decided to remove the male genitalia and leave the baby only with female genitalia.

“This surgery is totally unacceptable,” wrote Elisha Alexander, director of the organization Ma’avarim, which helps the transgender community in Israel. “In recent years it’s more common to let the child grow and decide who he/she is. Maybe she will grow up to be a woman, but if the doctors performed the surgery on a boy, the amputation was for nothing!”

“Lately, more and more western countries forbid the performance of this surgery on babies and kids without their permission,” continued Alexander. “It’s a scandal that transgender people, who know who they are, have to go through a committee and investigations to make sure that their situation is real, but a two-year-old baby, helpless, who can’t speak and tell his parents who he really is, has to go through this surgery without the ability to even oppose it.”

“When will people learn that intersex is part of the norm and not a ‘phenomenon’?? It’s said that the parents force gender on their child,” said Maayan, in one of the comments.

According to the Ynet article, written by Dr. Itay Gal, babies who are born intersex in Israel are going through gender reassignment surgery as early as possible in order to allow them a normal development and to prevent stigmas and damage to the mental development of the baby.

According to the article, one in every 2000 babies is born intersex, and an estimated 2% of all society are intersex.

Suzan, an Israeli Intersex activist, has launched a Facebook page ‘Rights of Intersex in Israel’ and is working to bring awareness to the issue on the Internet and beyond. Today (Thursday) Tel Aviv’s Cinematheque is premiering a documentary on Suzan’s life, called “Third Person.”

#Israel #intersex #transgender #Tel Aviv

Gay Israeli media personality Gal Uchovsky heads to a speaking tour in the US in May

This article originally appeared in the Jerusalem Post on April 29, 2015

Gal Uchovsky thinks that Israel is some kind of haven for people from the LGBT community. “It relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he teases. "It's also related to the death of soldiers, of young people, throughout the years. Israel is not a traditional country in the sense of long-term traditions. I mean, Israel is a country in which public opinion moves easily and people adopt changes very fast, technologic changes and all sorts of things that I explain in my lectures.” Gal Uchovsky promises to elaborate on this subject in May, as he’s coming for a speaking tour in the United States, and will speak in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. “Since these talks were defined as discussions on media and in films as LGBT agents, I’m going to review selected parts from our movies and talk about how they affect the conversation in Israel, how they change people’s views, and I’ll of course elaborate on the subject, according to my opinion, on why the LGBT community in Israel is so prosperous,” Uchovsky says. Journalist and TV host Gal Uchovsky has been one of the most prominent faces in the gay community in Israel for decades, and long-time partner of director Eytan Fox. Together they’re Israel’s biggest power couple, and not only have they been activists in the gay community for so long, Eytan Fox’s movies must be considered a part of the high momentum of 'hotness' that Israeli men are being considered around the world. Who can forget that sexy kissing scene in 'Yossi & Jagger'? The hot Mossad agent in ‘Walk on Water’ and even the cute teacher in ‘Cupcakes?’ Not only were they all attractive to gay people beyond Israel's borders, they also changed society’s views on gay people. Beyond his work in TV and journalism, Uchovsky, is listed as one of the producers of 'Yossi & Jagger', and wrote the script for “Walk on Water” and “The Bubble.” His involvement in the film industry as well as in LGBT activism for so many years gives him a comprehensive and unique view of the current situation of the LGBT community in Israel. “The community, especially after the latest elections in Israel, is going right," Uchovsky says. "The most interesting and the most important body in the community at the moment is the LGBT forum in the Likud.”

#Gal Uchovsky #gay #Israel #LGBT

Stav Strashko, the First Ever Zionist Androgynous Model

This article first appeared on The Times of Israel

Stav Strashko has been one of the hottest names on the international modeling scene in the past couple of years, and was just marked by fashion magazine Elle as the next top model. He’s walking the runways of Donna Karen and Tom Brown in New York and other catwalks around the world and appearing in the TV ad for automotive giant Toyota and the international ad campaign for Diesel.

But what distinguishes Stav, who is photographed as a beautiful woman, is the fact that he is actually a man. Not a transgender, but just a 22 year old guy from Ramat Gan who was spotted at a mall in Italy a few years ago by a scout and was told he’d probably look better as a woman. “He said my bone structure was amazing and my physique would be perfect for modeling,” Stav told Closer magazine. “I was so excited.”

Strashko was signed to a modeling agency and the idea for him appearing as a female model came during his first shoot. “They told me I was going to be androgynous,” he says. “I wore an array of unisex outfits.”

