A Gay Candidate for the Knesset

By Josh Rudner         

During his first term, President Barack Obama made good on his promise to repeal the military’s "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which prevented harassment of gay members of the armed services, but still banned openly gay, lesbian or bisexual persons from service.

In Israel, gay and lesbian soldiers have been accepted in the military for over 20 years, an example of how Israeli society is more accepting of gays. Last year, members of the lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual (LGBT ) community in Israel launched a new faction of the Labor Party to further equal rights, attract more gays to the party and to launch a candidate for the Knesset, the country’s parliament. The new faction was embraced by most of the party leadership.

Dan Slyper

Dan Slyper, a 35-year-old project manager at a high-tech company, is the faction’s candidate for Knesset. Mr. Slyper, who lives in Tel Aviv, believes that politics can bring about even more equality for the LBGT community in the country, especially in less liberal cities outside of Tel Aviv.

Describing Tel Aviv as a “gay heaven,"  Mr. Slyper said, “Guys or girls can walk the streets holding hands or kissing and it won't cause any reactions. In Tel Aviv more people feel free to be out of the closet than in other cities [in Israel]."

Discrimination against LGBT Israelis exists and is most common among Israeli Arabs and Orthodox Jews, Mr. Slyper said.  But, discrimination and harassment against Israeli teens is different than it is in the United States. While some Israeli teens do use the word "homo" to bully their friends (Gay or Straight), "What's up homo?" has become a term of endearment for both gays and straights in Israel, according to Mr. Slyper.

Mr. Slyper explained that because only Orthodox Rabbis can marry two people in Israel, gay marriage doesn't exist; however, a judicial civil union is permitted. Should his party gain enough seats in the Knesset, Mr. Slyper has said that they will try to create civil marriages which opens the discussion towards gay marriage.

“We don't want to represent only the state of Tel Aviv," Mr. Slyper told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last fall. "There are gays and lesbians in all sectors of the population and it's very important to us that the faction be as broad as possible and represent as many constituencies as possible."