Israeli protesters fear for the future of their country's precarious LGBTQ rights revolution
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Friday, June 2, 2023
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But among other concerns, many Israelis fear that hard-line conservative ministers will roll back LGBTQ rights.
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.