Israel touts gay-friendly climate, but rights fight faces religious firewall

By Ben Sales for JTA

As last Tuesday ended, it felt like Israel’s gay community had taken a major step forward.

On Feb. 23, eight separate Israeli parliamentary committees convened to discuss a broad set of issues facing the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Lawmakers from a range of parties talked about protecting LGBT Israelis in the classroom, at home, in government offices and in the army. That afternoon, the parliament officially recognized “Gay Rights Day in the Knesset.”

But 24 hours later, the atmosphere was markedly different.

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