It is not as severe as Iran's nuclear program, not as consensual as the movement calling for a universal draft, and not as hip as the growing fight for social justice. The gay struggle just can't seem to find its place. By Amnon Brownfield Stein There wasn't much pride in the Jerusalem air Thursday evening. The annual pride parade - once a matter of critical national importance, was serene. The pride parades in the city, which started 10 years ago, were no stranger to public controversy. In 2002, Shas MK Nissim Ze’ev said of the marchers, "We must exterminate this…

Israel’s record on gay rights should be applauded and celebrated, just as its record on Palestinian rights should be scrutinized and challenged. But the military should stay out of the first if it can’t find better answers for the second. The Israeli military, the IDF, is enjoying both widespread praise and criticism this week for the posting on its English-language Facebook page of a photo of two uniformed men holding hands. The photo was taken and distributed just days after Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride Parade, which attracted thousands of foreign visitors to Israel. Its distribution comes amid growing accusations that…

A note added on 6/10/12: I've been doing some thinking since this post was first composed, and I'm not sure that I am entirely comfortable with it. In fact, I am more receptive to criticism in the comments than ever before. The critics are right: I did act in a way that was disrespectful to hard working policemen, condemned to stand in the hot sun. They are also right in regarding the story as possibly trivial. It was a specific incident that does not shed light on issues such as pinkwashing. It could have likely happened everywhere, which would mean…

WASHINGTON - Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren delivered a keynote speech at the 20th Annual Equality Forum held over the weekend in the U.S. city of Philadelphia, but his selection as the featured guest angered some pro-Palestinian activists in the LGBT community. The forum is intended to celebrate the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Transgender, Queers and other individuals, often referred to as LGBT.  This year, the Forum's executive committee chose to honor Israel, with its culture capital Tel Aviv recently listed as the number one gay destination in the world.  The committee invited Israel's Ambassador to Washington to address…

For Israel’s gay and lesbian citizens, the passing of a partner can expose existing limitations on rights and an entirely new set of frustrations with the status quo A while ago, I was in the US switching through the channels when I saw comedian-turned-daytime talk show personality Ellen DeGeneres hosting Dolly Parton. The former is (among many things) a prominent lesbian; the latter is a legendary country singer. Naturally, DeGeneres – the activist that she is – asked the famous vocal belle if she supports gay marriage. There was a brief moment of anxiety: would Parton espouse “traditional” southern “family…

Among whispers of pink-washing, and a fraught, sometimes violent history surrounding gay display in Israeli cities, Eyal Warshavsky provides a guest photo blog of last Friday's Gay Pride March in central Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv Gay Pride 2011 - Images by Eyal Warshavsky