Posted on 10/03/2002 8:58:11 AM PDT by Alouette
JERUSALEM - For the first time, a declared homosexual is about to become a member of Israel's parliament, and except for predictable outrage from Orthodox Jewish legislators, the prospect has attracted little attention.
Gay activists say this reflects growing acceptance of homosexuality in Israeli society.
Uzi Even, a professor at Tel Aviv University and a veteran gay rights activist, will replace Amnon Rubinstein, who is retiring from the parliament, representing the dovish, secular Meretz party. Even is to take his seat when the parliament reconvenes after its summer recess in November.
Lawmaker Nissim Zeev of Shas, the largest Orthodox Jewish party, said he would have difficulty sitting beside a man "whose way of life is repugnant and should be rejected with disgust."
Though homosexual practice is condemned by the Bible, Israelis have shown increasing tolerance over the years, according to gay activists, reflecting the fact that most Israeli Jews are secular, not Orthodox. The yearly Gay Pride march in Tel Aviv is a colorful and tension-free event, though the first such gathering in Jerusalem this year drew a handful of protesters.
The first openly gay legislator-to-be, Even, 62, is a retired army colonel who fought in two wars, a professor of physical chemistry and a leading expert on nuclear weapons technology.
For Zeev, it is precisely Even's achievements which make him so dangerous, because Zeev fears that Even will become a role model for Israeli youth. "Homosexuality is a message of poison, and the more distinguished he is, the more damaging the message," Zeev told The Associated Press.
Even dismissed the criticism as marginal, and noted that over the years, the opposition has been diminishing.
Even already has a major political achievement to his name — abolition of discrimination against homosexuals in the Israeli armed forces.
In 1993, when the army found out that he was living with a man, it removed him from his job as an intelligence officer. Even was later invited to address the parliament on the issue of discrimination against homosexuals in the army.
Orthodox Jewish lawmakers walked out when Even spoke, and the event received such exposure that Meretz, which was then in the government coalition, took up Even's case with then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin ( news - web sites).
Even was offered reinstatement in the army but refused. "I told them I wanted the rules changed," he said. A few months later, a regulation prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals in the armed forces was signed by the chief of the general staff, Ehud Barak, who later became prime minister.
Then Even sued his university to get spousal rights for his partner, Amit Kama. The two were also among the first gays to become foster parents in Israel, when they took in a 15-year-old who had been thrown out by his parents for being homosexual. The social welfare authorities and the boy's biological parents approved the arrangement.
Kama, who is a professor of communications, says there has been a major change in Israeli attitudes to gays, even among the ultra-Orthodox. In 1995, when Even spoke in parliament about discrimination against gays, Shas lawmaker Rabbi Moshe Maya pointed a finger at him and Kama, quoting the verse from the biblical book of Leviticus which says that homosexual practice is an abomination.
"The next day we had letters in our mailbox threatening to kill us," Kama said. "It was just after the assassination of the prime minister, and one of the letters said: Rabin was difficult to get. You will be easy." Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli extremist.
Now the ultra-Orthodox are calling homosexuals sick or deviant, rather than employing biblical language. "This is an improvement," Kama said. "I can't argue with God, but I can argue with 19th century science."
On Tuesday, Even took part in an Internet debate about the gay rights efforts he has spearheaded for the past 10 years. The organizers expected a flood of hostile reactions, he said, but 80 percent of the responses were favorable. "I didn't get one single hate call, even though my number is in the book," he said.
The article says he belongs to the MERETZ party, which Israel's ultra-appeasement "surrender-to-the-terrorists-for-peace" gang of Bill and Hillary groupies. Andrew Sullivan, this guy is not.
...does this mean that Israel is not the Nation of Israel as described in the Bible?
I must admit I don't know why people like Jerry Falwell support Israel so much, when clearly given incidences like this, there is no religious justification for such support.
Or maybe Falwell likes gays now?
Though I have no respect for Falwell. There is a religious justification for supporting Israel, if you are a Christian it is in the Bible, just read it. This support does not include all of the sins of every single person that is Jewish, just a support of the Jews in general and Israel.
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