Tag: Israel

A stranded tanker loaded with oil off the coast of Yemen is threatening a massive environmental disaster in the Red Sea with experts describing the situation as a "floating bomb". The Safer tanker, owned by Yemen's biggest oil company, has been moored some 7km off the Yemeni port of Ras Isa, in the north-west of the country, for decades, where it was being used as a floating storage and offloading terminal. But it has been left unmaintained since 2015 when the...

Last week, Israel’s recently appointed Education Minister, Rafi Peretz, was engulfed in a political storm due to comments he made surrounding gay ‘conversion’ therapy. On Israel’s Channel 12 TV, Peretz said: “I think that it is possible to convert . I can tell you that I have deep familiarity on the issue of education, and I have also done this.” He then later defended his comments, saying: “During my years as an educator, I met with students who felt terrible distress...

Israel’s new Education Minister, Rafi Peretz, has been condemned by LGBTQ groups, after he told Israel’s Channel 12 TV that gay ‘conversion’ therapy was “possible.” The so-called therapy, which has been discredited by the NHS and the World Psychiatric Association, refers to any attempt at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and often involves techniques like electroshock therapy or prayer. On the channel, Peretz said: “I think that it is possible to convert . I can tell you that...

No one ever accused Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a liberal. After all, this is the man who has assiduously courted President Trump, going so far as to name a (probably imaginary) development in Israeli-occupied territory “Trump Heights.”  But there’s one big difference between the two: When it came time for Netanyahu to appoint a new Minister of Justice, he turned to Amir Ohana, a political ally with impeccably conservative credentials. Ohana is also gay. Israel’s Minister of Justice,...

Harris, who is raising two children with husband David Burtka, told reporters on Thursday he has never participated in a Pride parade."This is my very first Pride parade. I thought I'd start small," Harris joked. The annual celebration, now in its 21st year, attracted 250,000 people last year."We are looking forward to being part of this beautiful expression of love and unity and equality alongside LGBTQ people and allies over the world. It's going to be a really fun day," Harris said.Harris...

Amir Ohana / Screenshot via YouTube @StandWithUsAmir Ohana has become Israel’s first openly gay prime minister, but some pride goers aren’t happy about it. 43-year-old Ohana has been named acting justice minister this Wednesday after the previous title holder was fired. Ayelet Shaked, the previous office holder, was fired by right-winged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Shaked’s party did not get enough seats to return to parliament for elections in May. When announcing...

Organizers of the D.C. Dyke March have come under fire for banning rainbow flags with the Star of David on them. The Dyke March, which will take place next Friday after over a decade in hiatus, is meant to be a more radical march than the Capital Pride Parade. The controversy started when A.J. Campbell, 50, contacted the organizers to ask if she could bring her rainbow flag with the Star of David on it, a flag sometimes referred to as...

Aryeh Stern, the 74-year-old chief rabbi of Jerusalem, recently asked the city’s Mayor Moshe Lion to ban rainbow flags during next week’s Pride Parade. This is a bit like asking to ban American flags during a 4th of July celebration. In his letter, Stern wrote: When asked about his letter, Stern explained: Stern added that he didn’t think his letter to the mayor would be published and wondered whether he’d made a mistake by writing it, stating, “I did not think it...

The government recently shot down an amendment that would have extended parental rights to gay and lesbian couples. Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv this Sunday to protest the government’s denial of equal parental rights to same-sex couples. A new law enacted in Israel this week granted single women surrogacy rights. However, conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his religious-right political coalition blocked an effort to pass an amendment that would have extended those same...

Israel’s Kfar Saba just had its first ever Gay Pride Parade. While Israel is no stranger to Gay Pride Parades and events, with eight cities including Tel Aviv holding annual events, Kfar Saba is new to the idea. That said, Kfar Saba has now joined the ranks of those other cities and held its first parade. Over 2,000 citizens and guests got together to take part in the inaugural pride event earlier today. Those who actively participated in the march walked...

"The world is developing quickly," says Eitan Ginzburg. A gay man has been elected mayor in a suburb of Tel Aviv, the first time an LGBT person has been elected mayor in the country. Eitan Ginzburg took office in the town of Ra’anana on Sunday, after six years as deputy mayor and 15 total on the city council. The 41-year-old Ginzburg was elected by the council in a special election after his predecessor, Ze’ev Bielski, left to manage the National Housing...

A new testing procedure will allow gay and bi men to donate blood from April Gay and bisexual men in Israel will soon be able to donate blood. It was announced last year gay and bisexual men would be able to wait after a 12 month period since they last had sex with a man. But a number of LGBTI rights groups complained about this decision. Israel AIDS Task Force and Agudah LGBT Taskforce are amongst the groups who said the decision was...

He's the first professional basketballer to come out as gay in Israel Uri Kokia became the first Israeli professional basketballer to come out as gay on Wednesday (29 November). The 36-year-old is a striker for Hapoel, the second division of Israel’s Ramat Gan. ‘After many years of fear, I am now completely calm,’ he said in an interview with ynet.co.il. ‘I want to show you can make a long and glorious career as a gay man. ‘The fear of coming out of the...

The world’s first bisexual Pride has taken place in Tel Aviv amid the city’s Pride Week. The city’s Pride Week is taking place this week, and the annual Pride March which attracts hundreds of thousands was given the theme ‘bisexuality’. Some 200,000 people turned out for the parade yesterday. The parade was halted for several minutes as a group of LGBT+ activists against the occupation blocked its passage. They held signs saying “There’s no Pride in occupation”. The reason for the Pride being given...