Tel Aviv, Israel’s cultural and economic capital, is a vibrant Mediterranean city and embodies much of Israel’s new, pioneering spirit, while holding onto its antique heritage. In July 2003, UNESCO declared Tel Aviv “The White City” for its “unique, historical architecture.” There are over 1,500 buildings marked for historic conservation. Lonely Planet recently named it one of the world’s “top ten cities in 2011,” highlighting its progressive mindset

2. 1
Co nte nts2 About TIP
4 Tel Aviv: Tolerance and Progress
4 Background and History
5 Coexistence in Tel Aviv
6 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Rights in Tel Aviv and Israel
6 Useful Contacts
Last Updated: June 2, 2013
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front cover Flickr photos:
top: IsraelTourism
bottom: Cedric Boismain

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Tel Aviv: Tolerance and Progress
Tel Aviv, Israel’s cultural and economic capital, is a vibrant Mediterranean city and embodies much of Israel’s new,
pioneering spirit, while holding onto its antique heritage.
In July 2003, UNESCO declared Tel Aviv “The White City” for its “unique, historical architecture.” There are over 1,500
buildings marked for historic conservation.
Lonely Planet recently named it one of the world’s “top ten cities in 2011,” highlighting its progressive mindset:
“Tel Aviv is the total flipside of Jerusalem, a modern Sin City on the sea rather than an ancient Holy City on a
hill. Hedonism is the one religion that unites its inhabitants. There are more bars than synagogues, God is a
DJ and everyone’s body is a temple. Yet, scratch underneath the surface and Tel Aviv, or TLV, reveals itself as
a truly diverse 21st-century Mediterranean hub.
“By far the most international city in Israel, Tel Aviv is also home to a large gay community, a kind of San Fran-
cisco in the Middle East. Thanks to its university and museums, it is also the greenhouse for Israel’s growing
art, film and music scenes.”
Background and History
Jaffa is the ancient port city that was once controlled by the Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Arabs, Ottomans and Brit-
ish. Also known as the Gate to Zion and the access point to Jerusalem, Jaffa is Tel Aviv’s seasoned predecessor.
Today, the city is a mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood.
The idea of Tel Aviv came from a man named Ariel Akiva
Weiss. In the early 1900s, he met with the Jews of Jaffa
and wanted to build a garden neighborhood outside the
old city walls, escaping the cramped and difficult living
conditions of Jaffa.
Neve Tzedek was one of the first areas inhabited outside
of Jaffa and was home to Nobel Prize winning author and
poet, Shmuel Agnon.
In 1906, during the second aliyah (mass migration of Jews
to Israel), a group that called itself Ahuzat Bayit bought
land from local Arabs and began creating the city on the
sea. One of the city’s first boulevards, Rothschild, would
later become the place where David Ben Gurion would declare the independence of the State of Israel.
This second group of immigrants, unlike the first, was comprised of predominantly secular, educated and nationalist
Jews. Today, their values remain an integral part of Tel Aviv as the city continues to maintain its secular, progressive
identity.
David Ben Gurion, Yaakov Latlik, Meir Dizengoff, Max Nordau, Haim Arlozorov were but a few of the key figures who
shared the vision of Tel Aviv as a haven for exiles and refugees.
In 1920, there were only 2,000 people living in Tel Aviv. By 1925, due in part to America’s closed door policy and per-
secution of the Jews in Poland, Tel Aviv’s population grew almost 18 times reaching 35,000.
One of the city’s first kiosks was built at the crossing of Rothschild and Herzl streets which extended Tel Aviv’s night-
life hours, making it the “city that never sleeps.”
Even before the founding of the state, Tel Aviv had major streets running from north to south while planned spaces
were being developed all over the city.
Tel Aviv became a hub of European architecture. The city adopted the German Bauhaus style for its utility, and the
French Le Corbusier in its use of public space and rooftop gardens. These buildings and styles can still be found
throughout the city.

