LGBT Community: Joint steps

A meeting on LGBT issues makes history in Jerusalem.

By ARIEL DOMINIQUE HENDELMAN
A meeting on LGBT at the city council hall (photo credit: SARAH WEIL/AT RIGHT)
A meeting on LGBT at the city council hall
(photo credit: SARAH WEIL/AT RIGHT)
On December 6, Jerusalem experienced a groundbreaking meeting between city council members and representatives from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
The joint committee meeting on Jerusalem’s LGBT community and the issues it faces was the first of its kind at the city council hall.
With the intention of hearing the varied voices from within the LGBT community and aspiring to better the lives of its members, the joint committee heads included Health Committee chairman Itai Gutler, Child Welfare Committee chairman Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz and Youth Committee chairman Yoav Bakshi Yaivin. Uri Banki, the father of Shira Banki, who was killed at the 2015 Jerusalem Pride March, was also in attendance.
“The most important thing about this historic gathering is that requests coming from the LGBT community are dealt with by the municipality behind closed doors,” Gutler said. “When we put something in the public eye, it says that we’re not ashamed of it and it doesn’t need to be hidden for us to help you. I’m from the Yerushalmim party, and I wanted it to also include Hitorerut to deliver a broader, bipartisan message that the main parties of the pluralistic population in Jerusalem are involved.”
Gutler is the unofficial liaison between Mayor Nir Barkat and the LGBT community.
Barkat wants Gutler to increase the LGBT community’s visibility in the municipality, which drove Gutler to coordinate the joint committee meeting. Areas of focus included health, child welfare and youth issues.
Spokespeople from a cross section of Jerusalem’s LGBT population voiced the needs of their demographic.
“I want everyone to feel their voice has been heard,” Gutler adds. “I want it to be not only ceremonial, but to bring about action on the ground. My agenda is to help the community and specifically the Jerusalem Open House to have a permanent residence in the center of the city. This is difficult because not all factions agree, and it has to be approved by the city council.
The Open House receives funding for rent, but we want them to have a permanent house.”
The idea of an LGBT center paid for by the municipality that provides necessary services and cultural events, similar to the one in Tel Aviv, was mentioned repeatedly.
The JOH currently fills this role, but lacks resources, as much of its budget goes to rent.
JOH board member Elisha Golani feels guardedly hopeful about the meeting.
“It’s not clear how meetings at these levels influence the municipality. Inviting us formally to Safra Square and acknowledging the work that we do is a good start, but the real question is what will come out of the meeting? What are the officials going to do for the community?” One of the meeting’s main accomplishments was the presence of diverse delegates from the LGBT body, who had a forum within which to speak their minds in front of city council members.
“I don’t want to say that I’m optimistic because it’s a struggle,” Gutler said. “I need to advocate this to the mayor and put pressure on him to deal with these issues. The most important thing is action, not speech, but he is someone we can work with.”
Now the real work begins. The municipality is composed of a large number of representatives from the haredi community, which is generally opposed to anything having to do with LGBT issues. Because of this, it has been hard for the LGBT community to operate on the municipal level.
“These three city council members made a statement that despite the political difficulty to get the LGBT community’s needs heard, they’re going to make that effort and put their careers on the line,” Sarah Weil, development director at the Yerushalmit Movement, said.
“Particularly Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz, a hero in my eyes who is not appreciated enough. He is an Orthodox Rabbi, but he recognizes that for Jerusalem to thrive and be the great city that it can be, we need to strengthen all of the different communities here. That he was part of making this happen is a sign that we are moving in the right direction. The larger Modern Orthodox community is starting to realize that they must not only open up their offices for us in private, but advocate for us in the public sphere.”
Weil helped coordinate the joint committee meeting along with Gutler, finding speakers from the LGBT community that represent its wide spectrum of sectors.
“Having allies who support us is a huge strength,” Weil added. “Our community has been very isolated and internally focused, afraid to go out. It’s never been more clear than with the 2015 murder, which showed the reality that we deal with every day. What’s shifting is that we’re starting to see ourselves as part of a larger society. Advocating for our rights is part of a larger movement of pluralism in Jerusalem – freedom of expression and freedom to choose according to conscience.”
The cross section of LGBT life at the meeting included students, Havruta and Bat Kol, the organizations for religious gay people, and Shoval, an organization that promotes tolerance on LGBT issues within religious circles by working with educators. Everyone presented their story and the needs of their community.
One delegate speaking on behalf of the older LGBT community explained how the older generation didn’t have the support and encouragement that the younger generation has today. Thus many of them don’t have relationships, or their partners have died, so there is no one to take care of them. The community becomes family in these cases, requiring it to be able to provide social services and help with issues having to do with aging and end-oflife care. There was also a member of the trans community who presented the difficulties that trans youth have, in terms of violence and finding and maintaining employment. The subject of youth at risk who are struggling with their gender or sexual identity and are dealing with homophobic environments in their schools or families was also raised. Without resources to help them cope, these young people often turn to other, more accessible ways of managing, such as drugs and alcohol.
Weil points out that there is a large gap between the three city council members who initiated the joint committee and the harsh reality of the recent statements made by Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who was quoted as saying that homosexuality is an abomination and that Jewish law calls for the death penalty in such cases. Someone unable to hear nuance could interpret Amar’s statement as saying that LGBT people deserve to die.
“When a member of the municipality says something like that, there needs to be an outcry,” Weil stated. “There was an outcry from the LGBT community, the larger pluralistic community, and from these three city council members, but politicians need to be held accountable. We need support from the municipality. We need them to open their pockets. Many organizations in Jerusalem operate on almost nothing. The municipality must see that this is a community with unique needs, identify the organizations serving those needs and support them. This committee meeting is a first step.”


Related Tags
Gay Israel