Instead of giving asylum seekers the benefit of the doubt, as international law prescribes, in Israel, the district courts find doubts, the Supreme Court approves their decisions, and persecuted peoples are deported before the merits of their cases can be examined. Everyone can sleep soundly. Israel's asylum system is designed to allow everyone, aside from asylum seekers, to sleep soundly. The chairman of the Advisory Committee on Refugees said in an interview last year that he sleeps soundly when he rejects asylum requests, because he knows that if he has erred, the court will rectify the mistake. District court judges…

As if it wasn't enough to offer Jews around the world a trip to Israel totally free of charge, the Birthright industry is now marketing "the only skateboarding trip to Israel" and a "hip hop" trip. This is in addition to the already popular "niche" tours that include those catering to the LGBT community, food enthusiasts and wheelchair-bound Jews. The American Zionist youth movement Young Judea hosting these flyers on its website explains the skateboarding trip as "Based on the core Israel Now itinerary,  this program is specially offered to people who board. No posers. No pushers. Go to explore and to…

By Leehee Rothschild A recent Israeli celebrity's admission that he has had sexual experiences with men but does not consider himself homosexual has drawn ridicule from the LGBT community, exposing its own biases and intolerance.  My Facebook feed recently filled up with posts by LGBT friends mocking the Israeli singer and songwriter Ze'ev Nehama, who shared with a Yedioth Ahronoth interviewer (Hebrew) his sexual experiences with other men. In the interview, Nehama said that while he did have sexual encounters with men, he does not define himself as a homosexual, since these encounters were merely sexual, and not emotional. This…

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…

On June 23, two protests took place in Tel Aviv. The first was a protest in response to incitement against the LGBT community by MK Anastasia Michaeli. The second was a spontaneous demonstration protesting the violence police employed against social justice activists the day before. Israel Social TV brings you coverage. This video was produced by Israel Social TV, an independent media NGO working to promote social change, human rights, social justice and equality, and to mobilize its viewers towards activism. Related: WATCH: Thousands block highway, attack banks in J14 protest Amidst hostile media and police violence, J14 finds new voice MK…

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren recently boasted about Israel's record on gay rights - however the LGBT community in Jerusalem has faced repeated intolerance and push back from the government. A proposal to be presented this Sunday to extend protection from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation will be the real test of its commitment to gay rights.  By Elinor Sidi "In Israel, LGBT rights is not an issue that divides us, it is a vision that unites us," said Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, in Philadelphia two weeks ago. In his keynote, Oren took…

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…

A shelved bill that pits Jerusalem's holy character against the rights of the LGBT community was recently put on the Knesset table again, posing a serious threat to Israeli democracy.  By Elinor Sidi Israeli democracy has reached a crucial point in its existence. Although Prime Minister Netanyahu recently halted the promotion of anti-democratic legislation that threatened the funding of left-wing NGOs, this certainly does not mean that silencing, sanctioning, threatening and prevention of basic human rights have stopped. Moreover, it certainly does not mean Knesset members have ceased being irresponsible, populist and un-democratic. Take the following story as a shining…

A group of American academics and artists who identify as part of the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) community recently released an open letter and petition endorsing the Palestinian call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel. The group, which included filmmaker Barbara Hammer, famous for her avantgarde lesbian feminist cinema, was just on a trip to Israel and Palestine earlier this month. In their letter, they list the human rights violations they witnessed: -a segregated road system (one set of roads for cars with Israeli plates, and another much inferior one for cars with Palestinian plates) throughout the…

A couple of months ago, the New York Times run an op-ed titled "Israel and ‘Pinkwashing,’" which accused Israel of using the issue of gay rights to whitewash its deteriorating human rights record. Quote: In Israel, gay soldiers and the relative openness of Tel Aviv are incomplete indicators of human rights — just as in America, the expansion of gay rights in some states does not offset human rights violations like mass incarceration. The long-sought realization of some rights for some gays should not blind us to the struggles against racism in Europe and the United States, or to the…

Prominent American-Syrian political blogger Amina Abdallah Arraf abducted by armed young men in Damascus * Whereabouts remain unknown * Letter-writing campaign begins, targeting senators, the White House and Syrian embassies * Updates below The Syrian-American author of one of the most important political blogs in Syria appears to have been apprehended by one of the Syrian security forces, according to a post on "A Gay Girl in Damascus". The current situation and location of the blog's regular author, Amina Abdallah Arraf, remains unclear. According to the post, written by Arraf's cousin, the blogger  was ambushed early Sunday evening on her way…

"I was struck by the similarity between the role gay rights play in Israeli national politics and the role it plays in some European countries, specifically Netherlands, where the conference was held. In both contexts the self-perception of the state as being committed to sexual equality is used to justify exclusionary politics that are especially targeted at Arabs and Muslims." Notes following the Amsterdam Sexual Nationalism conference By Aeyal Gross When I saw the call for papers for the Amsterdam Sexual Nationalism conference, which suggested a focus on Europe, I decided to try my luck and send in a paper proposal. I…