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Tens of thousands rally for gay community's surrogacy rights ‎

by  Noam Dvir , Mati Tuchfeld , News Agencies and ILH Staff
Published on  07-23-2018 00:00
Last modified: 05-03-2021 13:17
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Tens of thousands of demonstrators from Israel's ‎LGBTQ community and their supporters gathered at ‎Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Sunday for a mass rally at the ‎culmination of a daylong strike in protest of the ‎exclusion of gay men from new surrogacy legislation.‎

Organizers said some 80,000 people participated in ‎the rally, which featured performances by several ‎leading Israeli artists and speeches by prominent ‎LGBTQ figures. ‎

Earlier in the day, demonstrators blocked major ‎highways in Tel Aviv and held other protests ‎in ‎Israeli cities, including a rally across from Prime ‎‎Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in ‎‎Jerusalem. ‎

‎"Netanyahu's a homophobe," chanted protesters ‎opposite the Israeli prime minister's Jerusalem ‎home. "There is no equality, ‎there's discrimination, ‎we will topple the ‎government."‎

Netanyahu said he would support a separate amendment ‎focusing on single men's right to use surrogacy ‎services. Such an amendment is said to be in the ‎works by MK Amir Ohana, the first ‎openly gay ‎Likud ‎legislator.‎

The distinction drawn by the premier, whose ‎‎coalition includes ultra-Orthodox parties, ‎touched a ‎nerve in Israel, which does not recognize ‎same-sex ‎marriages but recognizes such unions if ‎they are ‎performed abroad.‎

‎"Although Israel has a very liberal image concerning ‎gays, it's not the case when you look at Israeli ‎law," said former Israeli lawmaker Nitzan Horowitz.‎

‎"This is nothing short of a battle for the ‎character of Israeli society," Chen Arieli, head of ‎The Aguda – Israel's LGBT Task Force, told a crowd ‎waving rainbow flags and banners reading "Yes to ‎equality" and "No to discrimination."‎

‎"Netanyahu, look out at this square!" she exclaimed, eliciting cheers from the crowd. "This is the ‎biggest protest in the [LGBTQ] community's history ‎and now it's our turn to say, enough! We demand ‎action – in legislation, in budgets, in policy and ‎in long-term plans that have to be formulated with ‎us, not above our heads. We are equal citizens in ‎this country!" ‎

‎"Tonight, our community offers nothing less than an ‎alternative to Israeli reality. We offer a plan that ‎takes into account the differences between people and ‎their complexities and collects them into one united ‎call that proves that together we are strong. ‎Together, we will create the Israeli society in ‎which we want to live," she said. ‎

‎"We came here today to say to the government 'No ‎more,' we want equality and we want equal rights for ‎everyone," said Oz Dani, 43, an insurance company ‎worker who said he and his partner had to travel ‎abroad for expensive surrogacy.‎

‎"We are a gay couple, just married, and we have been ‎trying to have a baby outside of Israel, but it costs ‎a lot of money. Almost a million shekels ($276,000) – ‎money we don't have."‎

Dozens of companies expressed their support for the ‎LGBTQ community Sunday, allowing employees seeking to ‎strike to do so. These included the Israel ‎Airports Authority, the Israel Postal Company, the ‎Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, and Israeli national airline El Al.

The Histadrut labor ‎federation also issued instructions calling on all ‎unions and management nationwide to support LGBTQ ‎workers who chose to strike in prowwww.‎

The military had originally barred gay soldiers from ‎participating in the protest, but Military Judge ‎Advocate General Maj. Gen. Sharon Afek – the first ‎openly gay member of the General Staff – later said ‎he would not pursue disciplinary action against ‎soldiers who violated the directive. ‎

Arieli later said that LGBTQ activists were already ‎in touch with officials at the Prime Minister's ‎Office to provide input for Ohana's future ‎amendment.‎

Still, it is believed that Shas and United Torah ‎Judaism, the ultra-Orthodox religious parties in the coalition, will block any ‎proposal that supports the gay lifestyle, fearing that ‎an amendment of this kind would potentially change ‎the secular-religious status quo. ‎

Under the coalition agreement, Shas and United Torah ‎Judaism can veto bills seeking to change the long-standing arrangement. ‎

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