#Stav Strashko #unisex #gay #fashion #model

Between mental health, sexuality, gender and faith: First of its kind conference takes place in NYC

This article first appearing in the Jerusalem Post on April 10, 2015

With President Obama and the White House condemning therapy to ‘cure’ gay youth earlier this week, there couldn’t be a better time to have a conference for mental health professionals on the topic of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Orthodox Jewish Community. The issue of “conversion” therapy within the Jewish community has taken center stage many times in the media in Israel and around the world. In January 2014 a ban took effect on "sexual orientation change efforts" that was passed by the California Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. In February this year, a judge in New Jersey ruled that claims by gay conversion therapists that homosexuality is a curable mental disorder are fraud. But still, religious groups speak in favor of this treatment and practice “conversion” therapy on gay men and youth, even though it has been proven to be nothing but a fraud. A conference titled Desire, Faith & Psychotherapy is taking place in New York for the first time on Sunday, April 19. It will focus on the treatment of LGBTQ people in the Orthodox and Hasidic communities and targets those interested in mental health, rabbinics and Jewish education. Behind this historic event stands Mordechai Levovitz, Executive Director of the organization Jewish Queer Youth (JQY), whose personal story about undergoing conversion therapy has also reached national news. “The Conference was a long time in the making,” Levovitz says. “JQY's focus is on LGBT Jewish at-risk youth, so we spend most of our time dealing in communities where familial and communal rejection are high. LGBT kids growing up in Orthodox, Hasidic and Sephardic homes were found to be the most vulnerable. Despite this, there are few resources for them. In NYC this is no small problem, because 72% of Jewish Children are from Orthodox homes. This means that the vast majority of LGBT Jewish youth will be from the Orthodox community.” The program features experts in the mental health field of sexuality and gender, along with leading Orthodox Rabbinic authorities and clinical professionals with experience working with LGBT people from the Orthodox and Hasidic communities. They will present cases, review the latest research and develop a conceptual framework in which therapists and Orthodox rabbis can work together to offer the best care. “We chose speakers with the most expertise and experience in these topics,” says Mordechai. “When it comes to a mental health understanding of sexuality and gender, the William Alanson White Institute is renowned for its leadership. It consulted with the top mental health professionals in the field of sexuality and gender, with a focus on LGBT clients. With respect to rabbis, we wanted to reach out to mainstream Orthodox rabbis with connections to large establishment institutions. We started with the RCA, the Rabbinical Council of America. We were able to book Rabbi Mark Dratch, the Executive Vice President and Past President Rabbi S Goldin. Having this caliber of Orthodox rabbinic support and involvement for this kind of event is truly unprecedented in the US.”

#JQY #Mordechai Levovitz #Jewish #gay #therapy #conversion #ex-gay #religion

Your Gay Version of a Hebrew Class

This article was first published in the Jerusalem Post on March 29, 2015

LGBT Olim (LGBT Immigrants) group has given the old Ulpan - the Hebrew class for immigrants to Israel - a new twist: “Qulpan,” a queer Ulpan, is a Hebrew class that focuses on life in the LGBT community. “It’s a safe place for LGBT people to learn and practice Hebrew without having to censor themselves,” says Roy Freeman, manager of the LGBT Olim group and organizer of the class. "We discuss topics that are of interest to the LGBT community and also learn vocabulary that wouldn't be taught at Ulpan, street language that gay and lesbian Israelis would use.” The Ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the basic language skills of conversation, writing and comprehension. In addition, according to Freeman, topics that are being discussed in the Ulpan include: should women should stay at home or whether the busses should run on Shabbat, "Topics that aren't worth discussing," Freeman says. In the Qulpan, the topics that are being covered are taken from the real lives of LGBT people in Tel Aviv, and topics that the students bring to class from their own experience. “I think the best way to learn a language is not only by reciting grammatical rules,” says Amit Lev, the instructor of the class, “but speaking the language, reading poems and song lyrics, watching TV, talking to strangers - all of these methods can enrich one's vocabulary much more than looking at a list of words and memorizing them.” Also, according to Amit, it's easier to learn words if you know their origin or an anecdote related to them. “Since modern Hebrew is a resurrected language, we have a lot of information about etymology, and I love to bring it into the group, “he says. "For example, did you know that a Sherut Taxi (those minivans that run along bus routes in Tel Aviv) is not named Sherut, Hebrew for Service, because they service places. It came from the British ‘Shared Route Taxis,’ when the Brits ruled Palestine.”

#gay #LGBT #immigrants #Israel #Tel Aviv #Hebrew #Pride #Olim #queer #Ulpan #language

The Israeli Origin of “The First Gay Infomercial”

This article was first published on The Times of Israel on March 25, 2015

The current TV ad for Boy Butter, a personal lubricant targeting gay customers, is dubbed “The first gay infomercial.” This amusing infomercial-style ad presents a shirtless guy standing in his kitchen wearing only an apron while raving about “the wonder of the product,” complete with a demonstration of a cucumber engaging in an unseemly act with a laundry sock.

