The Pride House in Beersheba

Last updated
The Pride House in Beersheba, 2017 Pride house Beer Sheva 2017 (2).png
The Pride House in Beersheba, 2017

The Pride House in Beersheba is a local LGBT organization in Beersheba, Israel, that works for and promotes the LGBT community in Beersheba, the Negev, and the wider Israeli community. [1] Pride House Beersheba organizes various social activities for the local LGBT community as well as Pride Parades, and has established itself as a prominent figure in Israel. The organization has been active since 2000 as a local branch of the Israeli LGBT association. However, in 2015, it separated from this organization and established itself as a separate local organization in its own right. [2]

Contents

History

The Israeli singer Corinne Allal in the 1st pride event in Beersheba, 2010 Corinne Allal Pride11.jpg
The Israeli singer  Corinne Allal in the 1st pride event in Beersheba, 2010
Pride House' s booths in Beersheba, with local activists, 2011 Pride House of Be'er Shea - 2011.jpg
Pride House' s booths in Beersheba, with local activists, 2011

The Pride House in Beersheba was established as a local branch of the LGBT association in the end of 1999.

In 2016, the new organization "Pride House" submitted a request to hold an annual Pride Event and Parade. At first, the police gave permission to hold a parade, however due to various objections by Rabbi Yehuda Deri and religious representatives of the municipal council, this approval was withdrawn. [3]

In light of the change in the municipality and the police's position, the Pride House in Beersheba, in cooperation with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, appealed to the High Court of Justice of Israel, in Jerusalem. The High Court's decision barred participants from marching through the city’s main thoroughfare and offered an alternative route. In protest, Pride House Beersheba representatives refused and announced a demonstration in front of the Beersheba City Hall. [3] [4]

On June 22, 2017, a year after the largest gay demonstration in the history of the city of Beersheba, the Pride House organized the first LGBT Pride Parade in Beersheba with the participation of nearly 4,000 marchers. [5] At the end of the parade there was a pride event organized by the Beersheba Municipality, in which the mayor, Ruvik Danilovich, delivered a speech. In his speech, the mayor asked the city's residents to show tolerance and acceptance of each other and stated "Beersheba belongs to everyone...This is a beautiful moment for the city." [6] [7]
After the parades of 2018 and 2019, and the interruption in 2020 because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, in June 2021, 2022 and 2023 the 4th, 5th and 6th Pride Parades were organized by Pride House Beersheba and supported by the municipality. [8]

In 2017 a decision was made by the local council to establish an urban LGBT community framework for the LGBT community in the city, as part of the communities' fabric, and to support the LGBT community. The municipality started to finance the community and began financing a designated social worker.

In March 2017, Beersheba city council announced it would provide a municipal building for the Pride House. [9] That same year on November 30, the official launch of the new building inside Beersheba's Old City was celebrated. [10]

In 2021, Beersheba LGBT activists rolled out the largest Pride flag in the Middle East. A 30 meter-long, nine-meter high flag was unveiled at the entrance to the capital of the Negev. [11] CEO of Pride House Beersheba stated that the "LGBTQ+ community in the city of Beersheba has reached several records and the flag is another sign that the community in Beersheba is on the national map, if not the international one."

The Pride House hosts a variety of events, including an LGBT English Speaker Group, an evening with trans-biographies, meetings with youth groups to reduce prejudices, and an LGBT-Bet-Midrash-Group to read the Tanach under a queer viewpoint. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beersheba</span> City in Israel

Beersheba, officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of 214,162, and the second-largest city in area, with a total area of 117,500 dunams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ofakim</span> City in Israel

Ofakim is a city in the Southern District of Israel, 20 kilometers (12.4 mi) west of Beersheba. It achieved municipal status in 1955. It has an area of 10,000 dunams. In 2022, it had a population of 35,506.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netivot</span> City in Israel

Netivot is a city in the Southern District of Israel located between Beersheba and Gaza. In 2022, it had a population of 46,374.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahat</span> City in Israel

Rahat is an Arab Bedouin city in the Southern District of Israel. In 2022, it had a population of 79,064. As such, it is the largest Bedouin city in the world, and the only one in Israel to have city status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baruch Marzel</span> Israeli religious and political extremist (born 1959)

Baruch Meir Marzel is an Israeli politician and activist. He is an Orthodox Jew originally from Boston who now lives in the Jewish community of Hebron in Tel Rumeida with his wife and nine children. He was the leader of the far-right-oriented Jewish National Front party. He is now a member of Otzma Yehudit. He was the "right-hand man" of assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane, acting as spokesman for the American-born rabbi's Kach organization for ten years. The mainstream Israeli press has described him as an "extreme right-wing activist".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Israel</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East. 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, Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. 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. LGBT people are also allowed to serve openly in the military.

