Tel Aviv Update

Tel Aviv's astoundingly tragic massacre at one of it's gay youth centers still leaves me distressed and morose. Last Sunday I was at dinner with Jewish friends of mine, one is Israeli, and he asked me why I have been silent about Israel. I told him how I felt candidly. For one thing, I could not contemplate that a Jew would kill another Jew because of sexual orientation. For another, I was angry that the Orthodox incite hatred and malice towards gay Israelis. I could barely hold back my tears as I reticently told my feelings. I don't hold any bitterment towards the Orthodox community: I know Orthodox Jews who are accepting LGBT allies, but just a few hateful words from clergy can have dire, and as we saw, murderous consequences. In short, I'm still recovering.

Here is an article from The Advocate on the paradox of gay life in Tel Aviv. The author argues that this murder could only happen in Tel Aviv because it's the only locale where gay people can meet openly, thus the paradox. He doesn't forget that homosexuals are pursued also in Iran and homosexuality is illegal in almost every contiguous state next to Israel. For instance, gays in Iran are subject to corporal punishment if found engaging in homosexual behavior. But, truly, a poignant reason this massacre is shocking to the world, and myself, is because homosexuality is decriminalized in Israel and gays have rights. Consequently, we expect gays to live freely without fear of intimidation and murder. Let's hope that in the future this is true for all gays, just not in Israel, but everywhere.