LGBTQ rights in Israel | |
---|---|
Status | Legal since 1988 (but no record of enforcement of "buggery" law before this, and the Attorney General declared that laws against homosexuality would not be enforced in 1963) |
Gender identity | Legal sex change possible |
Military | Mandatory Enlistment includes LGBTQ people serving openly |
Discrimination protections | Sexual orientation protection in employment and other services; both sexual orientation and gender identity protections in schools (see below) |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | Unregistered cohabitation since 1994; Same-sex marriages performed outside of Israel recognized since 2006, recognition of same-sex unions inside Tel-Aviv Yafo since 2020 |
Restrictions | Only marriages sanctioned by the religious authorities may be performed within Israel (this also applies to opposite-sex couples who are not eligible for religious weddings), civil marriages (including same-sex marriages) performed elsewhere recognized |
Adoption | Same-sex couples allowed to adopt[1] |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East and among the most developed in Asia.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Although same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1988, the former law against sodomy had not been enforced since a court decision in 1963. Israel became the first country in Asia to recognize unregistered cohabitation between same-sex couples, making it the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions in any capacity. Although same-sex marriages are not performed in the country, since Israel does not have civil non-religious marriages, and none of the recognized religious marriage institutions within the country perform same-sex marriages, Israeli law recognizes civil marriages (including same-sex marriages since 2006) performed elsewhere with the same legal rights as marriages performed in Israel. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was prohibited in 1992. Same-sex couples are allowed to jointly adopt, following a landmark court decision in 2008. Previously, stepchild adoption, as well as limited co-guardianship rights for non-biological parents, were permitted. LGBTQ people are also allowed to serve openly in the military.
Tel Aviv was referred to by the Calgary Herald as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world,[8] famous for its annual Pride parade and gay beach,[9] earning it the nickname "the gay capital of the Middle East" by Out magazine.[10] According to users of the website GayCities, it was ranked as the best gay city in 2011,[11] despite reports of some anti-LGBTQ violence during the 2000s,[12] which were criticized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. A monument dedicated to the gay victims of the Holocaust was erected in Tel Aviv in 2014.[13]
In 2018 an opinion poll commissioned by Channel 10 News during Pride Month reported that 58% of Israeli citizens support the legalization of same-sex marriage,[14] however in 2023 an international poll commissioned by the Pew Research Center reported that only 36% of Israeli citizens support same-sex marriage, while 56% oppose it.[15]
An opinion poll commissioned by Israel's Labor and Welfare Ministry in 2017 reported that 60% of Israelis support adoptions by same-sex couples.[16]
During International Pride Month on 21 June 2020, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality announced that same-sex couples would have exactly the same rights as opposite-sex marriages there, with this being provided by the municipality. Marriages inside the municipality will be legally recognized as others.[17]
Israel is the only Middle-Eastern country to support gay rights legislation, and the country attracts gay people from Palestine and Lebanon. Tel Aviv has a growing scene and is tolerant and gay-friendly for both men and women.
Except for Israel, there are no constitutional, employment, or other protections for LGBT+ people.
Israel is known as a gay haven in the Middle East, and Tel Aviv is frequently cited as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, with a Pride parade that draws hundreds of thousands of revelers from Israel and abroad
Today, LGBT rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East. Israel became the first country in Asia to recognize unregistered cohabitation between same-sex couples, making it the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions in any capacity.
Israel has been called the "gay capital of the Middle East," which is no surprise to many of its supporters who have been touting its outstanding record on gay rights for years. Israel's LGBTQ citizens are afforded all manner of legal rights denied to many even in the Western world, including prohibitions on employment discrimination and civic recognition of marriage equality and adoption by same-sex couples.
Gay rights in Israel are the most developed in the Middle East. The country originally inherited British legislation criminalising gay sex but the law was never enforced. The ban was repealed by the Knesset national assembly in 1988.
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