Israeli protesters fear for the future of their country's precarious LGBTQ rights revolution

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But among other concerns, many Israelis fear that hard-line conservative ministers will roll back LGBTQ rights.

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The ConversationThe Conversation
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https://theconversation.com/israeli-protesters-fear-for-the-future-of-their-countrys-precarious-lgbtq-rights-revolution-205915https://theconversation.com/israeli-protesters-fear-for-the-future-of-their-countrys-precarious-lgbtq-rights-revolution-205915
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Friday, June 2, 2023
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Tags: 
Prejudice, Adoption, Land, Employment, Democracy, Religion, LGBTQ, Culture, Fear, Marriage, Woman, Research, Goal, Movement, Government, Organization, Man, Divorce, TEL, Tel Aviv Pride, Supreme court, Law of the United Kingdom, LGBT rights by country or territory, Pivotal, Knesset, Color, Family, Hunting, Nightclub, Birth control, Film industry, Orthodox, Aguda, Eurovision Song Contest, Jews
Geotags: 
EUROPE, ISRAEL
Summary
Key Points: 
  • But among other concerns, many Israelis fear that hard-line conservative ministers will roll back LGBTQ rights.
  • Opponents, however, fear that Israel’s balance of being a democratic state and a Jewish one is tipping away from democracy.
  • I believe the lack of separation between law and religion has at times actually helped advance LGBTQ Jews’ rights.

The ‘gay decade’

    • Israel’s first LGBTQ organization, The Aguda, was founded in 1975 as a grassroots, volunteer-based human rights nonprofit.
    • A groundbreaking 1983 Aguda pamphlet appealed to scientific evidence and international legal precedents to make the case for ending prejudice and discrimination.
    • Same-sex partners were recognized for welfare in 1994, national insurance benefits in 1999 and pension benefits in 2000.

Uneven gains

    • Municipal and state investments have made the Tel Aviv Pride Parade a top destination for Pride month travelers around the world.
    • The late 1990s and the aughts also saw a significant expansion of organizations to support LGBTQ people and their families.
    • Still, access to protections has always been uneven.

Path to acceptance

    • Although a minority, religious conservatives have been power brokers and members of government coalitions for most of the state of Israel’s history.
    • Yet certain aspects of the country’s political landscape help explain the LGBTQ movement’s successes – as do activists’ strategic choices.
    • First, the lack of separation of state and religion means that Israel does not offer a civil marriage option, even for opposite-sex couples.

Pivotal moment?

    • Jewish religious conservatives have long viewed acceptance of LGBTQ people’s rights as an affront to the state’s Jewish character.
    • In the past, ruling coalitions with both political moderates and Orthodox parties guaranteed some modicum of compromise, including on LGBTQ rights.
    • But the current ruling coalition rests on the support of religious ultranationalists, including ministers who have openly opposed LGBTQ rights.
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