4. 3
Coexistence in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv is home to some 370,000 Jews and 33,000 Arabs and is well
known for its tolerant lifestyle- a ‘melting pot’ of race, creed, religion,
gender and sexual orientation.
“A city for all its residents: The city will be attractive for living for
all age groups; featuring a varied supply of homes that meets a wide
range of different needs; boasting an education system of quality;
promoting equal opportunities; enhancing pluralism and strengthening
community cohesion,” says the Tel Aviv website.
Thriving culture and urban planning, citizen participation, environmen-
tally friendly programs such as the city’s bike sharing initiative and
various energy saving measures are all part of what allows Tel Aviv to
continue to flourish.
Tel Aviv is home to thousands of migrant workers and refugees from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. According to
UNHCR statistics, there are some 47,695 refugees and asylum seekers in Israel, mostly from Eritrea and other African
nations.
There are a number of other organizations which advocate for
the human and civil rights of all people within Israel. Organi-
zations such as Association for Civil Rights in Israel, based in
Tel Aviv, and Koach l’Ovdim, a union that provides a collective
voice for migrant workers, work to ensure that citizens’ free-
doms are ensured under the law.
In Tel Aviv and Jaffa, there are a number of centers that foster
an understanding amongst the Arab and Jewish populations
of this vibrant city, some of which focus on the rising number
of migrant workers and refugees. For example, Tel Aviv Uni-
versity’s Walter-Lebach Institute for Jewish-ArabCoexistence
Through Education holds public symposiums and multi-ethnic
discussions to draw attention to the relationships between
Jews and Arabs on a historical and personal level.
Over the past 20 years, the Re’ut-Sadaka (Friendship) youth group has been bringing together young Jews and Arabs
in Tel Aviv. Many organizations turn to Re’ut-Sadaka, known for their Jewish-Arab workshops, to organize events for
their youth. These projects provide Jewish and Arab youths with an opportunity to meet each other, learn about their
respective cultures, and break down stereotypes and social barriers.
The Arab Jewish Community Center in Jaffa is a dynamic cultural hub that integrates Muslims, Jews and Christians in
Israel.
“The Arab-Jewish Community Center was established in 1993, with the goal of bringing together Jews and
Arabs in Israel and teaching acceptance and partnership between the nations. The Center works through the
values of humanism and equality among all people and is the source of new models for the promotion of
educational and social goals,” according to its mission.
Mifalot, founded by the Hapoel Tel Aviv football club, is a sport program encouraging education, development and
peace. Since its inception in 1997, Mifalot has aimed to provide much
needed assistance to children living in at-risk, disadvantaged or isolat-
ed environments, as well as promoting integration for Jewish-Israelis,
Arab-Israelis, Palestinians, Bedouins, Druze, Christians, refugees,
Ethiopian immigrants and Kibbutz children. Over 20,000 children and
youth in Israel, Palestine and Jordan participate in Mifalot’s projects
each year.
Thinking outside the box, Jaffa’s The Group, is an independent dance
school that focuses on interaction and movement as a way to count-
er social alienation and misunderstanding between Jews and Arabs,
increasing Israel’s multicultural aspects.

5. 4
The Bialik-Rogozin school exemplifies the diverse fabric of Tel Aviv’s society. The school was made famous with the
Oscar-winning documentary “Strangers No More” that followed a few children from Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia in
their remarkable transition to a new, safe life in this special school.
In 2007 the first-ever SecularYeshiva (Talmudical college) was opened in Tel Aviv, and was run by a female lawyer. Its
mission is to offer a spiritual and cultural center of Jewish learning to compete with the traditional Orthodox yeshivas.
Young adults study Jewish texts and culture, with sources ranging from the Bible and Gemara to classic Israeli liter-
ature and Zionist history. Members of Tel Aviv’s Tikkun Olam (“Repairing the World”) volunteer program helped open
the yeshiva. Tikkun Olam works within troubled neighborhoods to affect positive change for those living there. In its
first year, the school won the MASA Award for Program Excellence.
In 2010, 21 Arab women graduated from the Al-Amal Women’sEconomicEmpowermentProgram, which taught
women high-tech skills designed to bolster their entrance into the Israeli job market.
Israel’s only Scottishschool is also located in Jaffa. It educates children of over 30 nationalities and various religions.
The school was established with the purpose of providing education for people of all faiths, where children learn to
respect each other and each other’s cultures.
Born in Bombay, India, ZubinMehta is the Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has spent over 40
years in connection to the Philharmonic Orchestra, and has even been named an honorary citizen of Tel Aviv. He is
quoted as saying that he “belongs first to India, then to Israel.” Recently, Mehta has become involved in establishing
programs teaching coexistence through the study of music. He established the Mifnehproject (Hebrew for “change”)
which teaches young Arab Israelis in Nazareth and Shfaram. The project is closely linked to the Buchmann-Mehta
School of Music in Tel Aviv, and the Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Yad Beyad (Hand in Hand), the Center for
Jewish-Arab education.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Rights in Tel Aviv and Israel
Israel is one of the world’s most progressive and tolerant of countries when it comes to rights for sexual minorities.
In the Declaration of Establishment of the State of Israel, it says: “Israel will be a state based on the principles
of liberty, justice and peace as envisioned by the prophets of Israel; it will uphold the full social and political
equality of all its citizens, irrespective of religion, race or sex.”
In Israel, gay rights are protected by law. The gay community has gained wide acceptance throughout Israeli society,
including in the political, legal, military and cultural realms. Gay marriages – performed outside Israel – are recog-
nized by the state, and same-sex couples are permitted to adopt. In fact, in 2008, Israel recognized the first overseas
adoption by a gay couple of an 8-year-old Cambodian boy. Gays can serve openly in the military; Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
was never a policy in the Israeli army. Gender reassignment surgery is legal and openly performed.
Gays in Israel experience a whole host of freedoms and are greeted by tolerance and acceptance. However, the gay
community in the surrounding Muslim countries has quite a different experience, encountering severe abuse by their
families, communities, and Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Israel has become a haven for gay Palestinians flee-
ing persecution in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Tel Aviv - The Gay Center of Israel
Tel Aviv has one of the most flourishing gay communities in the world.
Out magazine called Tel Aviv “the gay capital of the Middle East”, but officials
in Israel’s Ministry of Tourism have greater plans for the city’s gay community.
Tel Aviv hopes to become the “gay capital of the world”, making it the hottest
tourist destination for the international gay and lesbian community.
Since the 1990s, Tel Aviv has hosted Israel’s largest gay pride parade, regularly
drawing tens of thousands each year
Tel Aviv is home to Beit Dror, an emergency shelter for LGBT teens who have
been rejected by their families because of their sexual orientation.
The gay nightlife in Tel Aviv rivals that of New York and London, with gay and
lesbian bars and clubs open all hours of the night

