PHOTOS: 200,000 Attend Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade

Image by Getty Images

By Josefin Dolsten June 9, 2017

(JTA) — Around 200,000 people took to the streets to celebrate LGBTQ pride in Tel Aviv’s annual Gay Pride Parade, the biggest event of its kind in the Middle East.

The Friday parade drew some 30,000 tourists from all over the world and celebrated “bisexual visibility.”

Ahead of the parade, a poll found that support in the country for same-sex marriage is at an all-time high. Seventy nine percent of Israeli Jews said they support allowing same-sex marriage or civil unions for gay couples, according to a poll released Thursday by the religious pluralism group Hiddush.

Attendees took to social media to share photos of the festivities.

Happy Pride Tel Aviv! Up to 200,000 people take part in TA’s largest pride ever! Wish I’d been there Two great photos by @ajmy+@AFP J. Guez pic.twitter.com/2UZxxnN9Ss

— Louis Fishman (@Istanbultelaviv) June 9, 2017

Gay Pride Parade Tel Aviv. Fun – for sure. But it also comes with a deeper message of respect & tolerance!#Israel #TelAviv pic.twitter.com/Hz8ay5GDpU

— Martin Weiss (@martinoweiss) June 9, 2017

Support for the #gay community in #Chechnya a major theme at #TelAviv #Pride parade pic.twitter.com/L2IG6VxrDr

— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) June 9, 2017

We stayed up all night in preparation for the #TelAviv #Pride Parade. See you there! pic.twitter.com/O2nQZwuaWM

— Tel Aviv (@TelAviv) June 9, 2017

#TelAviv city hall is beautifully illuminated, welcoming #PrideWeek! #Pride #LGBT #Rainbow #Israel ??? pic.twitter.com/Vs0W0UUVVa

— Eyal Naor (@Eyal_Naor) June 7, 2017

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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