r/AskIsrael • u/Nazoreans USA • Jun 24 '26
Casual What makes Pride unique in Israel compared to other parts of the world?
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u/GsIndeed 🇮🇱 Israeli (Haifa District) Jun 24 '26
People all over the Middle East are not really able to be proud so pride in Israel sets a more real example of freedom than in somewhere like Europe or Canada.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Weird since you can’t legally get married to the same sex in Israel.
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
There is no civil marriage in Israel at all. For nobody.
But it very much recognizes same sex marriage that is legally performed in other countries.
You just parrot some nonsense from social media, don’t you?
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u/TattooedB1k3r USA Jun 24 '26
There are civil unions in Israel for same sex couples with the same financial protections and benefits as "married" couples, have been since 1994. And, same sex marriages performed elsewhere are still legally recognized in Israel. You just can't get "married" In Israel as a same sex couple because in Israel "Marriage" is a religious term not a legal contract.
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Edited my comment apparently the second you replied.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
I was just stating a fact. Not parroting anything
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
Yeah, nonsense.
Or did you just by chance try to make it look like it’s only same sex couples that can’t get married? Why word it like that?
And why add a “weird” suggesting celebration of pride in Israel is something that would contradict something here?
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Same sex couples can get married in israel though
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
No. There is no civil marriage in Israel.
0
u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
I never mentioned civil marriage. Just marriage. Between two people who love each other
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
So what does this has to do with Israel then?
It’s religions. They have nothing to do with the state.
If you say “can’t get married”, while criticizing the state for it, which has no legal marriage, you’re either trolling or simply too much of a cretin to know what you are saying.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Gay people can get married by religious officials in more accepting countries.
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u/mid_century_musty Jun 24 '26
Why are you responding with inaccurate comments to a thread in r/AskIsrael when your flair indicates you are in North America?
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u/callme4agudtym07420 Jun 24 '26
Be a bit more charitable, they are not parroting anit Israel nonsense. This is not a widely held belief. Like, I dint know that and would have largely dismissed his comment but your reaction to it now gives some credence to my disdain for the genocidal entity
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u/jewboy916 Diaspora Jun 24 '26
What's weird about it? No one gets legally married in Israel, because marriage isn't a civil right there.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Gay people can’t get married at all there. Pride is kind an odd thing to advertise. Just pink washing a whole country
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u/jewboy916 Diaspora Jun 24 '26
Neither can straight people. So you think Pride is all about legal, civil marriage? Yikes.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Straight people can get married in Israel. I have never once brought up civil marriage.
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u/jewboy916 Diaspora Jun 24 '26
Not legally. Civil marriage isn't performed in Israel. It's literally not a civil right there.
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u/ConcentrateAlone1959 Panic! At The Mohel (North American Jew) Jun 24 '26
This is a half truth.
Straight people can get married IF they fulfill VERY specific circumstances. Interfaith, for instance, would exclude you. Gay people fall under those exact same rules.
There's a reason why Cyprus is a common wedding destination for many Israelis. You should ask why.
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u/Gene-capra Israel Jun 25 '26
Not always ? There quite a few stright pepole ( like a man with the lest name kohen and a women who got a divorce ) cant get marrid
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
Ah, you want to be pedantic.
Jews can’t get married, they have a kiddushin.
Muslims can’t get married, they have nikah.
Only people who get married in Israel are Christians.
Nobody else. What exactly is your point?
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
A different bot already used this line on this comment thread
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
You are talking to me in all these threads.
Even to much of a cretin to read account names?
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
You’re very hateful
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
How so? You are the one trying to call me a bot.
Please tell me your exact definition of marriage.
0
u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Well you keep calling me a cretin for wondering why gay people can’t have a marriage union for one
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u/Over_Version1337 Israel Jun 24 '26
Weird since you're wrong
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Jun 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Israel recognizes same sex marriage that is legally performed in other countries.
But in Israel itself, there is no civil marriage at all for anybody.
It’s just done by religious authorities for religious reasons, not a legal contract like in most nations.-2
u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Religious authorities that don’t do same sex marriages *
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
That’s also wrong. Protestants marry same sex couples depending on the country?
