Israeli Legislature Dedicates Entire Day's Sessions to LGBT Rights

Jerusalem, 23 February, 2016 (TPS) -- Jerusalem (TPS) – The Knesset held its first ever LGBT rights day on Tuesday, February 23 during which it dedicated the entire workday to discussions, debates, and other parliamentary activities on issues relating to Israel’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

“There is no doubt that the LGBT rights day is a significant step in history for the gay community and for all of Israeli society,” Chen Arieli, the joint-chairperson of AGUDA, the national association of LGBTs in Israel, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

“The Knesset’s permanent and special committees held sessions throughout the day on issues of burning importance to the LGBT community and their rights. These have long required attention and indeed there is still much work to be done,” Arieli explained.

Members of the Special Committee for the Transparency and Accessibility of Government Information discussed governmental support of LGBT NGOs, and members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee addressed the issue of equal integration of LGBT individuals in the IDF and other Israeli security agencies.

“There is some 10% of the population, some of which are sitting right here in the Knesset, that feels discriminated against by the law,” said MK Amir Ohana (Likud) who is the party’s first openly gay member.

“There is certainly quite a way to go to improve and better ourselves, but we have certainly made much progress and we will reach the goal of having completely equal rights in the foreseeable future,” concluded Ohana.

After the committee sessions, the Knesset held a two hour conference titled LGBT Women in the Public Sphere before reconvening the plenum. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived especially for the LGBT plenum session and requested speaking time.

“I made time in my busy schedule to come here today in order to say one sentence to the members of the LGBT community: every man was created in the image of God and that is the principle which must direct our national life today,” said Netanyahu.

The initiative was conceived by the Knesset Lobby for the LGBT Community chaired by MKs Yael German (Yesh Atid), Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union), and Michal Rozin (Meretz).

“In a democracy everyone is equal before the law, but in Israel the law discriminates against LGBT individuals, we are here to change that,” MK German commented to TPS.

All special events, committees, and plenum sessions were open to the public and attracted large audiences made up of the LGBT community as well as supporters from the general public and representatives of  LGBT rights organizations, who also spoke and participated in the parliamentary sessions of the day.

“Despite the fact that there is still much to work on, we believe that this is the beginning of an important social and democratic tradition,” Chen Arieli related to TPS.