Tel Aviv has long been known in the world as a very gay-friendly city.
UPDATE/Correction: A reader adds that the rainbow flag in the photo above has nothing to do with gay pride. See more in the comments.
Here are some of Tel Aviv's many rainbow flags that I photographed a week ago, way before yesterday's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
You might be surprised by some things in the Wikipedia article LGBT rights in Israel.
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It is almost a year since i was there, i must be there soon.(אם יש יותר מדי שגיאות את יכולה לא לפרסם את התגובה:)
ReplyDeleteGay-friendly Communists are quite a recent thing: history sadly says otherwise...
ReplyDeleteYael, good luck with your visit; one day a year in Tel Aviv is enough for me. ;)
ReplyDeleteVP, it's a strange combination of flags, you're right.
Interesting. They recognize a union of another country but won't perform the rite in the country. ?????????
ReplyDeleteBirdman, I refer you to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_Israel
ReplyDeleteThere are many other cases in which Israelis go abroad (the closest is Cyprus)for a few days to get married because, for example, members of two different faiths may not intermarry in Israel. Also, a Cohen (a Jew descended from the priestly clan) may not marry a convert or a divorced woman. Or they marry outside the country because the couple wants a civil ceremony. According to strict Orthodox Jewish law, a halakhic mamzer, someone born of an adulterous or incestuous relationship, cannot marry anyone other than another mamzer; and a woman whose husband cannot or does not grant her a Jewish divorce also cannot remarry.
Birdman, here is another article on the subject: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/civil-marriage-in-israel/
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see these flags.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a right to happiness, same sex or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI see Israel is more advanced or tolerant than we are. It's taken the U.S. so long to get this done.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the laws around marriage in Israel - a combination of modern and traditional. I saw a news show once about Tel Aviv and it mentioned too that it was known as a gay friendly place. The beaches look very nice too :)
ReplyDeleteAn odd combination- the rainbow flag and the hammer and sickle. That last shot is outstanding!
ReplyDeleteAs I am sure most readers know, the rainbow flag in the top photo is not indicative of gay rights but, rather, the common European peace ("Pace") flag with the rainbow motif.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Mac, thanks for your correction. Obviously, many of us non-Europeans were not aware of this European rainbow peace flag.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says this:
"The most common recent design is a rainbow flag representing peace, first used in Italy at a peace march in 1961. The flag was inspired by similar multi-coloured flags used in demonstrations against nuclear weapons....
The most common variety ... is emblazoned in bold with the Italian word PACE, meaning "peace".
It became popular with the Pace da tutti i balconi ("peace from every balcony") campaign in 2002, started as a protest against the impending war in Iraq. The flag was flown from balconies in all Italian cities by citizens against the war. Its use spread to other countries too ..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_flag#Rainbow_flag