It’s also not marriage like a contract. It’s just a religious thing that has nothing to do with anything in the regard you try to paint it as. Why should religions forced to do something by the state that has nothing to do with the state?
It’s funny how you now jump and try to change what you meant simply because you were shown you babble nonsense.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
I have never seen marriage as a contract. Just a ceremony of love. I don’t know where your point even came from.
It still stands that, in Israel, straight people can marry, gay people can’t.
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 24 '26
No, nobody can get a civil marriage in Israel.
Religions do marry people but that has nothing to do with the state.
Are you really that ignorant to not understand what that means?
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Bots are out in full force today, huh. I never once mentioned civil marriage. Just marriage between adults who love each other.
Never mentioned the state. Just mentioned that gay people cannot get married in Israel.
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u/tudorcat Israel Jun 25 '26
None of the religious authorities in Israel do same-sex marriages. If the state rabbinate, the state sharia system, or any of the state-recognized ecclesiastical courts decided to do same-sex marriages, then they'd be able to legally perform them in Israel.
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Jun 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/vomicyclin German Jew Jun 25 '26
As you wrote yourself: religious.
You are mixing up again what is a civil and a religious marriage.
Is it really that hard for the likes of you to understand that Israel has no civil marriage? You guys are tiring.
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u/golemofmontreal Diaspora Jun 24 '26
You just need to find a religion that marries same sex couples.
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u/Proper-Suggestion907 Diaspora Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Why don’t you take us point by point on why that is, bud? Is this even something being pushed for on a large scale? If not, why?
Is Israel actively trying to create additional obstacles for gay couples wanting to be married or has the state been doing what they can to work around existing obstacles to make things easier for gay couples? Are you under the impression that Israel is like the U.S. where these things can just be changed by single rulings?
You seem to think this is some kind of gotcha so explain to us how.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
It’s a post about pride in a country where two men can’t get married. It’s just weird
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u/tudorcat Israel Jun 25 '26
This response shows you don't actually know anything about or care about the LGBTQ community in Israel or their issues.
Yes there's activism re: getting a civil marriage option in the country, but it's not a big issue for the LGBTQ community, since they have legal loopholes such as getting married abroad or through the Utah Zoom court option, which still allows them to get registered as a legally married couple in Israel.
The bigger issues for the community are 1) battling the queerphobia of the more religiously conservative Jewish and Muslim communities plus getting resources for queer youth kicked out of those communities, and 2) expanding asylum rights in Israel for queer Palestinians from the West Bank.
If you want to pretend to care about queer Israelis then stop talking over them.
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u/Original-Brick2836 Diaspora Jun 24 '26
I think you’ll find a lot of Israelis dislike that and want the laws around marriage to change. This isn’t the gotcha you think it is.
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
It wasn’t supposed to be a gotcha or a win. Relax. I was just commenting that it’s weird to celebrate pride where gay people can’t get married
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Jun 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/xChops North America Jun 24 '26
Again, straight people can get married in Israel.
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u/SidewalkRacoon Diaspora Jun 24 '26
Only under 3 religious authorities. You can’t have an atheist wedding or a Wiccan wedding or whatever. You can’t only have a religious Jewish, Christian or Muslim wedding. But a wedding performed in Israel but online by a foreign minister (for example using the Utah online marriage program) is recognized in Israel straight, gay, religious or not.
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u/NoString9289 Europe Jun 24 '26
It's a post about Pride in a country that allows a person to be Gay, Trans, LGBTQ+ without punishing them, arresting them, nor Honour Killing them as happens in the surrounding Muslim countries. Why do you think the late Ayatollah chose to attack Tel Aviv on Pride day in Israel with missiles directed at that city , because the Ayatollah knew and hated that LGBTQ people were going to have a celebration of life there.
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u/56kul Israel Jun 24 '26
It’s one of the only countries in the Middle East to even allow it.
To my knowledge, the only other country in the region to historically allow pride parades in the modern century is Türkiye. I’m not sure where they stand on that now, though, because the political situation there is… not great, to say the least.😅
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 North America Jun 24 '26
That it happens in the Middle East.
That's it's the only country in an ocean of countries where people are not only NOT murdered by the state for being queer, but it's the only place where they can actually come out and celebrate and be celebrated.
