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. 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 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.
The Iris Prize, established in 2007 by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex audiences and which must have been completed within two years of the prize deadline.
Transparent is a 2005 documentary film written, directed, and produced by Jules Rosskam. Its title is a play on the words “trans” and “parent” implying the invisibility of transgender parenting in society today. The documentary follows 19 transgender men from 14 different states who have given birth to, and in most cases, gone on to raise, their biological children and the challenges they face while transitioning.
Were the World Mine is a 2008 romantic musical fantasy film directed by Tom Gustafson, written by Gustafson and Cory James Krueckeberg, and starring Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams, Jill Larson, Ricky Goldman, Nathaniel David Becker, Christian Stolte, and David Darlow.
Yair Qedar is an Israeli documentary filmmaker, social activist and former journalist. In his project "the Hebrews", he had been Chronicling the lives of Jewish and Israeli figures of the modern Hebrew literary canon, Qedar's 19 feature length documentaries have all premiered at film festivals and have won the director over 30 prizes. Also, Qedar is a leading LGBTQ activist. He created several Queer films and the first Israeli LGBTQ newspaper.
The Tel Aviv gay centre shooting resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to at least fifteen others at the Tel Aviv branch of the Israeli LGBT Association, at the "Bar-Noar", on Nahmani Street, on August 1, 2009. A 26-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were killed. Three deaths were mentioned in earlier reports of the incident but one has since been discounted.
Wolfe Video is the oldest and largest exclusive producer and distributor of LGBT films in North America. Founded in 1985 in New Almaden by Kathy Wolfe, the company began as a consumer mail order distribution company for lesbian VHS videos but has evolved over the years to become a full-service distributor of LGBT films. Wolfe releases LGBT films on DVD in North America as well as doing film festival bookings, foreign sales, US digital delivery, and broadcast sales for its library of more than one hundred feature films and dozens of shorts and documentaries. Notable Wolfe releases over the years include the film Big Eden, the 20th Anniversary DVD release of Desert Hearts, Were the World Mine, and Thom Fitzgerald's AIDS drama 3 Needles. Significant Wolfe DVD releases in recent years include the Sundance Film Festival award-winner Undertow, the acclaimed French drama Tomboy, the praised Polish cyberthriller drama Suicide Room, the multiple award-winner Gayby, and Swedish lesbian romance Kiss Me. Wolfe has also released two films by the writer and director Stephen Cone, including The Wise Kids and Henry Gamble's Birthday Party. In June 2012 the company created a new worldwide LGBT movie-watching platform, WolfeOnDemand. In 2015, Wolfe Video donated its complete DVD library of lesbian movies to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives.
Tanner Cohen is an American stage, film and television actor, and singer.
Gay Days is a 2009 Israeli documentary film about the emergence of an LGBTQ community in Israel, starring major activists in Israel's cultural life and LGBT community: Gal Uchovsky, Eytan Fox, Ellyot, Amalia Ziv, Amit Kama and others and some rare archival footage from pride events, feature films and student films.
Pornography: A Thriller is a 2009 American mystery/thriller film, written and directed by David Kittredge.
Eliad Cohen is an Israeli producer, actor, model and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Gay-ville, a gay-friendly vacation rental service headquartered in Tel Aviv. He became a prominent Israeli gay personality after being chosen as the cover model of the Spartacus International Gay Guide for the 2011-2012 issue, which led to various magazine covers around the world.
Polaroid Song is a French short film directed by Alphonse Giorgi and Yann Tivrier in 2011. Completed in 2012, Polaroid Song was broadcast on French public national television channel France 2 in April and September 2012 and was competitively selected for several film festivals throughout the world.
Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land is a 46-minute documentary written by American adult-film entrepreneur, columnist, gay activist and gay pornographic film director Michael Lucas, and co-directed by Lucas and Israeli director Yariv Mozer. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, Michael Lucas portrays in this film released in 2012 Israel's thriving GLBT community through footage of Tel Aviv's vibrant nightlife, a same-sex wedding, and candid interviews with a diverse range of local Israeli gay men and lesbians, including a gay MP, an openly gay Army trainer, a drag queen, a transvestite, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and same-sex parents raising their children and a number of artists and activists.
TLVFest, officially the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBTQ-themed film from around the world.
Snails in the Rain is a 2013 Israeli drama film directed by Yariv Mozer and based on a short story by Yossi Avni-Levy. The story comes from Avni-Levy's 1995 book, The Garden of Dead Trees. It centres on Boaz as his suppressed same-sex attraction threatens his relationship with his girlfriend, Noa,. The film premiered at TLVFest in Tel Aviv on 8 June 2013, before receiving a theatrical release in Israel on 20 June.
Geoffrey Couët is a French actor and comedian.
Michal Vinik is an Israeli filmmaker, director and screenwriter. She teaches filmmaking at Tel Aviv University and Beit Berl College.
Yariv (Mordechai) Mozer is an Israeli film producer, screenwriter and film director.
Chen Arieli is the Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. In charge of the welfare and public health administration in the city. Arieli is the first openly lesbian woman to hold the Deputy Mayor position in Tel Aviv-Yafo. She joined politics after 20 years of working in civil society. Arieli defines herself as a feminist.
Tel Aviv-Yafo or Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. The city of Tel Aviv is the cultural and economic core of the State of Israel. The city has a large number of cultural and entertainment institutions and is home to the largest number of Israeli intellectuals. the people who live on the city are usually called "Tel Avivians".