The man behind the Boy Butter brand is Eyal Feldman, a 37 year old Israeli from New York who decided to take on the embarrassment and stigma surrounding sexual lubricants, and for him the secret is the packaging. “Boy Butter packaging is meant to evoke that traditional down-home American butter containers found in every super market and grocery store,” Feldman says. “This is my schtick, adult products in food packaging, because no one is ashamed of buying food, it’s just visually more palatable.”

The comic infomercial that followed seemed like a natural step. “We came up with the idea because it would make people smile, and if you use humor it can be very effective,” Eyal explains. “For right now we are airing this commercial in our two largest markets, NYC and Los Angeles on LOGO and nationally on OutTV in Canada during the next 12 more weeks.”

Born in Israel in 1977, Eyal’s family moved to America in 1980 to join relatives in the US in one of the major waves of Israeli emigration to the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, which today has one of the highest populations of Israeli expats in the world. “I was growing up speaking Hebrew and English at home,” Feldman recalls. “My father and his partners found success in the manufacturing of custom picture frames with a factory that catered to individuals, casinos, museums and galleries worldwide. My sisters and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel almost every summer with my parents for up to a month to Israel for camp, outings and family visits, especially with my grandparents and cousins in Ramat Gan and my large extended family living throughout the country.”Co

#gay #sexy #muscle #sex #lube #Israel #Boy Butter

Nigerian LGBT Activist Headed to Israel

This article was first published in The Times of Israel on March 19, 2015

In some parts of Nigeria, people are being executed for being gay or lesbian. Nigerian LGBT rights activist Davis Mac-Iyalla, leader of the human rights organization Changing Attitude is trying his best to let the world know what happens there, through telling his personal story. In June he will arrive in Israel to speak at the international LGBT conference in Tel Aviv.

Davis Mac-Iyalla was fired from his job as a school principal just for being gay. Two years later he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Nigerian police. In 2008 he was granted asylum in the UK, and since then he’s made it his life mission to change the attitude of Nigeria toward LGBT people. “I still have lots of LGBT friends in Nigeria,” Mac-Iyalla says. “Nigeria is not a safe place to be an LGBT person. Under the law in Nigeria LGBT people can be persecuted and face up to 14 years in prison if they get married or show affection in public. Groups and those who provide services can get up to ten years in prison if they don’t disclose when gay people come to use their services. Stigma and violent attacks are on the rise. Most LGBT Nigerians have to live a lie about their sexuality because of social acceptability.”

Since March 2008, Mac-Iyalla received emails and text messages originating from Nigeria, threatening to kill him. He relocated to Togo, where he was also brutally attacked. He had no choice but to request asylum, which he says was a very painful decision to make. But he knows that West Africa is not safe for him. “Mobile phone and the internet help me to stay in contact with my Nigerian friends, family and allies,” he says. “I have frequently visited other countries in West Africa where friends and family from Nigeria have come to meet me.”

Read more: The Times of Israel

Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau meets LGBT leaders in Los Angeles

This article was originally appeared in the Jerusalem Post on March 12, 2015

Leaders of the LGBT and Hispanic communities met Monday with the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Uzi Landau, to discuss sending a delegation to Israel to promote travel, commerce and cooperation between Los Angeles and Israel. The meeting was initiated by Vice-Chair of Public Policy for the American Jewish Committee and Candidate for West Hollywood City Council, Cole Ettman. Ettman, who’s Jewish, and very passionate about Israel, considers bringing LGBT leaders to Israel as one of his personal missions. “With the growth of BDS on college campuses and increased anti-semitism, it is imperative to have other groups by your side,” Cole says. “It really hurts to hear that LGBT student groups would be swayed to support The Students for Justice in Palestine. How can they not understand that Israel is the only place in the Middle East where a gay individual is safe, and also welcome. Where women and minorities have equal rights. Where democracy prevails.” “This is why I want to bring non Jews to Israel, those with constituencies that will listen to their experiences in Israel. They are leaders of diverse groups at major Fortune 500 organizations, marketing professionals, political and community leaders.” In February , the American Jewish Committee held an event at the Los Angeles Cathedral of the Angels in conjunction with the Archdiocese, where Ettman met Scott Feinerman, who serves as Director of Travel Industry Relations at the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. “After discussing my efforts to bring LGBT leaders to Israel, we kept in touch,” explains Ettman, “and shortly after that I was invited to meet the Israeli Minister of Tourism on his recent trip to Los Angeles. I brought leaders from both the LGBT and Hispanic communities. I presented my plan to create a delegation of Los Angeles based LGBT leaders with strong constituencies here to visit Israel with the purpose of educating people, building closer relations between Southern California and Israel and to promote Israeli tourism.” Uzi Landau is a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu, a party that has never publicly advocated the LGBT community agenda, nor does it have an LGBT members forum. Minister Landau himself has refrained from voting in the last few Knesset bills for equal rights for the LGBT community, and in the past even voted against equal rights. Nevertheless, in his meeting with Ettman and the other LGBT leaders, Landau discussed human and civil rights in Israel and mentioned the thriving LGBT community in Tel Aviv and its community center. “We discussed LGBT individuals traveling from all over the world coming to Israel and the tremendous pride celebration,” Cole says. “The Minister was very pleased with our presentation and has committed, along with the Los Angeles Consulate to make this project a reality.”