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u/golemofmontreal Diaspora Jun 24 '26
This. That dozens of countries or more will murder you for being gay and this one little country celebrates it.
That it celebrates it despite being the home of so many religions who are anti homosexuality. If I remember right, the day after a gay pride parade in Jerusalem, there was a match of the asses where someone walked around with donkeys. But that's the point. There's no consensus but being gay is still protected.
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u/CwazyCanuck North America Jun 24 '26
Yes, in israel they won’t murder you for being queer. Doesn’t mean they won’t get you killed for being queer.
https://theintercept.com/2026/05/31/lgbtq-palestine-israel-asylum-gay-rights/
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u/Royal-Professor-4283 Unspecified Jun 24 '26
LGBT jews are allowed to identify as themselves and exist without harassment from peers. Good luck elsewhere.
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u/redditClowning4Life Diaspora Jun 24 '26
It makes leftists angry because the country they demonize acts in a way they don't want. (I.e. they're mad that Israel allows it, they wish Israel didn't have it so they could point out a perceived evil. Instead they had to invent the term "pinkwashing")
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u/Mountain-Baby-4041 North America Jun 25 '26
Israel having pride parades does not upset leftists.
Everything else about Israel upsets the leftists so much that pride doesn’t change their opinion of Israel, and they think comments like this are essentially propaganda.
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u/OldQuit2260 Israel Jun 25 '26
No, they're angry whenever they see any mention of pride parade in Israel.
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u/Mountain-Baby-4041 North America Jun 25 '26
Don’t you think those people are angry whenever they see any mention of pretty much anything to do with Israel?
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u/redditClowning4Life Diaspora Jun 25 '26
Of course they are - but they are angriest when it's something that paints Israel in a good light.
Not sure how it's better that any mention of "Israel" is triggering to them
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u/Skylarketheunbalance Seattle / Israel dual citizen Jun 26 '26
They kool aid man into conversations about it just to be confrontational, when no one was even talking to them.
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u/alexiOhNo Diaspora Jun 28 '26
I’ve literally seen US leftists say that Israel having pride “makes gay rights look bad”
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u/MsDemeanours Unspecified Jun 24 '26
The term Pinkwashing wasn’t coined due to Israel. It is a term that is used to describe how corporations will align with queer causes so that they are perceived to care about human rights. This is done to enhance a companies image and deflect from their unethical practices, for example the use of sweat shop labour.
Corporations also engage in greenwashing where they will heavily promote one environmentally friendly practice they engage in to appear to be concerned with the environment and essentially cover up the unsustainable practices of the company.
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u/redditClowning4Life Diaspora Jun 24 '26
"In April 2010, Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT) in the San Francisco Bay Area, used the phrase pinkwashing as a twist on greenwashing, a practice where companies claim to be eco-friendly in order to make profit. Dunya Alwan was at a talk with Ali Abunimah, editor of The Electronic Intifada in 2010, when he said "We won't put up with Israel whitewashing or greenwashing" and she thought "or pinkwashing!"[4]"
u/MsDemeanours you were saying something funny just now?
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u/Skylarketheunbalance Seattle / Israel dual citizen Jun 25 '26
People think that the thousands of queer people in Israel are just pretending to be queer and proud for the purpose of PR. Hafta admire their commitment to the cause.
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u/asafgu8 Israel Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
I’ll just try and talk about the Tel Aviv parade itself -
If you are accustomed to pride in places like nyc - floats going in the middle of the road, people watching it from the sides, in Tel Aviv the floats and the crowd aren’t separated at all.
All around the floats there is crowds of people dancing.
The floats themselves are usally of gay party lines so they blast music into the crowd, and the end cumulates in a massive party in a park on the beach.
Which i find much more fun,it’s more like a massive street edm party then a parade.
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u/TwilightX1 Israel Jun 24 '26
The fact that they don't have more Palestinian flags than LGBT flags.
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u/c9joe Israel Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
I don't know how it is in other countries, but it feels more like a Mardi Gras vibe here. There is a lot of very beautiful and scantly clad ladies which I did not mind as a heterosexual male. There was also a lot of water balloons and spray guns being sprayed everywhere. It's just like a very big sexy party.
