Gay Soldiers’ Pic Causes Tiff in Israel
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Hand in Hand: This photo of two Israeli soldiers holding hands has spurred debate over gay rights in Israel.
A photo posted on the Israel Defense Forces website in honor of Pride Month, showing two male soldiers in uniform holding hands, has caused a stir.
The photo posted Monday and captioned “It’s Pride Month. Did you know that the IDF treats all of its soldiers equally?” had garnered more than 7,800 likes and more than 5,800 shares as of Tuesday afternoon.
The more than 1,130 comments express both happiness and disgust at the photo, though positive comments appear to outnumber the negative by a large margin.
“Beautiful picture, proud to be an Israeli!!!!!!!!!” one comment reads. A combat soldier who identifies himself as gay comments that the photo “is absolutely reflective of how the Israeli army treats gays.”
Conversely, one comments reads, “This is disgusting,” and another says “too bad for them unless they repent.”
“Pinkwashing in action,” reads another comment, referring to accusations that Israel focuses on its openness to homosexuality to hide how it treats the Palestinians.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