6. 5
Significant Legislation and Developments
in the Gay Community
In the last two decades, gay rights have advanced sig-
nificantly, both legally and politically in Israel. Not only
does Israel recognize same-sex marriages performed
outside the country, but they also allow for gay and lesbi-
an couples to legally adopt children. Israel has countless
examples of noteworthy legislation advancing gay rights.
For example:
March 10, 2009: Tel Aviv family court rules that former
Knesset member Uzi Even, the first openly homosexual
MK, and his partner may legally adopt their foster son.
This set the precedent of same-sex couples being given
the legal right of adoption.
April 25, 2008: For the first time, Israel recognizes an
overseas adoption by a gay couple. The adopted child,
an 8-year-old Cambodian boy, was granted Israeli citi-
zenship.
February 12, 2008: The Israeli government grants gay
and lesbian couples the same adoption rights as hetero-
sexual couples. Previously, gays and lesbian couples
could only adopt children that were their own biological
offspring
March 2007: The Education Ministry recognizes the
Israeli Gay Youth Organization (IGY), enabling the group
to receive government funding. IGY, founded in 2002 by
the Association of Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals and
Transgender (The Aguda) is a volunteer-based support
organization for gay youth between the ages of 15 - 23.
January 2007: The city of Jerusalem registers its first
married gay couple, Avi and Binyamin Rose.
November 2006: The High Court of Justice (Israel’s
Supreme Court) sets a precedent by ruling that the civil
marriages of five gay couples wed in Canada may be
registered as married couples in Israel. (The Roses,
above, married in June 2006, were not one of these five
couples.)
July 2003: The Tel Aviv municipality grants homosexuals
the same spousal discounts provided to heterosexual
married couples at cultural, sport and other facilities.
1998: The Civil Service Commission grants pension
rights to same-sex partners.
1997: The High Court of Justice overturns a decision by
then-education minister Zevulun Hammer, a member of
the National Religious Party (‘Mafdal’), to ban a television
program about homosexual teenagers.
November 1994: The High Court of Justice grants full
spousal benefits to the partner of an El Al airlines em-
ployee, paving the way for other same-sex couples to
receive equal benefits.
1993: Former Knesset member Yael Dayan establishes
a Knesset subcommittee on lesbian, gay and bisexual
issues.
In the same year, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) imple-
ment an anti-discrimination policy after Dr. Uzi Even, who
had been an officer in the army, testifies to the Knesset
that he was discharged from the military and stripped of
his security clearance after the IDF discovered that he
was gay. Even went on to become the first openly gay
Knesset member.
1992: The Knesset outlaws discrimination based on sex-
ual orientation in the workplace.
March 22, 1988: The Knesset decriminalizes homosexu-
ality.
1975: The first Israeli organization for gays, the Society
for the Protection of Personal Rights (SPPR), is found-
ed. Today, the organization is known as the Israeli Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association (The
Aguda).21

7. 6
Useful Contacts
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Web site: http://www.acri.org.il/eng (English)
E-mail: mail@acri.org.il
Jerusalem
Tel.: 972-2-652-1218
Tel Aviv
Tel.: 972-3-560-8185
Haifa
Tel.: 972-4-852-6333/4/5
Arab-Jewish Community Center
Ibrahim Abu Shindi
http://www.ajcc-jaffa.org/
Tel: 03-5080898
The Aguda (Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgen-
der Association)
Tel: 972-3-620-5590
E-mail: info@aguda-ta.org.il
Web site: http://glbt.org.il/en/
Beit Dror (House of Freedom in English) – Emergency
Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans
Tel.: 972-3-516-4621
E-mail: bethdror@012.net.il
Web site: http://bethdror.org/english
Israeli Gay Youth Organization (IGY)
Tel.: 972-3-6200429
E-mail: office@igy.co.il
www.igy.co.il (Hebrew); http://www.igy.co.il/content/
about_us_en.php (English)
Tehila – a support group for parents of gays, lesbians,
bisexuals and transgenders
Tel.: 972-9-885-5822
E-mail: info@tehila.org.il
Web site: http://www.tehila.org.il/ (Hebrew)