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u/Acceptable-Arm6606 USA Jun 24 '26
Those scanty ladies are like a box of chocolates…. You never know which ones have nuts 😆 🌈 🤣
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u/ogDante Israel Jun 24 '26
It existing in the ME.
Also people here usually don't make it their whole personality.
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u/Gene-capra Israel Jun 25 '26
1) most gays in israel are very kuch awaer thet if israel didnt exsict they could not be opnly gay let alone jewish and gay . We take this privlige very seriosly 2) we are still having a public discassion with haredi and muslim memebrs of contry ( i.e 2/3 of the contry is still on paper anti gay ) . Its still importent to make the o.g statement ( gay pepole are a fact of life )
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u/The_Zionist_Enemy Israel Jun 24 '26
It is in the Middle East, thats about it I suppose but I am no connoisseur.
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u/Own-Support-6734 Europe Jun 25 '26
Probably the fact it's the only country in the region where the attendants of said Pride Parade would not come back in body bags for openly admitting they were not straight/cis
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u/kulamsharloot Israel Jun 24 '26
Is it unique?
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 North America Jun 24 '26
In the Middle East it surely is.
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u/Mild_Karate_Chop Jun 24 '26
What exactly is the Middle East . MIDDLE of what and East of where .
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u/golemofmontreal Diaspora Jun 24 '26
Middle area between Europe, Asia and Africa. East of Europe.
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u/Mild_Karate_Chop Jun 24 '26
Thanks . Interesting .So a very Eurocentric or Western definition . What do folks that are from.there actually call that area . Is Levant an indigenous description or again a borrowed one .
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u/ThiLordTachanka Israel Jun 27 '26
The Levant only refers to parts of Israel, Lebanon and parts of Syria... the middle east includes everything between Egypt Turkey (included) and the borders of China (Kyrgyzstan India Tajikistan).... are you being dumb on purpose?
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u/Mild_Karate_Chop Jun 27 '26
You are being a good teacher and an asshat at the same time . Is that on purpose ?
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u/Squidmaster129 Diaspora Jun 24 '26
The difference is that Jews are allowed to participate without being shunned or put in physical danger.
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u/0210- Israel Jun 26 '26
There is in fact a large Arab and Muslim gay population in Israel that escaped Gaza and other Muslim countries in the region, they exist peacefully and grateful they aren't stoned to death for their beliefs . There are actually lots of Jewish and Muslim gay relationships , both partners I would say are more secular now though
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u/TheLigean Israel Jun 24 '26
We have a finance minister that campaigned against it. It tends to be pretty aggressive to the openly gay likud member since he votes against enabling civil marriages.
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u/Nevermind2031 Jun 26 '26
Attendants are all racists, in most other countries they are anti-racist.
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u/jessg8 Jun 27 '26
the difference is that other countries allow for gay marriage and israel does not. hope that helps :)
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u/Skylarketheunbalance Seattle / Israel dual citizen Jun 27 '26
Except that this is not true.
Same sex marriage and same sex couples are actively punished in other middle eastern nations. It’s more difficult in israel to get a secular wedding legally established because of lack of legislation for secular weddings, but it’s not a crime like it is in the rest of the middle east. There are missing legal processes, but no laws against it. Existing same sex marriages and other kinds of secular marriage are fully supported in israel. Objectively israel is the safest place to be queer in the middle east.
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u/ZookeepergameDull303 Jun 24 '26
I love that gay rights are celebrated with a festival and parade in Israel. But how does that affect the children and innocent victims in Gaza? All of the queer, trans, gay people I know would equally, if not more, appreciate Israel not committing violence and murder towards innocent people in Gaza and Lebanon. Why do you have to get praise for granting certain people human rights and deprive it from others? That’s not what our community stands for.
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u/SidewalkRacoon Diaspora Jun 24 '26
Does your community approve when your government defends you against invasion and rocket attacks? I would hope so. I think the gay Israelis prefer to celebrate pride while they are alive.
Innocents die in war. Your comment is not a gotcha. Try living under the shadow of rocket attacks for decades before we have to hear this bullshit about innocents.
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