Marriage in Israel is regulated by the religious courts of recognized confessional communities, none of which perform inter-faith or same-sex marriage. Domestic civil marriage is not recognized in Israel; however, civil marriages performed in foreign jurisdictions, including same-sex marriages, are recognized with full marital rights under Israeli law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerusalem Open House</span> LGBTQ advocacy organization

The Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1997 that runs an LGBTQ community center offering educational and social events and a health center that provides physical and mental care. Since 2002, JOH has also organized an annual Jerusalem Pride march.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etai Pinkas</span>

Etai J. Pinkas Arad is a former leader of the Israeli LGBT community. Pinkas served as chairman of the national LGBT association in Israel and was a member of the Tel Aviv-Yafo City Council and advises the mayor on LGBT affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WorldPride</span> International LGBTQ Pride celebration and parade

WorldPride is a series of international LGBT pride events coordinated by InterPride; they are hosted in conjunction with local LGBT pride festivals, with host cities selected via bids voted on during InterPride's annual general meetings. Its core events include opening and closing ceremonies, a pride parade, and an LGBT human rights conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tel Aviv Pride</span> Annual LGBT pride parade in Israel

Tel Aviv Pride is a week-long series of events in Tel Aviv which takes place on the second week of June, as part of the international observance of Gay Pride Month. The key event, taking place on the Friday, is the Pride Parade itself which attracts over 250,000 attendees. As of June 2019, it is the largest LGBT Parade in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in San Diego, California

San Diego Pride, also known as San Diego LGBT Pride, is a nonprofit organization with dozens of year-round programs including an annual weeklong celebration in San Diego, California every July, focusing on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The event features the Pride Parade on a Saturday, preceded by a block party and rally in the Hillcrest neighborhood the night before, and followed by a two-day Pride Festival on Saturday and Sunday in Balboa Park. Pride week is believed to be the largest civic event in the city of San Diego. The parade has more than 300 floats and entries and is viewed by a crowd of over 250,000 people.

The Bill on the Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev, also called the Prawer Plan or the Begin–Prawer Plan was formulated in September 2011 when the Israeli government approved a controversial five-year economic development plan. It was named for Ehud Prawer, the head of policy planning in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerusalem gay pride parade</span> Annual LGBT event in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem gay pride parade is an annual pride parade taking place in Jerusalem. Since the first March for Pride and Tolerance in 2002, Jerusalem Pride—"Love Without Border"—has become an established event in Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beersheva bus station shooting</span> 2015 terrorist attack in Israel

On 18 October 2015, a gunman shot and killed 19-year-old Israeli soldier Omri Levy in a bus station in Beersheba. After killing the soldier, he took his automatic rifle and fired into a crowd. When more security officers appeared, the gunman fled, but was killed by security personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haifa Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in Haifa, Israel

Haifa Pride is an annual event which takes place in Haifa, Israel, in celebration of the LGBTQ community, was first hold in 2007. The main event is the Pride Parade which was attended by 3,000 people in 2016, including the city's mayor, Yona Yahav. The 3 kilometer long parade route culminates in Gan HaEm Park in Haifa's Merkaz HaCarmel neighborhood on Mount Carmel.

A Wider Bridge is a United States based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which has a goal of connecting LGBT communities in the U.S. and Israel and advocating for LGBT rights in Israel. Their tagline is "Equality in Israel and Equality for Israel.” The organization currently has offices in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, and Tel Aviv.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anat Nir</span>

Anat Nir is an Israeli businessperson and LGBT rights activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosi Havilio</span> Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem

Yosef (Yosi) Havilio is an Israeli lawyer and politician who currently serves as a Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. Havilio served as the Attorney General of Jerusalem, is a community activist, and is a recipient of the Knight of Quality Award given by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. Havilio was a mayoral candidate in the 2024 Jerusalem election, running as the main opposition to incumbent mayor Moshe Lion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almog Cohen (politician)</span> Israeli politician (born 1988)

Almog Cohen is an Israeli far-right politician, former police officer, and militia founder from the city of Beersheba in the Negev region. He has served as a member of the Knesset for Otzma Yehudit since 2022. He has served as a regional coordinator for the party. Owing to his police and militia background, Cohen acquired nicknames including "the sheriff" and "the warrior from the Negev" within the party.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Pride House in Beersheba". The face of community. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
  2. ↑ "Beersheba is not a periphery. It's also has a place for pride". GoGay.co.il. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  3. 1 2 Pileggi, Tamar (July 13, 2016). "Beersheba pride parade called off after court orders march rerouted". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ Noy, Becca. "Beersheba Mayor expresses his disappointment about canceled Gay Pride Parade". Jerusalem Online. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  5. ↑ Ben Zikri, Almog. "First Gay Pride Parade to Be Held in Be'er Sheva on Thursday". Haaretz. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  6. ↑ Koriel, Ilana (22 June 2017). "Beersheba first gay pride". Ynet. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
  7. ↑ "Southern pride". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  8. ↑ "מצעד הגאווה בבאר שבע 2023: כל הפרטים". mako. 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  9. ↑ Ben Zachary, Almog (2017-03-08). "The pride community will receive building from the city". Haaretz.co.il. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
  10. ↑ "Tragedy in Beer Sheva: Founding Member of LGBT Center Killed in Crash Hours After Opening Event". A Wider Bridge. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  11. ↑ "Middle East's largest LGBT pride flag rolled out in Beersheba". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2023-11-15.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.