Israel

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

8.9 million

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

Tel Aviv has been frequently named as one of the most ‘gay friendly’ cities in the world. Israel's LGBTQ citizens are afforded all manner of legal rights denied to many even in the Western world, including prohibitions on employment discrimination and civic recognition of marriage equality and adoption by same-sex couples.However, many assert that Israel partakes in “pink washing”—essentially exploiting the idea of being LGBT-friendly to counter many negative stereotypes westerners hold of Israel and promote public perception of Israel as a modern democracy and a friendly tourist destination.

Israel's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
Yes
Joint Adoption
Yes
Second Parent Adoption
Yes
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
Yes
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
Yes
Gender
Does Not Apply
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
Does Not Apply

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

BA, Y. G. (2012). Risk behaviors and sexually transmitted diseases in gay and heterosexual men attending an STD clinic in Tel Aviv, Israel: a cross-sectional study. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3668/dd14e0d8664e8eb56d843d32f77fa231d61f.pdf
 
Britt, B. R. (2015). Pinkwashed: Gay rights, colonial cartographies and racial categories in the pornographic film men of Israel.International Feminist Journal of Politics, 17(3), 398-415. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616742.2014.929370
 
Harel, A. (1996). Gay Rights in Israel: A New Era?.International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 1(3), 261-278. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/135822919600100304
 
Landau, N., Hamiel, U., Latzer, I. T., Mauda, E., Levek, N., Tripto-Shkolnik, L., & Pinhas-Hamiel, O. (2020). Paediatricians’ attitudes and beliefs towards transgender people: a cross-sectional survey in Israel. BMJ open, 10(4), e031569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031569
 
Levon, E. (2012). The voice of others: Identity, alterity and gender normativity among gay men in Israel. Language in Society, 187-211. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41487753?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
 
Schulman, S. (2011). Israel and ‘pinkwashing’. New York Times,22. https://queeramnesty.ch/docs/NYT_20111123_Israel_Pinkwashing.pdf
 
Shenkman, G., Ifrah, K., & Shmotkin, D. (2018). The association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health among middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men in Israel.Aging & mental health,22(4), 503-511. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2016.1274374
 
Shilo, G., Antebi, N., & Mor, Z. (2015). Individual and community resilience factors among lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and questioning youth and adults in Israel. American Journal of Community Psychology, 55(1-2), 215-227. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10464-014-9693-8.pdf