#Gay #travel #tourism #Tel Aviv #Israel #Los Angeles #Jewish #Hispanic #BDS

Madonna Performs Israeli-DJ Remix in France

This article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post on March 3, 2015

Famous gay Israeli DJ and producer Offer Nissim has uploaded a video of Madonna performing her latest hit "Living For Love"in a remix that he created for her.

The remix, called Offer Nissim Living For Drums, was performed in France on the TV show Le Grand Journal, on March 2, and this time - with no dress malfunctions. Nissim uploaded the video with the caption “Thank you QUEEN M. for using my sounds in your amazing shows.”

This isn’t the first time the Israeli DJ has cooperated with Madonna. The cooperation between the queen of pop and the king (queen!) of Tel Aviv gay nightlife began almost three years ago, when Nissim was chosen to open for Madonna at her concert in Ramat Gan, which was very successful. Later he was asked by Madonna’s management team to open for her in other locations on her European tour.

At the same time Offer Nissim created three official remixes for songs from Madonna's previous album, MDNA, including "Girls Gone Wild" and "Turn Up The Radio" that became more popular than the original versions of the song.

Continue reading in the Jerusalem Post

#Madonna #Offer Nissim #gay #Israel #France #livingforlove #rebelheart

Israeli LGBT activist to speak at AIPAC's major conference

This article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post on February 27, 2015

Israeli LGBT Activist Dan Slyper was invited by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to speak at the organization's 2015 Policy Conference. On Monday, March 2, Slyper will participate in a moderated panel discussion about LGBT support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. The panel, that also includes A Wider Bridge’s Executive Director Arthur Slepian, will explore how Jewish and non-Jewish members of the LGBT community are making the LGBT case for Israel. Earlier that day, Slyper is scheduled to give a speech in front of American Congress members and Jewish leaders about the situation of the LGBT community in Israel. “I’m going to talk about Israel's very significant progress in its LGBT rights situation, and in addition I'm going to point out that in some areas, like gay marriage, other countries are much more advanced while Israel is far behind. I’m going to call for the attendees to influence the Israeli government to make a progress in this subject as well as other issues.” Slyper, an out gay teacher from Tel Aviv, has been a prominent activist in the LGBT community since the horrible murder of three teenagers at the Bar Noar gay center in 2009. AIPAC reached him a couple of years ago through representatives of the Labor party after he launched the LGBT forum of the party back in 2011. “AIPAC from time to time brings groups of American opinion leaders in order to connect them to Israel,” he explains. “I was asked alongside other activists from other areas of activism to present to these groups the complexity of Israeli society, which included the situation of the Israeli LGBT community.” Slyper spoke at a similar convention in 2012 and the response was very positive. “I present Israel in a very positive light in the area of LGBT rights,” he says, “even though I explain that we still have a long way to go in order to have full equality and recognition in the community.” AIPAC’s 3-day conference begins Sunday, March 1 in Washington DC and among the long list of speakers and attendants will be US Senators Joe Manchin and Ben Sasse, Congressmen Carlos Curbelo, Ted Deutch, Mario Diaz-Balart, Eliot Engel, Tulsi Gabbard, Ruben Gallego, Kay Granger, Steve Israel, Ed Royce, Brad Sherman, Kyrsten Sinema, Elise Stefanik, Norma Torres and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Also scheduled to speak at the conference are Consul General of Israel in New York Ido Aharoni, CNN’s Paul Begala and Israel Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States and Canada, Maj. Gen. Yaakov Ayish. “I think that AIPAC is really attached to the LGBT issues,” says Dan. "The proof of that is the two panels and the dinner in which we will take part this year, Mr. Slepian and I and other people. In general, American Jewry is defined as progressive and AIPAC as an organization that represents this group sees itself similarly”

#Israel #gay #LGBT #Tel Aviv #washington #AIPAC #Dan Slyper

Behind the Oscars’ most talked-about acceptance speech

This article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post on February 24, 2015

There is something very genuine about Graham Moore (The Imitation Game’s screenwriter who won an Oscar on Sunday for Best Adapted Screenplay) and I noticed that earlier on Sunday, while other nominees were busy showing their preparations for the big day on social media– Graham just shared a cute “complaint" about his Jewish mom...

#Graham Moore #Oscars #the imitation game #Jewish #gay

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